Cards That Never Were

1969 Topps Deckle Tommy Davis

2012-02-26T05:49:00.000-08:00

Seattle Pilots CTNW Fan Favorites #2

I'm putting together 5 "Cards That Never Were" fan favorites from each team. These are not necessarily the 5 best players from the franchise. So as David Letterman used to say before Stupid Pet Tricks, "This is only an exhibition. This is not a competition. Please, no wagering."

Another Pilot who played for both the Cubs and the White Sox, Tommy Davis led the 1969 Pilots in RBIs despite spending the last month of the season playing for the Houston Astros. Davis had a career high 20 stolen bases in 1969, 19 of them for the Pilots. Davis played on 10 different teams from 1966-1976, Dodgers, Mets, White Sox, Pilots, Astros, A's (twice), Cubs (twice),Orioles, Angels and Royals.

1969 Topps Stamp Bob Locker

2012-02-24T05:11:00.000-08:00

Seattle Pilots CTNW Fan Favorites #3

Bob Locker was traded to the Pilots from the White Sox in June of 1969. He was 3-3 with 6 saves and a 2.18 ERA. Decent numbers but nothing great. So why am I including him as a CTNW Fan Favorite? Because I'm a homer. Bob Locker spent most of his career in Chicago. He started his career on the South Side in 1965 and ended his career on the North Side in 1975. He came to the Cubs along with Manny Trillo as part of the trade that sent Billy Williams to the Oakland A's.

1969 Topps Decal Jim Bouton

2012-02-22T03:09:00.000-08:00

Seattle Pilots CTNW Fan Favorites #4

My last post featured a rising star, this one is in the other direction. After 7 years on the Yankees, Jim Bouton played for Seattle in 1969 before being traded to Houston in August of 1969. He was cut by the Astros in 1970 and became a sportscaster for WABC-TV in New York. Bouton last appeared on a Topps card in 1968 as a Yankee. After his 1969 book "Ball Four" he was unoficially blackballed by the Yankees for several years.

I started this as Top-5 series of the short-lived Seattle Pilots. It is turning into a tribute to the different Topps products of 1969. The Pilots only played one season and I didn't want to use the same format over and over. So here is what Bouton would have looked like had he been featured on a 1969 Topps Decal.

1969 Topps Lou Piniella

2012-02-20T06:48:00.000-08:00

Seattle Pilots CTNW Fan Favorites #5

The Pilots played exactly one season on the MLB.An inadequate stadium, lack of cash flow and poor management decisions resulted in the Pilots being sold to a Milwaukee car dealer named Bud Selig. An example of poor management decisions was the decision to trade Lou Piniella to the Royals after spring training in 1969. The decision was based on his salary more than his performance. Piniella was a 26 year old rookie who was set to earn $175,000. Piniella went on to win the Rookie os the Year award for the other AL expansion team, the Kansas City Royals in 1969.

Piniella had a few false starts, coming up for a "cup of cofee" for the Orioles in 1964 and the Indians in 1968. Topps considered him enough of a prospect to appear on 3 different rookie cards.

1982 Topps Mickey Mantle

2012-02-19T07:04:00.000-08:00

Here is the 1982 version of Mickey Mantle. Part of my running theme of trying to beat Topps to the punch by placing Mantle on the cards Topps hasn't yet, 1971-1995. In the past few months Topps has already beaten me to 1975 and 1987.

1975 Topps 1962 Rookies of the Year

2012-02-17T13:29:00.000-08:00

In 1962 both Rookie of the Year players made their way onto a regular issue Topps card. Both players also had short careers, but for different reasons.

Tresh's 1962 season was spent as a replacement at shortstop for 1957 Rookie of the Year Tony Kubek who was on military leave. He batted a career high .286 which was 41 points higher than his career average. He also hit .321 in the 1962 World Series including a 3 run blast in game 5 that proved to be the winning shot. When Kubek returned Tresh moved to the outfield where he would earn a Gold Glove in 1965. When his batting average diminished the Yankees traded him to the Tigers in 1969 who then released him in 1970.

Ken Hubbs was another great fielder but poor hitter. He was the first player to earn a Gold Glove in his rookie year. He also led the league in strikeouts and grounding into double plays in 1962. In 1963 his batting average dropped from a somewhat respectable .260 to .235. Hubbs crashed his private aircraft in February 1964 in Utah. Topps release a "In Memoriam" card featuring Hubbs in 1964.

Ken Hubbs would appear on one more card in 1966 when Topps inadvertently used his photo on a Dick Ellsworth card.

1972 Topps Dick Allen In Action

2012-02-15T10:36:00.000-08:00

Chicago White Sox CTNW Fan Favorites #1

This card combines my favorite picture of one of my favorite players from my favorite team on my favorite set of baseball cards. Dick Allen had just an awful card in 1972 (his MVP season). It was an old picture of him in a Phillies uniform which Topps tried to pass off as a Cardinals uniform in 1970 then again as a White Sox uniform in 1972.

Because the Sox are my favorite team, this list could have gone on forever. I'm sure I missed several of your favorites because I missed several of mine. Wilbur Wood, Minnie Minoso, Nellie Fox, Carlton Fisk, Bill Melton, Al Smith just to name a few. I could probably make a whole blog just on them.

Video Checklist -Series 5

2012-02-13T05:24:00.000-08:00

Attention all planet of the Solar Federation...

Here is my 5th series of Cards That Never Were. This series had some different cards. There were two cards that already existed but I made new cards anyway, 1974 Glenn Beckert and 1960 Frank Howard. 3 Rush cards to commemorate "National Rush Day", 2.1.12. A whole series of Fleer Cards That Never Were, and I started a new theme of CTNW Fan Favorites.

1964 Topps Checklist - Cards That Never Were - 5th Series

2012-02-12T08:17:00.000-08:00

Taking a brief break from the 5 White Sox CTNW Favorites to post a checklist of my 5th series of "Cards That Never Were". I put my 101st through 125th cards on a Topps 1964 checklist card. Looking over the list, I just have to wonder: is there any other blog that would feature Geddy Lee, Mickey Mantle and Richie Zisk in a row? I wonder if those 3 names have ever appeared in the same sentence.

1970 Topps Luis Aparicio All Star

2012-02-10T03:16:00.000-08:00

Chicago White Sox CTNW Fan Favorites #2

Luis Aparicio started on the White Sox in 1956 leading the AL in stolen bases and winning Rookie of the Year. He continued leading the league in stolen bases every year until 1965. A 10 time All Star and 8 time Gold Glove, Luis played for the Sox from '56-'62 and '68-'70. The White Sox retired his number in 1984.

In the 1970 All Star game Luis Played all 12 innings at shortstop for the AL team. He went 0 for 6 in a 5-4 loss. I was tempted to make a 1968 or 1969 card to replace the terrible hatless pictures of him wearing an Orioles jersey. But technically those wouldn't be "Cards That Never Were". They would just be replacements for cards I hate.

1981 Donruss Harold Baines

2012-02-08T06:59:00.000-08:00

Chicago White Sox CTNW Fan Favorites #3

Harold Baines had rookie cards on both Topps and Fleer in 1981 but once again Donruss missed the boat. Baines was part of the White Sox 1980 rookie class that included pitchers Richard Dotson and Britt Burns. Joined by veterans Tom Paciorek, Greg Luzinski and Carlton Fisk, Baines made a huge contribution to the "Winning Ugly" Sox of 1983.

He was traded to the Rangers in 1989 for Wilson Alvarez, Scott Fletcher and Sammy Sosa. He returned to the Sox in 1996-1997 and 2000-2001. He joined the White Sox coaching staff in 2004 and will remain this season under new manager Robin Ventura.

1990 Donruss Frank Thomas

2012-02-06T08:23:00.000-08:00

Chicago White Sox CTNW Fan Favorites #4

Frank Thomas played his career in the junk box era so it's hard to find a "Card That Never Was". In his rookie year alone he had cards by Topps, Bowman, Fleer, Score and Leaf. Somehow Donruss missed the boat. I'm here to right that wrong by featuring a young Frank Thomas on one of the ugliest cards ever produced.

Thomas was called up in August of 1990 and hit .330 with 7 homers. In his first full season he would hit .318 with 32 homers finishing 3rd in MVP voting. Unfortunately he had too many at-bats in 1990 to qualify for Rookie of the Year in 1991. He would go on to be a 2 time MVP, a 5 time All Star and a 4 time Silver Slugger.

1977 Topps Richie Zisk

2012-02-05T10:02:00.000-08:00

Chicago White Sox CTNW Fan Favorites #5

I am starting a new theme. I'm putting together 5 "Cards That Never Were" fan favorites from each team. These are not necessarily the 5 best players from the franchise. So as David Letterman used to say before Stupid Pet Tricks, "This is only an exhibition. This is not a competition. Please, no wagering."

Richie Zisk spent exactly one year on the White Sox. He was part of the 1977 Southside Hitmen that included Oscar Gamble and Eric Soderholm. The team hit a franchise record 192 home runs and went on a tear in July winning 22 games only to lose 18 games in August. Although they finished the season in 3rd place they had improved on a record of 64-97 in 1976 to 90-72 in 1977.

Traded to the Sox in December of 1976, Zisk appeared as a Pittsburgh Pirate on the 1977 Topps card. Topps would airbrush him into a White Sox uniform for the 1977 Cloth Sticker set. He was signed as a free agent by Texas in November of 1977. This gave Topps enough time to airbrush him into a Rangers uniform for the 1978 set.

1981 Topps Mickey Mantle

2012-02-03T04:47:00.000-08:00

In May Topps will produce another Archives set. The base cards will use the 1954, 1971, 1980 and 1984 format. I would not be surprised to see The Mick on any or all of these formats although the 1954 "Missing Mantle" has been done several times.

Upper Deck made one to coincide with the 1954 Archives set in 1994. Topps made one in 2011as part of the "Lost Cards" subset. They also released an eTopps version in 2006 and made a 72 card set in 2007 called The Mickey Mantle Story base on the 1954 card. If you want to see my version of the 1971 Topps Mantle Click Here. If you want to see my version of the 1980 Topps Mantle Click Here. If you want to see my version of the 1984 Topps Mantle you will have to wait, but I still should have time to get to it before the Archives set is released.

2-1-12

2012-02-01T03:13:00.000-08:00

In honor of today's date 2-1-12, I've made some custom Rush cards. I figure this is the closest any of us will get to the actual 2112. Still one of my favorite albums by one of my favorite bands.

In case you're wondering, that's Neil Peart behind his Hockey Night in Canada Drum kit on a 1981 O Pee Chee hockey card. Alex is on a 1975 Topps All Star baseball card and Geddy is wearing what appears to be a Warren Cromartie Montreal Expos jersey on a 1973 Topps baseball card. I assume it is Cromartie's jersey because Cromartie wore #49 for the Expos from 1974-1983 and on the Signals album the "Warren Cromartie Secondary School" bordered the subdivision on the back cover.

1975 Topps 1961 Rookies of the Year

2012-01-30T13:16:00.000-08:00

In 1961 the Rookie of the Year awards went to a pitcher for a 6th place team and an outfielder for a 7th place team. This was the first time both Rookies of the Year played for losing teams.

Don Schwall led the pitching staff on the Red Sox with 15 wins. That would end up being his career high. He was traded to the Pirates in 1962 and eventually to the Braves where he was released in 1967.

Billy Williams would go on to have a Hall of Fame career. He was a 6 time All Star and was runner-up in MVP voting twice. Both times losing out to Johnny Bench. He ended his career as a DH for the Oakland A's in 1976.

1961 Topps Don Schwall

2012-01-29T13:17:00.000-08:00

Don Schwall's rookie season turned out to be the best season of his career. He won 15 games for the 6th place Red Sox and received 7 of the 20 votes cast for Rookie of the Year narrowly beating out future Yankee skipper Dick Howser. Another Red Sox rookie in 1961 was future Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski. Schwall pitched 3 inning of the 1961 All Star game held in Fenway Park. He surrendered the NL's only run as the game ended in a 1-1 tie at the end of 9 innings.

1980 Fleer Steve Stone

2012-01-27T11:12:00.000-08:00

Finally in 1980 Fleer would have a significant change in its football card design. Also in 1980 Fleer won the antitrust suit against Topps and the Players' Union. In 1981 they could begin printing cards but Topps retained a monopoly on cards packaged with gum. Fleer would insert sticker similar to those they sold in packs with gum in the '60s and 70's. Donruss would insert puzzle pieces. I understand that initially cards were used to help sell gum, but by 1981 the cards were the main attraction. Not the gum, not the stickers, not the puzzle pieces, certainly not the cookie inserted in the 1963 Fleer baseball card packs.

The 1980 AL Cy Young winner Steve Stone had a career year on a steady diet of curveballs. He ended up winning 25 games during the regular season but it took a toll on his arm. In the post season he only pitched 2 innings in relief giving up 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks. In 1981 he went 4 -7 and retired at the end of the season.

1979 Fleer Bruce Sutter

2012-01-25T13:25:00.000-08:00

In 1979 the Fleer football set had a few minor changes by adding a little color to the same basic design. Still 2 years away from their re-entry into baseball, this was Fleer's sole sports card set.

Bruce Sutter was the NL's Cy Young award winner in 1979 leading the league with 37 saves. He was the winning pitcher of the All Star game for the second year in a row in 1979. In the next two All Star games Sutter would record the Save.

1978 Fleer Ron Guidry

2012-01-23T09:27:00.000-08:00

The 1978 version of the Fleer football cards were literally a just yellow border on the 1977 version. Apparently the focus was on the action photos featured on the cards, not the design.

The 1978 AL Cy Young award winner was Ron Guidry. Guidry led the league in wins, shutouts, ERA and was second only to Nolan Ryan in strikeouts. He also had a spectacular post-season. He won the one game playoff against the Red Sox. He won the final game of the AL Championship against the Royals. He also got a complete game win in game 3 as the Yankees beat the Dodgers 4 games to 2 in the World Series.

1977 Fleer Steve Carlton

2012-01-22T06:22:00.000-08:00

In 1977 Fleer continued to make football cards featuring official logos but not the players' names. These cards advertised "Live Game Photos" which were few and far between on Topps cards of that era. Here is 1977 Cy Young award winner Steve Carlton on what would have been a baseball version of that set.

In 1977 Carlton won his second of four Cy Young awards. His league leading 23 wins helped the Phillies win the NL East. His luck ran out in the playoff. He gave up 9 runs in 11 2/3 innings as the Dodgers won 3 games to 1.

1976 Fleer Randy Jones

2012-01-20T15:07:00.000-08:00

After losing the battle to Topps in 1963 Fleer wouldn't make cards featuring active baseball players until 1981. They also stopped making football cards with Topps and Philadelphia printing AFL & NFL cards respectively. In 1976 Fleer began making football cards with active players again. They had a contract with the NFL but not with the Players' Union. So while Topps could print cards featuring players they could not use copyrighted team logos. Fleer on the other hand could use team and league logos but not the players' names.

Here is Randy Jones as he would have appeared on a 1976 Fleer issue. After coming in 2nd to Tom Seaver in the 1975 Cy Young voting he secured the 1976 Cy Young award by leading the league in wins and complete games. All this while playing for the 5th place Padres. He was named starting pitcher the All Star game. He pitched 3 scoreless innings and earned the win. After the 1976 season he had surgery and never regained his Cy Young form.

1962 Fleer Don Drysdale

2012-01-18T13:25:00.000-08:00

In 1962 Fleer didn't issue a baseball card set. It did issue baseball stickers (see the Fleer Sticker Project). It also issued a nice looking set of AFL football cards. I used these cards to further my theme of putting active MLB players on pre-1981 Fleer cards.

The 1962 Cy Young award winner was Don Drysdale. He led the league in victories with 25 and strike outs with 232. He was named starting pitcher in the first of two 1962 All Star Games. He pitched 3 scoreless innings but didn't get the decision in the NL's 3-1 victory.

1961 Fleer Whitey Ford

2012-01-16T07:35:00.000-08:00

In 1961 Fleer again put out a set of Baseball Greats. With Ted Williams retiring at the end of 1960, this set contain no active players. If Fleer had included active players in this set, this is what the 1961 Cy Young award winner's card might have looked like.

In 1961 Whitey Ford had a career high 25 wins. He also had his second highest career ERA but he had run support from Mantle and Maris in their chase for the home run record. Ford won the 1961 World Series MVP by pitching a complete game shutout in game 1 and pitching 5 innings of the game 4 shutout of the Reds.

1960 Fleer Vern Law

2012-01-15T08:30:00.000-08:00

In 1960 Fleer release a set of Baseball Greats. This set featured retired players, managers and executives plus one active player, Ted Williams. Continuing the theme, I put the 1960 Cy Young Award winner, Vern Law on a 1960 Fleer card.

Vern Law won 20 games for the 1960 World Series Champion Pirates. In the World Series he won game 1 and game 4 and started game 7. He left game 7 with the Pirates up 4-1 in the 6th but didn't get the decision. The Yankees stormed back and ultimately the Series was won on Mazeroski's memorable homer. Law also pitched in both All Star games in 1960. He earned the save (not an official stat in 1960) in the first game and the win in the second All Star game.

Vern Law was also the father of Vance Law a utility infielder for both the Cubs and the White Sox.

1959 Fleer Early Wynn

2012-01-13T11:47:00.000-08:00

In 1959 Fleer had an exclusive contract to produce Ted Williams cards. Topps could not make cards featuring the Splendid Splinter and Fleer couldn't make cards of virtually every other active Major Leaguer. Over the next few posts I plan to make Fleer cards that might have been. I'll take Cy Young Award winners and put them on Fleer sports cards that were issued before 1981 when Fleer and Donruss began competing with Topps.

Here is the 1959 Cy Young Award winner as he might have appeared on a 1959 Fleer card if Topps didn't have a virtual monopoly on baseball cards. I used the format of the 1959 Fleer Ted Williams set.

In 1959 Early Wynn won the Cy Young and led the AL in wins for the AL Champs, the Chicago White Sox. He also came in 3rd in MVP voting behind teammates Nellie Fox and Luis Aparicio.

1975 Calbee Frank Howard

2012-01-11T08:33:00.000-08:00

After being released by the Detroit Tigers at the end of the 1973 season, Frank Howard was signed by the Taiheiyo Lions. He had exactly one at bat in 1974. He struck out and injured his back. After retiring from playing Howard continued as a coach for several teams including the Brewers, Yankees, Devil Rays and Mariners and he managed the Padres and the Mets.

The 1975 Calbee cards came in packages of chips and looked suspiciously similar to the 1975 Topps baseball cards. With a little help from Google Translator, I was able to figure out where to put his name, position and team on the card.

1975 Topps 1960 Rookies of the Year

2012-01-09T15:41:00.000-08:00

In 1960 Frank Howard was selected NL Rookie of the Year with 50% of the votes powered by his 23 home runs. He went on to hit double digit dingers every year until leaving the Majors at the end of the 1973 season.

Ron Hanson received 22 of the 24 votes cast for AL Rookie of the Year. The other 2 votes went to Oriole teammates Chuck Estrada and Jim Gentile. In 1968 Hansen had the distinction of being traded for the same player twice in one year. In February the White Sox traded Hansen to the Senators in a 6 player trade that included Tim Cullen. In August the Senators sent Hansen back to the White Sox for Tim Cullen. It was the first time the same two players were traded for each other in the same season in the history of the MLB.

1960 Topps Frank Howard

2012-01-08T04:19:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know there actually was a Frank Howard card issued for the 1960 set. I wanted to make a base card of him for his Rookie of the Year season. I've had a running theme of putting the Rookies of the Year on the 1975 Topps MVP cards. Now I'm getting to a point in Topps history where if the player does have a card, many are on rookie cards or multi-player cards. I think that in order to give a good representation of that year's set, I need to have at least one standard issue card.

After short stints in the majors in 1958 and 1959, Howard hit 23 homers and 77 RBIs in 1960 which was enough to put him at the top of a rookie class that included teammate Tommy Davis and future Hall of Famer, Ron Santo.

1974 Topps Glenn Beckert Redone

2012-01-06T10:25:00.000-08:00

This post started out as a comment on a post on Wrigley Wax. (A fun site with quite a few custom Cub cards.) His blog suggested that Glenn Beckert was slighted by Topps in 1974 because rather than doing a typically terrible airbrush job, they left him in his Cubs uniform but on a San Diego Padres card.

Personally, I liked the action shot Topps used in 1974 and suggested he should have appeared on a Cubs card and airbrushed into a Padres uniform on a 1974 Traded card.

I took the original picture from Beckert's 1974 card and made it a Cubs card and took the airbrushed card that was posted on Wrigley Wax and turned it into a Traded card. I took the liberty of making it a Washington "Nat'l Lea." short print just because I though it would look cool.

Thanks Paul for letting me borrow your image and letting me take your original idea and beat it like a dead horse.

1980 Topps Mickey Mantle

2012-01-04T14:56:00.000-08:00

Topps is determined to put Mickey Mantle on every card that they ever made. I am determined to get to some of them in before they do. The first card I made for this blog was the 1971 Topps Mantle. At that point there was 25 years of Topps cards issued without Mantle (1971-1995). Shortly afterward, Topps included a 1975 mini in the Lineage set that came out last fall. Next month Topps will include a 1987 mini card as an insert in the 2012 base set. This is my first card in the '80 and my 9th Mantle overall of the 23 that Topps hasn't made. Yet.

Video Checklist -Series 4

2012-01-02T07:20:00.000-08:00

Here is the 4th set of 25 cards. Last time around, I noticed that the 3rd series was all Topps. This time I promised more variety and I have Donruss, Fleer, Bowman, T-205 and even a Japanese Menko card.

1987 Topps Mickey Mantle

2012-01-01T07:11:00.000-08:00

Just saw this one online. Topps is releasing this as in insert in the 2012 set. Since I've started taking on the missing Mantles, Topps has put out the 1975 version in the Lineage set this Fall and now the 1987 version is going to be part of the 2012 base set. Both of these cards are minis. In 1975 Topps tested out the mini version regionally. In 1987 Topps did issue a 77 card Mini Leaders set that had the same woodgrain background but was not the same design as the 1987 regular issue. But apparently the mini '87 inserted in this set are the same design as the 1987 regular issue cards.

1963 Fleer Checklist - Cards That Never Were - 4th Series

2011-12-30T08:10:00.000-08:00

Here is my fourth checklist with cards from 76-100. Seems like a nice even number to end the year on. My first checklist used the 1961 Topps format. I chose that because it was the first year Topps produced checklists as part of the set instead of unnumbered inserts or on the back of team cards. I followed with 1962 and 1963 Topps checklists. For the 4th series I decide to use the 1963 Fleer checklist instead of going straight to 1964. It's a nice looking card from a good looking set, just too hard to pass up.

I started this blog in June. Since then there have been 100 cards plus 4 checklists. 2012 looks to be a good year for baseball cards. The Topps base set looks nice and the Heritage set is base on the 1963 set which I always liked. Plus Topps is putting out another Archives set.

Happy New Year.

1969 Topps Joe DiMaggio

2011-12-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

Joe DiMaggio was a Bay Area native and bagan his professional baseball career at the age of 17 playing for the San Francisco seals. He also ended his baseball career in the Bay Area. When the Kansas City Athletics moved to Oakland, the "Yankee Clipper" was thier batting coach in 1968 and 1969.

1963 Fleer Kris Kringle

2011-12-26T07:30:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas

1911 T-205 Saint Nicholas

2011-12-24T12:07:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas.

1955 Bowman Santa Claus

2011-12-22T14:14:00.000-08:00

I was looking to do a few "Christmas Cards" and wanted to see what else was out there before I started. That's when I came across the 2007 Topps Christmas Set. See images below. I had no idea these existed. I may have to pick up a set on eBay.

Merry Christmas!

1970 Topps Nellie Fox

2011-12-19T09:12:00.000-08:00

I came across this picture of Nellie Fox as coach for the Senators standing next to Frank Howard and thought it needed to be shared. Baseball-Reference has Nellie listed as 5'10" 160lbs (a bit generous) and Hondo at 6'7" 255lbs. Even with Fox standing on first base, Howard dwarfs him.

Nellie Fox's last Topps card showed him as "2nd Base-Coach" for the Astros in 1965. Although he played his last game in 1965 he continued as coach for the Astros through the 1967 season. He coached the Senators from 1968-1971 and moved with the franchise to Texas for the 1972 season.

1965 Topps Traded Warren Spahn

2011-12-18T05:49:00.000-08:00

At the end of the 1964 season the Braves sold the 44 year old Spahn's contract to the New York Mets. Span pitched and acted as coach for the Mets until he was released on July 17th. Two days later the Giants signed Spahn who went 3-4 for the remainder of the season. After retiring from the mound, Spahn coached in the Cardinals, Indians and Angels organizations. He also coached in Japan and the Mexican Baseball League.

1954 Topps Ralph Kiner

2011-12-16T10:25:00.000-08:00

The 1954 Topps set did not include Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner. That's not surprising given the issue with players signing contracts at the time exclusively with either Topps or Bowman. What is disappointing is that his card also wasn't included in the 1994 Archives set. Topps expanded the 1953 set in its 1991 Archives by 57 cards but the 1994 Archives set was only expanded by 8 "Rookie Prospects". I think they missed an opportunity to include several great players like Kiner.

1981 Donruss Willie McCovey

2011-12-14T11:27:00.000-08:00

Even though his last game was in June of 1980, Fleer included a card of Willie McCovey in its 1981 set. Topps didn't make a 1981 McCovey Card but if you would like to see what it might have looked like check out Uncle Doc's Closet. With those two cards out there, I felt that Donruss needed some representation.

1975 Topps 1959 Rookies of the Year

2011-12-12T17:38:00.000-08:00

Here is the 1959 edition of my recurring theme putting the ROY's on the 1975 Topps MVP cards.

In 1959 Topps made the first of its Rookie Stars cards which featured mostly forgettable players and the American League Rookie of the Year, Bob Allison. I considered making Willie McCovey's card similar to Allison's but made a regular issue card because I thought it would look better on this card. It gives the 1975 card a better representation of the 1959 set.

Allison played for the Senators until they moved to Minnesota in 1961. He continued to play for the Twins until he retired at the end of the 1970 season.

McCovey Played for the Giants until 1973 when he was traded to the Padres. He was purchased by the A's at the end of the 1976 season. He returned to San Francisco in 1977 where he retired in 1980.

1959 Topps Willie McCovey

2011-12-11T06:51:00.000-08:00

Willie McCovey's 1959 season started with him hitting 29 homers for the Giants' AAA team in Phoenix. In late July he was brought up to the Giants where he hit .354 with 13 homers in just 52 games. He was the unanimous winner of the N.L. Rookie of the Year.

The Giants already had 1958 Rookie of the Year, Orlando Cepeda, at first base but had to make room for McCovey so they sent Cepeda to the outfield. Over the next several seasons both natural firstbasemen would have all-star seasons in the outfield as well as at first for the Giants.

1963 Fleer Ernie Banks

2011-12-09T10:40:00.000-08:00

With only 66 cards issued before Topps slammed the door shut, the 1963 Fleer set has a lot of potential for "Cards That Never Were". Here is one of my all time favorite players who didn't make the first series. Ernie Banks was one of several Hall of Famers not in this set. In 1998 and 2003 Fleer created cards of several missing players for their "Tradition" Sets, but an Ernie Banks card was not one of them.

1968 Topps Luke Appling

2011-12-07T19:33:00.000-08:00

After his Hall of Fame playing career ended, Luke Appling coached in minor and major league organizations of the White Sox, Orioles, Tigers, Indians, Braves and Athletics. His only chance as a big league manager came in late 1967 after the A's parted ways with Alvin Dark. Appling managed the team to just 10 wins in their last 40 games. By the start of 1968 the A's were in Oakland and Bob Kennedy was their new manager.

1976 Topps Ron Santo Hall of Famer

2011-12-05T09:49:00.000-08:00

Today Ron Santo has finally been elected to the Hall of Fame. He received 15 of 16 votes by the veteran's committee. This is a repost of a card I made for my other blog Six Degrees of Ron Santo.

1979 Topps Mickey Mantle

2011-12-04T06:30:00.000-08:00

Here is the final Mantle card of the '70s. Mantle's final game was in 1968 and his final regular issue Topps card was in 1969. But in 2006 Topps issued a Wal-Mart exclusive insert in the 1970 format and earlier this year a 1975-mini version was included in the 2011 Lineage set. The other 8 can all be found on this blog.

1974 Topps Traded Orlando Cepeda

2011-12-02T06:21:00.000-08:00

This is my first attempt at the airbrushed cap that Topps did so well in the '70s. (Ok maybe not well but often)

The former Rookie of the Year injured his knee in 1971 with the Braves and his numbers began to decline. He was traded to the A's in 1972 where he played in 3 game without a hit then underwent another surgery to his knee.

When the MLB created the designated hitter, Cepeda was signed by the Red Sox as the first played contracted to play DH exclusively. He played one more year in Kansas City playing part time and retired at the end of the season.

1975 Topps 1958 Rookies of the Year

2011-11-30T14:04:00.000-08:00

Here is the 1958 edition of my recurring theme putting the ROY's on the 1975 Topps MVP cards.

Once again with more series and a larger set, Topps managed to produce cards for both Rookie of the Year players in 1958.

Albie Pearson struggled after his rookie year and was traded to Baltimore. In 1960 he was selected in the expansion draft by the L.A. Angels where he got back on track. He was the starting centerfielder on the 1963 A.L. All Star Team and went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. He retired in 1966 with back ailments.

Orlando Cepeda went on to a Hall of Fame career. He played for the Giants, Cardinals, Braves, A's, Red Sox and Royals, had 7 All Star seasons and won the M.L. MVP in 1967. He retired in 1974 but if the AL hadn't added the designated hitter his career might have ended with the Oakland A's in 1972.

1961 Topps Traded Don Larsen

2011-11-28T13:28:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I posted a 1967 Don Larsen card in a Cubs uniform. He also played on the South side of town. In June of 1961 he was traded from the Kansas City Athletics to the White Sox in an 8 man trade. By November he was traded to the Giants as part of a 6 man trade. As a result he never appeared on a Topps card as a White Sox player. In 1961 his card had him on the Athletics and in 1962 his card had him on the Giants.

1963 Menko Larry Doby

2011-11-27T05:33:00.000-08:00

I found a black and white photo of Larry Doby in his uniform for the Chunichi Dragons and felt compelled to turn it into a card. This is a fairly decent representation of a 1963 Menko card. The characters on the right are from top to bottom: Chunichi (2 Characters), 7 (his uniform number), Larry (3 characters), Outfielder (3 characters). The cards themselves were 1 13/16" x 3" and had baseball related drawings on the back. They were meant to be used for flipping which some of us older guys remember doing to our cards as kids.

Doby played for the Dragons in 1962 along with Don Newcombe who was the NL MVP and Cy Young award winner in 1956. Newcombe played 1st base for the Dragons instead of pitching. Doby did have a 1962 Menko card which is why I made mine in the 1963 style.

Here is his actual 1962 Meko card:

This card recently sold at Prestige Collectibles for $486. As you can see by the original that my crappy colorizing fits right in with the originals. You can also see the beating this card took as it was probably used the way it was intended, kids flipped and traded it.

Video Checklist -Series 3

2011-11-25T07:42:00.000-08:00

Cards 51-75 plus the 3rd checklist. Most of these cards are multiplayer post season cards and every one of them is based on a Topps design. Next series will have more variety, I promise.

1958 Topps #145 Ed Bouchee

2011-11-23T16:46:00.000-08:00

In 1957 Ed Bouchee came in second place to his teammate Jack Sanford for Rookie of the Year and was co-winner of the Sporting News Rookie of the Year along with Sanford. After the '57 season Ed ran into some legal problems. In 1958 Topps had him slated for card #145. That card was never printed and may not have even been made. There are rumors of its existence but I have never seen it.

1967 Topps Traded Jack Sanford

2011-11-21T07:16:00.000-08:00

Jack Sanford started his career beating out Phillies teammate Ed Bouchee for Rookie of the Year in 1957. His career ended when he was released by the Kansas City Athletics in August of 1967. He started the 1967 season on the Angels and appeared in the 1967 Topps set in an Angels uniform. I played with the idea of making a 1968 card of Sanford on the A's but decided on 1967 because he was released before the season ended.

1975 Topps 1957 Rookies of the Year

2011-11-20T10:33:00.000-08:00

In 1957 Topps had 5 series and 407 cards. The most since 1952 and for the first time both Rookies of the Year had Topps cards issued in the original set.

Tony Kubek played his entire 9 year career win the Yankees. He then went on to Broadcast on NBC until 1989 then locally for the Yankees until 1994. In 2009 he was awarded the Ford C. Frick award for Broadcasting by the Hall of Fame.

Jack Sanford beat out Phillies teammate Ed Bouchee for the Rookie of the Year. He led the league in Strikeouts and had 19 wins. He would go on to play for the Giants, the Angels and the Athletics until 1967.

2011 Managers of the Year

2011-11-16T15:02:00.000-08:00

The selection of 2011 Managers of the year surprised no one. Madden and Gibson were the favorites but I had a sneaky feeling that LaRussa would somehow get the nod out of sentimentality. I have to admit the Gibson card was made for the NL Championship Series but never got posted because they were eliminated. But the Madden card is freshly made.

2011 Rookies of the Year

2011-11-15T15:08:00.000-08:00

I posted these cards last week of what I perceived to be the favorites in the Rookie of the Year running. I also posted a poll asking who you though should win the ROY.

For the National League Kimbrel won the poll and also the Rookie of the Year award. In the AL the winner was Jeremy Helickson but I never put him on the Rookie Stars card or include him in the AL poll. There was one vote for "Other" but whoever cast that vote didn't leave a comment.

Here are the complete results:

National League

Kimbrel 3

Espinosa 2

Worley 1

Other 1

Freeman 0

American League

Trumbo 4

Hosmer 3

Nova 1

Other 1

Walden 0

1961 Topps Baseball Thrills Johnson & Vance

2011-11-14T13:22:00.000-08:00

The last time pitchers from both the National League and American League won the Triple Crown was 1924. Hall of Famer Walter Johnson led the A.L. with 23 wins 158 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.72 for the World Series Champion Washington Senators. Another Hall of Famer, Dazzy Vance had 28 wins 262 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.16 for the Brooklyn Robins who came in 2nd in the N.L.

2011 Topps Pitching Triple Crown Winners

2011-11-13T15:24:00.000-08:00

The Cy Young Awards will be announced this week. Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw both led their respective leagues in victories, strikeouts and ERA, the pitcher's equivalent of the triple crown. Does this make the shoo-ins for the Cy Young award? I think Verlander will be the unanimous winner but Kershaw has some competition. Since the creation of the Cy Young Award in 1956, no triple crown winner was denied the award. The last time there was both an American League and National League triple crown winner was in 1924.

1963 Topps Checklist - Cards That Never Were - 3rd Series

2011-11-11T11:06:00.000-08:00

Here is my 3rd checklist already. This one went by even faster with all of the playoff and World Series cards. As far as checklists go, the 1963 Topps was pretty bland. Also this was the first time all 25 cards that I made used Topps Baseball format.

1978 Topps Mickey Mantle

2011-11-09T14:07:00.000-08:00

Mantle played his final game in 1968 and yet here I am making a 1978 Mickey Mantle card. From 1971 on it seem as though more and more action or candid shots made their way onto cards. In 1978 Topps seemed to feature a lot of posed head-shots.

2011 N.L. Rookie Stars - 1974 Topps Format

2011-11-07T15:09:00.000-08:00

A week from today MLB will announce the 2011 Rookies of the Year. Using the same 1974 Topps Rookie format, I put together 4 on the top National League rookies. I am also posting a poll in the side-bar. Let me know who you think should win the N.L. Rookie of the Year.

Danny Espinosa (2B): Washington Nationals

HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA

21 66 17 6 57 166 .236

Freddie Freeman (1B): Atlanta Braves

HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA

21 76 4 4 53 142 .282

Vance Worley (RHP): Philadelphia Phillies

W L ERA SV BB SO WHIP

11 3 3.01 0 46 119 1.230

Craig Kimbrel (RHP): Atlanta Braves

W L ERA SV BB SO WHIP

4 3 2.10 46 32 127 1.039

2011 A.L. Rookie Stars - 1974 Topps Format

2011-11-06T17:54:00.000-08:00

Next Monday MLB will announce the Rookies of the Year for 2011. Borrowing from the 1974 Topps rookie cards, here are 4 of the top AL rookies.

Eric Hosmer

HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA

19 78 11 5 34 82 .293

Mark Trumbo

HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA

29 87 9 4 25 120 .254

Jordan Walden

W L ERA SV BB SO WHIP

5 5 2.98 32 26 67 1.243

Ivan Nova

W L ERA SV BB SO WHIP

16 4 3.70 0 57 98 1.331

I am also posting a poll in the side-bar. Let me know who you think should win the A.L. Rookie of the Year.

1976 Topps Frank Robinson

2011-11-04T13:39:00.000-07:00

After winning the Rookie of the Year award in 1956 Robinson continued to play until 1976. Robinson appeared on the 1976 Topps Indians team card in the lower right corner as the manager but he did not have a regular player card even though he appeared in 49 games in 1975 and 36 in 1976. The Hall of Famer continued to appear in various sets as a manger until 2006.

1975 Topps 1956 Rookies of the Year

2011-11-02T13:19:00.000-07:00

Now that the post-season is over I can return to some of my recurring themes. Here is the 1956 edition giving the Rookies of the Year the same treatment Topps gave the MVPs in 1975.

1956 is the first year that both Rookies of the Year went on to Hall of Fame careers. While Luis Aparicio had a card in the 1956 Topps set, Frank Robinson first appeared on a Topps card in 1957.

The Robinson card I included here was produced by Topps and given away in VIP packages at the 2006 National Sports Card convention. I actually have one problem with this card. In 1956 the team was officially called the Redlegs. This was the height of the McCarthy era and the Reds changed names rather than be confused with communists. As ridiculous as it was to change the name, it seems disingenuous to ignore the name change on a reissue. A few days ago I include Bob Lemke's version of Robinson' "rookie" card. His properly identified the team as Redlegs. Check it out.

1976 Topps Rangers Strikeout Leaders

2011-10-31T12:43:00.000-07:00

Since I made one for the Cardinals, I needed to make one last franchise leader card for the Rangers. Again, I used the 1976 Topps leader format for the last card in my World Series leader theme.

Charlie Hough leads the Rangers with 1452 all-time strikeouts. Hough made his only All Star appearance in 1986 with the Rangers. Although he had 3 strikeouts in 1 2/3rds innings, catcher Rich Gedman had a hard time with his knuckleball with a wild pitch and a passed ball leading to the NL's only runs in a 3-2 AL victory.

Nolan Ryan is now the Owner/President/CEO of the Texas Rangers and is shown repeatedly during telecasts of this Series. He threw the final 2 of his record 7 no-hitters in a Rangers uniform.

C.J. Wilson had a career high 206 strikeouts this year. He also had 26 K's in the 2011 post-season.

October Shout Out

2011-10-30T09:54:00.000-07:00

Bob Lemke's Blog

This is one of my favorite websites. If you are a baseball card geek like I am you will recognize the name. Bob is the Editor of the Standard Catalog of Vintage Baseball Cards. His blog is full of information and quit a few custom cards.

His creations are head and shoulders above any I have seen on the web. He is obviously a perfectionist and it shows.

His cards all have a front and a back that is both true to the original set issue format and informative.

I could (and I have) spend hours going through his blog. Also if you are so inclined, he sells a limited number of hard copies of his creations.

I really had a hard time narrowing down the cards to include on this page. I had to include Wheaton, IL native John Belushi and Brian Piccolo (note Lemke spelled his name correctly but Topps did not). I love to see cards of famous players on unfamiliar teams (Robinson, Doby, Namath) or people who never had cards (Madden, Pride). I don't want to give away too much but go visit his blog. If you are like me, it's like being a kid in a candy store.

1960 Topps The Champs Celebrate

2011-10-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

2011 Champs borrowing the 1960 Topps World Series card format.

1976 Topps Cardinals Strikeout Leaders

2011-10-28T14:09:00.000-07:00

After a wild 11 inning game 6 the Cardinals have forced a game 7 in St. Louis. This time I used the 1976 Topps leader format in my World Series leader theme.

Bob Gibson the Hall of Famers 3117 strikeouts, all with the Cardinals puts him second to only Walter Johnson for total strikeouts with one team.

"Happy Jack" Stivetts pitched for the St. Louis Brown Stockings from 1889-1891. During those 3 seasons he won 72 games with an ERA of 3.01. He also hit .288 with 14 homers.

Chris Carpenter is rumored to start tonight's game 7 on 3 days rest. He is 3-0 in 5 appearances this post-season.

1973 Topps Rangers Home Run Leaders

2011-10-27T11:05:00.000-07:00

(The Steroid Free Version)

This was a tricky one for me. I didn't know whether I should put asterisks next to the steroid inflated records or ignore the steroid users completely. So I decided to do one of each. For the Rangers, I went 'roid-free, for the Cards I used the asterisk.

Frank Howard led the league in homers in 1968 and 1970 but his career best of 48 in 1969 was second to MVP Harmon Killebrew. Alex Rodriguez hit 57 home runs for the Rangers in 2002 and 52 in 2001, the year he tested positive for steroids. He later admitted using performance enhancing drugs from 2001-2003. Juan Gonzalez has a total of 372 homers with the Rangers. Although he still denies steroid use, his trainer was detained by Canadian police for picking up a package containing steroids that he claims were for Gonzalez. Rafael Palmeiro had 321 home runs in a Rangers uniform. Of course we all remember Palmeiro vehemently denying using steroids under oath in front of Congress in March of 2005 then being suspended by Major League Baseball in August of that same year for testing positive for steroid use. Both Palmeiro and Gonzalez were also implicated by Jose Canseco in his book "Juiced". To include these 3 cheaters at the expense of Frank Howard, just feels wrong.

Adrian Beltre and Ian Kinsler both hit 32 round-trippers during the 2011 season. After Beltre led the league in homers with 48 in 2004, there was speculation that he used performance enhancing drugs, but it was based on opinion only with no evidence to back it up. Kinsler's 32 homers is a career high. He also stole 30 bases. This is the second 30-30 season for him. His first was in 2009 with 31 HR and 31 SB.

1973 Topps Cardinals Home Run Leaders

2011-10-26T15:14:00.000-07:00

(The Asterisk Version)

Stan Musial was a 3 time MVP and appeared in 24 All-Star games in his 22 seasons. His highest season total was 39 which ties him for 13th in the all time Cardinals list. But it is his consistency and longevity that puts him on top.

Mark McGwire hit 70 home runs in 1998. After years of denial he finally came clean. Well, almost. He claimed taking steroids for "health purposes". I don't remember where I heard it first but I'll repeat it. "Without steroids, Mark McGwire is Dave Kingman."

Albert Pujols has never hit fewer than 32 home runs in any season of his 11 year career. He is at #2 on the Cardinals all-time list at 445 and should surpass Musial next year assuming he is still healthy and wearing a Cardinals uniform. He is also #3 on the single season list with 49 homers behind Mark McGwire's suspect totals in 1998 and 1999.

1971 Topps Cardinals Leading Firemen

2011-10-25T07:44:00.000-07:00

Cardinals lost game 5 by a score of 4-2. A couple of the interesting side stories is the emergence of Mike Napoli as an unlikely hero. He has had 4 multi-RBI games in the series which ties him with Mickey Mantle for the record. The other interesting story is the breakdown in communications to the bullpen which ended up with the wrong pitcher being sent to the mound for the Cardinals.

Jason Isringhausen actually surprised me. The Cardinals have 2 Hall of Fame closers who are conspicuously missing from this card, Bruce Sutter and Dennis Eckersley. Another potential Hall of Famer, Lee Smith only shares a frame with Isringhausen. Although he has 300 saves and 2 All-Star appearances over 15 years and 4 teams, he's hardly a household name.

Lee Smith was a 7 time All-Star and led the league in saves 4 times, totaling 478 saves in his 18 year career.

Fernando Salas led the Cardinals with 24 saves this season but it is Jason Motte who has assumed the closer position in the post season with 9 saves.

1971 Topps Rangers Leading Firemen

2011-10-24T15:09:00.000-07:00

The save was not an official MLB record until 1969. The official record as we now know it was created by Chicago sportswriter Jerome Holtzman and used in The Sporting News since 1960. Topps didn't start making save leader cards until 1973. Back then they were referred to as Leading Firemen. What is now called the closer used to be referred to as the "Fireman". I think the last time Topps had a "Leading Firemen" card was in 1984. If I am wrong, please leave a comment to correct me.

John Wetteland was the Yankees closer before Mariano Rivera. He was the World Series MVP in 1996. Rivera was his set up man. He played for the Rangers from 1997-2000.

Francisco Cordero pitched for the Rangers from 2000-2006. His 49 saves in 2004 was second to Mariano Rivera's 53.

Neftali Feliz closed out game 4 pitching the last 2/3rds of the 9th without getting the save. He had 40 saves in 2010 and was named AL Rookie of the Year.

1984 Topps Cardinals Stolen Base Leaders

2011-10-23T04:37:00.000-07:00

Albert Pujols hit a record-tying 3 homers in a 16-7 win in game 3. Turning what could have been a controversial game into an offensive showcase. 23 runs, 28 hits, 3 errors but not a single stolen base. Too bad. Might've made this post more relevant. Anyway, this is the Topps 1984 active career leader card format adapted to continue my World Series theme.

Lou Brock was the MLB stolen base leader at the time he retired with 938 overall. He also held the official single season record for stolen bases with 118. Both records have since fallen to Rickey Henderson.

Arlie Latham has the most stolen bases in franchise history with 129 in 1887 for the St. Louis Brown Stockings. Because of several rule changes, pre-1900 stolen base records are not officially recognized. Stolen bases were at times credited for advancement of the runner in several different scenarios including errors, sacrifice flies, taking extra bases on a hit ball, etc. To give an example of how different it was the 1887 Brown Stockings had 581 stolen bases and 39 home runs. The 1974 Cardinals (Brock's record season) had 172 stolen bases and 83 home runs.

Tyler Greene led the Cardinals with 11 stolen bases in 58 games this season. He also had 19 stolen bases for the AAA Memphis Redbirds. Tyler is not even on the World Series Roster.

1984 Topps Rangers Stolen Base Leaders

2011-10-22T08:54:00.000-07:00

This time I took the 1984 Topps Active Career Leader card format to compare the historical franchise stolen base leaders to the World Series teams. The Rangers card features some sweet fros as well as one of the heroes of game 2.

Bump Wills is the son of speedster Maury Wills. His father led the league in stolen bases 6 years in a row from 1960-1965. Bump put up consistent if not spectacular numbers during his 6 years in the majors. After a stint in Japan he returned to the Rangers organization as a coach.

Elvis Andrus scored the winning run in game 2 and has led the Rangers in stolen bases all 3 years of his major league career.

1969 Topps Cardinals Victory Leaders

2011-10-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

The Rangers came back from a 1-0 deficit in the ninth on 2 singles and 2 sacrifice flies to even the series with the Cardinals. Here again, I'm taking the 1969 Topps league leader card format to compare the World Series teams to their historic franchise leaders.

Bob Gibson topped the Cardinals with 251 career victories over 17 years. Bob also help himself with his fielding. He was a Gold Glove winner 9 years straight from 1965-1973.

Silver King, born Charles Frederick Koenig, "musta been something before electricity" to quote Rodney Dangerfield. He put up 45 wins for the St. Louis Brown Stockings in 1888. It was a different ballgame back then. He started 64 games in 1888 and finished every one of them. Regardless, no other pitcher in Cardinals history has won more than 45 games in one season and it is doubtful than anybody ever will.

Kyle Lohse won 14 games this season to lead the team in 2011. The Cardinal's pitching staff had 6 pitchers with double digit wins. Kyle McClellan started the season in the rotation due to Adam Wainwright's injury returned to the bullpen when the Cards acquired Edwin Jackson from the White Sox. Jackson had 12 wins including the 7 he earned on the White Sox.

1969 Topps Rangers Victory Leaders

2011-10-20T07:53:00.000-07:00

Game 1 is in the books. The Cardinals won 3-2 with Carpenter getting the win and Wilson the loss. Speaking of wins, Here are the Rangers franchise win leaders using the 1969 Topps league leader format.

Charlie Hough pitched for the Rangers from 1980 through 1990. During that time the knuckleballer amassed 139 victories. Hough also started more games than any other Rangers pitcher and pitched more innings than any other. He averaged over 6 and 2/3 innings per outing and had 98 complete games during those 11 years.

Fergie Jenkins won 25 games in his first season with the Rangers. Jenkins pitched for the Rangers in 1974 and 1975 then again from 1978-1981. Jenkins was also a workhorse for the Rangers with 90 complete games in just 6 years and averaging over 7 innings per game.

Derek Holland went 16-5 this season and is 1-0 in the post season. Holland also had 4 complete game shut outs.

1981 Topps Cardinals Batting Leaders

2011-10-19T11:30:00.000-07:00

Rogers Hornsby played for the Cardinals from 1915-1926 and again in 1933. During that time he averaged .359. In 1924 he hit an astounding .424. There have been only 3 .400 hitters since then. Hornsby again in 1925 with .403, Bill Terry in 1930 with .401 and Ted William in 1941 with .406

Yadier Molina hit a career high of .305 in 2011. Yadier and brothers Jose and Bengie are all catchers and all have World Series rings.

1981 Topps Rangers Batting Leaders

2011-10-18T17:23:00.000-07:00

Today's franchise leaders card is based on the 1981 Topps Rookie Prospect format.

Al Oliver spent only 4 of his 18 season in a Rangers uniform. The career .303 hitter averaged .319 while in Texas.

Josh Hamilton hit .359 during his MVP season with the Rangers. In the 4 years he has been a Ranger his batting average has been .311.

Michael Young hit .338 in 2011 placing him 3rd in the American League. He spent all 12 of his MLB seasons with the Rangers and appeared in 7 all Star games

1982 Topps St. Louis Cardinals Leaders ERA

2011-10-17T06:57:00.000-07:00

The Cardinals are in and game one is on Wednesday night. I'm using the 1982 Topps team leaders design to compare the 2011 team leaders to the historical franchise leaders.

John Tudor played on 2 Cardinal World Series teams, 1985 and 1987 but only won a ring when he pitched for the Dodgers in 1988. In 1985 he had career highs with 21 wins, 14 complete games, 10 shut outs, 169 strikeouts, and a 1.93 ERA.

Bob Gibson spent his entire 17 year career in St. Louis. An 8 time All Star, 9 time Gold Glove, 2 time Cy Young award winner, 2 time World Series MVP, and 1968 NL MVP. Although the Cardinals lost the 1968 World Series, Gibson won 2 games, finishing all 3 games he started.

Kyle Lohse lost both post series games he started this season despite leading the club with a 3.39 ERA.

1982 Topps Texas Rangers Leaders ERA

2011-10-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

The Rangers have advanced to the World Series for the second year in a row and I've hijacked the 1982 Topps team leader cards to show how the 2011 World Series team stack up against their franchise historic leaders.

Darold Knowles pitched for the Washington Senators from 1967-1971 before the franchise moved to Texas. Knowles had a respectable career ERA of 3.12 and his 5 years with the Senators was among his best with a 2.46 ERA in 271 games.

Dick Bosman pitched for the Senators/Rangers from 1966-1973. He had a career season in 1969 going 14-5 and leading the league with a 2.19 ERA despite missing part of the season with an elbow injury.

C.J. Wilson placed 7th among AL pitchers in 2011 with a 2.94 ERA. Wilson was selected to the All Star team this year. He pitched the 4th inning giving up 3 hits including a 3 run homer to Prince Fielder earning the loss.

Video Checklist -Series 2

2011-10-14T19:16:00.000-07:00

Here's the second 25 cards created for this blog and of course the series 2 checklist.

1977 Topps Mickey Mantle

2011-10-12T13:44:00.000-07:00

Taking a break from the post season to bring another Mantle card. Speaking of post season, Mantle hit .257 in 65 post season games. Since Mantle retired before there were divisions, all of his post season games were World Series games. His best Series was in 1960 when he hit 4 homers, 11 RBIs and hit .400 in a losing effort against the Pirates.

1978 Topps Managers: 2011 N.L. Playoff Edition

2011-10-10T08:55:00.000-07:00

In the divisional series we compared the team broadcasters as players. For the championship series we can compare the managers as players.

Ron Roenicke was an utility outfielder and pinch hitter who played on 6 major league teams from 1981-1988 hitting a meager .238.

Tony La Russa broke into the majors in 1963, then bumped back and forth from 1968- 1973. He primarily was in the Athletics organization but also played in the Braves and Cubs organizations. He was a middle infielder who hit .199 in 176 at bats.

1978 Topps Managers: 2011 A.L. Playoff Edition

2011-10-09T05:16:00.000-07:00

In the divisional series we compared the team broadcasters as players. For the championship series we can compare the managers as players.

Jim Leyland never made the majors as a player and in case you haven't picked up on it yet, that isn't really his picture as a player. I couldn't find one anywhere but I heard they found a drawing from his playing days on a cave wall somewhere in Eastern Michigan.

Ron Washington was a utility infielder with a .261 lifetime batting average. He played 10 seasons in the majors, in 1977 and from 1981-1989.

1962 Topps Checklist - Cards That Never Were - 2nd Series

2011-10-06T05:45:00.000-07:00

Here is a checklist of the 2nd series of cards produced for this blog. The second 25 cards took a lot less time than the 1st 25 cards. That can be credited to a few multiple card blogs; the 3 fantasy football cards, the 2 White Sox manager cards and the 7 broadcaster cards I made for the playoff teams.

Broadcasters Playoff Edition: Rays vs. Rangers

2011-10-04T06:57:00.000-07:00

The post season is upon us and here is how the ex-players match up in the broadcast booths.

Brian Anderson is finishing his first full season as the Rays color commentator. He pitched on 5 teams in 13 seasons and had an 82-83 record.

Tom Grieve has been broadcasting for the Rangers since 1995. He and his son, Ben Grieve, were both 1st round draft picks. A career .249 hitter, his best year was 1976 when he hit 20 homers with 81 RBIs as a DH on the Texas Rangers.

Broadcasters Playoff Edition: Cardinals vs. Phillies

2011-10-03T14:35:00.000-07:00

The post season is upon us and here is how the ex-players match up in the broadcast booths.

The "Mad Hungarian" vs. "Sarge"

2 great nicknames and the closest match-up as far as playing careers. Hrabosky is remembered for his intimidating ritual on the mound and his Fu-Man-Chu mustache. He was a solid reliever in the mid '70's and led the NL in saves in 1975. But Matthews was Rookie Of the Year in 1973, NLCS MVP in 1983 and was an All Star in 1979.

Broadcasters Playoff Edition: Tigers vs. Yankees

2011-10-02T10:55:00.000-07:00

The post season is upon us and here is how the ex-players match up in the broadcast booths.

Paul O'Neill is a 5 time All Star with 5 World Series rings and has appeared on "Seinfeld". Rod Allen hit .220 in 50 MLB at bats but Rod has 2 local Emmy's and a viral video of him chasing a pitcher around while playing in Japan. That's gotta count for something.

Broadcasters Playoff Edition: Diamondbacks vs. Brewers

2011-10-01T19:05:00.000-07:00

The post season is upon us and here is how the ex-players match up in the broadcast booths.

As a player the edge goes to Mark Grace who had more hits than any other major leaguer in the '90's. But in the booth Bob Uecker is a Hall of Famer.

Six Degrees of Ron Santo - Video Checklist

2011-10-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

Here are all the cards I made for the website Six Degrees of Ron Santo. I also added a few I never published.

Video Checklist -Series 1

2011-09-30T07:08:00.000-07:00

Here are the first 25 cards plus the 1st checklist.

1968 Topps Bill Virdon

2011-09-29T05:14:00.000-07:00

1955 N.L. Rookie of the Year, Bill Virdon, was released by the Pittsburgh Pirates after the 1965 season and became a minor league manager in the Mets organization. He returned to the Pirates in 1968 as a player/coach. He appeared in 6 games and had 1 hit in 3 at-bats. That one hit was a 2 run homer. He became a full time coach with the Pirates the following season and was named manager in 1972.

2011 Heritage Update Then & Now: White Sox Managers

2011-09-27T19:12:00.000-07:00

WTF fired by txt?? LMAO ;p

2011 Heritage Then & Now: White Sox Managers

2011-09-27T16:08:00.000-07:00

Ozzie Guillen was traded yesterday for 2 players to be named later. Only Kenny Williams could find a way to get something in exchange for a manager he was probably going to fire anyway. In the mean time, bench coach, Joey Cora will run the White Sox for their remaining games.

1975 Topps 1955 Rookies of the Year

2011-09-26T06:17:00.000-07:00

Here is the 1955 entry in my ongoing series. I'm giving the Rookies of the Year the same treatment Topps gave the MVPs in 1975.

Neither Herb Score nor Bill Virdon had a Topps card in 1955. The Herb Score card shown here was issued by Topps as part of the VIP package at the 2005 National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago. The Virdon card was created by yours truly.

Other notable 1955 ROY eligibles included Don Zimmer, Elston Howard, Jim Bunning, Roberto Clemente and Sandy Koufax.

1955 Topps Bill Virdon

2011-09-25T04:49:00.000-07:00

One of the first cards I made for this blog was a 1955 Bowman card of the A.L. Rookie of the Year Herb Score. The N.L. Rookie of the year in 1955, Bill Virdon, had a Bowman card but not a Topps card that year.

After being named ROY in 1955, Virdon was traded to Pittsburgh in May of '56 where he played the rest of his career. He became manager of the Pirates in '72 and went on to manage the Yankees, Astros and Expos from 1972-1984.

1976 Topps Mickey Mantle

2011-09-23T04:23:00.000-07:00

When you start out with a great card design it is really hard to make a bad looking card. I have to admit this would've made for a great looking card. Maybe it's because I grew up in the '70s but I think Topps did some of their best work then. Even with all the airbrushed cards they made in that decade.

1980 Topps Lee Smith

2011-09-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

Lee Smith was a September call-up for the Cubs in 1980. He made 18 relief appearances before the end of the season. Not only did he not have a card in 1980 but he didn't have a card in 1981 either. Smith is #3 on the all-time saves list with 478 career saves.