1975 Alt-Topps

Once again, I am working from a black and white print. This one looks about 1975 vintage due to the Toy Cannon in Dodgers blue.  There was a lot going on here that I could not duplicate exactly.  I tried to find a glove shape that would allow enough space for a decent photo. The font was just impossible to duplicate but I think mine captures enough of the original gist. 

In typical fashion, I made some base card mockups using the Cy Young Award winners for the 1975 season. Jim Palmer won his second of 3 Cy Young Awards in 1975. He had career highs in victories (23), complete games (25) and shutouts (10). The NL also had a 3-time winner. Tom Terrific won his 3rd and final Cy Young. He led the NL in strikeouts (243) and wins (22).

The AL MVP, Fred Lynn, was also the Rookie of the Year.  I decided to substitute Lynn (and save him for later) with the runner-up MVP in the AL, John Mayberry.  Mayberry had career highs in home runs (34), RBIs (106), slugging (.547) and hits (162). He also led the league with 119 bases on  balls.  In the NL was Joe Morgan who won his first of two consecutive MVPs for the Big Red Machine.

Another departure on this set is the color selection.  In 1975 the Topps set was all over the place with many color combinations for teams.  For the Alt-Topps set I tried to match the team colors.

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Just a quick note to the usual suspects that have been following my blog these past years:

I've been trying to stay active on this blog but haven't been very successful lately.  You can probably tell by the post season cards I posted.  I missed the Wildcard games.  Somehow I managed to post for the Divisional Series but again missed the Championship Series and World Series.  So, I've got a bunch of half-finished projects that I may post at a later date.

Sometimes the real world comes crashing into the hobbies that were meant to take your mind off the real world.  Having said that, I managed to finish this 1975 Alt-Topps project and will try to create a few requests, as usual.  Just leave comments and I will do my best.

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.

1972 Topps Jim Wynn In Action

Houston Astros CTNW Favorites #2

The "Toy Cannon" has been a fan favorite on many teams, but Jim Wynn's MLB career began in Houston, first with the Colt .45s then the Astrros.  1972 was somewhat a comeback year for the Cannon. His production in 1971 was off while he was recovering an off-season surgery. He and his wife were arguing when Wynn pulled an unloaded shotgun. His wife grabbed a steak knife and stabbed him in the abdomen. No charges were filed as Wynn admitted that it was his own fault. As a result his batting average dropped from .282 in 1970 to just above the Mendoza line in 1971.

By 1972 his numbers were back to where they belonged. He hit .273 with 24 homers and 90 RBIs. In 1973 under new manager, Leo Durocher, Wynn was moved from #3 in the order to leadoff to take advantage of his speed. Predictably, his batting average and RBI's dropped significantly. But the numbers you'd expect to go up by such a change - walks, runs scored and stolen bases - dropped also. After the season he was traded to Los Angeles where he staged yet another comeback. But that is a story for another day.

1969 Topps Deckle Joe Morgan

Houston Astros CTNW Favorites #4

Joe Morgan was one of early stars of the Houston Astros and to this day fans are bemoaning his trade as the worst in Astros history, perhaps baseball history. But hindsight is 20/20.

This was an eight player trade. The Astros gave up Morgan who hit .256 in 1971, first baseman Denis Menke and his .246 batting average, back-up outfielder Cesar Geronimo who hit .220 in limitedplay, pitcher Jack Billingham who went 10-16 in 1971 and a minor leaguer, Ed Armbrister.

In exchange they got second baseman Tommy Helms who was 2 years older and not a stolen base threat like Morgan, However he was coming off his 2nd consecutive Gold Glove year and had a similar .258 batting average. They got Lee May who was an all star in 1971 and had hit 38, 34 and 39 homers in 1969, '70 and '71 respectively. They also got Jimmy Stewart who was a career .306 hitting pinch-hitter and utility man. On paper it looked like a fairly even trade. At the time...

After the trade Billingham had back-to-back 19 win seasons in 1973 and '74. Geronimo became a Gold Glove center fielder and turned his .228 career batting average with the Astros into a respectable .261 with the Reds. And we all know what became of Morgan. In Houston, Stewart was released after the 1973 season. May's numbers declined and he was traded to Baltimore after the 1974 season. Helms lasted the longest. He was traded to the Pirates after the 1975 season for Art Howe.

Since Morgan was one of the bright spots of the early Astros teams, I had to dip into the insert sets to find a Card That Never Was for him. The 1969 Deckle set was a favorite of mine and of Topps, too. They revisited it in 1974 and most recently in the Archive sets from both 2012 and 2014. Topps did actually make a Deckle Edge card of Morgan inserted into the 2012 Archives set. But as you can see the photo they used is not from the 1969 era. It is clearly from his return to the Astros in 1980.

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UPDATE
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In the comment section, Brett brought up a good point. I called out Topps for using a photo from the wrong era, but my photo would not have been used by Topps in 1969 either. That is not unintended. I try to keep the photos historically accurate (or close to it) but I also want to make the cards look the way I would have wanted them. (Right under the title of this blog it says "What cards would look like if I had my way.")  Topps used all posed photos in the original 1969 Deckle set. But even Topps went to candid or "action" shots when using the design in their Archive sets.

Realistically, Topps would have used a photo like I posted below.  Due to a trademark dispute by Monsanto, in 1968 and the first 3 series of 1969 the word "Astros" didn't exist on Topps products, nor did any Astros logos. So most likely if Topps had made a card for Morgan it would have been a head and shoulders shot of him in his away uniform (Houston on front rather than Astros). It would also have had either no hat like Morgan's 1969 base card or an airbrushed hat like Rusty Staub and Jim Wynn had on their Deckle Edged cards.

 So if I wanted to make a card like Topps would have in 1969, I think it would look more like this. I didn't know how to include a picture into the comment section so here it is:

1967 Topps NL Stolen Base Leaders: Lou Brock, Sonny Jackson, Maury Wills

In 1966 there was a changing of the guard. After finishing 2nd in stolen bases in 1964 and 1965, Lou Brock passed Maury Wills as the stolen base leader. Wills was the N.L. stolen base leader from 1960-1965 but fell to 3rd in 1966. Lou Brock would go on to be the new N.L. leader in 8 of the next nine years. 

Nearly lost in the middle of these two superstars is Sonny Jackson. Jackson had a career high 49 stolen bases in 1966. He made brief Major League appearances in 1963, 64 and 65,  but 1966 was still officially his rookie year and he finished 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting to the Reds' Tommy Helms.

1966 Topps NL Stolen Base Leaders: Wills, Brock, Wynn

Maury Wills tore up the base-paths again in 1965, stealing 94 bases. He was also caught stealing 31 times to lead the league. Lou Brock had 63 swipes and was thrown out 27 times. Brock's 27 failed attempts was the highest since Bernie Friberg in 1924. Wills' 31 was the highest since Ty Cobb in 1915. Rounding out the top 3 is the "Toy Cannon" with 43 stolen bases to a mere 4 times caught stealing.

1978 Topps Jimmy Wynn - 30 Tribute Card Project - Part 14

This part 14 of a continuing 30 tribute card project inspired by this article from Sports Collectors Daily. In previous posts I have shown 4 cards that Topps had produced and 15 cards that I have found on various blogs pages. Now I have my turn: 

Jim Wynn had one of the all time great baseball nicknames "The Toy Cannon".  This was a nickname he obviously enjoyed as you can see by his Braves jersey below. If I can figure out a way to work this onto a card you may see it again.

After 11 seasons in Houston Jimmy Wynn was traded to Los Angeles where he had 2 All Star seasons and saw his only post season play. In 1976 he was dealt to the Braves in a 6 player swap. His batting average dipped to an anemic .207 but he led the league in walks to give him a respectable .377 on base percentage. None the less he was sent to the Yankees after season. Mid season the Yankees released him and he was picked up by the Brewers. He spent 1977 sharing time playing DH and outfield. He retired at the end of the season at the age of 35.

 Here is the list so far. The Black X represents cards produced by Topps, The red X represents those made by other baseball card geeks, and now the blue X represents the cards made by yours truly:

1.       1952 Joe DiMaggio X

2.       1956 Ralph Kiner X

3.       1957 Bob Feller X

4.       1957 Phil Rizzuto X

5.       1957 Jackie Robinson X

6.       1961 Ted Williams X

7.       1962 Jackie Jensen X

8.       1964 Stan Musial X

9.       1964 Early Wynn X

10.   1965 Duke Snider X

11.   1966 Yogi Berra X

12.   1966 Warren Spahn X

13.   1967 Sandy Koufax X

14.   1967 Robin Roberts X

15.   1968 Whitey Ford X

16.   1969 Rocky Colavito X

17.   1969 Roger Maris X

18.   1969 Eddie Mathews X

19.   1970 Don Drysdale X

20.   1972 Ernie Banks X

21.   1973 Maury Wills X

22.   1974 Willie Mays X 

23.   1977 Hank Aaron X

24.   1977 Frank Robinson X

25.   1978 Brooks Robinson X 

26.   1978 Jim Wynn X

27.   1980 Lou Brock

28.   1980 Thuman Munson X

29.   1984 Johnny Bench X

30. 1984 Carl Yastrzemski X

To be Continued......