1949 Bowman Gerry Coleman

How about those tape marks?

I grew up listening to Coleman call San Diego Padres games on the radio. I even remember the year he left the booth in order to guide the team as field manager.

This card is from his rookie season of 1949. Not only was Coleman a teammate of Mickey Mantle on the Yankees in the 1950's, he also served his country as a Marine pilot.

He was recently inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a broadcaster.

My favorite thing about this card may be the back. It reads that if you send in 25 cents and five wrappers, you can get a plastic baseball game.

I wonder which is worth more today: the plastic ball, the card itself, or one of those old wrappers?