To The Nines!

Me with the #9 at Jet Blue park, the Red Sox Spring Training home

 

Tomorrow is officially the 9th anniversary of the Diamond Jesters blog! It started out with an urge to to join the blogging community and participate in the fun others were having. 1,439 posts later, and here I am still having fun and going strong! If it weren't for all of the great readers and fellow bloggers who've commented and inspired me over the years, I doubt I would have lasted so long. My thanks to every on of you.

 

To celebrate, I thought it would be fun to list 9 of my favorite cards that I own of the greatest baseball player to ever wear the #9, Ted Williams. 

 

 

1959 Fleer Ted Williams
#45 Ted Williams 

I picked this card up last year at a card show, becoming the 2nd card I own from this fantastic 1959 Fleer set. Hopefully it won't be the last! 

 

1976 Topps
#347 Ted Williams (ATAS)

This is most likely the first Ted Williams card I ever owned. This subset introduced me to a lot of greats from before I was born. 

 

1992 Upper Deck - Baseball Heroes: Ted Williams
#29 Ted Williams

 

In 1992, Upper Deck produced an excellent series of insert sets, Baseball Heroes. I've completed this 10 card set dedicated to Williams, and this candid photo is probably my favorite of the set.

 

1993 Ted Williams
#121 Babe Ruth (GH)

A post dedicated to Ted Williams should have at least one card from the set that bears his namesake, right?  This is just a great photo of two titans of the game.

 

2016 Topps Archives
#271 Ted Williams

I love the background on this card - the teammate in the corner, the crowd behind him - just a great overall picture! 

 

2017 Topps - Memorable Moments
#MM-37 Ted Williams

Ted Williams retired 15 years before I was even born, so memories of the man are few. Easily the greatest of these is when he stole the show during the 1999 All-Star Game ceremony honoring the 100 greatest players of the past century.

 

2017 Topps Update
#US18 Ted Williams (SP)

In addition to being a baseball Hall of Famer, Williams was also a Hall of Fame fly-fisherman. He was inducted into the International Game Fish Association Hall of Fame in 2000.  

 

2018 Stadium Club
#180 Ted Williams

 

Another great photo! The curving of the bat just looks cool and gives an extra sense of power behind the swing.

 

2019 Stadium Club
#13 Ted Williams

Last but not least, a great card honoring William's military service. It's not unreasonable to think that he would have easily surpassed 600 home runs and 3,000 hits if not for the 3 years he lost while fighting during WWII and parts of 2 more season while serving during the Korean war. 

 

There you have - 9 cards of #9 for my 9th anniversary! Thanks again to all who've read and commented over the years!