1970 Topps Brian Piccolo

 

It's Sunday and the Bears can use all the help they can get.  So here is a custom Brian Piccolo card in the style of the 1964 Topps Ken Hubbs "In Memoriam" card.  I was tempted to spell his name wrong (intentionally).  In his one and only Topps card his name was spelled "Bryon" on the front and "Bryan" on the back.  He was even part of a "4 in 1" card in 1969, also misspelled "Bryon".

I won't go into his story.  It's covered perfectly in the 1973 made-for-tv movie, Brian's Song.  If you haven't already viewed, or even if you just haven't seen it in a while, I highly recommend it. Don't waste your time on the ESPN remake.

October Shout Out

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.