Bobby Thomson Passes Away

Bobby Thomson, the New York Giants slugger that hit the "Shot Heard Round the World" to win the 1951 National League Pennant, passed away yesterday at the age of 86.

I posted just a few days ago about the photo I bought autographed by Thomson and Ralph Branca, the pitcher on the mound when Thomson hit his famous home run.

Mr. Thomson was a very generous signer through the mail.  I received several autographs from him, including a 1958 Topps, 1949 and 1951 Bowmans, a 2008 Goudey, and a 1955 Sport Magazine.

My son recently sent off a couple of cards to Mr. Thomson and sadly it seems he was too late.  He had the cards sitting around for months and finally one day I set them in front of him with a pen and paper and told him to write.

It's sad to see these players from the golden age of baseball passing away.

Flea Market Finds

I spent about an hour at an indoor flea market at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minnesota today. I picked up a 1973 Sports Illustrated with Bill Melton on the cover for $1. I also bought my older son a 1963 Sport Magazine with Whitey Ford on the cover. It wasn't in great shape but didn't have a mailing label. It has a line/crease down the middle, but it was just $7, so it's worth it even just for reading and making fun of the people in the ads.

I was away from home over the weekend and came home to a package I received from Steiner. I bought a black & white 16x20 of Bill Mazeroski's homer in the 1960 World Series, signed by Johnny Blanchard, who was the catcher at the time. Maybe I'll see if I can get Mazeroski to sign it too.

I also bought a signed, black & white 8x10 of Bobby Thomson's homer in 1951 to clinch the pennant for the Giants. I guess I didn't realize the common theme of these pictures until I starting writing this entry. Both were excellent players. In fact, Mazeroski's in the Hall of Fame. But both are remembered mostly for a single swing of the bat.

I will probably start sending out a couple dozen requests through the mail this week. I'll have to lay off the purchases for a while and start saving up for TwinsFest next January. I'll need to buy some bats, photos, and cards as well as save up for the signing fees. With four of us attending (my wife goes through the lines for me), it adds up pretty quickly.