My favorite movie theater, The Brattle (Cambridge, MA), holds a special place in movie history thanks to their deep well of cinema knowledge and reputation for helping generations of students find new meaning in familiar films. Pictures like Casablanca and It's a Wonderful Life enjoy reliable, regular screenings for nearby students from Harvard and MIT, who then evangelize a culture of rewatching that remains key to loving classic cinema.
I seek out these "max legroom" balcony spots at each show
This theater will honor the recent passing of Robert Redford with several screenings during the 2025 holidays, including The Natural (1984) on December 19.
Redford's selection to play farm boy and baseball phenom Roy Hobbs fits how many fans saw him on screen, as a man born to portray memorable characters from our American mythos. The movie's outstanding supporting cast helps Hobbs hit every note, from striking out "The Whammer" (Joe Don Baker, who also passed this year), to his obsessive and deadly fan (Barbara Hershey), to Glenn Close as his Lady in White. This Cambridge screening complements two pieces of its history, as The Natural borrowed from the life of local boy Eddie Waitkus and happens on a date close to its "triggering event," gun pun intended.
How Cambridge Shaped its "Natural"
Future two-time All-Star and superlative gloveman Eddie Waitkus grew up in East Cambridge in the 1930s, a time of Depression economies and ever-present ballgames, when players of all ages filled sandlots to hone their skills. On December 14, 1949, the Cubs accidentally set The Natural in motion by trading Waitkus to the Phillies. This fine episode of Phillies Baseball Cards lays out what happened next.
Waitkus saw industry all around him, as East Cambridge held an almost endless supply of manufacturing and shipping companies. Eddie's SABR biography cites Cambridge Field as his proving ground, excerpted here from the city's outstanding 1930 Bromley atlas.
Cambridge Field sat two dense city blocks from Boston Woven Hose and Rubber Company, the Boston & Albany Railroad Station, and dozens of other manufacturers. (Eddie's mother died young of pneumonia, perhaps "aided" by this background environment of soot and smoke that locals inhaled every day.)
The pastoral, farm-grown youth imagined for Roy Hobbs in its 1984 film presents talent as something elemental and untouched. East Cambridge in the Depression era played a dense and crowded game, with boys striving alongside men on ballfields and factory floors. Eddie started playing baseball without a glove and those games became a forge for his physical abilities, making any "natural" swing a reflection of that workmanlike environment. (Joe Jackson emerged under similar conditions, playing for his South Carolina mill team by age 13.)
A cinematic version of East Cambridge neighborhood ball would emphasize their broken fingers, calloused skin, and grit under everyone's nails, a true departure from bucolic backdrops in The Natural and Field of Dreams.
In a Hollywood twist, Waitkus himself appears as Gary Cooper's action double during several scenes from Pride of the Yankees (1942). Anytime the camera's far enough back, you might being watching Eddie instead of this handsome guy (and the Redford of his day).
This climactic farewell from Pride of the Yankees features another collision of American myths between Lou Gehrig and baseball itself, encapsulated by that sleeve patch.
The 1939 "Baseball Centennial"
Those late 1930s felt so hard for so many Americans that owners looked for a reason to celebrate baseball, invented or not. On screen, Roy Hobbs and his Knights sport this 1939 jersey patch, honoring that purported centennial and perhaps as a cinematic nod to Pride of the Yankees.
The year 1939 bridged America's Great Depression and WWII fervor, so helps ground The Natural in an era of temptation and desperation, as owners worked in dark offices to shape what fans would see under ballpark lights.
Recovery and Reframing
Shot by a young woman in June 1949, Eddie healed from his injuries well enough to reappear in public life later that year. Those who read The Natural as a novel when released in 1952 and associated it with Waitkus would also remember he played a full season in 1950 and helped Philly's "Whiz Kids" win their NL Pennant. The novelized version of this attack by Harriet Bird, a woman of education and theatrics, thus transforms this life-threatening event into a necessary part of Roy (and Eddie's) struggle, instead of its interruption and possible bookend.
Eddie's status as a decorated war hero who survived a stateside shooting now seemed doubly mythic, as anyone who linked Waitkus to The Natural could reassign his experiences of violence into symbolic acts, rather than reflections on war or fanaticism. His 1955 Bowman card shows a new shape to that storyline.
As with The Natural, Bowman's card simplifies this complex history into a handful of challenges to be overcome. In one sense, the deranged girl shoots Waitkus to "aid" an American hero's journey, he finds a woman who understands human nature, she inspires him to success, and they enjoy a happy home together. Eddie's story ends about as neat as the movie that followed, sans exploding ballpark lights.
Finding the Fenway Faithful
Baseball myth flows both ways, as Curt Schilling's bloody 2004 World Series sock reminded many of Roy Hobbs bleeding through his jersey before hitting The Natural's climactic homer. Each felt like destiny, once achieved!
I post #BucketCards from time-to-time on my @number5typecard Bluesky account as distinctive or meaningful poses from a wide range of sets. This article gathers five cards of Babe Ruth along similar lines, reflecting his unparalleled career as hurler and slugger from 1914-35. The Bambino first appeared on tobacco-esque sets as a svelte International League pitcher and hung around long enough to still appear on cards for Boston's 1935 Braves, a legendarily terrible club.
Let's start at the beginning!
1914 Baltimore News (as Orioles pitcher)
Baltimore's International League team found an unpolished jewel in Ruth, not far removed from a rough younger life. First scouted for his pitching arm, this sweater-clad card appears in red or blue. Its value is sky high, given how hard it proves to find anything from this set, let alone the Bambino.
Baltimore hosted its own Federal League team, the Terrapins, in 1914, and competed for fans with the existing International League team, an earlier iteration of the "Orioles." Ruth spent just two months there before the Boston Red Sox acquired him in July.
1920-21 Universal Toy & Novelty Company strip cards
These two cards reflect the Babe's transformation from ace pitcher to slugging outfielder, as Universal's card artist adapted a Boston warmup photo into two cards (1920 left, 1921 right). Artistic work on that pastel card turned his normal lefty follow-through into a righty hitting pose, saving the cost of licensing a new photo.
The second card added soft pinstripes to reflect his Yankees affiliation, closer to what fans expected of Ruth by 1921, even when hitting from the "wrong side."
1925-31 W590 "King of the Bat" strip card
Surely this is how we'd all want to be known! "I am royalty and my lineage has mastered...The Bat."
These W590 cards date to the 1925-31 window, based on players and teams shown. It was common for strip card printers of that era to reprint the same images, year after year, only updating spots on each strip when players changed teams or retired. Note how this strip proves current for a single season, 1925, thanks to its bolded players.
Ike Caveney, SS Cincinnati: 1925 was Ike's last in the majors.
George Burns, OF Philadelphia: 1925 was as George's only year in Philly and last year in the majors.
While they could print the same photos again and again, W590 contains enough team variations to show someone paid attention to those (literal) lineups, even if to add "former" for existing cards.
Like many strip card collectors, I look forward to future research working out which company made W590 cards and how often they changed layouts. Now, back to the Babe!
1931 W626 Sun Pictures Photo Kits
If Ruth looked like this in real life, I'd call him "The Jaundiced Jolter."
These "sun pictures" tell their own creation story, as simple light exposure brought out (muted yellow) images on the self-developing panels, complete with block letter player name. 12 baseball players appear in this multi-subject set, all stars at their time. This Ruth's a superior batting pose to many others printed under his name.
1935 Schutter-Johnson "Babe Ruth's Grip"
This hand-drawn Ruth card features the art of former MLB pitcher Al Demaree, drawing hands.
Playing advice for enthustiastic kids are a recurring theme on cards and this entire set mixes cartoons with tips, all sketched by Demaree and penned by uncredited ghostwriters.
I love how Babe's quoted as saying, "you will have command of the bat instead of the bat having command of you." Sage words indeed from King of the Bat.
Those five Babe Ruth #BucketCards make for an interesting counterpoint to his far more familiar poses and creations. Let me know what cards would be on your own list!
Last week, a friend at Net54 helped me drive the golden stake into a long-running project: rebuild National Chicle's pair of 1936 #81-192 baseball print sheets. While we lack any surviving uncut material from this set, you can use its dodgy edge cutting like a jigsaw puzzle and put everything together by computer or hand. Watch the SABR Baseball Card blog for a future rundown of the whole effort.
This week, the friend (Doug) sent a five-pack of Batter-Up cards to celebrate our achievement! Right in the middle, one of my favorite #5s, Carl Hubbell.
1934 Batter-Up (#1-80) printed cards in several colors and this motivates me to go after all the Hubbell variations. Carl's been part of my Top Five Number Fives since way back and my set profile shows all six ways to find a player from that series. I call this one "black-and-white," so need its more colorful alternatives.
The National Sports Collectors Convention returned to Cleveland's I-X Center for 2024 and I spent five days there, 80% shopping, 10% hobnobbing, and 10% finding bathrooms without lines. Let's run through this year's experience and what to know should NSCC return here in future years.
Facility: The I-X Center! Danger, there be dragons!
NSCC last used this facility in 2018 when it still featured a ferris wheel and this piece of WWII aviation history. I stuck around after that show to get a photo, which shows the scale of this massive structure.
Facility owners later moved this plane to the parking lot, hoping to open a restaurant inside. It looked quiet during show week, so I bet their concept remains in a holding pattern.
Cleveland's adjacent Hopkins airport saddles the I-X Center with three issues, all hard to overcome for out-of-town visitors. First, every hotel sits miles to the north or east, so everyone drove and parked for 2024, with 95% exiting at the righthand circle and flowing into lots at the middle circle.
A minority of drivers, including my group, approached from the south and found that quicker left circle exit on day one, avoiding hour-plus delays each morning and evening. Convention organizers hoped to turn these choke points into parking revenue all week. By the end of day one, they fielded a litany of complaints that forced adjustments, in particular from VIP pass holders who discovered themselves trapped behind the hoi polloi when leaving. (General public lots sat further from show entrances and closer to parking lot exits.)
Everyone I heard express an opinion on I-X parking or logistics said they dreamed of returning to Chicago, or even Atlantic City, a sick burn given how few enjoy the latter.
My three recommendations for future Nationals in Cleveland.
Stay in suburban Berea instead of near the airport. Avoids 95% of driving and parking pain.
Arrive by 9AM, park near the exit, and walk to the entrance.
Get cheap Taco Tuesday dinner at the Hydrant just south of I-X. Why drive further?
Attendees: Dealers, VIPs, and you!
The convention runs Monday to Monday for dealers, with collectors welcome Wednesday through Sunday. Banners list their dizzying number of activities with multiple typefaces and their "it's cool to collect" slogan. When did coolness become our hobby brand? I vote we copy Jimmy John's "FREE SMELLS."
Large operations like Tri-Star must need their whole week to setup and breakdown. Building a dozen different autograph lines out of metal poles takes hours of time and manpower.
We hunted cards before the show itself at a local shop (1of1 Sports Cards), where I found some low grade 1952 Topps and spotted these two wall displays. Griffey's swatches make total sense. Jeter's large white square is less clear, since it...should...have...pinstripes? Eh, not my circus, not my monkeys.
Our crew started day one on the show floor looking for people we knew in the corporate area, while company employees there still felt energetic.
My OBC friend Larry (left) sold his T205 baseball complete set, itself a hobby achievement, through Robert Edwards Auctions last year and we found his contact there, Calvin Arnold.
I caught up with Sooz of A Cardboard Problem and CGC at their booth. Yankee and Mariner fans in the same photo! Who could predict!
Gary Vee's VeeFriends trading cards will reappear when I talk about the particulars of NSCC's "VIP package." For now, all looked quiet.
Prewar researcher, writer, and dealer Tim Newcomb sold from this case of black and white beauties. Funny story, I picked up something on day one that he later realized also sold that day on eBay, so he reimbursed me with lagniappe for the trouble of returning it. Easiest five bucks I ever made!
Dealer Mike Peich let me hold this Old Judge of $10,000 Kelly for a photo. Still hunting for its sibling card that shows King Kelly posed to catch a fly ball. The #5 type collection holy grail!
This box of signed index cards defines "misc" better than one could imagine.
Day one purchases felt light. At least I helped one friend who needed Sport Hobbyist cards with the Bob Feller at far right.
We restocked on snacks after the show at a CVS with unique approaches to pricing.
80 cents more during show week!
OK, back to the "VIP package," a $199 advance outlay that covered show admission and a grab bag of additional cards and promotions. I already mentioned how its dedicated parking proved worse than lots for the general public. How did everything else play out?
Many NSCC VIP attendees knew its pre-2024 open secret: you could resell card exclusives to make more than the $199 you paid upfront. Paying $100 for general admission left money on the table! Many of these pack-ins went right from VIP envelopes to eBay on day one.
This tradition more-or-less ended for 2024, as VIPs received this same list of stuff, starting with a VeeFriends + CGC promo card.
If that sounds like sour grapes, also know that 2024 improved the actual VIP show experience. Larry made it clear how we obtained this all-you-can-pasta dinner.
VIPs gained access to I-X's lower floor, which offered better WiFi, carpeting, tables, less noise, and bathrooms without lines. Anytime I needed to make a phone or video call, it happened there. Wonder if this can repeat for 2025, given Chicago's non-Euclidian floor layout?
Many others bought this VIP access package, including some with niche fame. If you follow Paul Lesko, you know why his jersey says HOBBY LAWYER, which he tried to fill with friendly signatures.
Patient VIP attendees could get a Dwight Gooden, Benito Santiago, or Ellis Burks autograph on Wednesday evening. I am impatient and settled for this photo with Doc's guest placard on Thursday morning.
In short, the value of VIP tickets flipped on its head from reselling giveaways to overall show experience for 2024. I hope at least some of these good times return next year in Chicago.
OK, back to the vintage cards!
I brought unopened packs of 1978 Donruss "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" to Cleveland for friends who enjoy oddballs, as it contains the first trading cards for Aerosmith, who play villains in that film, and Steve Martin, who's Maxwell Edison of "silver hammer" fame. (George Burns, The Bee Gees, Peter Frampton, and Donald Pleasance also appear within its 66-card checklist.)
Andrew Aronstein, son of TCMA founder Mike Aronstein, brought a pair of scarce stars from its archives, Luis Tiant as Portland Beaver pitcher and Sandy Koufax as Albuquerque Dukes coach, each from 1981 minor league sets. I bought the latter for $20.
Topps preceded their 1952 baseball set with 1951 Ringside boxing, a beautiful set packed with big names and HOFers. I grabbed a low-grade fistful for $2-3 each.
Well, look at the back of this $20 T206! Amazing to locate a piece of Buck's collection decades after he passed.
Where prewar collecting spirits bless you with Bucks, they can also curse you with counterfeits. I snapped this odd Johnny Evers & Germany Schaefer card photo at a dealer's table and asked around for more info. A friend felt intrigued and later paid $100 for it.
That $100 proved ill-fated, as other friends recognized this as one of many modern fantasy pieces first printed more than a decade ago by a disreputable dealer. His "Players Chew Cut Tobacco" stamp can dupe prewar collectors, even those with real hobby knowledge. Watch out for them!
Brian Marcy of Scottsdale Cards offered the first Boston Garter I'd ever seen outside an auction house, since they sell for thousands in any grade.
Garter backs offer its checklist, card number, and tell sellers to hang them in shop windows as marketing. This 1914 set catalogs as H813-2 and I wrote about it back in 2013.
Brian sold me several prewar O-Pee-Chee (baseball + hockey) cards and knows how to bomb your photo.
My 1937 O-Pee-Chee baseball buys include HOF pitcher Wes Ferrell and another "Buck," Bobo Newsom.
O-Pee-Chee put bilingual backs on these 1930s baseball and hockey cards, honoring their French-speaking fans. I suspect they partnered on its die-cut design with National Chicle, given their similarity to 1934-36 Batter-Up baseball.
A surge of mid-1930s baseball success in Detroit earned them many Canadian fans and could explain why OPC added this set of 100% American League players, who you'd see play in Tigers games.
One of my favorite dealers specializes in autographs and this ball opened a debate. When Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis sign a baseball, are they Thelma & Louise? Or Bull Durham and A League of Their Own? You be the judge. (Bull Thelma! A Louise of Her Own!)
I complained to friends about failing to find any #5 type hits on Wednesday and Thursday, so they told me to "go buy one on eBay." Blame them for this 1976 Hawaii Islanders card from my watchlist.
My haul grew to almost 100 cards by the end of day two, with 1970s Kellogg's playing a large role.
Do you like hunting for "cheapest vintage Mantle" on show floors? I found this DIY card for $2 and declared myself a winner.
The original maker trimmed Mickey's mug off this 1961 Post Cereal card.
The esoteric end of my collection includes "less successful Seahawk QBs" and you know that means Dan McGwire.
This card goes so hard on the many life blessings Dan enjoyed, you might forget the Seahawks drafted him in 1991's first round with Brett Favre still on the board. Well, I do not forget!
My growing stack of Kellogg's hits included what I believed my last 1972 All-Time Great, #6 Ruth. Who else, right?
Our hobby connections led to a dinner for prewar collectors, sponsored by the aforementioned Robert Edwards Auctions and some Net54baseball.com members. My OBC crew (Taylor, Doug, Larry) caught up with our buddy, the prewar expert Anson Whaley (@prewarcards). We've chatted many times and this evening went just as well.
In that prewar vein, Larry passed me this handful of trimmed Play Ball cards that feature new player names in block lettering above their original. They also show evidence of being erased and rewritten multiple times.
Some pencil names come from the fringes of pro ball. Mike Barbolla, from Carl Hubbell's card, spent 1938-41 in C- and D-league ball, what we now consider the low minors. One intriguing possibility: did their original collector meet these borderline guys while in the service, given baseball's prominence on military bases, and commit them to cardboard?
These cards also show stat-keeping on their backs, erased enough to lose paper in the process. A puzzle I hope to solve someday!
My pile of purchases grew by the end of Thursday and Kellogg's in particular towered over its friends.
By Friday morning, my tiring knees and ankles slowed things down. I spent the first two hours seated at dollar boxes, feeling the mixed emotions of Happy Feller here. This next run of pictures shows fun cards from those boxes.
That last photo shows everything I spent real money on. Pleased as punch to fish out all those 1950s, 1960s high numbers, and cool oddballs. How often does a 1953 Topps Yankee bubble up for a buck?
Friday night! Old timey baseball at a field stuffed with history!
The stars aligned for a perfect mid-70s evening of 19th century baseball at Cleveland's own League Park, co-sponsored by The Shoeless Podcast and Love of the Game Auctions. An entrance marker includes highlights seen there during its MLB days.
This YouTube video caught an in-between moment for League Park's history. Its modern restoration went so well that friends told me they thought pro ball should be back here on a regular basis.
League Park's significance to baseball deserves far more than one plaque, so I'm fortunate an onsite museum inside its old ticket office expands on that history. "The Jet," for example, starred for Cleveland's Buckeyes and won a Negro League World Series prior to his debut as a Boston Brave in 1950.
Every player who appeared at League Park, from Babe Ruth to Satchel Paige, walked these tunnel steps onto its original field.
Our doubleheader left time between games one and two for fans to visit the onsite Baseball Heritage Museum. Dozens of artifacts from League Park teams, games, and players fill its floor and walls.
Andrew Aronstein took its mound for the nightcap and this shot from his warmup tosses also shows League Park's excellent modern field conditions. Playing ball at League Park makes its own argument for returning a future National to Cleveland.
By the end of Friday, my card haul filled out to include 1957 Topps, 1960 Leaf, and HOF postcards.
We spent a night at our friend Sam's nearby and his basement includes best-ever displays like these framed Kellogg's sets, complete with bowls and boxes.
Late in the show, I added this batch of $5 Japanese cards, each numbered 5 for various reasons. Many of their surviving sets helped kids play card-flipping or rock-paper-scissors style games with rules now obscure to American collectors.
Happy to report all my cards fit into carry on bags for their return flight. How many similar bags must the TSA see roll through their scanners after NSCC shows?
I know from experience a thumb bandage prevents cuticle damage when pulling hundreds of cards from holders. You might wonder, where does one buy a 1972 Kellogg's Clemente for $2? In fact, an OBC friend passed this along for free, so zero dollars is more accurate!
I enjoy the vast variety of variations in some sets, including 1960s Post Cereal. Small shifts of blue ink on these 1963 #5 Killer cards change his whole expression from "what's that overhead" to "locked in."
60 seconds in lukewarm tap water removed much of their stuck-on paper and helped me enjoy more of their backs, even when earlier attempts to pull them out of scrapbooks yanked off patches of paper. (Cards along the top row used chemical glue and soaking fails to break down something that serious.)
I found five more Vern Law cards to send out for autographs. He remains one of our few living connections to the 1952 Topps set.
I'll leave you with this one-act play.
Card shop boss: "Hey pal, did you prep all those cards for grading?"
Intern: "Sure did boss, labeled everything in Sharpie, you can't miss 'em."
