1991 Fleer Jim Palmer

Baltimore Orioles CTNW Favorites #3

Nearly seven years after his forced retirement and just months after his enshrinement in Cooperstown, Jim Palmer reported to spring training for the Baltimore Orioles. At 45 years of age he was attempting a comeback. Palmer pitched 2 innings of an intersquad game, surrendering 5 hits including a home run, and 2 walks. On March 11, 1991 he faced off against the Red Sox. Pitching the first 2 innings, Palmer gave up 2 runs on 5 hits and a walk. Palmer clearly was not his old self. His fastball hovered around 80 mph and he struggled with control. 38 preseason pitches into his comeback, Jim Palmer hung up his cleats for good.

1972 Topps Boog Powell In Action

Baltimore Orioles CTNW Favorites #4

You just don't see the base-running Boog Powell action shot every day. But here is the big guy trying to break up a double play. Although I can't see his number, it looks like that might be Bert Campaneris with the throw to first.

1976 Hostess Reggie Jackson

Baltimore Orioles CTNW Favorites #5

It's been a while since I've put together a top 5 "Fan Favorites" set. Just as a reminder, these are not necessarily the 5 best players from the franchise. They are just cards I decided to make of players that I like. So as David Letterman used to say before Stupid Pet Tricks, "This is only an exhibition. This is not a competition. Please, no wagering."

Reggie's season in Baltimore was never really preserved on cardboard. Although there have been several custom cards created in honor of his single season in Baltimore, this might be the first custom snack-cake-card. 

Reggie Jackson was traded to the Orioles just days before the start of the 1976 season. After the season he was granted free agency and went to the Yankees in November of 1976. Topps went from having him in an A's uniform on his 1976 issue to a poorly airbrushed Yankee uniform on his 1977 issue. 

Topps did created a pre-release proof card of him in an Orioles uniform but on a Yankees card.

By the time the actual set was released the photo was replaced with the airbrushed version.

There have been several versions of Cards That Never Were of Jackson as an Oriole including this alteration of the Topps proof card found on Camden Chat:

There have also been several custom cards of Jackson on 1976 Topps cards. Here are 4 I found with a quick google search. The 2 regular issue Topps cards are Bob Lemke's, the 1st traded card comes from White Sox Cards, the 2nd from The Baseball Card Blog. 

1972 Topps Joe Morgan All Star MVP

Going Horizontal

After going 0 for 3 with a walk during regulation, Joe Morgan had a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 10th to give the NL a 4-3 victory in the 1972 All Star Game.

I started making horizontal variations of Topps cards a while back. At that time I decided that I would use the All Star Game MVP as the subject of the cards.  The strange thing is that when Topps started incorporating the horizontal variation into its set they just happened to put that season's All Star Game MVPs onto horizontal cards.

In 1973 Bobby Bonds was the All Star Game MVP. He came in to the game as Billy William's relief in left field. He had a 2-run homer and a double in his only at bats. This is his actual 1973 card. Hall of Famer,Willie Stargell makes a cameo on this card. He also made a brief appearance in the 1973 All Star Game. He pinch-hit for Chris Speier and struck out.

In 1974 Steve Garvey was the All Star Game MVP going 2 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI double. The NL would continue their dominance with a 7-2 victory. Garvey would also be named the National League MVP for the 1974 season.

1972-73 Topps Calder Trophy - Ken Dryden

I can think of no player in any major sport to win the post-season MVP award one year, then win Rookie of the Year honors the following year. But that is exactly the case with Ken Dryden.

Ken Dryden won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1971. He was the goaltender for the Canadiens that held off my beloved Blackhawks in 7 games to win the Cup. But with only 6 regular season games he was still eligible for NHL Rookie of the Year honors in the 1971-72 season. Under the new coach Scotty Bowman, Dryden and the Canadiens improved from 97 points in 1970-71 to 108 point in 1971-72 earning Dryden the Calder Trophy. Over his career, Dryden would go on to win 5 Vezina Trophies as the league's top goalie. He was elected to the NHL Hall of Fame in 1983 and served in the Canadian Parliament from 2004-2011.

The actual 1972-73 Topps Calder Trophy card depicted the trophy itself. Although it is a very nice looking trophy, I think most collectors would prefer a card of the award winner.