If anything featuring the fiery spirit of Billy Martin can be called nostalgic or sentimental, it might be this pastel-hued treasure from Japan, which recognizes Martin participation in baseball's 1951 overseas tour of major and minor league players. Its pose and composition evoke the polish and confidence of a champion. Martin already possessed these in spades as part of New York's 1950 and 1951 World Series squads. This intimate and scarce piece, one of two graded in the combined PSA/SGC population reports, shows Martin using bromide color photography that looks years ahead of conventional 50s baseball cards.

The PSA 1 grade reflects an unusual border cut, residue along its bottom edge, and varied amounts of corner wear. Martin's own expression and poise retains great visual impact and delivers color seen on few other collectibles that era. Its challenging scarcity magnifies what this offers as a Yankee collectible and dates to a year before Martin's own 1952 Topps card, which catalogs consider his MLB rookie card.

It would be fascinating to relive Billy's own overseas experiences, given his all-out commitment to the game and team success through smarts and effort. Martin started his career with multiple seasons in the PCL, where many players joined Lefty O'Doul on tours of the Pacific Rim. As one of that touring team's recent World Series champs, we can expect Martin to receive extra acclaim and opportunities to impress their hosts, whether on the field or as official guests. This bromide could originate with that kind of recognition or as a special souvenir for fans of those exhibitions or baseball in general. Either way, a truly special piece and worthy of inclusion in any top-notch Yankees collection.