Series 3 Packs On Sale Now - SOLD OUT

 Here is the third pack of physical cards from this blog.  As usual, I am selling these through this site for $10.99 per pack plus $4.50 shipping. Please use the link:

SOLD OUT

Due to several requests, I added a drop down menu for multiple orders (up to three).

I was hoping to have these done by the end of July, but I'm about a week late. This is a pretty random group of cards spanning from 1957 to 1983.  If you don't want all 13 cards, you can buy them individually on eBay. My seller's name there is ctnwblog_8.

So, what's in each pack?

12 Cards That Never Were plus a special insert.

This time the insert card is a 1969 Jim Bouton Deckle.

All cards are professionally printed.

Front and Back.

The backs are formatted in a style consistent with their year.

The front of the cards are high gloss UV coated.

The backs are not.

The backs a full color matte finish.

These are similar in look and feel to the Topps Archives cards.

The have all been previously featured on this blog.

I'm running out of things to say.

They're high quality 18 Pt. card stock.

By far the best deal is to buy a pack of all 13 cards from the link on this page.

Due to eBay's cost structure and wanting to mail a quality product complete with penny sleeve and a top loader, individual cards a more expensive. $3.99 including shipping on eBay.

Thanks for all the support over the years.  My next post will be another give-away.

MLB Dream Bracket Alt-Topps Cards Part 9

Recap of  AL Dream Bracket 

Round 1 & 2

The only real upset in this round could have been the Astros advancing past the Orioles and Tigers. The big disappointment for me was the early exit of the Negro League Legends.

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These cards are base on the MLB Dream Bracket.  Not sure who picked the "all-time players". It is a product of Twitch, Out of the Park and Draft Kings.  I take no responsibility for their choices, good or bad.  The cards themselves are based on a rejected Topps design from the late sixties.

To check the status of the bracket click here.

MLB Dream Bracket Alt-Topps Cards Part 2

Another simulated game featuring the All-Time lineups of the White Sox and the Royals begins today at 10 am Eastern time.  And again I put together 4 cards of each team, One pitcher and three position players. For the Sox I took the knuckler, Wilbur Wood, Minnie Minoso, Luke Appling and Carlton Fisk.  For the Royals I have the side-armed Dan Quisenberry, George Brett, Bo Jackson and Freddie Patek.

The cards themselves a based on an unused Topps prototype, presumably from the late sixties. And more info on the games themselves can be found here,

Even More 1979 Alt-Topps

World Series, All-Stars and Leaders

Oddly, Topps did not have post season cards in the real 1979 set. Fortunately, I make the rules for the Alt-Topps version. After winning games 1 & 2, the Dodgers lost 4 straight to the Yankees.

For the 1979 All-Stars I changed up the base cards just a little.  Here is Sweet Lou giving Pudge a closer look at his spikes. I'm sure they laughed it off and had a few drinks together after the game, right?

Vida Blue crossed the bay in 1978 and Earned his 3rd All-Star start. He was the first pitcher to start in both leagues. Since then he's been joined by Clemens, Randy Johnson, Halliday and Scherzer.

In 1978 Ron LeFlore led the leagues in runs and stolen bases. In 1980 he would lead the NL in stolen bases with 97 for the Expos. Rounding out the top 3 are Julio Cruz and Bump Wills. Cruz had a career high 59 and would later play 2B for the 1983 "Winning Ugly" Sox. Bump was, of course, the son of stolen base artist Maury.

J.R. Richard won his first strikeout title in 1978. He repeated that feat in 1979. By 1980 he was out of the game. Tragic story. The other two are future Hall of Famers, Niekro and Seaver. 

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As usual, if you want to help me fill out this set, leave your suggestions in the comment section.  I'll create a few more cards for this set and post them later this month.

Even More 1976 Alt-Topps

World Series, All Star and Leaders Cards

As I finish out the sub-sets, I have to admit this set has grown on me.  The base set was a mish-mash of designs. But I like the colors and the font. Incorporating a few other tried and true Topps layouts like the Rookies, Teams and Leaders cards fleshes out the design nicely.

For the World Series card I considered putting the logo in place of the cap. Instead I put it in the field similar to the 1978 Topp All Stars.  Of course I used the famous Fisk homer.

For the All Stars I used the All Star Game logo in place of the cap. I also used Brewers colors as they were the ASG host team.

In the actual 1976 Topps set Jim Wynn was air-brushed into a Braves uniform. I kept the All Stars in their 1975 uniforms and utilized action shots. 

I also made a team card for the 1975 AL team.  Why let a good photo go to waste? Also gave a a chance to include Honorary Captain Mickey Mantle.

For the leaders I went old school Topps. The actual 1976 Topps used a variation on this layout. This one is more like the early '70s.

It took Topps a while to include a leaders card for relievers. They started in 1973 and carried on through 1984 with few exceptions. After that it becomes spotty.

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Again, I'll make a few more of these by request. Just put your ideas in the comment section.

More 1972 Alt-Topps

Managers, Rookies and Team Cards

Running with this same concept, I made these manager cards of two Hall of Famers who were  gone before the start of the 1973 season. Ted Williams was the Manager of the Year for the Senators in 1969. In 1972 the Senators moved to Texas and lost 100 games. It was Williams final year.  Meanwhile, Durocher was falling out of favor in Chicago.

I included the coaches on these cards like Topps would do in 1973 and 74 but it seemed a shame to reduce them to black and white on such a colorful set. You might notice that both 1959 MVPs are included in the coaches. Nellie Fox coached under Williams for the Senators and the Rangers. Ernie Banks was a coach for the Cubs the first few years after his retirement.

And of course, made the necessary rookie cards featuring what would be the 1972 Rookies of the Year.

And love 'em or hate 'em, here are the team cards.

TBT - Boston Red Sox Edition

On the MLB's "Turn Back the Clock" day, the Red Sox wore the uniforms of their pennant winning season, 1975.  There was much discussion about the choice of sleeve patch on Twitter. It is a Massachusetts Bicentennial patch. Did they wear it in 1975 or 1976? How come it is not on any 1976 Topps cards? Not even the World Series card?  

After a bit of "internet investigation" the answers are: yes and yes, just Topps being Topps, and because they didn't wear them during the World Series. When looking for pictures that showed the patch, I found these two press photos: The first shows Harmon Killebrew in a Royals uniform breaking up a double play. Rick Burleson appears to have the patch on his left sleeve. 

In the next picture we see Carlton Fisk sliding into home against Brian Downing of the White Sox. Downing is wearing the Sox's new for 1976 pajamas uniforms. Fisk also has that patch on his left sleeve. So we can determine this is from 1976 and since Killebrew only played in KC in 1975, we know these patches were worn both years.

As for why the patches are absent from the 1976 set, the best explanation has been repeated many time by fellow blogger, Jim from Downington, its "just Topps being Topps". Which is also why this 1978 Rick Wise card shows the patch two years after they stopped wearing them. There are plenty of photos from the 1975 World Series on the interwebs but none show the patch. So that explains its absence on the World Series card.

One final puzzle regarding the sleeve patch, Every card I have looked at has the patch on the left sleeve. Every card except for the 1977 Tom House card. So how did Tom House managed to have this patch on his right sleeve while everybody else's were on the left? The only explanation I can come up with is that he is a left hand pitcher. I found another left-handed pitcher wearing it on his right sleeve: "The Spaceman" Bill Lee.  

Additionally, Starmarket, a local supermarket chain, put out a team set of photos in 1976. These were studio shots of the players in their home jerseys without hats. Other than the wonderful collection of 1976 hair styles, you can see patches in most (not all) of the photos. Again the only two with the patches on the right sleeve were the two lefties, Lee and House. Although the patch is barely in view, you can see the edges of it on the right sleeve and its absence on the left.  It is clearly present on the left sleeve of Rico Petrocelli.

Before this turned into an investigation about which year and which arm this bicentennial patch was from, It was supposed to compare the look of Drew Pomeranz and Fergie Jenkins. The 1977 card has a nice view of the uniform and the offending patch on his left sleeve. I chose to compare these two because Pomeranz wears Fergie's old number 31. Fergie's number 31 is retired by the Cubs. He wore that number for the Rangers and the Red Sox after leaving Chicago but neither team has retired it.

The new uniforms look right but the proportions seem off. The chest lettering seems a bit smaller on the reproductions. Also given that Pomeranz is a lefty, shouldn't he have worn the patch on his right sleeve? Other than that, they look very good, one of my favorites this year.