Card Spotlight: 7-4-08

What can be better on the Fourth of July than baseball? Sure, there are family, friends, food and fireworks... the big four Fs. But the National Pastime deserves some recognition too.

What better way to spend the United States' birthday than with baseball cards celebrating a slice of Americana. A concept that may or may not involve Donruss.

I chose to spotlight this card of "Jungle Jim" Rivera. He was part of the 1959 team that went to the World Series. Plus, I just won this off of eBay for 99 cents. It should be here sometime next week.

In this card, Jim seems to be celebrating his independence from the field of play by leaping into the stands. He is also shown looking majestically at something in the distance. Perhaps a flag? It's hard to tell what someone was doing 20 years before you were born. Overall, this is a great card from an overlooked set.

This was the last regular set made by Topps before the standardized size came into play in 1957. So, in a way, this is a piece of American history right here. All things aside, I just like the card.