Ted Kluszewski is on our Throw Back Thursday Vintage TBT Card for February 26, 2015

It’s time for another installment of Throw Back Thursday Vintage TBT Cards. The player on our card for today,  February 26, 2015, is Ted Kluszewski.

This is not his rookie card. You have to go back to 1949 Leaf for that. But this card was around well before my time so it works for me. This is as far as I can throwback Kluszewski from my PC.

This is card #7 of the 1954 Topps Baseball Cards release. This was a significant year for Kluszewski, one of the 4 years he was an All-Star and the year he won both the National League Home Run and RBI Leader titles. And to think, if he hadn’t been attending Indiana University at the same time the Cincinnati Reds were forced to spend Spring Training on the campus due to World War II travel restrictions, there is a chance Kluszewski might never have been spotted by a team’s groundkeeper and he might have continued to pursue his first sport, Football.

There is a lot I like about this card. It is slightly bigger than the standard card, measuring 2 5/8” by 3 3/4”. The design is very much of the time. LOVE the REDLEGS logo, the head shot, full body swing in black and white and the signature.

My preference is usually full stats but this card back has SO much going on that’s great. I’ll gladly take the condensed stats when all the other info, writeup and cartoons take up the room.

The pricing on this card can vary widely depending on condition. Kluszewski’s card is not getting the love it used to get.

If you are trying to purchase it raw (not graded or slabbed) getting it in a condition with issues should run a couple of bucks, in decent visual condition card in the neighborhood of $7 to $12, and in condition to get you a mid to upper grade about $20 and higher.

Graded versions should start around $10 to $15 for lesser grades, about $20 to $40 for really nice grades and moving into just north of $60 for a NM to Mint and moving to anywhere above $130 for the highest grades.

Enjoy this taste of Vintage and makes sure you check in Thursdays for more TBT cards.