Does anyone collect holy cards or other funeral memorabilia for deceased ballplayers?

[Ennui Willie Keeler]

I've recently started trying to collect holy cards and other mementos of recently
deceased baseball players. I think it is a reverent way to remember
them. My grandfather had passed away soon after Christmas. It had been the
first time I had attended a funeral in quite some time and I was
struck by the beauty of the holy cards.

Since then, I've reached out to various funeral homes and received
cards for Ken Kaiser,Sam Mele, Al Luplow and Tito Francona. I'm too young to directly
remember AL Luplow, but I read about his remarkable catch at Fenway
robbing Dick WIlliams of a homer one afternoon 55 years ago. It was
mentioned in Daniel Okrent's book NINE INNINGS.

AFAICT, that is mainly a Roman Catholic tradition. But I also received bulletins from
the funerals of a couple of Protestant Red Sox hurlers, Tracy Stallard and Tom Brewer.
But the biggest name in baseball I've received a memento for to date is Bobby Doerr.

I'm batting around .300 with these requests. It seems that the less notable the player,
the more success I've had. This may seem to be an odd hobby, but there are people
who collect holy cards of unknown strangers. My collection has more of a theme.

Best regards,

EWK

[ol' aches and pains]

I don't know if anyone else collects funeral cards, but Ruth May Bond knows where the bodies are buried.

By the way, don't you ever shut up?