Monday, March 8, 2010

My 2nd Charlie Grimm custom card [crickets]

I know this isn't as exciting as a new Honus Wagner or Mickey Mantle or Charley Pride custom card, but as I said a couple of weeks ago, I'm going to be spending more of my hobby time working on projects that have personal appeal to me.
Last weekend, that translated to finishing a 1955 Topps-style custom card for Charlie Grimm. I'd already done a 1956-style Grimm and wanted to boost Jolly Cholly's Topps-style card count.
Because he was under contract to Bowman, appearing in their 1953 and 1955 sets, Grimm didn't have a Topps card until 1960, as Cubs manager.
Grimm was one of my favorite Braves when I was a kid. He always seemed to have a smile on his face, even when the Braves were coming in second in the N.L. to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1955 and 1956. As an adult collector, he remained a favorite of mine, signing autographs through the mail for me on a couple of occasions.
There really not too much to say about my '55 Grimm. The portrait is a studio photo I found on the internet and colorized. The action photo is from the 1955 Johnston Cookies Braves. Sharp-eyed Braves' collectors among you might note that on the Johnston card, Grimm is facing his right. I flopped the photo to give my card better composition. I was able to do so because the "M" on the Braves' cap shows up the same in regular or mirror image, and, fortunately, when the photo of the skipper was taken at the Bradenton, Fla., spring training site, Grimm was wearing a wartm-up jacket that hid the tomahawk/script logo on his jersey.
Another lucky coincidence, appealing to my normal desire to be as accurate as I can when copying vintage card formats, is that unlike a lot of the teams in 1955 Topps, the Braves in the set can be found on every color background: blue, green, red and yellow, so I could take my pick. Right from the start, I knew I wanted to use the 1955 red background, which I believe is unique among the Braves to Mel Roach.
So, having completed the 1955 Grimm and Richie Ashburn cards in recent weeks, I'm going to shift gears for a while.
Once the NFL draft is over, I'm going to do a 1955 All-American of Tim Tebow and a 1952 Bowman-style of Dexter McCluster.
I'll be sure to share them with you when they're ready.

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