Rest In Peace Roman Mejias

Remembering Roman Mejias & his 1958 Topps card

In my very young years, there were no price guides, no internet and very few card shows. In the mid 1970s, even though it had only been 20 or so years, getting baseball cards from the 1950s was not easy for a pre-teen.

I can't tell you how I got the card, because I don't know, but my oldest card that I owned in my youth was a 1958 Topps Roman Mejias. I remember bragging to my friends that I had such an old card and oftentimes they didn't believe me. It was only a 20 or so year old card but back then, it was a status symbol.

Today, a 20 year old card would be 2003 and those cards are everywhere. With the internet and card shows, it wouldn't be a big deal to have your very own 1958 Topps Roman Mejias card. But back the, it was a whole different ballgame, so to speak.

For those that don't know, which I'm guessing is most of you, Roman Mejias played parts of nine years in the major leagues, mostly as a utility player. He was a starter for one season, and put together pretty sold numbers, .286, 24 homeruns 76 RBI. It's hard to believe that was his only chance to be a full time player.

I mourn Roman Mejias. Not the player himself as I never knew him and don't know anything about him. But I mourn the memory of a player who represented a small part of my youth. Rest In Peace, Roman Mejias, you are indeed a Sportscard Memory!