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RON REED BASEBALL CARDS

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Ron Reed was a professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1966 to 1979. Reed had a successful 14-year MLB career primarily playing for the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies. As a pitcher who enjoyed a long professional tenure, Reed has been featured on several baseball cards over the years in the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s. Let’s take a more in-depth look at some of the notable Ron Reed baseball cards from his playing career and their historical significance.

One of Reed’s earliest baseball card appearances was in the 1967 Topps set, issued during his rookie season with the St. Louis Cardinals. Sporting the familiar horizontal design Topps used for most of the 1960s, Reed’s 1967 rookie card shows him in a St. Louis batting practice jersey. This is one of the more collectible early Reed cards for fans and historians interested in tracing his career progression. Prices for a well-centered 1967 Topps Ron Reed rookie in near mint or better condition can range from around $50-$100 depending on factors like centering and condition grade.

In 1969, Reed started to establish himself as a consistent arm out of the Cardinals bullpen. He appeared that year in the 1969 Topps set, again wearing a St. Louis BP jersey on his card but with added stats noting his 4-3 record and 2.20 ERA over 45 relief appearances as a key middle reliever. Though not rare by any means as there was high production of 1969 Topps cards, this presents an affordable pick up for collectors looking to showcase Reed’s development after two years in the majors. Examples grade around $15-25 in top condition.

Reed began the 1970s continuing his solid contributions to the St. Louis pitching staff. He was featured in the 1970 Topps issue, bringing more statistical updates with a 7-4 record and 2.85 ERA through 50 games/58 innings pitched as the Cardinals won the National League East that season. This card serves as a reminder of Reed’s importance as a multi-inning reliever during St. Louis’ pennant drive. Pricing is similar to the 1969 at around $15-25 for a pristine near mint example.

1971 saw a major career turning point for Reed, as he was traded midseason from St. Louis to the Philadelphia Phillies. His 1971 Topps card, in the familiar design of that decade, is significant as the first to feature Reed in a Phillies uniform after the deal. It provides a snapshot of his transition to a new club that he would spend the bulk of his career with going forward. Values for the 1971 Ron Reed Phillies card are competitive with his earlier St. Louis issues in the $15-25 range.

Reed emerged as Philadelphia’s full-time closer following the acquisition and really began to shine in 1972. That breakout campaign was duly noted on his 1972 Topps card, chronicling his sparkling 1.81 ERA, 12 saves, and All-Star selection as the Phillies’ shut-down relief man. This marked Reed’s breakout as an elite MLB reliever and the first card to really showcase him in that prime role. In top condition with sharp corners and colors, the 1972 stands out as one of Reed’s most aesthetically pleasing and desirable cards at $35-50.

1973 saw a World Series victory for Reed and the Phillies, as he logged an 11-3 record and 1.92 ERA in support of the championship club. His 1973 Topps issue commemorated that accomplishment, representing one of the more important years in Reed’s career and collecting value at $30-45 range due to the Series attachment. He followed up with similar production in 1974, chronicled on a Topps card priced similarly.

The mid-1970s then saw Topps introduce new vertical card designs that stood out versus the decades-long horizontal template. Reed received two vertical-style cards in 1975 and 1976 Topps issues during his continued Phillies tenure. Though not quite as rare as the key 1960s and early 1970s St. Louis/Philadelphia transition issues, these vertical cards help complete Reed’s full career Topps representation and can be found for $10-15 each.

Reed’s final Topps card came in the 1979 set, his last season in the majors before retiring at age 34 with 123 career saves over 842 relief appearances spanning 14 seasons. That finale vertical 1979 issue serves as a fitting bookend to trace Reed’s journey from rookie to respected veteran over a dozen big league campaigns chronicled in annual Topps releases. In top condition with a Phillies cap, it provides a complete look at the closer’s career for $15-25.

Beyond Topps, other notable Reed baseball cards include appearances in the otherwise challenging-to-find 1972 and 1973 Fleer sets during his breakout Phillies years. Both showcase striking action photos amidst the bold black borders of those experimental Fleer issues. In top shape, the 1972 Fleer Ron Reed card around $75-100 while the ’73 ranks slightly higher between $100-150 due to brand scarcity.

In summary, Ron Reed pitched 14 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1966-1979, primarily for the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies. As a finesse reliever who enjoyed great success over a long tenure, Reed has been well-represented across multiple baseball card issues from the 1960s through 1979. Collectors can trace his career progression through affordable annual Topps releases, with key transitional and breakout Philadelphia period cards in the 1972-74 range offering standout value. Thus, Reed’s baseball cards serve as a fascinating lens into the journey of this durable pitching veteran.

JERRY REED BASEBALL CARDS FOR SALE ON COMC

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Jerry Reed was an American country musician, session guitarist, songwriter, comedian, and actor who passed away in 2008 at the age of 71. Though best known as a country music singer and for his roles in films such as ‘Smokey and the Bandit,’ Reed began his career in the 1950s as a session musician in Nashville, playing guitar on recording sessions for artists such as Elvis Presley, Chet Atkins, and Marty Robbins.

Reed likely never imagined at the height of his music career that over 60 years later, collectors would be seeking out Jerry Reed baseball cards from his time as a young athlete prior to establishing himself as a musician. A small set of rare vintage cards featuring Jerry Reed from his teenage baseball playing days in the early 1950s have become highly sought after pieces for collectors on Comic Connect (COMC), one of the largest online marketplaces for buying and selling collectibles.

Born in 1937 in Atlanta, Georgia, Jerry Reed Roberts (he later changed his name professionally to Jerry Reed) showed athletic prowess from a young age. He excelled at baseball and briefly attended Brenau College on a baseball scholarship. During his teenage years in the early 1950s, the burgeoning musician had hopes of a professional baseball career. It was around this time that a small set of Jerry Reed baseball cards were produced by Conlon Companies, likely in short print runs distributed locally in Georgia.

Only a tiny handful of these exceedingly rare Jerry Reed baseball cards are known to exist today. They depict a clean-cut teenage Jerry Reed in a baseball uniform from his time playing for the Conlon Cardinals, an amateur/semi-pro baseball team sponsored by Conlon Chewing Gum and based in Newnan, Georgia. The simple, yet historic, cards show a photo of Reed on the front alongside basic stats and info about his playing career up to that point on the back.

Because they were produced in such tiny quantities over 60 years ago specifically for local/regional distribution, finding high grade, intact examples of Jerry Reed’s baseball cards in modern times is no simple task. Serious vintage card collectors who seek out obscure and rare pieces to populate the edges of their collections covet these windows into Reed’s early life and career prior to widespread fame and fortune in country music.

As one of the most respected online marketplaces for vintage and modern collectibles, Comic Connect (COMC) frequently hosts listings of the elusive Jerry Reed baseball cards when they surface from an elderly Georgian who held onto a reminder of their community’s native son or from an estate sale of a dedicated memorabilia collector. Buyers eagerly watch for when the highly conditioned gems become available, knowing just how few high grade copies remain in the collecting population after six decades of existence.

On COMC, Jerry Reed baseball cards in top-shelf near mint to mint condition regularly sell in the $150-300 range when they pop up, with the most pristine specimens occasionally reaching the $400-500 range if two or more qualified bidders get involved in a bidding war for the rare piece of sports and entertainment history. Copies that have issues such as creasing, corners cuts or edge wear may sell in the $75-150 range depending on the extent of the flaws for more casual collectors looking to add any example of the historic card to their holdings.

Beyond their obvious rarity and appeal to vintage baseball card collectors, the Jerry Reed cards also intrigue country music and memorabilia aficionados. They represent one of the only widely distributed works that depict Reed prior to leaving behind baseball hopes to pursue music full-time. For country music historians, they offer a unique snapshot into Reed’s early life ambitions before the success of songs like “Guitar Man,” “U.S. Male,” and “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot” redefined him as an entertainer for generations.

Interestingly, Jerry Reed himself was actually quite athletically talented beyond just baseball in his youth according to those who knew him. He also showed prowess in basketball and was said to have nearly walked on to the University of Georgia basketball team before deciding to focus exclusively on a musical career. This makes his baseball cards an especially fascinating period piece from what could have been an alternate path as a professional athlete had his musical talents not developed and defined his legacy.

While Jerry Reed may primarily be remembered today as one of country music’s great singer-songwriters and character actors from the 1970s, the scant few baseball cards produced of the teenage Reed offer collectors and historians a singular portal into his early ambitions and athletic talent that nearly defined his future before the guitar became his passion and professional path. Rarely do such obscure period relics from a celebrity’s youth pop up in the collecting world, making these Jerry Reed cards highly valued one-of-a-kind editions for vintage enthusiasts when they surface on COMC or in the broader marketplace.