Cool autographed cards from Athletics Society ...

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The other day I blogged about Pittsburgh, so this time we'll head to the other end of the Keystone State to the Philadelphia environs and drop in on the crew from the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society.

There is no more dedicated group of fans of the game of baseball in general or the long-since-departed Philadelphia Athletics in particular, so when the Society puts together a memorabilia project, you know it’s a first-class affair.

Under the able administration of my good friend Ernie Montella, who coordinated the project, the second series of the Diamond Signatures Autographed Card Set is now available, with a miniscule 100 sets available to the public out of the total 125 produced.

There are 52 autographed cards featured in the set, with names ranging from the obscure to Hall of Famers, bedeviled to the beloved, All-Stars, journeymen and even managers and executives. There are also bonus cards of Dom DiMaggio and famed Phillies announcer Harry Kalas, both of whom died before the opportunity was there to sign their cards.

The first series was limited to 200 sets and was completely sold out, so this second effort figures to be a popular item. I took a good look at the cards: sepia-toned photos on an elegant blue background with orange spot color and a gold-foil Diamond Signatures stamp on the fronts (I apologize that the image shown here is in black and white). Virtually all the signatures are clear and precise and done in Blue Sharpie, with the retired players obviously taking great care with each signature.

A sampling of the lineup: Ralph Kiner, Bob Feller, Bobby Doerr, Carl Erskine, Frank Howard, Bobby Richardson, Bob Cerv, Johnny Pesky, Jim Lonborg, Bobby Shantz, Dalas Green, Dick Allen and a host of others.

The set is available for $299 to A’s Society members who order and pay for the set by Oct. 1 (includes insurance and postage); any left after that date will be $499, so a certain amount of urgency would seem to be in order.

Call the Gift Shoppe at (800) 318-0483 to order.