Topps All-Star Misses: 1961 AL Outfield

Topps 1961 All-Star AL outfield contained  Mantle, Maris and Kaline.  Mantle an Maris both started in the two 1960 All Star games and were also 1961 Sporting News All Stars.  Joining them in the outfield for the 1960 games was the "Cuban Comet" Minnie Minoso.  The 3rd 1961 Sporting News All Star outfielder was Rocky Colavito.  Therefore both Minnie and Rocky were worthy of cards in this subset.

Who probably didn't merit inclusion in the 1961 Topps All-Star set, but was in it anyway?

Al Kaline:

 Al Kaline, a future Hall of Famer played in both 1960 and both 1961 ASGs.  He even started the second 1961 ASG.  Plus he was an impressive 5 for 9 in the 4 games.  Nobody doubts "Mr. Tiger's"  bona fides. Since he was a starter in neither of the 1960 contests and he was not selected to The Sporting News All Star team in 1961 (or for that matter, not in 1960 either), his inclusion in this set is questionable.

One More for "Mr. Tiger"

Last week baseball lost another legend.  Here is one more card in the style of the 1967 Alt-Topps. Over the past several years he has been featured on this blog more than a few times.  In fact, he was even included in my latest posts of the 1967 Alt-Topps.  He was on the AL batting leaders card.

He passed away on the 6th of April and his #6 was retired by Detroit in 1980.  I thought it might be interesting to see how Kaline performed on April 6th over his Hall of Fame career.  But what I came to realize is that the baseball season for the most part used to begin mid-April.  Its has been creeping earlier and earlier since 1970. Kaling had only played on April 6th 3 times in his career. Collectively, he hit .462 in just 3 games: 1970, 1971 and 1974.  He went 6 for 13 with 3 walks, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored.  Not bad.

Here are the cards that I've created for this blog in the past:

Even More 1967 Alt-Topps

Traded, All-Stars, Leaders and World Series Cards

This set started with an Eddie Mathews prototype card.  It only seems right to include a card with him traded to the Astros.  Jim O'Toole was an elite pitcher in the early '60s. He was the NL starting pitcher in the 1963 All-Star game. By 1967, arm trouble left him a shadow of his former self.  He finished his MLB career playing for his hometown White Sox.  He made an attempted come back in 1969 with the expansion Seattle Pilots, but was cut before the start of the season.

For the All-Star cards, I decided to take another rejected Topps card.  This one may have been meant for a booklet cover or something similar.  Although it says Willie McCovey, he is obviously absent from either photo.

The black and white action shot could be either Bernie Allen or Graig Nettles.  Any other guesses?

 The inset photo is definitely Ollie Brown.  That photo originally appeared on his 1967 card with the Giants. An airbrushed version similar to the one used on this mock-up appeared on his 1969 Padres card. 

Here is the actual Willy McCovey.  Coinsidentaly, he was the starting first baseman for the NL in the 1966 All-Star Game.  For his AL counterpart, I made a card of the Halos 2nd bagger Bobby Knoop.

I went back to following Topps script with the design of the leaders card.  I also followed their lead by using "Bob" and "Richie" instead of their preferred names: Roberto Clemente and Dick Allen. Leading the NL in RBIs in 1966 was the "Hammer", Hank Aaron.

For the AL, I simply had to include the "Judge".  1966 was his Triple Crown year.  Here we have all 3 batting average leaders, Robinson, Oliva and Kaline.  Not a bad leaders selection. It contains both 1964 Rookies of the Year and 4 Hall of Famers.

Finally, for the World Series card, I used another Topps reject. The mock-up says Tom Siever (another inside joke?). I can't make out any of the black and white players on this card but that sure looks like Drysdale on the inset.  On my version, I kept the rounded corners with the little flourish and added a border for continuity.  I also added the 1966 World Series logo to the card. 

 Instead of a black and white inset with a blue background, I used a color head-shot. It seems as though the Dodgers offense took the Series off. They managed only 2 runs in the first game then went scoreless in the next three.  The O's outscored them 13-2 in a four game sweep.

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As usual, I will make a "requests" post before Spring Training ends.  Please post your requests in the comment section and I will try to accommodate as many as I can. Thanks.

Even More 1964 Alt-Topps

World Series, Leaders, All- Stars and Topps All-Star Rookie Cards

Just a few more of my favorite subsets, World Series cards, Leaders cards, All Star cards and Topps Rookie All Star cards.

For the World Series card I kept the basic format but reversed the layout.  In the real 1964 set, Topps also highlighted Koufax's 15 strikeouts in Game 1. But I gotta say I like this photo better. 

On the leaders cards, I went a little off script for Topps. Instead of one large horizontal photo with two (or more) smaller photos below, I used one large vertical shot for the leader and smaller photos to the right.

Another un-Topps thing is having a card for Runs Scored Leaders.  Not one of the top stats but I like the top three players, so...

Again for the All Star cards, I reversed the Field.

Instead of a team logo, I used the All Star Game logo from 1963. I also tried to incorporate the logo's colors into the card format.

Since this format reminds me so much of the 1960 Topps All Star Rookies subset, I had to recreate it here.

Oddly in 1964 all but one of the Topps All Star Rookie team had the official trophy on his card. That was Jesse Gonder.  But in the Bizarro Universe, my Alt-Topps has got him covered.

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Just as I did in the last batch, I am willing to take a few requests.  I know most people just look at the pictures in these blogs.  But if you actually read this all the way to the bottom of the last post, it's the least I could do.  Just leave your requests in the comment section.

1980 All Star Game Honorary Captains: Roy Campanella & Al Kaline

Rounding out my 2014 All Star Break set are the Honorary Captains of the 1980 All Star game in Los Angeles.

Representing the National League was 1969 Hall of Fame inductee and Dodgers fan favorite, Roy Campanella. Campanella appeared on one of the earliest "Card That Never Were" I am aware of, when Topps put him on a 1951 card as part of the 1975 MVP subset. A three-time MVP, Topps would also have to create a 1955 card of him (as well as a 1962 Maury Wills card).

Representing the 1980 American League All Stars in was 1980 Hall of Fame inductee Al Kaline. Kaline was a first ballot Hall of Famer with over 88% of the vote. He was also the youngest player to win the batting title in 1955. Signed by the Tigers in 1953, Kaline spent all 22 MLB seasons in Detroit. He retired at the end of the 1974 season just 1 homer shy of the 400 mark.

1967 Topps All Star Cards : American League Outfield

1967 Topps Frank Robinson All-Star

In 1966 Frank Robinson won the triple crown and was the AL MVP. Unfortunately in the 1966 All Star game he went 0 for 4 including a strikeout. 

1967 Topps Al Kaline All-Star

Al Kaline went 1 for 4 in the first 8 innings. In the 9th inning he was replace by the AL Rookie of the Year, Tommie Agee.

1967 Topps Tony Oliva All-Star

In 1964 Tony Oliva was the Rookie of the Year.  In 1966 he was selected for his 3rd All Star game and he won the Gold Glove. 

1964 Topps All Stars - The American League Outfield

1964 Topps Leon Wagner AS

The MVP of the second All Star Game in 1962 returned as a starter in 1963. He went 2 for 3 and scored the AL's first run. Although 1963 was Wagner's last All Star game, he would continue to put up good numbers in Cleveland over the next few years. As his numbers dropped he became a platoon player and a pinch hitter for the White Sox. After his retirement he got a few movie roles including a part in a very good baseball movie The Bingo Long Travelling All-Stars & Motor Kings.

1964 Topps Albie Pearson

Albie Pearson was the 1958 Rookie of the Year while on the Washington Senators. In 1963 he made his only All Star appearance. He made the most of it. He was 2 for 4 on the day with a double and a run scored.

1964 Topps Al Kaline AS

Al Kaline had a .324 batting average over his 18 All Star games, but in 1963 he would go 0 for 3. In the 1st inning he flied out to left and Tommy Davis threw home in time to get Nellie Fox tagging up from 3rd.

1961 Topps A.L. Stolen Base Leaders

Luis Aparicio stole 51 bases to claim the title for the 5th time in his 5th year in the Majors. In 1960 the Go Go Sox stole 122 bases. The next closest team in the A.L. had 66, just over half. It was their aggressive running style that put them at the near top of most every offensive category in 1960 despite hitting the 2nd fewest homers that year. 

His teammate, Jim Landis, was second in the league with 23. Landis, the Gold Glove centerfielder for the White Sox, finished in the top 5 in stolen bases for 4th consecutive year in only his 4th major league season.

Lenny Green had career highs in stolen bases, triples and batting average for the 1960 Washington Senators. In 1961 the former Washington Senators became the Minnesota Twins and Washington was awarded an expansion team also called the Senators. Topps elected to refer to the former Senators as "Minn." on the League Leader cards in 1960. 

Al Kaline was the biggest surprise on this card. I never really thought of the slugger as a threat on the basepaths.  Although Kaline had a career high of 19 stolen bases, 1960 was somewhat of an off year for the future Hall of Famer. His batting average dropped nearly 50 points from 1959 to 1960. He hit 12 fewer homers and his slugging percentage dropped by over 100 points. For the 1st time in 3 years he wasn't awarded the Gold Glove and for the 1st time since his Rookie season he didn't receive any MVP votes. But even a off year for Kaline is better than most players' career years. He was still selected to both All Star games in 1960. He hit a 2 run homer in the first game and in the second game singled and walked in his 2 plate appearances in game 2.

1975 Topps Al Kaline

Detroit Tigers CTNW Fan Favorites #2

Known as "Mr. Tiger", Al Kaline played all 22 seasons in Detroit. During that time he was named to 18 All Star teams and received 10 Gold Gloves. In 1955 he was the youngest player to lead the American League in hitting at the age of 20. He retired after the 1974 season with 3007 career hits. He was a first-ballor Hall of Famer in 1980.

Kaline actually did have a 1975 Topps card but not a regular issue card. It was a highlight card commemorating his 3000th hit.