I'm already pleased with the brand-new collecting atmosphere on Bluesky as compared with Twitter. One excellent sign is I can find blog topics from the upstart site, which was a big Twitter benefit before it went south.
The other day, the discussion turned to Roberto Clemente cards, and I realized that just about every vintage Clemente card that I have acquired comes with a story. I suppose that's a given with how treasured and expensive his cards can be, but it's just weird how the stories jump out with him. I don't know if I can say that about any other vintage player.
To demonstrate, I will go through each of my vintage Clemente acquisitions and the story that is attached to each. I don't have a lot of vintage Clementes, so this won't be long. Also, longtime readers have likely read these all before because I've recounted each of them on my blog when they happened. But this blog is about 70 percent regurgitation at this point anyway.
July 2024
1969 Clemente
My most recent Clemente vintage acquisition, but it is actually the first vintage Clemente I ever owned. I was claiming it back this past July after I had traded the card in high school.
Nothing to exciting about the pick-up except I was surprised it was the first card I bought after being concerned that all the dealers had already left the monthly show.
May 2017
1973 Clemente
Clemente's final card from his playing days arrived in my early period of deciding to collect the 1973 Topps set. It came in a big assortment of '73s from Mike, who ran the blog "My Best Friend Collects Chipper Jones". That blog has not had a post on it since 2017 and I always wonder about bloggers -- and also commenters -- who are so enthusiastic on the blogs for awhile and then just vanish into thin air like this didn't mean anything at all. I guess I'm fortunate to be gifted when the excitement was there.
April 2012
1971 Clemente
Another gift from sometimes blogger, Waxaholic, who sent me this card and it was the last card I needed to complete the 1971 set. I had started the 1971 Topps blog without owning the Clemente card yet, and was sweating it out just a little -- although Clemente is in the high numbers and I wouldn't get to his card for awhile. Fortunately it wasn't a problem and I'm still excited my 1971 set is complete!
December 2021
1970 Clemente
I acquired this card at the flea market shop right in town. It was pretty cheap as vintage Clemente cards go, about 30 dollars cheaper than anything on ebay. I was reacquainting myself with the flea market after a couple years away thanks to the pandemic. I didn't know if there were still cards there. But my daughter discovered some and I was off to the races with this beauty.
October 2015
1972 Clemente
I've told and retold this story. I went to a card show early in the day, drove an hour there and back and grabbed a bunch of '72s for my set pursuit. The big card was Clemente and I was super happy all the way home.
That night I picked up my daughter from her workplace at the department store. On the way back -- on the busiest street in town -- we were hit by a deer. There was damage but no one was hurt, and even though it was a hassle, my mood wasn't soured at all -- because I had acquired a vintage Clemente that very same day.
March 2021
1956 Clemente
The story with this one was a little too interesting. This was one of the last 1956 Topps cards I needed and I paid what was then the most I had ever paid for a card (the Mantle from the set would soon surpass that price). I was understandably anxious for the card to arrive.
When I opened the package, the card inside was a 1956 Alvin Dark. Can this hobby give you a heart attack? I probably came closest to finding that out in that one instance. Fortunately, the seller quickly made good on sending me the Clemente and it's been safely in my collection ever since.
I'm not a Clemente collector, really. Each of these cards were acquired while building sets. That means there are still probably other Clemente card purchases in my future. For instance, the 1967 Clemente is the most pressing need right now.
I can't wait to see what story that card tells.
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