#tbt: the BUCK stops here

Some of the more famous Negro League players command very expensive autographs.  Josh Gibson is in the high 4 figures/low five figures numbers due to how scarce his autograph is.  Satchel Paige easily commands $500+ for a certified autograph.  Jackie Robinson is typically in the $1K+ range.

Then there's Buck Leonard.

His on card autograph fetches barely $20 many times.

He played his entire Negro League career with the Homestead Grays, batting forth behind Josh Gibson. The Grays won 9 pennants in a row behind the duo of Gibson and Leonard.  Leonard batted .391 in 1948, winning the batting title.  Many years Gibson and Leonard were battling each other for the Home Run title.  Many have heard that Gibson was known as the Black Babe Ruth, but it is less familiar that Leonard was known as the Black Lou Gehrig. The pair became known as Thunder Twins.

He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972.

He was an honorary captain at the age of 88 for the 1994 All-Star which was held in Pittsburgh, home of the Grays.

He was number 47 in The Sporting News list of top 100 players in Baseball History. 

You can read the article MLB wrote about him here.  Former MVP Ryan Howard goes into details about the Negro League star.

Merchandise of Buck is far cheaper for such a legendary player compared to his contemporaries.

Today's Andrew McCutchen card features a pinstripe from a previous Negro League Homestead Grays throwback uniform.

June 4th: This Day in Cutchstory

It's no surprise that Andrew McCutchen's MLB Debut would get some cardboard blogging love as part of my This Day In Cutchstory segments.

To start things off, here is a ticket from Andrew's MLB debut game.

Now let's take a look at some cards that look at Cutch's MLB Debut.

Topps Unique was a set released in 2009 that was sold as a high end set.  Each base card was numbered.
Did you read Cutch's Unique Rookie Moment?  I bet you didn't know that prior to today.

Topps made an insert set last year to pay tribute to some of the best.  The cards were available in different color parallels (of course), a medallion coin, and a relic version also.

The color variations may be difficult to see, but this is the bronze and silver editions.

The back mentions his unique stat.

The relic is from a Homestead Grays throwback Negro League uniform.

The medallion makes for a very heavy card.

Today Cutch faced the same team he debuted against.  The only player still with the Mets organization that played with the Mets June 4, 2009 is David Wright.  On the 8th Anniversary of his debut, Cutch went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI, 3 Runs scored and his 9th HR of the season.  Even though he is having another down year he is still leading the Pirates in Homeruns and RBI.