A great TCDB trade

I've seen some bloggers in recent weeks writing about their reticence about trading on TCDB. I've been slowly doing it more and more, and overall am having a great experience. There have been occasional instances where I've pulled cards for somebody and then they ghost me, but I've had many more good experiences than bad. This trade may be the best one yet (though it's got competition from another package that came in today).

A while ago I bought a '54 Topps Phil Rizzuto, stupidly forgetting I had one already. I compounded the stupidity by storing it poorly, with the already-weakened top part falling off. Before giving it away, I decided to see if anyone had it on their TCDB wantlist and actually collected poor-condition vintage. I found a trader named ironfireman who needed it. I sent him the Rizzuto, a couple of '70s cards and a few modern Cubs. In return, I got two fantastic cards - Yankee cards from 1939 and 1940 Play Ball.

Arndt Jorgens was Bill Dickey's backup in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He was on the roster for five World Series championships, but never played in a single game as Dickey played every inning. This is his 1939 Play Ball card.

Here is the back. At the time a player born outside the US was a rarity. After his career he joined his family's department store business, eventually owning a fairly large chain in the Midwest.

Look at the sharp corners on this 1940 Play Ball card! OK, the outside border was trimmed off, but it's still a great-looking card. Atley Donald pitched for only three World Champs, but did get to appear in a World Series, albeit briefly.

The back of this, his rookie card, notes that he set a Yankee record with 12 straight wins. That record stood until 1978 when it was broken by Ron Guidry, who was signed for the Yankees by a scout named . . . Atley Donald! After his career Donald was a longtime scout for the Yankees in Louisiana and Mississippi. Guidry was his most famous signee, but many other players he signed went on to long careers, in the majors, including Ron Blomberg, Jake Gibbs, Jack Reed and Clint Courtney.