Mailbox Joys: Deacon Jones

1963 Topps Rookie Stars #253 - Deacon Jones (Len Gabrielson, Pete Jernigan, John Wojik)

When I was searching for my counterfeit Rose rookie, I came across a few other rookie cards from the 1963 Topps set. This one caught my eye for two reasons. One; I discovered that I had overlooked this card when I was making my original White Sox '63 Topps list. Two; I was checking out this card for someone else and discovered a White Sox player in the lower left hand corner.

It was like stumbling across the Holy Grail or something of equal or lesser value. I jumped on the auction and ended up being the only bidder, which was fine by me. I didn't intend to get into a bidding war over this card. One bid would have knocked me out.

What struck me as odd was the choice of teams. Two Sox teams, who never left their respective cities after establishing themselves in the majors. Two teams who are caught in the second of each of their three city legacies. Out of the four, only one is from the National League. Out of the four, only one name doesn't make my spell checker spew smoke.

I am one card closer to completion of the White Sox 1963 Topps master team set. That may be the best news of all.