Topps All-Star Misses: 1962 NL Battery

 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).

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With the 1962 set there were a lot of All Stars to choose from.  In 1961 MLB was still running 2 All Star Games each season. Game 2 actually ended on a tie. It was the first tie game in All Star history and it was due to rain.  The only other tie was Bud Selig's 2002 fiasco.

Sandy Koufax:

• 
  Although not a starter in either 1961 ASGs, he was the first lefty to come in relief in game 2.
• All Star reserve in 1961 and 1961. 
• 18th in 1961 MVP voting.
• 24th in 1962 MVP voting.
• Led NL with 269 Ks in 1961.

Bob Purkey:

• Starting pitcher in 1961 AS Game 2.
• All Star reserve in 1961 ASG 1.
• All Star reserve in both 1962 ASGs.
• 1962 Sporting News All Star RHP.
• 3rd in Cy Young voting 1962.
• 8th in 1962 NL MVP voting 1962.

Smoky Burgess:

• Staring Catcher in both 1961 ASGs
• 1961 Sporting News All Star

Del Crandall:

• 1962 Sporting News All Star.
• Missed most of 1961 due to shoulder injury.
• Starting Catcher in bot 1962 ASGs.
• 1962 Gold Glove.

Who probably didn't merit inclusion in the 1962 Topps All-Star set, but was in it anyway?

Johnny Roseboro

Roseboro was a Gold Glove in 1961 and was 19th in MVP voting in 1961. He was a back-up catcher in both 1961 and both 1962 ASGs.  But because he was not selected to the Sporting News All Star team in 1961 or 1962 nor was he a starter in either of those seasons, his inclusion is questionable.

1968 Alt-Topps Requests

Sorry for the late posting. Believe it or not, January has been a very busy month for me. The weather in Chicago didn't help. And I get the feeling February won't be any better...

Let's start the requests with the All-Stars for Bill.  He wanted to see one of his favorites. The Killer. The man who may (or may not) have been the inspiration for the MLB logo created in 1969. 

The other was for the 1967 Triple Crown winner, Yaz. Although he saw significant drops in all three categories, he still was the AL batting leader in 1968. He also led the league in walks and on-base percentage.

Now for what I call "The Buzz Challenge".  Buzz must've been quite the pitcher in his youth considering the curve-balls he likes to throw.  Even a gimme like Mickey Mantle, Buzz wanted him with a first baseman's mitt. Now I had already made a card of the Mick at first base here.  I have seen a handful of action shots at 1st but very few posed. Since this set is supposed to be circa 1968 an action shot would have been unusual to say the least.

Many of Buzz's other challenges were the usual odd player-team combos. Here is Jim Bunning who was known for pitching in Detroit and Philly. In 1968 and the beginning of 1969 he was a Pirate. He also spent part of 1969 as a Dodger. I made a card of him on LA a few years back.

You can also see his west coast favorites come out. Here is a long-time Dodgers catcher on his new team. Johnny Roseboro went to the Twins in a deal that brought 1965 MVP Zoilo Versalles to LA.

Another short-time Dodger was Rocky Colavito. Known mostly for playing in Detroit and Cleveland, Rocky did short stints for the A's, White Sox and Yankees.

He was looking for a card depicting 1964 MVP Ken Boyer in a Dodgers uniform. Boyer actually began the 1968 campaign playing 3rd base for the White Sox. This was actually a tougher photo to find. This is the only color shot I found of him in a Sox uniform. I have absolutely no idea where he got that lightning-bolt windbreaker.

Ken Harrelson is perhaps best known for playing in Boston.  Topps, however, could never seem to make a card of him in a Red Sox uniform. It was always an airbrushed A's or Senators uni. Hawk also played in Cleveland where Topps caught up to his uniforms again.

Lastly, was utility infielder, John Kennedy. After playing for the Yankees in 1967, Kennedy spent the entire 1968 season in the minors before being picked up by the expansion Pilots for the 1969 season.

1961 Topps Checklist - Cards That Never Were - 18th Series

I've gotten a little behind on my checklists. I'm actually already 8 cards into the next series. As you can see I've decided to keep with the 1961 design and I'm going to use the photo area for some classic brawls. On my very first checklist I used Michael Barrett's sucker-punch on A.J. Pierzynski, and on my 17th series I used Robin Ventura's ill-advised charge on Nolan Ryan. 

For my 18th Series I used a photo of Juan Marichal and catcher Johnny Roseboro's 1965 brawl with Sandy Koufax in the background trying to break it up.  Roseboro was upset about some earlier chin music served up to teammates, Ron Fairly and Maury Wills. In retaliation he returned the ball unnecessarily close to Marichal's head. After Roseboro's second "inside" throw-back Marichal brought his bat down over his head. This resulted in a bench clearing brawl, 14 stiches for Johnny Roseboro, and 8 games off for Juan Marichal.