Cleve’s Auction Night Part 2: Hello Everybody, I Got Some George Kell

1953 Red Man and 1952 Bowman George Kell

I’ve known all week that I wanted to get the 1952 Bowman George Kell card above at Cleve's weekly auction.  I knew he was a native Arkansan, and a HOFer.    I remember from my days in the book business that he had written an autobiography “Hello Everybody, I’m George Kell”.   I knew he was the voice of the Tigers for a long time, and was one of the all time great announcers.

But I after I researched him a little more this week I knew I HAD to have some cards of him.  I realized just how BELOVED he was by Tigers fans.  I learned he was a 10x All Star, and a superb fielder.  Apparently he was an overachiever as well, born with limited natural gifts according to this article from a 1951 Baseball Digest .*  I also learned that when he won the batting title in 1949, he beat out Ted Williams by one percentage point, and it kept Williams from winning the Triple Crown.    And for what it’s worth, it appears he was a man of integrity.

Bottom line, I got a 52 Bowman of a HOFer and role model for $15.

I also grabbed the 53 Red Man card for $6 since Kell also happened to be available.  I already have two Red Man Cards, which will need to be posted at some point, and thought this would make a good addition.

Grades:

1952 Bowman George Kell $15  A:  Very excited about this card!  My first 52 Bowman, and it’s of a Hall of Famer.  Excellent pick up!

1955 Red Man George Kell $6 B+:  Nice addition to my modest Red Man collection.  It’s in good shape, and wasn’t too expensive.

*Talk about learning something new every day:  I didn’t realize old Baseball Digest articles were archived in Google Books up to 2009!  Talk about stumbling upon a gold mine!  Didn’t anyone else know this?  This is a HUGE discovery to me!