TCDB trade: mzentko

 

Call it a trade or a pair of "pay it forwards" or whatever else you'd like, but I enjoyed my first dealing with Mark (mzentko) on TCDB recently. I had contacted him in hopes of getting the copy of Jim Bouton's '88 Pacific Legends base he had available (which would complete my second set), but it turned out that it was in too rough shape to make it worth it. Still, I was happy to PWE him a dupe of Stan Musial's HOF postcard since he seemed like a good dude.

Flash forward a few weeks and I found a PWE from the Tennesseean (is Tennebelievin'!) in my own mailbox. He'd found a couple cards on my wantlist and was generous enough to get me back:

It's sad to be watching the first Detroit MLB season without Mr. Tiger in my lifetime but I'm always happy to see his name in a trade package. The Swell Greats cards are among my favorite oddball issues because, well, just look at Kaline's card here! From the 1991 set--the final of its three-year run--a very nice, bright red and yellow border surrounds a classic photo of Al. This addition gets me within spitting distance of 150 of his cards, which is excellent.

As for the other item today, some of you might be a bit confused as to why I'd want something featuring catcher Moses Fleetwood "Fleet" Walker, such as the 1994 Ted Williams card you see above. Well, as it turns out, the Ohio native first starred at Oberlin College, located in his home state, but then my alma mater went hard after him and he joined Michigan for the 1882 season.

The following year he was signed by the Toledo Blue Stockings the following year, and then in 1884 that team joined the American Association, which was considered part of the majors at that time. His experience in the game was not unlike that of Jackie Robinson some 60+ years later, which is appropriate since he technically beat Jackie to the title of first black player in Major League Baseball (and inappropriate since racists are assholes).

See the back of his card below (or the linked Wikipedia entry above) for more.

I was grateful to learn more about Walker, including his time in Ann Arbor, and am honored to add him to the ex-Wolverines I collect.

Many thanks to Mark for the nice gesture, continuing my overall positive experience on TCDB!