Here's some more cards that came in this month, mostly from OCB. I've sent out quite a few too. Getting just a bit nervous that nothing I mailed out last week has made it to their destination yet.
Greg Henthorn sent some great vintage cards . . .
Here's what's come in the last few weeks . . .
The weekly Greg Morris auctions have been better lately for oddballs and high numbers than for big stars. I've probably gotten what I can in terms of affordable star cards for these. I probably have to wean myself off of doing these regularly, but I still enjoy them and they're fairly cheap. These came today . . .
I rarely find really cheap lots with enough cards I needed, but I needed four out of these ten '59s which were about a quarter apiece. Drott, Bressoud, Martyn and Kasko are the keepers; the rest are available for trade.
This is my favorite recent purchase. 1968 American Oil Mickey Mantle. I had picked up the Mays recently. Both were surprisingly cheap for 1960s oddballs. It's a mixed-sport set and other than Ruth that's all of the baseball in the set.
I got a great stuffed PWE of cards from a TCDB member known as M_. His username reminds me of how a 19th-century novel, like an Edgar Allan Poe story, would refer to someone as "Mr._" or "M._" to make it sound like a real incident where they can't reveal the people's names.
M_ reached out with some needs for the New York teams in the 1998 Metal football set. The Strahan card is disappointing, clearly not a New York photo. The Leon Johnson card I like much better, with a view from the Empire State Building across the East River to Queens.
Last time Hostess pitched an 8-0 shutout. Will Topps get on the board this time?
Both photos show Hisle wearing the Twins' powder blue uniforms, but the light and/or printing makes the uniform on the spring training photo on the Hostess card much bluer than the Topps card at Oakland.
Named after Larry Doby, the first black American Leaguer, outfielder Larry Hisle had an up-and-down career before finally putting it all together at age 30, hitting .302 with 28 HR and 119 RBI for the Twins in 1977. He signed with the Brewers after that season and had a great ’78, hitting .290 with 34 HR and 115 RBI. Unfortunately, injuries would limit him to just 79 more games over the next four seasons. Overall Hisle hit .273 with 166 HR and 674 RBI in a 14-year big league career. Hisle, considered one of the nicest men in baseball, is Manager of Youth Outreach for the Brewers and is involved in a number of charitable endeavors. With his son Larry Jr., himself a former minor leaguer, he owns HISLEWOOD, which manufactures the Syndigrip bat grip as well as providing youth hitting lessons.
Last time 1987 eked out a 6-5 victory. Who will win this battle of National League third basemen?
The red sleeves on Gene Freese's jersey really pop on his card. Freese played for six teams in his 12-year major league career, mostly for the Pirates, Reds and White Sox. His best season was 1961, when he helped the surprising Reds win the pennant, hitting .277 with 26 HR and 87 RBI. However, he was just 1-for-16 in the World Series. Overall in 1,115 games he hit .254 with 115 HR and 432 RBI. He died eleven years ago today at the age of 79.
We get a very close-up look at Graig Nettles on his card. Nettles has the highest WAR total of any third baseman not in the Hall of Fame, and the highest WAR total of any player with a batting average below .250. The six-time All Star was one of the big stars of the Yankee teams that won four pennants and two World Series between 1976 and 1981. He led the AL with 32 HR in 1976, and in 1977 had his best season, hitting .255 with 37 HR and 107 RBI. The Yankees traded him to the Padres before the 1984 season and helped San Diego win their first-ever pennant that year. In 2,700 major league games he hit .248 with 390 HR and 1,314 RBI. Nettles was also a terrific defender, with the most impressive highlight reel of postseason defensive gems since Brooks Robinson. Nettles was a scout and coach for a while but is now retired.
Here's the front, Chambliss at the site of his future glories.
TCMA had a front scan but not a back scan. I found a photo online of a graded copy of the card.
June 30, 1973. Chambliss went 1-for-3 in Cleveland's 7-3 loss to the Yankees. Mel Stottlemyre defeated Brent Strom, who fell to 1-9. Roy White went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three runs scored.
Assuming the dates are correct, this photo was taken the same day, 3,000 miles away, as Wilbur Wood's deckle card.
It appears the photo was taken the same time as Chambliss's Topps card. And here is where I begin to question the date a bit.
Outfielder Keith Harrison played three years of A ball in the Padres organization, 1986 at Spokane and 1987 and 1988 at Charleston. In 190 games he hit .196 with 0 HR, 25 RBI and 29 SB. I could not find any information about his life after baseball.
First, RIP Hank Foiles, who played in the majors from 1953 to 1964. He shared a baseball card story with this blog in 2018.
The back: The Mets were famously tight-fisted during the free-agent era, so their first-ever free agent was someone who had just come off a full season in the minor leagues and would start his Mets career at AAA. Not exactly Catfish Hunter.
The player: Hausman had an undistinguished career, mostly in relief. He pitched for the Mets from 1978 to 1982 and ended his career with three games for the Braves. Overall in 160 games (33 starts) he went 15-23 with a 3.80 ERA.
The man: After his playing career he was a youth coach in Nevada, coaching a team that played in the Little League World Series tournament. He died in 2019.
My collection: I have 13 of his cards, from 1976 to 1983. I would be interested in trading for 1977 Cramer Spokane Indians #7.
The player, in brief: Dave Concepcion was an all-around great player for the Big Red Machine. A shortstop for the Reds for his entire 19-year-career, he was a nine-time All-Star and won five gold gloves. A pretty good hitter with speed and doubles power, he hit .267 with 389 2B, 101 HR, 950 RBI and 321 SB. In 34 postseason games he hit .297 with 2 HR and 13 RBI.
Post-playing career, in brief: Concepcion lives in his native Venezuela where he owns a farm and a trucking business.
My collection: I have 54 of his cards, from 1971 to 1989. I would be interested in trading for 1975 Hostess #47.
I got some great, mostly Canadian cards from Tdorsay of TCDB, who is primarily an OPC collector.
Starting off with the most recent cards. I've picked up a lot of McDonald's Donruss Canadian cards from TCDB trades. The Morris actually finishes the small 1992 set for me. Some great photos in the 1993 set including Kelly Gruber eating some dirt.
As much as I prioritize vintage these days, I'll never stop enjoying a big cheap box of modern cards. I got lucky with a good one on eBay - less than $8 shipped for maybe 2000 cards. I found several hundred that I needed.
Last time gum held on for a 7-3 victory. Who will win this time?
Hands up or down? It looks like both photos were taken on the first base/right field side of Royals Stadium, probably at the same time.
Steve Busby had an excellent rookie season in 1973, and was an All Star in 1974 and 1975, pitching two no-hitters and winning 56 games over three seasons. Unfortunately Busby hurt his rotator cuff in early 1976, and he was never close to the same pitcher again, and was unable to contribute to the Royals' postseason run in the late 1970s. He returned in 1978 but was unable to regain effectiveness, retiring after the 1980 season. In 167 games he went 70-54 with a 3.72 ERA. After his career he was a longtime Rangers broadcaster, and is now retired, though he does occasional youth coaching.
This was a nice little lot, 36 cards for $1.25 shipped. This was the draw for me, an autographed minor league oddball of the all-time nickname Pork Chop Pough. I don't remember seeing a Shop-Rite card before.
Stumbled across a couple of wallet-card worthy signage in the city this week.
It's hardly vintage, but believe it or not it's been sixteen years since Wachovia bank disappeared. They were only in the New York area for about ten years or so. This was on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, somewhere around 14th street I think.
Last time 1962 held on for a 5-3 victory. Who will win this time?
No logo or even background for Johnny Weekly, a Giants minor leaguer who was taken by the new Houston Colt .45s in the expansion draft. Weekly made his big league debut in 1962 and appeared in 53 games between '62 and '64. He hit .207 with 5 HR and 19 RBI. He died in a car accident in 1974.
Sammy Stewart wears a warm jacket on the dugout steps in Detroit. Stewart pitched for the Orioles from 1978 to 1985, the Red Sox in 1986, and the Indians in 1987. A multi-inning reliever, Stewart won the AL ERA crown in the strike-shortened 1981 season, with a 2.32 ERA in 112.1 innings over 29 appearances, 26 of them in relief. Overall, in 359 games he went 59-48 with 45 saves and a 3.59 ERA. He was arrested dozens of times during and after his career on DWI, drug possession and domestic abuse charges, and served prison time from 2006 to 2013. He died of heart disease in 2018.
Doug Rader poses at Astro Stadium in Cocoa, FL.
Topps says the date is March 24, 1973.
While that would be the same date as Bobby Valentine's card, which had to be correct, there is no way this is correct. Check out Rader's 1973 Topps card, which was from Series I, surely out before March 24.
