Card of the Day: Robin Roberts 1964 Topps #285

Card of the Day: Robin Roberts 1961 Topps #20

Pin Highlight: Nolan Ryan & Robin Ventura – Courage, Loyalty, Character – Brawl Pin

Nolan Ryan and Robin Ventura had very successful baseball careers.  Each has numerous awards next to their name.  Mention both in the same sentence though and one moment comes to mind – August 4, 1993.

Robin Ventura got an RBI single off of Ryan in the first-inning that day.  Later on, White Sox pitcher Alex Fernandez hit Juan Gonzalez.  When Ventura came up to bat again in the third, Ryan hit him in the upper arm.  Ventura took a few steps toward first and then charged the mound.  For some reason, Ventura decided to slow down as he got closer to Ryan.  That gave Nolan Ryan the extra time to get his glove off.  Despite being twenty years older than Robin Ventura, Nolan Ryan put up a great fight.

The image of Nolan Ryan holding Robin Ventura in a headlock is iconic.  Signed photos containing this image make for a fun conversation piece.

This pin comes from a Little League district in California.  The yin-yang symbol on Nolan Ryan’s arm indicates that.  You have to laugh at the irony of a pin that encourages courage, loyalty, and character while depicting two grown athletes fighting.

Card of the Day: Robin Yount 1975 Topps #223

Card of the Day: George Clooney 1997 Fleer/Skybox Batman And Robin Auto

Flashback Product of the Week: 1997 SkyBox Premium Batman & Robin

While growing up, my first introduction to the world of superheroes came in the form of Batman.  I never really read the comics, instead I watched the cartoons, movies, and played with the action figures.  I grew up on four Batman films – Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995), and Batman & Robin (1997).  These movies would be playing religiously in my house.

I prefer Christopher Nolan’s Batman films now to anything that came before.  Of the four I grew up on, Batman and Batman Returns are still fun to watch.  Both are down right gritty and somewhat lifelike.  Watching the Penguin rise out of the water while gushing blood at the end of Batman Returns may be to violent for some six year old kids, but not me.  I thought it looked awesome!   Batman Forever and Batman & Robin just look like a joke to me now.  But when they first came out, I loved them.   Batman Forever and Batman & Robin got too comical for me, especially now if I see them on.

As you would expect, each of those Batman films had a corresponding collectible card set.  Out of them all, the 1997 SkyBox Premium Batman & Robin cards hold the most value, specifically the autographs.  The base set consists of 70 wide-vision cards.  You can look for autographs of Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Chris O’Donnell, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone and Joel Schumacher.  The autographs fall 1:360 packs.  Considering there are 18 packs per box, the odds of finding one is pretty difficult.  They all command high prices even to this day.  An Arnold Schwarzenegger autograph recently sold for over $300.00.

Boxes can still be found for under $50.00.

This is the Batman I prefer to watch for now.

Card of the Day: Robin Roberts 1950 Bowman #32

Card of the Day: Robin Roberts 1949 Bowman #46

Why did I pick this card for today?  Only because Robin Roberts played for the Phillies when the Yankees beat them in the 1950 World Series.  The Phillies had a great season and I know they can make it back to the Series next year.  I’ve been watching the Phillies since the mid-90’s, and the group of players they have now are one of the best.

Card of the Day: Robin Roberts 1952 Topps #59