Two Completed PSA Cubs Sets

The two graded cards that are pictured in this post represent a momentous achievement for me. These two cards were the last cards that I needed to complete my 1975 and 1964 graded sets. One of my collecting goals is to complete as many Chicago Cubs graded sets as possible. I am keeping these graded sets listed in the PSA Set Registry.


The 1964 Topps #550 Ken Hubbs In Memoriam card is difficult to find in high quality condition. The card is from the rarer high number series (523 – 587) and is more highly sought because of the subject matter. Ken Hubbs had finished his second full year for the Cubs in 1963. His potential seemed high. However, as he was piloting his plane on a flight from Provo, Utah to Colton, California, his plane went down in a snow storm. Hubbs’ 1964 card was issued in memorium.








My 1964 Cubs set is the 8th best in the current listings. My set currently has an average grade of 7.634 out of 10. When one is looking for PSA 8 or better the price and bidding activity increases dramatically. I would like to slowly improve the average grade for this set to 8.00. But that will take some time and the inclination to spend additional cash.


The 1975 Topps #15 Jose Cardenal was also difficult to add to my collection. It was not because of being a high number but rather it seems that graded 1975 Jose Cardenal are hard to find in PSA 8 or higher condition. When they appear on EBay, there is always a lot of interest and bidding.







My 1975 Cubs set is also the 8th best in the current rankings. The 1975 set has an average grade of 8.32. I am actively looking for 1975 Topps Cubs with a PSA grade of 9.0. I buy most of the PSA graded Cubs from EBay but will from time to time send some in to PSA for grading.


I am now seeking graded 1978 Cubs in hopes of completing that set next. I currently have 13 of the 30 required cards with an average PSA grade of 8.94.

Another Card Show - Redford, Michigan VFW

I was able to make time to go to another card show this weekend. In southeast Michigan we have at least three quality card shows every month. Two of the shows are at the 2 Gibraltar Trade Center locations. The third show is smaller but still has several quality dealers in attendance each month. The third card show is held at the Redford, Michigan VFW Hall. This month, the show was held on February 3 from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. They always have some signers. This month it was Gates Brown and Skeeter Barnes. The show was crowded while I was there…partially because of the signers and also because it is held in a much smaller hall than the Gibraltar Trade Center. You can see in the photos that there was a lot of buying, selling and trading happening. There were several dealers with the low cost boxes of cards, but for someone like myself, there were several dealers with high quality 1950’s and 1960’s card available. Of course, since we were in southeast Michigan there was a lot of Tigers and Red Wings items.

I did find some nice cards. I found a 1955 - #7 Gene Baker. This one looks to be a bit better that the one I found last week. The same dealer also had a great looking #88 Steve Bilko. However, if you look closely at the scan of both cards, it is pretty obvious that the Bilko card has been trimmed off of the right side. The dealer agreed and threw the Bilko card in for free. I will use it as a place holder until I can find a better version.

I also picked up four 1951 Bowman Cubs. The dealer said that he had just gotten a bunch of 1951 Bowmans from an estate. The previous owner obviously took great care of his baseball card collection. I took the four Cubs that were included in the lot. The dealer also had a very nice bunch of 1959 Ted Williams cards.

It seems that every time I go to a card show like this one, I find other baseball related items to acquire. This show was not any different. I found two books the add to my collection and hopefully read some day. The first was “Hawk” by Andre Dawson with Tom Bird. Andre Dawson played six seasons for the Cubs. So I look forward to reading this book.

I also found “Campy” by Neil Lanctot. This is the story of Roy Campanella. The book talks about Campanella’s success with the Brooklyn Dodgers and then his courageous fight to recover from an automobile accident in 1958 that left him paralyzed below the neck.

I also found a program from the 2012 Hall of Fame Induction. That was the year that Ron Santo was finally given the honor of induction. It was too bad that his widow had to accept the honor. This program carries a stamp and cancelation from the day of the Induction ceremony (July 22, 2012).

The last thing I picked from a dollar stack of magazines was the 1990 Sporting News Baseball Yearbook. The magazine features a photo of Ryne Sandberg on the cover.

The February Redford Card Show was great entertainment. There will be another on March 10. So if you live in southeast Michigan, you might want to give it a try. The announcement for the next show is below.

Another Cubs Program for my Collection

I recently added another Cubs program to my collection.

This program is from the 1952 season. This program is another great example of the artwork of Otis Shepard, who is responsible for the Cubs program covers from the 1940’s through the late 1960’s. Each cover is unique and makes a great framed addition to my Cubs collection. As I get Cubs programs, I am framing them and using the framed programs as a border around the top of my room.

This is one of many Cubs programs to use the Shepard "Fatman" on the back. Shepard's name also appears in the upper left corner.