Favorite Players A-Z (Part 1 of 3)

My mother (probably all mothers) used to say, "If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it, too?".  Maybe.  I've seen a few bloggers make an A-Z list of favorite players. So I figured that I'd jump, too.  I'm more than a bit of a homer so look for an overabundance of Cubs and White Sox players.

For the most part, I'm including cards I had previously created for this blog.  I had to make one card specifically for this post (it's the letter "L") and there is one real card which might be my favorite card in my collection.

Right off the bat, I'm torn. Two of my all time favorite players have last names starting with A. So I'm cheating already.

Hank Aaron on a rejected Topps design.

1972 Topps Dick Allen In Action

1953 Topps Ernie Banks

1984 Topps Roberto Clemente Statue

1978 Topps Larry Doby

1972 Topps All Star Pitchers (Yeah, I know I spelled Dock wrong)

1964 Topps Nellie Fox All Star

1976 Topps Father/Son style Mark Grace Broadcaster

1968 Topps Frank Howard All Star

1957 Topps Monte Irvin

First ten cards and only 5 were Chicago teams, if you don't count Grace. Not bad. (For me).

To be continued....

Topps All-Star Misses: 1968 NL Infield

 After a relatively small group of potential All Star Cards That Never Were in my last post, this group is loaded. Here are the candidates:

Willie McCovey:

• 1968 Sporting News All Star selection
• Starter in 1968 All Star Game
• 1968 NL leader in HRs, RBIs, and slugging.
• 3rd in 1968 MVP voting

Bill Mazeroski:

• Starter in 1967 All Star Game
• Gold Glove second baseman 1967
• 1967 Sporting News All Star Selection

Tommy Helms:

• 1968 Sporting News All Star Selection
• Reserve in 1967 & 68 All Star Games
• 25th in 1968 MVP voting

Dick Allen:

• Starter in 1967 All Star Game
• 19th in 1967 MVP voting
• 2nd in NL Home Runs 1968

Don Kessinger:

• 1968 Sporting News All Star selection
• Starter in 1968 All Star Game
• Led NL shortstops in Fielding %, Assists and Double Plays in 1968.

Topps' 1968 NL All Star infield included mostly legit players.  At first was Orlando Cepeda, the 1967 ASG starting first baseman. Similarly, Gene Alley was the starting shortstop in the 1967 ASG.  Ron Santo was The Sporting News All-Star selection for third base in 1968.  But, as usual, there are some that just don't add up.

Who probably didn't merit inclusion in the 1968 Topps All-Star set, but was in it anyway?

Joe Morgan:

Morgan was not on the MLB All Star Roster nor the Sporting News All Star Roster in 1967 or 1968.  Although he had (at then) a career high of 29 stolen bases in 1967, he was injured most of the 1968 season. playing only 10 games.

************************************************

 My latest project is making All Star Cards That Never Year for the years 1958-62 and 1968-70.  During those years Topps decision making on these cards was haphazard and a mystery to everybody but Topps. They were NOT based on the current season's "Sporting News All Stars" nor the previous season's ASG starters.  So I've made additional cards based on this criteria.   

What started as an idea for a small project, ballooned to over 150 cards so I'll be posting these in small doses.  I'll be breaking it down by year, league (NL or AL), and positions (battery, infield and outfield).

Series 2 Packs - Sold Out!!!

Here is the second pack of physical cards from this blog.  I am selling these through this site for $10.00 per pack plus $4.50 shipping. Please use the link:

Sold Out

I was hoping to have these done by opening day.  I just barely made it. This group is split between my "Barrier-Breakers" series and some of the baseball legends we lost this past year.  You can also buy them individually on eBay. My seller's name there is ctnwblog_8.

So, what's in each pack?

12 Cards That Never Were plus a special insert.

The insert card is a 1969 Joe Morgan Deckle.

All cards are professionally printed.

Front and Back.

The backs are formatted in a style consistent with their year.

The front of the cards are glossy.

The backs are not.

These are similar in look and feel to the Topps Archives cards.

This pack is made up of cards from my "Barrier-Breaker" series, featuring the first Black player on each team.

It also includes some legendary players that we lost this past year.

For those that wish to buy the cards individually,

They are currently available on eBay. 

My user name on eBay is ctnwblog_8.

Don't forget to comment on my give-away post for a chance to win a 1968 Gibson, or Seaver or BOTH!

Dick Allen

 1942-2020

It is with great sadness that I learned earlier today of Dick Allen's passing.

This one really stings.  I grew up a Sox fan in the '70s.  Dick Allen was a hero to me.  I had a homemade baseball bat that was just ridiculously way too big.  We called it the "Dick Allen" bat.  I could only use it playing sandlot ball because it was obviously not legal for little league play.  If you follow this blog, you know that I have used Allen as the subject of many posts. The 72 "In Action" was one of my first fake cards. Here are as many others that I can remember making: