Ten for Tuesday - Most Iconic Sports Photographs

Hey everyone, Drew back here! After a week off from my new series, Ten for Tuesday, I have returned to bring you something a little different than what we've covered thus far. Over the past month and a half, I have created lists of Hall of Famers who may not deserve to be in, the Best Switch Hitters in Baseball, the players with the best signatures in baseball, among others. But this week, we are slightly shifting gears towards what is featured on the front of the baseball cards most of my readers love: the pictures.

It is safe to say through our love for this hobby we also all share a love for photography, because it is one of the main focal points that makes collecting fun. We complain when we see a set that features the same poses in photos; card after card. We like unique, and with that I decided to highlight the ten most Iconic Photographs in Sports History for you all to feast your eyes on.

10 Most Iconic Sports Photographs of All Time

Honorable Mentions - 

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No Kirk Gibson? No Carlton Fisk? Once again, let me remind you that this is my list, and I was on the verge of putting these unforgettable scenes on this list until others surpassed them. Mazeroski set the baseball world ablaze after defeating my all powerful Yankees dynasty in 1960, while Jackie Robinson snuck his foot into home just a few years before past the man in left field who watched Maz's long fly soar over the fence; Yogi Berra (he was out, by the way). Not many were alive to watch the feeble Lou Gehrig deliver one of the most famous speeches in American sports history, but the images we do have of the event showcase just how impactful and sincere "The Iron Horse" was. And to prove that I attempt to be unbiased, the lone moment I had the pleasure of watching first hand did not crack my top ten. Sorry, David Tyree.

10 - Bobby Orr, The Goal, Taken by Ray Lussier, 1970

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If you've followed my writing long enough, you know that I am in no means a hockey connoisseur. I was proud of myself that I managed to watch a majority of the Rangers' Game 7 victory over the Capitals last Wednesday that ended in an overtime victory. But when sorting through all of these iconic sports moments, this picture of hockey legend Bobby Orr stood out. This picture was a personal reminder of how sports truly are kids games performed by adults. Orr is flying through the air like Peter Pan, the boy who famously refused to ever grow up. The photo was taken after he scored a game winning goal that gave his Bruins a Stanley Cup title over the St. Louis Blues. Their opposing defenseman Noel Picard tripped Orr after he scored the goal, which caused him to take flight, however; the photo almost appears as if he didn't need to be tripped to fly. I know I didn't put Carlton Fisk's famous home run on this list, much to many Boston fans' dismay, but I hope I made up for that with this.

9 - Michael Jordan, Winning First Championship, 1991

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There is no sports photo I find more emotionally gripping than this one. Michael Jordan may just be the most dominant athlete in the history of American sports; perhaps worldwide as well. And this Championship series victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in 1991 was his first of 6 titles, and began the first of two three-peats. He was magical throughout the series, and came away with his first of 6 Finals MVP awards. The word that comes to mind every time I see this is dedication, as nobody out worked, out hustled, or out played #23 in his prime. As tears rush down his face, we can see that the journey was most certainly worth striving for. Hint: This may not be the last we see of the greatest to ever grace the court on this list.

8 - Tommie Smith & John Carlos, Black Power Salute, 1968

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The late 1960's were a controversial period of time in American history, as the Civil Rights Movement was becoming ever more impactful nationwide. The fight for African American equal rights extended throughout all facets of culture, including the sports world. During the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, two male African Americans named Tommie Smith and John Carlos placed first and third in the 200 meter race, respectively. But their actual performance was undermined by how they chose to celebrate their achievements. They made a political statement during the Star Spangled Banner while on the winner's podium, raising their fists with black gloves to bring awareness and salute the rise of black power in the country. It was extremely controversial at the time, and will forever go down as one of the biggest political moments in sports history.

7 - US Men's Hockey Team, Miracle on Ice, Taken by Heinz Kluetmeier, 1980

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USA! USA! USA! There is nothing more patriotic than watching an underdog US Men's Hockey team defeat the Soviets in one of the greatest Olympic upsets of all time! If you've never seen the movie based off of this story, I highly recommend it. Sports Illustrated even called the "Miracle on Ice" the greatest sports moment of the 20th century, and if you really think about it, that's quite an accomplishment. The joy expressed in this photo tells the whole story.

6 - Don Larsen & Yogi Berra, World Series Perfect Game, 1956

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Ah, yes, my lone Yankees selection for the list. Baseball has existed for hundreds of years now, and the World Series has since 1903. And there has only been one perfect game thrown in that series, by the hand of relatively unknown hurler Don Larsen. Larsen's name would forever be scratched into Yankees immortality all thanks in part to his heroic performance, and the image of Yogi Berra jumping into his arms following the 27th out is absolutely priceless.

5 - Dwight Clark, Super Bowl Catch, Taken by Walter Iooss Jr., 1981

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Dwight Clark was a pretty good player for a short period of time, but he picked the right time to shine. The only football moment on this list occurred in the 1981 NFC Championship Game when Clark's 49ers took on the Dallas Cowboys; America's Team. Late in the game, the Niners were down 6 points with minimal time left on the clock, and Hall of Famer Joe Montana led the team down the field. An 83 yard drive led the team to the Cowboys' 6 yard line, where Montana would connect with Clark for a touchdown that would forever be known as simply "The Catch" and would send the 49ers to the Super Bowl; which they would win. Epic catches have been made since then (such as David Tyree and Santonio Holmes' in their Super Bowl triumphs), but this was one of the very first clutch moments in the NFL's illustrious history. And with that, Clark's leap lands 5th on our countdown.

4 - Wilt Chamberlain, 100 Points, 1962

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People often try to rank the records that will be most difficult to break. Hell, I could even write about that in the future. Chances are one of the higher ranked records would be all thanks to this legend, Wilt Chamberlain, who on March 2nd, 1962, scored exactly 100 points in a routing against my New York Knicks. Although the moment was not recognized quite like it should have been (his reward was a piece of paper that said "100" on it), but since only one player has come slightly close to his record in over 50 years (Kobe Bryant, 81 points), a mystique has been given to Chamberlain's achievement. Chamberlain averaged 50.3 points per game in the 1961-1962 season, and topped 70 points twice that season, and twice the next. Talk about domination.

3 - Willie Mays, The Catch, Taken by the Associated Press, 1954

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Many will argue that baseball's version of "The Catch" was not even Willie Mays' finest work. Regardless of how anyone may object, Mays' over the shoulder diving grab in deep right field of the Polo Grounds has been the most recognized defensive play in baseball history. This play came in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series between the then New York Giants and the Cleveland Indians. His catch and quick throw kept Larry Doby from scoring what would have been the go ahead run. Overrated or not, Mays' storied career was personified by this image; showing the effort and perseverance he put into every play for 22 years.

2 - Michael Jordan, The Shot II, Taken by Fernando Medina, 1998

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Guess who's back? Back again; MJ's back. Tell a friend. If any of these legendary players deserved multiple spots on this list, Michael Jordan is as deserving as it gets. Jordan made two particularly remarkable shots that have taken simple names "The Shot 1 & 2" in his career playoff performances. The first came in the 5th game of the Bulls' first round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1989, where his buzzer beater seemed to freeze time. The photograph of Jordan leaping in the air from his 44 point performance is another that was seriously considered for the list, but it was his second "Shot" that took home first prize among all of 23's classic memories. Jordan made this shot against the Utah Jazz to win his 6th and final NBA Finals, and it would go on to be his final shot with the Chicago Bulls. I have always loved this picture because it appears that everyone in Utah's crowd was terrified of the inevitable; that Jordan would crush every chance of them winning a title. Sure enough, he did, and they haven't appeared in the Finals since then.

1 - Muhammad Ali, Defeating Sonny Liston, Taken by Neil Leifer, 1965

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In most cases, I am not sure who will take the top spot on any of my lists until I take some time to calculate, arrange, and rearrange all of the possibilities. This list featured an absolute no brainer. Yesterday was the 50th Anniversary of the day this inspiring photo was taken by Neil Leifer in Miami Beach, Florida. Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) was underestimated the previous year against the ferocious reigning Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston, and the publicity gained by the fight rivaled our modern day Mayweather-Pacquiao showdown earlier this year. After a six round battle, Ali's moves were too quick for the aging Liston; who failed to answer the bell and was defeated by technical knockout. It was an enormous upset at the time, but Liston wasn't ready to pass the torch just yet. The next year, they were back at it in their second matchup; this time in Lewiston, Maine. This fight was much quicker for the two foes, as Ali made use of a "phantom punch"; knocking Liston onto the floor midway through the first round. This photo above was taken as Ali shouted "Get up and fight, sucka!" at Liston, who rolled in agony and defeat on the ground.

This picture represents exactly who Ali would become: a champion. He may not have been America's hero all throughout his career, but he was always must-see TV. While the two bouts ruined Liston's troubled career, they kickstarted the career of who truly was "The Greatest".

I have often said (to myself, because usually not too many people care) that if I were to own any signed picture (within reason); this would be the one. It is the epiphany of what I love about sports; dominance. I have always been infatuated with larger than life athletes who transcended their individual sports, and Ali became boxing after his career was over. No matter how "undefeated" Floyd Mayweather may be, he would never stand a chance against the man who floated like a butterfly, and stung like a be. This may forever sit atop my wish list, but as long as I continue to get the satisfaction it provides me now, I'll be okay with that.

Happy 50th Anniversary to a moment in sports we will never forget. And hats off to the rest of the moments that have created amazing fans worldwide; on this list, just short, or even just the slightest imprint of talent that may have popped off the screen one day. 

See Ya!

The Perfect Addition to my Mantle Project!

Hey guys, Drew back here. I have officially survived #Snowpocalypse2015, as online idiots may refer to those six inches of snow as. I love how every time some sort of disaster is expected nothing ever ends up happening. Anyway, we now continue my recap of my Pinstripe Pandemonium experience with a meet and greet with perhaps the most perfect man alive.

I've been recently beginning to rule out the fact that I could meet Don Larsen, until one day when his name showed up on MAB's website. Don is now 85 years old, and he isn't getting younger. I ordered my Larsen tickets in advance prior to the show to make sure that if he was there that I wouldn't miss out. However, last weekend we faced a relatively big snow storm, and 7 players cancelled from Saturday's lineup; most of whom were elderly players from Larsen's era. But Larsen still made it on Saturday and Sunday, and apparently when asked why he still wanted to go to the show even with the storm Larsen said something to the likes of "These fans are paying their money to come and meet me. So I'm going to go and meet them." You really have to love hearing things like that, especially to counter the fact that we also were under the same roof as Mr. 4 fingers himself, Jose Canseco.

Sure enough, I was fortunate enough to receive a chance to shake the hand that released the ball for 27 consecutive outs in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. Larsen still is the only pitcher to throw a perfect game in the World Series, and to be honest he may always have that legendary achievement kept to himself. With all the media, pressure, and noise in today's ballparks, I would be shocked if anyone could ever match such a feat. There wasn't much else to Don's career, but man if I'd want to be known for one particular moment, there is nothing sweeter than having one unique day with the greatest franchise in sports.

Mr. Larsen kindly obliged to sign my Mickey Mantle 16x20 directly next to his battery mate and Hall of Fame teammate Yogi Berra in the lower center area of the picture. I would've liked him to have placed it a little further in to fill in the open space, but beggars really can't be choosers. He was an extremely friendly man, and seemed to have much more energy than I would've ever believed. It was a true honor to get to say that I had a moment to share with someone as etched into Yankee lore as he is. He is the first pitcher to have throw a perfect game that I've gotten to meet thus far in my life, and what a way to kick off that list.

Thank you so much Don Larsen for the kindness displayed throughout the day and for the beautiful signature. He marks the 54th autograph on the project. We have a few more special moments to share from a magical day filled with pinstripe pride. Stay tuned for more!

See Ya!

It Appears that Joemama Stole from a Pirates Ship!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Last week, my Dad was at it again, and came home with some awesome cards from a local corner store that recently restocked in cards! I didn't see any of it coming, so it made for a great surprise! Take a look at what he gave me:

First off; this card was thrown in along with the others. It's a 1999 Flair Showcase David Cone parallel of some sort numbered 97/99. I'd never seen any of these cards before, so I don't know how rare they are, but it sounds like this particular card was quite rare for the time period. It's definitely one of the neater 1990's inserts I've seen so far!

Props to Topps Finest. All these years, Topps has executed wonderfully on the Finest product line, with a few years of exceptions. This 2002 Finest Don Larsen on card autograph is gorgeous; easily one of my favorite autographs in my Yankee collection. I have many different autographs of his (ball, bat, 8x10, several cards), but this one may be one of my favorites. 

I've acquired a ton of Yankees relics and autographs over the past few years, so I find it amazing that Dad rarely ever gets a card I already had. I was pumped when he pulled this 2001 Upper Deck Yankees Dynasty dual relic of Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera; my two all time favorite Yankee pitchers! I just rewatched the video I took of Mariano Rivera entering the first game I saw him pitch in, and boy was I pumped. "Enter Sandman" still gives me chills all these years later!

I feel bad asking for what he paid on the cards, but I'm always curious. This time, well, let's just say Dad won the battle of negotiation (if there even was any to begin with)! 

Indeed, that is a 2006 Bowman Chrome X-Fractor rookie autograph of Mr. Jose Bautista; one of today's most feared sluggers. Want to guess how much he paid? Here, use these links to help you out. Okay, if you guessed $10, then you are correct! My dad paid approximately 10% price on a card that sells for $100+!

I would jump to sell this, but I'm not sure how well my heart will feel about it. I like the Pirates quite a bit, and Bautista is one of my favorite players in the game, but this could fetch a pretty penny if I played my cards right. I may consider getting it graded, because I don't see a single issue with the card! I've never gotten anything graded before so my eye may not be keen enough to make that sort of judgment, but I think it could at least receive a 8.5-9 on a bad day.

It's just another scenario where my Dad flat out dominated the store, something he's gotten pretty good at over the years. I mean, heck, he landed us in Beckett Sports Card Monthly! Thank you so much Dad for always trying to help my collection grow. You've been a huge factor in making my hobby a home run!

Do you guys recommend grading the card? How much does it normally cost anyway? Thanks!

See Ya!

A 'Perfect' Christmas Gift!

Hey everyone, Drew back here! This month is looking worse and worse in terms of the amount of stress that I'm going to end up putting on myself. It appears that now the week of all of my mid terms won't end up with a nice, carefree weekend. Instead, I'm taking my first crack at the SAT the day after all those dreadful tests are over. Fortunately, I do have a few things to look forward to this month to keep me sane, the biggest being the White Plains card show the weekend of the 19th and 20th! The lineup is going to be stellar, and I'm looking forward to unloading a lot of precious Christmas money on some more sweet additions to my PC. Anyways, I still have a little bit more to get to with Christmas, so here's the 3rd and final autographed baseball I bought for myself this year:

In one of the nicest displays I have for any of my memorabilia rests this beautiful OAL Gene Budig ball, signed by two of the most perfect Yankees around, Don Larsen & David Wells! Of course, Wells & Larsen were two of the three Yankees in team history to throw a perfect game, Larsen's being in the 1956 World Series. The only other pitcher to throw a perfect game for the Yankees was David Cone, who I one day hope to add to the ball. Unfortunately, if I do, I might have to play with the label, possibly replacing to honor all three pitchers. 

Both Wells & Larsen inscribed the dates of their special days, making the piece even sweeter for any Yankee fan! 

Just like the Ford and Ryan lot, this ball was pre-certified by PSA/DNA, although it doesn't have any sticker on the ball. 

The piece also came with a hobby store certificate of authenticity, saying this is the 61st of 1956 balls in the series. This certificate came along with the photos above of the 2 pitchers signing the balls, to ensure even further that the autographs are real. It appears to have been at least 10 years ago, or who knows, maybe it was even before Cone threw his famous perfecto on July 18th, 1999.

When I won the auction for this ball, I knew it was going to end up being a mini project. Once I get Cone on it, I'll be much happier with the ball, but for now it still is very nice. Maybe one day it'll be a project again, if some other Yankee decides to throw a perfect game!

Anyway, thanks again mom & dad for letting me do all this on Collect Auctions, it made my Christmas even more special! See Ya!

TTM #84- Perfection at It's Finest!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Finally, after a long week of baseball, baseball, and more baseball, I got an opportunity to rest my legs for the night, and get back to you all on here! A few weeks ago, I came home to receive this incredible TTM success I sent out about 2 weeks prior. I bought the photograph at a recent card show, knowing that it would be a sweet addition to the collection. I already have gotten a few of his autographs but this one is probably the nicest of the bunch so far. Take a look:

This photograph was signed by the World Series' lone perfect pitcher, in Don Larsen! Larsen signed this picture of his final pitch of Game 5 of the 1956 World Series! What adds to the photograph in general is how the scoreboard can be viewed in the background, behind Larsen and Billy Martin, which shows 8 straight zeros, followed by three more where runs, hits, and errors are normally found. He inscribed the picture "WS PG 10-8-56", which obviously stands for World Series perfect game, and it just looks incredible in person. 

I sent Don $5 to sign the picture, but unfortunately it wasn't quite enough for his liking, as you can see on the note he left me on his price list. I haven't gotten around to getting the money out yet but I will most certainly do so in his request. It is completely worth the price I paid, especially being a huge fan of Yankees past and present history. Certainly something I'll enjoy owning in my collection!

Thank you so much Mr. Larsen for signing my picture, and to the rest of you, See Ya!

"When it was over, I was so happy, I felt like crying. I wanted to win this one for Casey Stengel. After what I did in Brooklyn, he could have forgotten about me and who would blame him? But he gave me another chance and I'm grateful." - Don Larsen

October 1st White Plains Card Show Recap! Part 6!

Hey guys, Drew back here. So, there was one thing that hadn't been posted yet that I thought deserved it's own little special post! Well, a lot of you know about Dad and I's hot streaks in the past, winning the door prizes at the shows. I mean, between Mike, Dad, and I now, we've won them 5 times. We haven't cheated, but we've just gotten an extreme amount of luck. Just before we met our Jets players, we heard that a certain Joe won the first door prize! Dad took off out of the line, claimed it and came back with time to spare! Check it out:

Yep, we won an autographed bat by Don Larsen, with the perfect game inscription! At first thought, I wondered, why the heck did they want Larsen to sign a bat, I mean, he was a pitcher after all! But then, I remembered that maybe while he wasn't known for his bat, there was no DH rule when he pitched in the 50's and 60's, meaning that he did have to hit every fifth day. And actually, after having talked to William about it, and after him doing a little research, it turns out Larsen was a career .242 hitter, with 14 career home runs! Not too bad for a pitcher! He batted .306 in 49 total at bats in 1958, clubbing 4 home runs!

Of course, the point of the piece was not to emphasize Larsen's decent hitting career but to just have a nice piece signed by a Yankees great! I'm not disappointed with this whatsoever, and I'm glad because it came with JSA Authentication and a bat tube. This is my 1st of hopefully many more signed bats to come, and I guess it's a pretty darn good start for a Yankee fan like myself!

All in all, this card show lived up to the hype I had for weeks, about meeting some former great football players, and to have a good time. Thanks so much again to Dad for taking me and treating me all day as usual, and for my good friend Matt too for coming along and checking out the hobby from our angle!

See Ya!

Great Addition to the Yankees Collection!

Hey guys, Drew back here. It's been a good day for me, why you may ask? Because, I'm prepared to take on a wonderful 3 day weekend! Not only that, but I also don't have anything to do this weekend, other than preparing for finals and hanging out with some friends. Sounds so great to me that I just had to put it in words to relieve all the horrible stress I've had lately! 

So, a week or so ago, I was surfing eBay for something new while talking to my good friend and fellow blogger William, and I found something I liked extremely fast. Usually when I use eBay I go to the Sports Memorabilia/Fan Shop section and update it by "Ending Soonest". This card literally had only 10 seconds left, and the current bid price it had just left me shocked. There was no way I was gonna pass up that deal! I quickly clicked on the auction, bid on it and snatched it up in a heartbeat. At this point, I'm so addicted to eBay that this purchase was very half-hearted and I didn't even question if I should bid on it or not, until, obviously, after I bid on it. But I won, and there was nothing I could do except erase some money from my allowance (the allowance pretty much is considered eBay credit at this point), and own a sweet new autograph...

From 2002 Topps Team Legends, I picked up this sweet Don Larsen on card autograph, for about $4 in total! The card is a reprint of Larsen's 1956 card, obviously, the year he threw his famous World Series perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Unfortunately, it took me a minute to realize that there obviously had to be something wrong with this auction, because the end price was far too cheap for a perfect auction and perfect card. I then realized that the left side of the card is damaged, almost looking like someone put 2 pieces of tape over the top left and bottom left corners and peeled it off. However, by reading in the description box, the seller said the card was pulled out of the pack in this condition. I don't know if that is true or not, however, I don't care, because it still looks awesome, and an autograph that cheap can't possibly be complained about.

All in all, the card still looks incredible, and it is now my second Larsen autograph in my collection. My plan is to send him a photo and custom for a TTM in the future, which would be really cool.

If you were in my spot, would you have bought this card knowing of the damage taking away from overall quality of the card?

See Ya!

Yankees "Perfect" Pickup

Hey guys, Drew back here. I still have a little more to talk about for the Jets game, but I'm gonna change gears to baseball for this one. At this time about every year I tend to get bored of baseball and focus more on football. The last 2 or 3 years though, I still have maintained somewhat of an interest still. This year, I'm not sure, so I decided to pick a nice card up to help that. Check it out:

2003 Topps Finest #FMA-DL Don Larsen Autograph

Don Larsen wasn't the greatest pitcher for the Yankees by any means, but he has a very special significance to the Yankees. As you all know, he's the only pitcher in World Series history to throw a perfect game! On October 8th, 1956, he left the Dodgers hitless and the Yankees won the game 2-0! Even though that was extremely long ago, when you think of Don Larsen that may be the 1st and only thing that comes to mind. Other than this game, he jumped around to a bunch of teams, even without free agency. He played from 1953-1967, and is currently 81 years young.

This card definitely looked nice for me to get, I already have a similar Goose Gossage early 2000's Finest auto. While I'm not a huge fan of the autograph on the opposite direction as the rest of the card, this one is a nice one for sure. I figured I should get one that says something about his perfect game on it, which I definitely did. Mission accomplished!

See Ya!

White Plains Card Show Recap Part IX

Hey guys, Drew back here. I hope you all notice the roman numeral differences, because the title has been the same for now 9 straight posts, just with a different numeral. If you've been thinking it's the same post every time, scroll down, and check out this cool stuff. I was debating whether to put the special part of the show here or next, but I'll do it now and the very good box break next. So, check out these amazing prizes!

PART 9:
THE POT OF GOLD!

After May 15th's crazy day we should have definitely had my dad hit up the lottery tickets! We entered all 3 door prizes, and we won all 3! One prize was the box of 2o10 Topps cards that was in like part 1 or 2, my dad won that. The first prize winner was me, and I won this...

I'll let the pics do the talking. Well, the Mets took my Yankees but a Yankee fan certainly took a Met! Sorry guys, it's not for trade by any means, it'll be in the collection for a lllllllonggggggg time!

My friend won this....

Yes, a Don Larsen auto inscribed with the perfect game date! This has a certificate too, just in case you're wondering.

We entered the contest with a minute or so to spare each time and got real lucky! Please comment and let me know what you think of these bad boys? See Ya!