that's not gentle, ben

gentle ben was a tv show starring dennis weaver, ron howard's brother, and a bear.  it was set in the everglades.  are there bears in the everglades?  i saw a few episodes of the show thanks to mid-70's reruns, and don't recall if the bear was escaped from the circus or what.  anyway, the coolest part about the show was dennis weaver going about his job as a game warden via airboat in the swamps.

this 1953 topps ben wade card that i picked up recently looks as though it might have been run through the airboat's fan or mauled by a bear

it is trying hard to be oval, as another blogger recently said about a different vintage card (i forget which blog i read that description on - sorry, as i would like to give you credit).

the wade was a tagalong to the card i really wanted - this 1956 topps duke snider

which is in better shape and allows me to cross off the last card i needed to complete the 1956 topps dodger complete set.  yay me.

i crossed wade off of my want list, too, even though the card is in rough shape.  i doubt i will ever complete the team set for that year, so i am not going to be looking for upgrades of the cards i do have any time soon.  still, try not to let any bears maul your vintage dodger cards.