1970 Topps Tommy Harper All Star

Milwaukee Brewers CTNW Fan Favorites #5

Here is a continuation on a theme of putting together 5 "Cards That Never Were" fan favorites from each team. These are not necessarily the 5 best players from the franchise. So as David Letterman used to say before Stupid Pet Tricks, "This is only an exhibition. This is not a competition. Please, no wagering."

Tommy Harper was the first player to represent the Milwaukee Brewers in the All Star game.  He came in to run for Harmon Killebrew and was thrown out stealing second by Johnny Bench. He was also the first Brewer to join the 30/30 club and only the 5th player in the history of Major League Baseball. Joining Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Bobby Bonds and Ken Williams of the 1922 St. Louis Browns.  

The Seattle Pilots' move to Milwaukee was finalized just 6 days before opening day 1970. There were no Brewers cards anywhere in the 1970 Topps set. I was going to make a regular Topps 1970 Tommy Harper card on the Brewers but the thought of an All Star pinch-runner card struck me as more fun.

1950 Royal Stars of Hockey Bill Barilko

A bit of a change up here but a good story. First on Saturday night the Chicago Blackhawks and the Phoenix Coyotes played their fifth consecutive overtime game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The last time 2 teams played 5 straight OT games in the Playoffs was 1951. The Toronto Maple Leafs  beat the Montreal Canadiens 4 games to 1 on Bill Barilko's OT goal. Which also took place on April 21st.

This goal has become legend in Toronto. Bill Barilko and a friend took a private airplane to go fishing and never returned. The wreckage of the aircraft and the bodies of Barilko and his friend were not found until 1962. Which is the year the Maple Leafs finally won another Stanley Cup Championship. The Story is also the basis for a song by the Tragically Hip. 

"Bill Barilko disappeared that summer,

he was on a fishing trip.

The last goal he ever scored won the Leafs the cup

They didn't win another until 1962,

the year he was discovered.

I stole this from a hockey card,

I kept tucked up under my fifty mission cap"

His goal was also immortalized on cardboard for the 1951-52 Parkhurst set.

And the card Tragically Hip "stole this from" was a 1991-92 Pro Set card.

Barilko never had a hockey card of him while he was still alive. In 1950 Royal Desserts made a limited number of cards on the back of their boxes. They were all of players from American teams.

2012 Heritage Philip Humber

Perfection

If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and watch the bottom of the 9th. Awesome.

2006 Heritage Jerry Hairston Jr. 1999 Bowman Chrome Scott Hairston

 

Today I'm posting 2 "Cards That Never Were".  A third generation of Major Leaguers. All three generations have ties to my hometown teams. 

Scott Hairston was originally drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 1999 while at Central Arizona College but did not sign with the Sox. He would later be drafted and signed by the Diamondbacks in 2001.  His older brother, Jerry Hairston Jr. spent 2005 and part of 2006 playing on the north side for the Cubs. Both of them are the sons of Jerry Hairston who played on the south side of town. Jerry played for the White Sox off and on from 1973-1989.

On the north side was his older brother, Johnny Hairston who played for what must be one of most popular 2nd place teams of all time. The 1969 Chicago Cubs. Johnny Hairston was the first second-generation African-American ball player in the Majors.

The patriarch of this baseball family is Sam Hairston. Sam spent most of his 50+ year career in baseball with the White Sox organization. He played briefly for the Major League club in 1952 but was a player, coach and scout for the White Sox minor league affiliates including the Colorado Springs Sky Sox and the Birmingham Barons. Sam Hairston was inducted into the Birmingham Baron's Hall of Fame in 2009, and the Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.

1969 Topps Johnny Hairston

Johnny Hairston was a career minor league catcher who came up for a "cup of coffee" with the 1969 Cubs. He was the first black second-generation player in the Major League. His father, Sam Hairston had a similarly brief career as a catcher on the south side of Chicago.