1958 Topps Jimmy Orr

Jimmy Orr was the NFL's Rookie of the Year in 1958. He was the 291st player picked in the 1957 draft. He was picked in the 25th round by the L.A. Rams. The Rams intended to use him as a defensive back but he was traded to the Steelers before the start of the 1958 season. The Steelers put him at flanker where he scored 7 TDs on 910 receiving yards. He was drafted lower than any pro football player (AFL or NFL) who won Rookie of the Year until 1983 when kicker Paul McFadden was drafted 312th overall in the 1984 draft. 

1968 Detroit Tigers - Topps Traded

In my last post I made a couple 1968 Topps Tiger cards by request. In this post I am taking it a bit further. Truth is, I've been wanting to play around with "Traded" card designs for a while now. This is just my excuse. The idea of a 2-player traded card was flat out stolen from blogger Warren Zvon and his Mets Fantasy Cards blog. He has several great card variations on his site. Many of which I plan to steal in the future. 

Both of these players had 1968 Topps cards. Don McMahon on the Sox and Dennis Ribant on the Tigers. In their pictures neither of these two guys look particularly happy about the trade. The two relievers were traded for each other on July 26, 1968. The Tigers were apparently going for experience down the stretch trading Ribant for a pitcher nearly 12 years his senior. But McMahon ended up staying in the game 5 years after Ribant washed out.

I wanted to make single-player traded cards as well.  I went through several versions before settling on this style. Still not 100% satisfied with it but... 

Veteran relief pitcher, Roy Face was actually a late season pick up by Detroit. He only made 2 appearances in a Tigers uniform. In 1969 he was picked up by the expansion Montreal Expos. He was 4-2 with 5 saves but was let go again toward the end of the season.

1968 Detroit Tigers - By Request

Yep, I do requests even for anonymous comments. "Anonymous" asked me if I could make some 1968 Detroit Tigers. He specifically named Lenny Green and Jim Rooker. Lenny Green's last Topps card was in 1966 on the Red Sox. After being released by the Bosox at the end of 1966, he was signed by Detroit and played 58 games, batting a respectable .278. He only played 6 games for the Tigers in 1968 before being released mid season.

Jim Rooker pitched his first MLB game for the Tigers in 1968. He came in with the Tigers down 7-0 to the White Sox in the 4th inning at Tiger Stadium. In his first inning he gave up 2 runs on 2 singles, a double and 3 stolen bases. He would make his baseball card debut in 1969 on the Royals Rookie Stars card with a poorly touched up cap.

Don Pepper never actually played for the Tigers in 1968. The closest he came was when he came up for a cup of coffee at the end of the 1966 season. I included his photo because he was featured on the 1968 Sports Illustrated cover along with the other "Top Rookies" of 1968 along with the eventual Rookie of the Year, Johnny Bench. 

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.

1966 Topps AL Stolen Base Leaders: Campaneris, Cardenal, Versalles

1965 was a big year for Bert Campaneris. In addition to leading the league with 51 stolen bases he was caught stealing more than any other player in the AL. He also led in triples and hit-by-pitch. On September 8, 1965 Campy played all 9 positions (click here) even pitching left-handed to Albie Pearson. One of the players who faced a right-hand pitching Campaneris was Jose Cardenal who was 2nd in the AL with 37 stolen bases. Campy got Jose to pop out to 2nd. The 1965 AL MVP, Zoilo Versalles was 3rd in stolen bases with 27.