THE NAME’S THE SAME
Skilled instructors, caring parents, and good friends all played major roles in my education, but it’s likely that prior to turning ten years old I learned more from my baseball cards than I did from my parents, teachers, and peers combined.
Reading them helped boost my literacy skills. My math abilities multiplied (ha ha) from figuring batting averages from the statistics listed on the backs of those cards. I also learned an unusual life lesson thanks to my collection.
Shortly after Thanksgiving in 1966 my beloved New York Mets acquired outfielder Tommy Davis in a trade. That night at dinner I enthusiastically relayed the news to my grandfather, who was our family’s resident baseball fan. Since the Mets had just completed a season that had seen them finish ninth in a ten-team league, Grandpa was significantly less excited than I was. In an attempt to convince him of Davis’s value and armed with knowledge gleaned from three years worth of baseball cards, I informed him that the newest Met was a two-time National League Most Valuable Player who had rapped out 230 hits and driven in 153 runs in 1962; owned an impressive .304 lifetime batting average; and had helped the Dodgers get into three of the previous four World Series. Then I added an important fact that I had figured out myself, which was that Davis was such a superb athlete that in his spare time he punted and place-kicked for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League.
How did I know this? Like any knowledgeable sports fan, I watched the occasional football game on TV, and one afternoon when the 49ers were lining up a field goal try, the announcer reported that it was Tommy Davis who would be making the attempt. That was how I knew what a unique talent Tommy Davis was!
My grandfather expressed some uncertainty regarding my claim, but I dismissed his doubts as the sour skepticism of an old man who was just mad that a kid more than 70 years his junior knew more about sports than he did. Grandpa even went so far as to suggest that the Tommy Davis who kicked for the 49ers might be an altogether different fellow than the one I was so fired up over. I dismissed that suggestion immediately. Who ever heard of two different people with the same name? I mentioned the incident to one of my friends in school the next day, expecting that he’d join me in scoffing at my grandfather’s ignorance. However, not only did my friend not laugh at Grandpa’s foolish claim, he agreed with him. Soon we were arguing as loudly and bitterly as two 4th grade know-it-alls can. Finally in exasperation he challenged me to bring a photo of Tommy Davis the next day.
The following morning I arrived at school with Tommy’s baseball card tucked securely inside my lunch box. When I saw my friend on the playground he asked me to show him the card, which I did. He then opened his own lunchbox and produced a football card of Tommy Davis of the 49er’s. I was aghast! My Tommy Davis was clearly of African-American descent, and it was equally plain that his Tommy Davis was not.
At least I learned from my mistake. Later that fall my grandfather and I were watching a televised NFL game when the announcer mentioned the name Chuck Hinton. I quickly informed Grandpa that the fellow who had just made that tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers was actually not the same guy who played outfield for the Cleveland Indians. Suitably impressed, my grandfather thanked me for the information.
When I was nine a pack containing five baseball cards cost a nickel. I other day I was in a store which displayed some Topps cards. Feeling nostalgic, I went over to take a look. I was stunned! There are now six cards per pack, but the cost has skyrocketed to $1.49! That’s a 2400% per-card increase in less than half a century!
I’ve heard dozens of explanations from people with impeccable credentials regarding the reasons for the plunging SAT scores of male students in America, but now I know all their theories are bunk! The main reason for the decline isn’t video games, cell phones, calculators, or junk food.
It’s the stratospheric price of baseball cards.
Andy YoungReturn to main page
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