Cards That Never Were - 47th & 48th Series Checklists

Just these last two, then we're all caught up on the checklists (for now).

The 47th series consisted of six NFL Rookie of the Year cards, eight post season 1984 Topps Statue cards and eleven cards from the 1975 Alt-Topps set.  The checklist is also based on the 1975 Alt-Topps design. I used a photo of Don Newcombe in an LA Dodgers cap. After Cy Young pased away in 1955, Major League Baseball named an award after him.  Newcombe was first ever winner of the Cy Young Award in 1956.  He also won the NL MVP that year.  In 1958, (the year the Dodgers moved out of Brooklyn) Newcombe was 0-6 in 8 starts for LA when he was dealt to the Reds.  He pitched in Cincinnati and Cleveland until 1960. In 1961 he was back in the minors. In 1962 he went to Japan and played for the Chunichi Dragons.  He was primarily an outfielder and first baseman.  He passed away in February of 2019.

Series 48 is nothing but 1975 Alt-Topps cards.  I included a photo of Ed Sprague Sr. on the checklist. He passed away earlier this year.  He is, of course, the father of  Ed Sprague who played 3rd base for the Blue Jays during their World Series years of 1992 & 1993. Ed Sr, was mostly a relief pitcher. He played 8 seasons in the Majors for the A's, Reds, Cardinals and Brewers. In 1975 he was the number 5 starter in the Brewers rotation.

As usual, you can click here to see all the cards included in these series.  You can also click on any of the checklists in the margin.  This is great for looking at all my cards without all those annoying words slowing you down.

Cards That Never Were - 45th & 46th Series Checklists

More Checklists!!!  How exciting!!

The 45th Series began with some 1968 Alt Topps Football cards just to mix things up. The bulk of the series was from the 1965 Alt-Topps set.  This was one of my favorites because it focused more on the photos with a small(ish) design.  I tried to stay true to the design with the checklists.  I used full-sized photos.  I tried to fade them out into the background and put the actual checklist right on top.

This design didn't work as well as I had hoped.  Although it is hard to make out the players' identities, they are both pitchers that passed away in 2019.  Bob Friend was a work-horse for the Pirates in the '50s and '60s.  By 1965 he was running out of gas. After the season he was dealt to the Yankees. In June of 1966 he was sold to the Mets.  That made him the first player to play for both the Yankees and Mets in the same season. (Granted the Mets were only 4 years old in 1966).

The 46th series had several more  1965 Alt-Topps cards.  I also had the All-Star Honorary Captains from 1987-89 and tribute cards to Jim Bouton and Tyler Skaggs.  

The card itself is a tribute to Ernie Broglio who passed away in July of 2019.  In 1965 he was pitching for the Cubs.  He will always be remembered as the wrong side of one of the most lopsided trades in MLB history.

As usual, you can click here to see all the cards included in these series.  You can also click on any of the checklists in the margin.  This is great for looking at all my cards without all those annoying words slowing you down.

Cards That Never Were - 43rd & 44th Series Checklists

Still playing catch-up with the checklists.  The 43rd series contained mostly 1979 Alt-Topps cards. I included a shot of Rusty Staub AKA "le Grande Orange". He actually passed away in 2018, but a card commemorating his passing was requested in the comments.  In 1979 he began the season with Detroit.  In July of 1979 he was sent North of the border for cash considerations and a player to be named later (Randall Schafer). He played until 1985 with the Expos, Rangers and Mets.

The baseball community lost Mel Stottlemyre in January 2019. He is included on this 1971 Alt-Topps checklist. He played 11 years in the Majors, all with the Yankees. He was a five-time all-star.  The 44th series consisted of 24 cards from the 1971 Alt-Topps set and one Alt-Topps football card. It was a 1968 Alt-Topps design of Bart Starr.

 As usual, you can click here to see all the cards included in these series.  You can also click on any of the checklists in the margin.  This is great for looking at all my cards without all those annoying words slowing you down.

Cards That Never Were - 41st & 42nd Series Checklists

It's been almost exactly one year since I last posted checklists.  Even though I haven't had many posts, they are usually packed full of cards. These really add up. So for the next few days, I'll be trying to catch up.

I've adapted my Alt-Topps designs to create the checklists.  I tried to match them up with the bulk of the cards included in the respective series. For the 41st series I used the 1968 Alt-Topps design.

For the 42nd Series, I used the 1979 Alt-Topps design.  On this one, I incorporated a photo into the checklist like Topps did in the late '60s. In the past, I used photos of players we lost recently.  Ron Fairly passed away last October. His final year in baseball was 1978 but Topps did include him in the real 1979 set. In his final year he was the backup first baseman for the Angels.

 As usual, you can click here to see all the cards included in these series.  You can also click on any of the checklists in the margin.  This is great for looking at all my cards without all those annoying words slowing you down.

Cards That Never Were - 39th & 40th Series Checklists

Since it took me into February to finish up the last Alt-Topps set, I'm going to use the rest of the month to catch up on other things. Then start fresh in March with a new(?) Alt-set.

Let's start with checklists. I have officially surpassed 1000 cards made for this blog. Unofficially, I have created a few for other blogs. Since I've been making all components of a real set for these prototypes, I may as well use their basic design for checklists. 

Here are the 1976 and 1968 Alt-Topps style checklists. If you click here you can see all the cards on the checklists on one place without any boring words to slow you down. As usual, you can also click any checklist in the right margin. That will link you to the relative cards.

Cards That Never Were - 37th & 38th Series Checklists

My most recent endeavors have been a bit different than those I've done in the past.  Instead of individual cards, I have been imagining entire sets. First was the 1963 Fleer set that was cut short by Topps' lawyers.  I added leaders cards, managers, rookies, team cards all-stars, etc. 

Additionally, I found a whole bunch of rejected Topps card designs. I gave those the same treatment.  Not just adding base cards but extrapolating those designs into entire sets. With the same compliment of subsets (team cards, rookies, all-stars, etc.)

Once I've posted my ideas, I have been filling request to those of you that follow this blog and share my interests (read geekyness). One of those requests was for a checklist.  Specifically one with a player like the 1967-69 Topps checklists.  How could I refuse, those were my favorites. 

I went with Elston Howard for the 1964 Alt-Topps version.  He was just coming off his MVP year in 1963 which also got him his first Gold Glove. And now Yogi Berra had taken the Yankees manager position. Elston didn't disappoint in 1964, He got his first All Star start, another Gold Glove and finished 3rd in MVP voting.

As usual, you can click here for a look at all the cards on these checklists. You can also click on the checklists in the right margin to view all of my cards without any boring words to slow you down.

Cards That Never Were - 35th & 36th Series Checklists

Oscar Gamble and Rusty Staub

Just doing a bit of house-keeping here at CTNW.  The cards on these checklists date all the way back to July of 2016.  

I made the checklists in the 1983 design and included 2 of the greats that we lost earlier this year, Oscar Gamble and Rusty Staub.  Checklist 35 is populated with several cards from my other long neglected blog, Rating The Rookies.  It also contains many NFL/AFL Rookies of the Year and "Throwback Thursday" cards.

Checklist 36 is dominated by the 2016 post season cards I made. I took Hall of Famers that played for the 2016 post season teams. The twist was they were better known for wearing other teams' uniforms and I put them on cards from the year they were inducted into the Hall. I have to say, it made for some unusual looking cards. Also in that series were more Football ROY's and the missing manager cards from 1974.

If you wish to check out all the cards on these checklists without all these boring words getting in the way, click here.  Or, as always you can click on this (or any other) checklist in the right margin.  It will direct you straight to the page that contains all of these cards.

Cards That Never Were - 34th Series Checklist - Jim Hickman

Once again I decided to change up the look of my checklists. This time the design was lifted from the 1983 Topps set because I've always liked the checklists that included players. The player featured on this checklist is Jim Hickman who passed away last month. Hickman played from 1962-1974 for the Mets, Dodgers, Cubs and Cardinals. His only All Star appearance came in a Cubs uniform in 1970. That game is best remembered for Pete Rose bowling over Ray Fosse to win the game in the bottom of the 12th inning.  But it was Jim Hickman who hit the single to center field that drove in Rose from second.

This series is dominated by Throwback Thursday cards. Also included was a continuation of the Honorary Captain series that I have been doing over the past 4 All Star breaks. I also mad cards celebrating the life of "Mr. Hockey" Gordie Howe and the 3rd triple-play by the White Sox this season.

 As usual if you want to see all of these cards in one place with no boring words to slow you down, you can click here or click on any of the checklists in the right border to see those cards.

Cards That Never Were - 33rd Series Checklist - Milt Pappas

These things come around quickly with 2 separate blogs contributing to the Cards That Never Were. Twelve of these cards are from my sister site Rating The Rookies. Other notable subsets are league leader cards that never were and my latest theme, Throwback Thursday. As usual you can look at all the cards in this series without all those boring words by clicking here.

On this checklist, I used an inset photo of Milt Pappas. Pappas passed away this April at the age of 76. He pitched a no hitter for the Cubs in 1972 which was one questionable ball away from a perfect game. The three time All Star pitched for the Orioles, Reds, Braves and Cubs from 1957-1973.

Below is a terrific shot of Pappas and Cubs teammate Glenn Beckert at the 100th anniversary of Wrigley Field in 2014. It's worth a thousand words.

Cards That Never Were - 32nd Series Checklist - Walt Williams

This time a full 16 of the 25 Cards That Never Were in this series were created for my other blog, Rating The Rookies. It also include 2 tribute cards. Both Walt Williams and Hall of Famer, Monte Irvin passed away during the making of this series. 

When I started making this version of checklist, I wanted to include a photo similar to the 1967-69 Topps. I never really intended the photo to be a memorial, but it seems to have worked out that way. I used Minnie Minoso in my 29th, Doug Buffone in my 30th, Yogi Berra in my 31st and now Walt Williams in my 32nd. I could have used Monte Irvin but felt the design had more of a '70s vibe, so I went with "No-Neck". 

I included 2 versions of my custom 1969 Deckle Joe Morgan. After I made the first version using a candid shot of Morgan. A reader commented that it was somewhat of an anachronism. So I made another similar to how Topps would have made one at the time, posed with the Astros logo air-brushed out. Also while creating this checklist, I noticed I spelled Marc Hill with a "k" inadvertently so it is designated "UER" for uncorrected error. 

As usual, you can click here to see all the cards from this series along with Series 31 without all those boring words to slow you down. Or you can check out this series or any of my other series by clicking on the mini-checklists in the right margin.

Cards That Never Were - 31st Series Checklist - Yogi Berra

Despite spotty posting at best recently, I have amassed more than enough cards to require another checklist. With the passing of Yogi Berra this past September, I decide to include his photo on this checklist.  Coincidentally, Yogi also appeared in this series. He was part of the All Star Game Honorary Captains series I created a couple months before his passing.  Given the retro seventies/eighties design of my checklist, I chose a photo of Yogi during his stint as a coach on the Astros. This series, as usual, includes several Cards That Never Were that were originally posted on my other blog, Rating the Rookies.  As always you can click here to see all the cards from this series in one page. 

Cards That Never Were - 30th Series Checklist - Doug Buffone

Once again, I have stuck with a variation of my own checklist design. This time I featured former Chicago Bear, Doug Buffone.  Buffone passed away in April.  While looking for a suitable tribute card I discovered that despite a productive 14 year career, 8 of which he was defensive captain, Topps had made only 5 cards of him. As you can see by the first 8 cards on this checklist, I picked up the slack. This series also includes several Cards That Never Were that were originally posted on my other blog, Rating the Rookies.  As always you can click here to see all the cards from this series in one page or you can click on the checklists on the right margin.

Cards That Never Were - 29th Series Checklist - Minnie Minoso

I'm a few posts overdue with this checklist. On the bright side this is an all-new design. And by "all-new" I mean it is my design but as usual, I borrowed heavily from Topps designs. This one in particular could have fit into the 1976 set seamlessly. I wanted a retro look and I wanted a photo similar to the 1967-1969 checklists. This is what I ended up with. Groovy, huh?

On the list itself, I kinda struggled with whether or not to include "Cards That Never Were" from my other blog, Rating the Rookies.  In the end, they were included. Afters all, I made them and they are Cards That Never Were.  For the photo inset, I used a '70s era Minnie Minoso photo. His tribute card was included in this series. 

And as usual you can click here to see all the cards in this series in one place with out all those boring words to slow you down.

1963 Fleer Football Checklist - Cards That Never Were - 28th Series

Another checklist and I am literally running out of decent checklists to poach. I may have to start repeating or maybe abandon the checklists altogether. This series spans from the World Series in October until February. Mainly due to the 2 month break I took. There is plenty of my obsession with Rookies in this series. There are Football Rookies of the Year, a R.O.Y. card for Dave Righetti, multi-player rookie cards from Fleer & Donruss, and my latest endeavor Rating the Rookies. As usual all the cards I made for this series along with the 27th series can be seen here. Or just click on the checklists in the right margin.

1957 Topps Football Checklist - Cards That Never Were - 27th Series

Another 25 cards in the books, another checklist. This one is taken from the 1957 Topps Football set.  This set had short-printed, unnumbered checklists inserted randomly into packs. These were nice looking checklist. The fact that most kids used them for their intended purpose coupled with their short print runs make unmarked versions extremely rare and expensive.

The bulk of the cards on this list are from the 2014 Post Season. I also made a few cards of my fantasy football team. If you want to see all the cards on this checklist in one place click here.

1965 O Pee Chee Hockey Checklist - Cards That Never Were - 26th Series

This is a somewhat sporadic series. I really haven't had the time to keep up with this blog as much as I used to.  I decided to post a few abandoned projects; my own retro-design for 2014, the 1943 Phillies Team that never was, and the 1972 Hockey Award cards. 

If you want to see all of these cards in one place along with the cards from Series 25 click on the checklists in the right margin>>>>>>

1966 Topps Football Checklist - Cards That Never Were - 25th Series

A bit of a tight squeeze getting all 25 cards into that small space. This series includes my Royals top-5, all 16 1980 Rookie of the Year candidates and the All Star Honorary Captains from 1978. 1979 and 1980. Unfortunately it also included 3 tributes: Don Zimmer, Chuck Noll, and Tony Gwynn. If you want to see all the cards from this series in one place click here.

1965 Topps Football Checklist - Cards That Never Were - 24th Series

I modified another "Tall Boy" for my 24th series of card that never were. This one is from the 1965 Topps Football Set. To see all the cards from this checklist in one place as well as those from the previous checklist click here.

1964-65 Topps Hockey Checklist - Cards That Never Were - 23rd Series

The majority of this series is the seemingly never ending stream of 1973 All Star cards. The truth is I really enjoyed playing around with this set and creating different cards that were consistent with the original set designs. I followed that theme up with a football and a hockey card. I keep vowing to myself that I will incorporate more football and hockey cards into this blog but I always fall short. If nothing else, there are some nice looking football and hockey checklist cards that I can adapt. This one in particular I had to really squeeze to fit all 25 cards. But I think it was worth it.

1964 Topps Football Checklist - Cards That Never Were - 22nd Series

I needed to interrupt the remake of the 1973 All Star cards because I forgot to document the completion of yet another 25 cards created for this blog. You might have noticed that I abandoned the 1961 Topps baseball format. This is a modified 1964 Topps football checklist. Also abandoned were the video checklists. I found another way to get all the cards from the checklist in one place. Well sort of. I have created pages that can be accessed by clicking on the checklists on the right border. Unfortunately, google limits the supplemental pages to 20. Since this is my 22nd series, I was already over the limit. So I doubled up. Each one of those links will get you to the 50 cards created for the corresponding series.