Merry Christmas to us all!

Let me start this post by wishing you a Merry Christmas, if you're someone who celebrates this day.

I'll feature my Christmas present here, which is my first card from the 1940s.  It's a 1940 Play Ball Jimmie Foxx PSA 5.  This becomes my oldest card by a good 11 years (I have posted my two 1951 cards before, a Topps Red Back of Ray Boone and a Bowman Richie Ashburn).

1940 Play Ball Jimmie Foxx.

I've read that Jimmie Foxx was underappreciated in his day; Babe Ruth had the career home run record, and Foxx was second and far behind Ruth.  He may not have been Babe Ruth, but Foxx was awesome.  And, while he may have been underrated, it's not like he was unnoticed -- he was a three-time MVP and nine-time All-Star, and made the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.

1940 Play Ball Jimmie Foxx card back.

Foxx is from my neck of the woods in a general sense, being from the Delmarva Peninsula.  He specifically is from Sudlersville, on Maryland's Eastern Shore, about 40 miles from my hometown of Newark, DE.  While the card features him with the Red Sox, he is best known, I think, for his time in Philadelphia, playing for Connie Mack and the A's.  Other than the A's and the Red Sox, he took a brief turn in the NL with the Cubs and then the Phillies at the end of his career.  One thing I appreciate about the Phillies is that they uphold some of the A's history as a Philadelphia team; they have the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame, honoring both Phillies and A's, and naturally Foxx was the second of the A's so honored, after Mack.

I'm glad to have this card added to my collection.  I might consider getting some more 1940 Play Ball, which, incidentally, are also from Philadelphia, as the back of the card shows.