Managers, Team Cards and Rookies
Nothing ground breaking here. I simply used the base card format for the managers.
I had to use this photo because I never noticed that the White Sox coaches had caps that were different than their players. This is similar to the A's look in the '60s and 70s. I scoured 2 of my favorite sites looking for other examples of coach-specific White Sox caps. I had no luck at either Chris Creamer's Sportslogos.net or Paul Lukas's Uni-Watch.com. If either of these blogs can help me out with more information, hit me up. ****See update below for more information***
For the team cards I used the Topps 1965 and 1966 method of including where the team finished the previous year.
For whatever reason, Topps did not include team cards of the Astros, Cubs, Giants, Indians, Red Sox or Yankees in the real 1968 set. In this alt-set we got the Giants and Red Sox covered.
As usual I included the Rookies of the Year in my sampling of rookie cards.
For the Reds, Bench and McRae. And for the Yankees Bahnsen and Bobby Cox.
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UPDATE Jan 10, 2019
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That was fast.
I knew that posing this question to Paul Lukas would yield results. I just didn't realize how quickly he would have the answer. He sent me a link to Todd Radom's blog where he had a great and humorous history of this short-lived ballcap.
Here is a link to Todd Radom's Blog. There is plenty of good reading there. I can really lose a full day just going through it. (Just a friendly warning)
Here is a screenshot of his explanation:
There is also a terrific graphic that accompanies this story. I won't include that here. I feel I have already taken too many liberties posting his explanation. I do recommend following the above link to see it for yourself.
That is Tiger Stadium depicted in the photo used for this card. I would have to deduce that this was the final appearance of this ill-fated cap.
Thanks again to Paul Lukas of Uni-Watch!
I am really enjoying this series, especially when Reds are featured. :)
ReplyDeleteJT, The Writer's Journey
I try to get as many different teams as possible into the mix.
DeleteAbsolutely perfect!!! Your latest additions, especially the "rookie stars" make me wonder why Topps didn't use this design at some point. "Buzz" (Bryant)
ReplyDeleteNice looking Redsox team card
ReplyDeleteThe Grady Hatton card should have the cap logo airbrushed out and say "Houston" instead of "Astros" in keeping with Topps' policy at the time. There was some kind of lawsuit going on in 1968 (by Monsanto and Astro-turf?) that prevented Topps from using the "Astros" name on the cards. It also apparently extended to them excluding the "H" logo with the star on the caps. That may be the reason they didn't issue an Astros team card.
ReplyDeleteExactly. I actually addressed that 3 years ago in this post:
Deletehttps://cardsthatneverwere.blogspot.com/2016/01/1969-topps-deckle-joe-morgan.html
Nice cards. Mentioning the different caps for coaches reminds me that baseball is the only sport where the coaches and managers dress in the same manner as the players. I know you are following Topps format, but I never liked the multiple player rookie cards. I much prefer dedicated cards, especially in the case of players like Bench.
ReplyDeleteI think this is where we differ on this subject. I actually find the pairing or relative "nobodies" and superstars (both with 20/20 hindsight) interesting. In fact I started (the abandoned) a blog dealing with this phenomenon. I have created solo cards of rookies in the past and most likely will continue. I get it. I pity the Dodger collector who will spend a fortune to complete his 1963 set because Ken McMullen happened to share his rookie card with Pete Rose. But then again if it had not been for that, would we even be discussing Ken McMullen?
DeleteJust a side note: I am NOT calling McMullen a nobody. He had a very solid MLB career. I'm just saying you may have to take out a loan to pay or his rookie card, while the rest can be found in the bargain bin.
Understood. I have viewed all your dedicated rookie cards and like them all. You created dedicated 62 Rich Rollins and Bernie Allen cards for me awhile ago which I really appreciate (62's and 63's are the worst with 4 players and only their heads on one card).There are many more I would like to see! Hear you loud and clear on the 63 set. I have all the major stars for that year from childhood, but I am not pursing a complete set like I might normally do, because I will not pay the price for the Rose/McMullen card. Ironically, I may have had it as a kid and trashed it since I so despised these cards. Thanks for your blog!
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