1972 Topps Jim Wynn In Action

Houston Astros CTNW Favorites #2

The "Toy Cannon" has been a fan favorite on many teams, but Jim Wynn's MLB career began in Houston, first with the Colt .45s then the Astrros.  1972 was somewhat a comeback year for the Cannon. His production in 1971 was off while he was recovering an off-season surgery. He and his wife were arguing when Wynn pulled an unloaded shotgun. His wife grabbed a steak knife and stabbed him in the abdomen. No charges were filed as Wynn admitted that it was his own fault. As a result his batting average dropped from .282 in 1970 to just above the Mendoza line in 1971.

By 1972 his numbers were back to where they belonged. He hit .273 with 24 homers and 90 RBIs. In 1973 under new manager, Leo Durocher, Wynn was moved from #3 in the order to leadoff to take advantage of his speed. Predictably, his batting average and RBI's dropped significantly. But the numbers you'd expect to go up by such a change - walks, runs scored and stolen bases - dropped also. After the season he was traded to Los Angeles where he staged yet another comeback. But that is a story for another day.

1973 Topps J.R. Richard

Houston Astros CTNW Favorites #3

J.R. Richard is another tragic story of what might have been. He was the first round draft pick of the Astros in 1969. But it wasn't until 1975 that he broke through. Although he was wild, leading the league in both walks and wild pitches, he managed a 12-10 record and 176 strikeouts. The following year he would win 20 games, lower his ERA to 275 and strikeout 214.  He won 18 games in each of the next three seasons, leading the league in strikeouts in 1978 and 1979. Ha had the lowest ERA in 1979.

With the addition of Nolan Ryan in 1980 the future never looked brighter. On July 30, 1980 James Rodney Richard had a stroke during warm-ups before a game in Philadelphia. Less than 2 weeks after his first All Star game, Richard's career was over. He played minor league ball for the Astros in 1982 and '83 but he was clearly not the same pitcher. He was ultimately released by the Astros just before the 1984 season.

This 1973 Topps card is a missing link in Richard's collection. After sharing a "Rookie Stars" card with Bill Greif and Ray Busse in 1972, his next Topps card would be in 1974. Not that I can blame Topps, J.R. spent most of 1972 pitching for the Oklahoma City 89ers.

1972 Topps Bad-Ass Photos of the Stars: Walt "No-Neck" Williams

1943-2016

I was saddened to hear the news that one of the favorite White Sox players of my childhood passed away last week. Walt Williams, affectionately known as No-Neck, played for the southsiders from 1967-1972. He along with Carlos May, who lost a thumb during a military training exercise, and Pat Kelly made up the Early '70s White Sox outfield which Harry Carey referred to as "no neck, no arm and no thumb".

I had made a card of Williams once before for my other blog "Rating the Rookies" seen to the right. But I wanted to make a tribute card of him during his White Sox tenure. So while scanning the interwebs for an appropriate picture I came across this photo of him on his motorcycle in old Comiskey Park. So I figured I'd modify the 1972 Boyhood Photos series for this card. 

I also ran into problems finding a decent photo of Walt in a 1972 era Sox uniform. So what I did was take the half-assed airbrush job Topps did on him for their 1973 card to the left and "fixed" it. 

1969 Topps Deckle Joe Morgan

Houston Astros CTNW Favorites #4

Joe Morgan was one of early stars of the Houston Astros and to this day fans are bemoaning his trade as the worst in Astros history, perhaps baseball history. But hindsight is 20/20.

This was an eight player trade. The Astros gave up Morgan who hit .256 in 1971, first baseman Denis Menke and his .246 batting average, back-up outfielder Cesar Geronimo who hit .220 in limitedplay, pitcher Jack Billingham who went 10-16 in 1971 and a minor leaguer, Ed Armbrister.

In exchange they got second baseman Tommy Helms who was 2 years older and not a stolen base threat like Morgan, However he was coming off his 2nd consecutive Gold Glove year and had a similar .258 batting average. They got Lee May who was an all star in 1971 and had hit 38, 34 and 39 homers in 1969, '70 and '71 respectively. They also got Jimmy Stewart who was a career .306 hitting pinch-hitter and utility man. On paper it looked like a fairly even trade. At the time...

After the trade Billingham had back-to-back 19 win seasons in 1973 and '74. Geronimo became a Gold Glove center fielder and turned his .228 career batting average with the Astros into a respectable .261 with the Reds. And we all know what became of Morgan. In Houston, Stewart was released after the 1973 season. May's numbers declined and he was traded to Baltimore after the 1974 season. Helms lasted the longest. He was traded to the Pirates after the 1975 season for Art Howe.

Since Morgan was one of the bright spots of the early Astros teams, I had to dip into the insert sets to find a Card That Never Was for him. The 1969 Deckle set was a favorite of mine and of Topps, too. They revisited it in 1974 and most recently in the Archive sets from both 2012 and 2014. Topps did actually make a Deckle Edge card of Morgan inserted into the 2012 Archives set. But as you can see the photo they used is not from the 1969 era. It is clearly from his return to the Astros in 1980.

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UPDATE
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In the comment section, Brett brought up a good point. I called out Topps for using a photo from the wrong era, but my photo would not have been used by Topps in 1969 either. That is not unintended. I try to keep the photos historically accurate (or close to it) but I also want to make the cards look the way I would have wanted them. (Right under the title of this blog it says "What cards would look like if I had my way.")  Topps used all posed photos in the original 1969 Deckle set. But even Topps went to candid or "action" shots when using the design in their Archive sets.

Realistically, Topps would have used a photo like I posted below.  Due to a trademark dispute by Monsanto, in 1968 and the first 3 series of 1969 the word "Astros" didn't exist on Topps products, nor did any Astros logos. So most likely if Topps had made a card for Morgan it would have been a head and shoulders shot of him in his away uniform (Houston on front rather than Astros). It would also have had either no hat like Morgan's 1969 base card or an airbrushed hat like Rusty Staub and Jim Wynn had on their Deckle Edged cards.

 So if I wanted to make a card like Topps would have in 1969, I think it would look more like this. I didn't know how to include a picture into the comment section so here it is:

1975 Topps Joe Niekro

Houston Astros CTNW Favorites #5

It has been months since I've made my Top 5 "Fan Favorites". For this one I've chosen to do the Houston Astros. There are several worthy players from the 90's and beyond but as usual, I chose to make cards of players I remember from my early collecting years,  which would be primarily 1980s and earlier. In case you need to be reminded, this is simply an exhibition, not a competition. So please no wagering.

Joe Niekro was purchased by the Astros just prior to the start of the 1975 season. He began his MLB career with the Cubs. He then played for the Padres, Tiger and Braves. It was in Atlanta where he honed his knuckler with the help of his teammate, future Hall of Famer, and big brother Phil Niekro. When Joe came to Houston he was used out of the bullpen. When the knuckle ball became his reliable go-to pitch he earned a starting roll. In 1980 he became the first Astro to win 20 games in two seasons.

I chose the 1975 design because Topps pictured him in a Braves uniform that year. It was also the first season the Astros wore the infamous "Tequila Sunrise" uniforms.  These unis would not appear on Topps cards until the 1976 series. That first season was slightly different than the other years in that the player's number was in a circle on the back. They also had a black #40 patch on their sleeve in honor of Don Wilson. Wilson was an All Star pitcher for Houston from 1966-1974. He died in January of 1975. You can barely make out that patch on his left shoulder.

Here is a better look at those first year uniforms. Sorry I couldn't find a decent color photo that showed both the patch and the circle number.

This photo features pitcher Doug Konieczny and manager Preston Gomez.  I know this is a post about Joe Niekro but I have to point out that in 1974 Gomez had actually brought in a pinch hitter for Don Wilson (whose patch is on his sleeve) when Wilson was pitching a no hitter after 8 innings. Granted, the Astrros were down to the Big Red Machine 2-1 on a costly 2 run throwing error by shortstop Roger Metzger. But pinch hitter, Tommy Helms grounded out and reliever Mike Cosgrove gave up a hit to the first batter he faced, Tony Perez. The 'Stros lost 2-1. Gomez was fired in August 1975 after going 47-80.  He was replaced by fired Yankees manager, Bill Virdon.