One to go (or none to go)

  

This rookie card of Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Kirby Higbe arrived the other day.

 

It marked what could be the end of my pursuit of the 1941 Play Ball Brooklyn Dodgers. There are five cards in the team set. I now have four of them. The fifth one has been priced out of most people's ranges.

 

So I'm good with having four of them and calling it complete. As a "glass is half empty" guy in many situations, I don't expect to obtain the Pee Wee Reese rookie.

 

Therefore, let's look at the cards I do have:

 

 

Dolph Camilli was the first. It's the best-looking one by far. I don't have a handle on all of the set's cards but I wouldn't be surprised if it's the best-looking one in the entire set.

 

 

Next came Hot Potato Hamlin and Whit Wyatt. Wyatt has the healthiest of creases going through the upper right quadrant. I was not picky about condition in picking up these cards so it doesn't bother me (though it wasn't that evident in the ebay pic).

 

 

And then Higbe's rookie card, with the narrowest of left borders. Again, doesn't matter.

 

Here are all four together:

 

I picked up all four within the last 15 months. Camilli arrived in April 2025, Hamlin in April this year, Wyatt in May this year and Higbe this month.

 

It's a significant departure for me, as I mentioned when I acquired the Camilli. Almost all of my card interests come from the 1950s forward. 1941 Play Ball is the rare set that appeals to me enough that I don't even need to have a connection to the players (all of them played long before I was born), which is often a condition of me collecting many sets.

 

So 1941 Play Ball is special in that regard.

 

Now, is it special enough for me to set out for a Pee Wee Reese rookie? 

 

I may be a glass-is-half-empty guy but I'm also a never-say-never guy. Who knows? The cheapest ones for sale on the bay right now are $500 for the moldy/trimmed variety. The next-lowest are in the $750 range and then higher (i.e. graded) after that.

 

Not impossible. I've paid triple figures for cards in the pursuit of set before. If I save a little I could do it. So we'll see.

 

Still it will never not be fascinating to me -- and a little difficult to understand -- why a Higbe rookie was less than 30 bucks and a Reese rookie is $800 on average. I know, I know, legendary Brooklyn Bum who is in the Hall of Fame. It still seems out-of-whack, for this guy who never chased rookies.

 

But that's where I am -- perfectly happy with what I have and perfectly happy with this set chase. It was the rare card pursuit that wasn't aggravating in the least. It was fun.