Down The Ebay Rabbit Hole - Vintage Autographs

 

I have a prepaid card that is set to expire in January, so I've been doing a little online shopping. There are particular cards I'm looking to get at the right price, but also there are some generic things I've been on the lookout as well.

One of the fun things about eBay is that as you search for these generic things, you'll often come across listings for stuff you never even thought to consider. There was one particular listing that caught my eye, but I wasn't really interested due to the price. I did put it on my watch list, just to see if it would be sold or maybe relisted. Sure enough, it went unsold and I soon got an "special" email offering me a 20% discount on the listing. OK, sure, at that price, I'll bite.

A few days later, I had these cards in hand:

 

Jim Marshall has the distinction of being a 0-year Red Sox card, as he never played in an official game for Boston. After being acquired from the Cubs in the off-season, the Red Sox traded him not once, but twice that following spring! (The first trade, to Cleveland, was nixed when another player chose to retire than report to his new team. The Red Sox then traded Marshall later that same month to the Giants.) Delock, on the other hand, was an underrated stalwart for Boston, playing 10 years with the team as both a starter and reliever. He passed away just last year at the age of 92.

These 1960 Topps cards are by far the oldest autographed cards I have in my collection. I wasn't looking to add vintage autographs to my collection, but I found them, and now they are mine! Funny how stuff like that happens, huh?