Friday, August 13, 2010

Unpossible Autograph from the National-Bobby Adams

This autograph also came from the National but is from a different dealer than the one that sold me the previous few Crown cards.  Apparently, this dealer would buy up collections of autographs at auctions and then arbitrarily assign prices to the cards.  He had an Orioles box of autographs and I was able to add a few unpossible autographs from that at very reasonable prices.   I was especially happy to find Bobby's autograph since this '56 Topps card and his Crown card are the only two Orioles cards that he has and I've never seen them for sale before.

Bobby played in the Major Leagues for 14 seasons from 1946-59, spending the first ten of those seasons with the Reds, followed by brief stints with the White Sox and Orioles, before finishing out his playing career with three seasons for the Cubs.  Bobby appeared in 41 games for the Orioles during the 1956 season and played 2B & 3B, exactly as this card says he did.  His 1952 season with the Reds was the best of his career; he led the National League in singles, games played & at-bats and received MVP consideration for his effort.

Before his MLB playing career began, Bobby fought in WWII, which was pretty common with players around that time, but I still like to give credit where it's due.  Bobby coached in the Cubs organization from the end of his playing career through 1973 and also spent some time as the AAA Tacoma Cubs club president.  His brother, Dick, and son, Mike, also played in the Majors, so the Adams are truly a baseball family.

Bobby passed away on February 13, 1997 at the age of 75.  Rest in Peace Bobby.  

No comments: