Topps All-Star Misses: 1961 NL Infield

 There were two All Star Games in 1960 and in 1961 Topps had Panch Herrera as their All Star first baseman, Mazeroski at second, Ken Boyer at 3rd and Ernie Banks at short.  Only Maz and Banks started in the 1960 games.  Although Boyer didn't start in the 1960 ASGs he was the 1961 Sporting News All Star selection at 3rd base.  Here are a few cards that could have been included in that All Star subset.

At first Topps could have included Joe Adcock who actually started both 1960 ASGs.  They also could have had Orlando Cepeda who was The Sporting News actual 1962 All Star selection at 1st base.

At second, they could have included Frank Bolling.  He was the 1962 Sporting News All Star selection at second base.  And at third, his teammate, Eddie Mathews, started both 1960 ASGs.

At short, The Sporting News All Star was Maury Wills.  Of course, he was famously not under contract with Topps at the time.  So here is what could've been:

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

Frank (Pancho) Herrera:

Herrera was 2nd place in Rookie of the Year voting in 1960, far behind Frank Howard. He also led the league in errors at first base and had a then MLB record of 136 strikeouts.  He wasn't a 1960 All Star, nor was he a Sporting News All Star.  He is an interesting side note though.  He played from 1955-1974 in pro ball. Only parts of three seasons were at the Major League level.  In that time he amassed 305 homers at all levels.  He was elected to the International League Hall of Fame in 2008.

More 1967 Alt-Topps

Managers, Team Cards and Rookie Cards

Nothing out of the ordinary here.  I kept pretty close to the Topps script in the design of the manager, rookie stars and team cards. 

For the Managers, these are simply base cards with managers on them.  Joe Adcock managed only one season, 1967 for the Indians.  They finished in 8th place with a 75-87 record.  In the NL the Wes Westrum led Mets would come in last place.  He would yield the reigns to Salty Parker for the final eleven games of the 1967 season.

The AL Rookie of the Year was future Hall of Famer, Rod Carew.  I teamed him up with another Twin who made his MLB debut in 1967, Graig Nettles.

Tom Terrific was the NL ROY and another future Hall of Famer.  Amos Otis was a five-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove for the Royals.  He was September call-up for the Mets in 1967 

After winning the AL pennant 5 straight years from 1960-1964, the Yankees fell to 6th place in 1965 and in 1966 the were dead last. 1967 wouldn't be much kinder. They finished in 9th with 90 losses.

The Reds were 8 games under .500 in 1966 for a 6th place finish. In 1967 they were 12 games above .500 and finished in 4th place in the NL. Although not the Big Red Machine yet, they were assembling the cast of characters.

1964 Alt-Topps Requests

Just a few more for the 1964 Alt-Topps set by request. A couple were Anonymous. Including a reminder to make a Mickey Mantle card similar to those that were somewhat of a starter for this blog.  Most request were again from Buzz (the other anonymous poster). Jeremy requested a checklist which I used in my last post.

Here are the ones for The first anonymous poster:

A young Lou Brock before the infamous trade.

Buzz really likes to throw out a challenge.  First was Joe Adcock, who was traded to the L.A. Angels in late 1963. In 1965 the Angels became the California Angels with new logos on their caps. So it was a small window in which to find a suitable photo.

Next, he wanted Rocky Colavito who was spent just a single season with the A's in 1964. Once again a photo in the proper uniform (that preferably didn't appear on any other cards) was a tough find.

Next was the first Frank Thomas. Thomas was dealt to Philadelphia in late 1964 so this would have to have been a late series card in the Alt-Universe.  He was on the down-slide of his career and was on the Phillies just long enough to make an enemy of 1964 Rookie of the Year, Dick Allen.

The final request from buzz is more historical than baseball related.  He wanted to see a tribute to the recently (in the 1964 Alt-Universe) deceased President.