1923 W515-1 Ty Cobb

Beginning in 1921, Ty Cobb had become player/manager for the Detroit Tigers. So was he more player or manager?

In 1922, he hit .401 for the Tigers, finishing second in the batting race to George Sisler (.420). Can you imagine hitting over .400. and NOT winning the batting title?

In 1925, he finished fifth (.378) to Rogers Hornsby (.403) in the race.

Cobb was still a productive hitter, to say the least, batting .401, .340, .338, .378, .339, .357 and .323 in his final seven seasons, the last two with the Philadelphia Athletics.

As a manager, Cobb served Detroit from 1921-26 having compiled a 479-444 record. His best managerial season was 1923, when his team finished second in the American League to the New York Yankees.

The 1923 Yankees featured a 28-year-old Babe Ruth and a 20-year-old rookie named Lou Gehrig.

1966 Topps Roger Maris

Roger Maris is not in the Hall of Fame. Should he be?

Let's take a look at some of his numbers: 1,325 hits in 12 seasons; 275 homers, 850 RBI and a lifetime batting average of .260. But those aren't his only accomplishments.

Maris is a 7x All-Star, 3x World Series champion, twice named AL MVP, the former home run single-season king, 2x RBI leader and a Gold Glove winner.

Those are Hall-of-Fame numbers, his lifetime averages, not so much.

Maris would play his final season with the Yankees in 1966, traded to the Cardinals later that year. His cards, while not commanding the prices of his teammate Mickey Mantle, are very desirable.

His 1962 Topps cards is one of my favorites. It would easily be one of the first inductees in my baseball card Hall of Fame.

1921-30 Major League Ball Die-cuts Wally Pipp

Not sure if this is technically a baseball card but hey, it's Wally Pipp.

Okay, we all know the story. Pipp is reported to have not been feeling well on June 2, 1925. It seems he had a headache and made it known to the Yankees trainer. Manager Miller Huggins noticed and told Pipp to make way for a younger replacement. That replacement was Lou Gehrig and history was made. Gehrig went on to play 2,130 consecutive games earning him the nickname of "Iron Horse."

Another story says Pipp was replaced since he was struggling against left-handers. And yet another story said it was a result of being injured during batting practice a few days earlier.

Nonetheless, Pipp was out and Gehrig was in. By 1926, Pipp was a member of the Cincinnati Reds.

Which brings me to this "card."

Pipp is represented as a member of the Reds which means it probably dates from 1926-28. It's actually a game piece for a popular game called, "Major League Ball-The Indoor BB Game Supreme."

From what I understand the actual team dicecuts were standard but board game players would replace the names each year to update a team's lineup. If you look close enough you can see the label glued to the card.

I don't care if it's technically a baseball card or not. What I do know is that it's a treasured part of this guys poor old baseball card collection.