Today was a snow day, well a partial snow day. I braved the overnight warnings and headed in to work this morning thinking i could work a few hours before heading back home…i have a looming deadline and was anxious about getting some stuff done. I’m glad i went in today…about half the office was there, but i was the only one from my project team that made it in…kudos to me! I tend to be a little stubborn and as my wife was texting me to hurry up and come home before the snow storm actually hit…but i decided to hang out. Easily distracted and self assured, i ended up waiting until it was quite blustery and everything was becoming white washed for a few moments. Our ould ’97 Ford Explorer has seen better days and isn’t too fond of climbing hills with snow and some hints of ice on the road. Needless to say the commute home was a little more treacherous than i like…but i made it home safe and was able to have a few hours with the wife and kid. We live on a pretty steep drive so sleds are fun this time of year, assuming of course there aren’t any cars coming around the corner! My son had a blast going down the street a few times and plowed through a couple of trees and once off the edge of a 2′ wall. I know, i know…i’m a terrible parent, but hey…he had a blast and in his usual voice and candor shouted “I WANNA DO DAT ALL DA TIME DADDY!!!” How can you resist that?
Not sure what tomorrow holds for weather, but i took advantage of the extra time at home to scan some more cards. Here are a couple of note.
The first card is Laurie Niemi from the 1952 Bowman set…the large version. The ’52 cards are some of my favorite football cards of all time. The full color art work is fantastic and the emotionally intense facial reactions are priceless. In doing some research over at PSA Cards these were issued as a test run of cards at the same time the “small” version was issued. Same photos, same backs…just different sizes. These were more popular and i can see why. Holding them you can see the great level of art that these cards posses. I’m a little partial to the small version of these cards…but i’m not gonna be picky here…plus i need these two handsome fellas to complete a set, you know how it goes.
The large cards were printed in a shorter run than the small version and thusly have been difficult for me to find in decent condition. Still need a few cards to complete the large set…believe i’m done with the small set though.
Bowman produced some great product early on with both baseball and football cards. I would love to see them do a modern set that reflects the history of this beautiful era of cardboard.
One of the things i love about these cards is the write up on the back. When athletes today are not working, they are selling something or hopefully doing something positive with their free time. These older guys though, they sold things and worked in offices.
Mr Badaczewski sold cars in the offseason and taught geography and history. My high school history teacher was the basketball coach…if he played for the Redskins i may have gotten better grades! The other thing that is really noticeable is the military service that professional athletes did during this era, in a time when the military is a polarizing subject, i have to admit that it’s quite interesting to see these guys take a break in their careers to provide a service for our country.