Hey there, 1940s

  

Here is what I know about the 1940s, off the top of my head:

 

World War II, Pearl Harbor, D-Day, the atomic bomb. Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier. The Dodgers' emergence as an iconic baseball team.

I can name all the World Series matchups, though you might have to give me some time on 1942, 1943. Mickey Owen's dropped third strike. Cookie Lavagetto, Bill Bevens, Al Gionfriddo's catch. Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak and Ted Williams hitting .406 in 1941. I know most of the stars of 1940s MLB.

 

The Andrews Sisters. Glen Miller's Orchestra. My grandmother used to talk about Glen Miller a lot. Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby. The songs that played on WECK in Buffalo in the 1980s, which were the "golden oldies" of that time (as opposed to "oldies," which was '60s music). It's A Wonderful Life. White Christmas. Johnny Marks' Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

 

I know my mom was born in the '40s. So was my uncle. He's still around. And I know some of the card sets from the '40s. And that's about it. Off the top of my head anyway.

 

From a collecting standpoint, my cut-off has always been the 1950s, as far as interests. Anything from that decade forward is where I can form a connection, which means everything to me in my hobby. But in the last year or two I've ventured into the 1940s, a little out of necessity -- many of the remaining interests from the 1950s-1980s have become too unavailable. The '40s cards haven't -- at least not the super famous '40s cards anyway.

 

And now, thanks to an envelope from Bo of Baseball Cards Come to Life! I have entered the world of 1940s baseball stamps.

 

These are three stamps from the 1949 Eureka Sportstamps "set," TCDB tells me. They are just a little larger than your average postage stamp and blank on the back.

 

There are 200 different stamps and, of course, the Dodgers have a lot -- more than one-tenth of the set. I doubt I'll pursue any others but it's very cool to have something this old.

 

I guess that's the appeal of collecting really old stuff and I have just enough to satisfy that interest, a tobacco card here and there, etc. 

 

 Bo also continued the stamp theme by sending these two 1955 Golden Press Stamps. Somebody, probably a long time ago, cut off the white border edges of each of these. I have the Zimmer already with the borders intact.

 

By now you're asking, aren't there any cards in this post? And I'll ignore your impatience but still grant your request. Of course there was.

  

A former need for my 1983 O-Pee-Chee set. Hey now, that's a quality send! I'm beaming like inset Tony Pena!

 

 

And here are three ex-needs for my 1987 Fleer set! All rookie cards. It's crazy that people are still holding onto cards like this as these were among the final 100 cards that I still needed.

 

I invite you to check out the newly updated 1987 Fleer set want list on my blog or check it out on my TCDB page, too. I really don't want to buy a whole '87 Fleer set just for 80-or-so cards nor want to grab them card by card. But I'll do what I must. I just need to get this guy done.

 

So there you are, I just zoomed through 40 years of cards in this short post. Interestingly, one of the reasons I have ignored the 1940s for so long is that when I was growing up in the '70s and '80s it seemed like ancient history, being 40 years prior. Now, the 1980s are 40 years ago and I guess some consider that decade ancient history.

 

But that's too depressing to talk about.