The “Under-Appreciated” Pile: Scan 7

I feel like this is getting stale with everyone. Well, I am a man of my word and I am going to keep this going. Today, I did jump on eBay, but it wasn’t for a card. I had sent my wife an eBay listing for a Game Used bat I wanted for Christmas and I was kinda snooping to see if any bids were on it. There was one, but I decided to stop watching the auction and just leave it up to surprise. Around the time the auction was ending, she was with me giving the kiddos a bath. So, there’s that. 

Today’s scan (Scan 7) is of a family member of mine. One summer when I was 8, my parents dropped me off at my grandparents house in Eastern Pennsylvania (about 3 hours away) to stay for a week. By this time I was really into sports. I played soccer, floor and deck hockey, and was on 2 baseball teams. My grandfather would toss the baseball around with me in the afternoon and we would get to chatting. One particular afternoon, he brought up a cousin of his that he said played professional football “in Atlanta”. Now, my grandfather only followed local sports like the Pirates, Penguins and Steelers and had no time for other teams. I’m pretty sure he didn’t know Atlanta’s football teams name, but that is ok, he’s a great guy and I love him dearly. He told me stories about how he would hang out with his cousin a few times a year when his parents would travel out to Kansas or his family would make the trip up to Syracuse where my grandfather spent part of his childhood. It was pretty cool to hear him speak fondly about someone who in my 8 year old mind was possibly famous. Everywhere I went I would look out for a card of my grandfathers cousin to give to him. I actually had forgotten about it after striking out at the numerous card shows I went to as a kid and also my local sports cards shops not having one in stock. 

A month or two ago, my brother and I were talking about the times we spent at my grandparents place every summer until we were teenagers. My brother did mostly science experiments, went fishing and played board games. I would go fishing, pick peaches from their peach trees, throw the baseball around and then I remembered! I asked my brother if he knew about my grandfather’s cousin playing for the Atlanta Falcons. He had no idea! That night I did an eBay search and found an autographed card of my grandfather’s cousin. Sadly, when I did an internet search, it was noted that he had passed away in 2020.

When the card came in, I told my grandfather on the phone about it. He was silent at first and then he said, “That is pretty neat! I would love to see it sometime.” I mentioned I would like to give it to him, but he insisted I keep it and pass it along to my kids someday. So, that is exactly what I am doing with it. I feel terrible that I put this card in that massive pile. Sometimes I get very overwhelmed by my cards, and they pile up. Anyways, here is the card from Scan 7:

1970 Topps John Zook RC In-Person Auto

Verdict: Appreciated.