Carefully organized in a red three-ring binder, each one of Jim Haller’s baseball cards tells a story.
There’s his 1954 Topps card featuring Curt Roberts, the first African-American player ever to play for the Pirates in the major leagues. His 1953 Carlos Bernier card depicts the man believed to be the first nonwhite player in Pirates history. Then there’s his prized 1953 Ralph Kiner card — “the Cadillac of cards back then,” Mr. Haller, of Shaler, said — a keepsake that piqued an interest that became a lifelong obsession.
These collectibles are more than just 2.5-by-3.5-inch pieces of firm paper; they’re remnants of the past that illustrate the history of baseball and his beloved Pirates.