1988 Domino's: Norm Cash

Not the most flattering photo - the slugger squinting into the sun.

Norm Cash was a star first baseman for the Tigers from the early 1960s to the early 1970s. In 1961 he had a breakout season, one he later admitted was aided by a corked bat. He led the AL with a .361 batting average and 193 hits. He never again hit better than .283 but was good for 20-30 HR a year. Overall in 2,089 games he hit .271 with 377 HR and 1,104 RBI. After his career he was a Tigers announcer. In October of 1986 Cash drowned in an alcohol-related incident in Lake Michigan.

My collection: I have 15 of his cards, from 1960 to 1974. I would be interested in trading for 1959 Topps #509, 1962 Topps #250, 1966 Topps #315, 1967 Topps #540 and 1971 Topps #599.

Burgers or gum? Doug Bair

Last time there were seven votes (but none from Stuart who had the idea for this series! Hope Stuart is coming back soon). Burgers got off to a hot start with a 6-1 win.

 

Another instance where the two photos looks very similar. (They won't all be like this!) It looks like the photographer moved slightly between shots, making the backgrounds different even as the pose looks almost the same.

Bair was a lower-leverage reliever and didn't see a lot of work during the Tigers' 40-game hot start, appearing in 8 of the games, with 2 wins and 2 saves. Bair usually appeared in games where the team was losing, way ahead, or deep into extra innings. Overall in 47 games in '84 he went 5-3 with 4 saves and a 3.75 ERA. His one postsesaon appearance came in the Tigers' one loss, a scoreless 0.2 innings in Game 2 of the World Series.  Other than a stint as a closer for the Reds in 1978 and 1979, Bair had a long career as a well-traveled middle reliever, pitching for seven teams in 15 years. In 584 games he went 55-43 with 81 saves and a 3.63 ERA. After his playing career, Bair was a minor league coach for many seasons. He is now retired.

Cake or gum? 1977 Dave Winfield

Last time there were just four votes, with Topps getting all four. Will Hostess get on the board here?

 Both sets featured portraits of the slugger deep in thought. Hostess has him looking at the camera at spring training, while Topps has Winfield looking off into the San Francisco sky, deep in shadow.

 Dave Winfield was one of the all-time greats. He was a five-tool player who excelled at every part of the game. He was certainly one of my favorite players when I started following baseball and the Yankees. Looking back, some of his struggles may have been pressure to justify his big contract. Still, he had great success everywhere he played, finally winning a World Series with Toronto in 1992. In 2,973 games over 22 seasons, he hit .283 with 465 HR, 1,833 RBI and 223 SB. He was a 12-time All-Star and 7-time Gold Glove winner. Winfield has been heavily involved in charitable and business adventures going back to his days with the Padres, and has always had a wide variety of interests beyond sports. He started charitable work in his rookie season, and in 1977 the David M. Winfield Foundation was the first charitable foundation founded by an active athlete. In addition to his numerous charitable adventures, he has numerous business interests. In addition to his own company, Winfield is an Advisor to the MLBPA, investor in a fitness startup, and is on the board of directors of a publicly-traded SPAC.

Wood vs. Wood #307

Last time was a 7-4 win for 1987. Will this be closer?

Jim Grant poses at Yankee Stadium before a game. For some reason the bleachers are full but the grandstand is empty. Some kind of pregame event in the bleachers, maybe? Grant came up with the Indians in 1958 and had some good seasons for some mostly bad Indians teams. He was traded to the Twins in 1964 and had by far his best season in 1965, leading the AL with 21 wins and six shutouts, and going 2-1 with a 2.74 ERA in his only World Series. He got hurt in '67 and wasn't the same pitcher since, converting to the bullpen where he was a solid contributor for several teams in the late 60s and early 70's. Overall in 571 games (293 starts) he went 145-119 with 54 saves and a 3.63 ERA. After his retirement he was a coach, baseball historian and author (wrote the book Black Aces about Black 20-game winners) and was publicity director for the North American Softball League. He died in 2021.

On his rookie card, Lee Guetterman lunges for a ball, almost certainly at Yankee Stadium. That would make this May 18, 1986, when the Yankees scored four runs off the reliever in 2.2 innings en route to an 11-5 win. Perhaps this was Ken Griffey's fielder choice to 2B in the fifth, or Dave Winfield's single to left in the seventh. Guetterman pitched eleven seasons in the major leagues, mostly with the Mariners and Yankees. In 1989, with the Yankees, he set a major league record by starting the season with 30 2/3 scoreless innings, a record for a relief pitcher. The next year he led the Yankees in victories with 11. Overall in 425 games he went 38-36 with 25 saves and a 4.33 ERA. He is now the baseball coach at the Crossroads Christian Academy in Tennessee, a school founded by his wife, Drew. He shared his thoughts on this card (he doesn't like it) with this blog in 2010.
 

1974 Topps Deckle Dating: Larry Bowa

He's got a turtleneck, must be a cold day.

April 7, 1973.

The same date as teammate Greg Luzinski. With a high of 66° and a low of 46°, a turtleneck was not unreasonable. Bowa was the leadoff hitter and went 0-4, as the Mets won 3-2 on a walkoff single by Willie Mays in the bottom of the ninth.

In other news, President Nixon announced new import fees on gas and oil, the first rugby world cup was held, and astronomers at the OSU Radio Observatory announced the discovery of quasar OH471, the most distant observed object in the universe, which they dubbed "the blaze marking the edge of the universe".

 

1981 Topps Tony Bernazard

 

The front: Pregame pose at Veterans Stadium.

The back: Bernazard's feat was a big enough deal that there was a special card in the Denver Bears team set year commemorating it. 

The player: Second baseman Tony Bernazard played for five teams in a ten-year major league career. His best season was 1986, when he hit .301 with 17 HR and 73 RBI for Cleveland. In the 1987 Topps set he is listed as an All Star, but he never actually was an all-star.

The man:  I remember him best as the assistant GM for the Mets in the late 2000s, when he famously took his shirt off and challenged some Binghamton Mets to a fight. He also offended Carlos Delgado by trying to recruit him to the Mets by speaking “street Spanish”, and got into fights with other players and reporters. At last report Bernazard was working for agent Scott Boras.

My collection: I have 40 of his cards, from 1980 to 1988. I would be interested in trading for  1978 Tiefel & Associates Denver Bears "6 for 6".

1976 SSPC Tom Paciorek

 

The card, in brief: I picture him with wild gray hair on his 1987 Topps card, so seeing him looking so young is always a little surprising.

Playing career, in brief:  Paciorek played eighteen seasons in the major leagues for six teams as a backup outfielder and pinch hitter, only once playing more than 115 games in a season. Overall, in 1,392 games he hit .282 with 86 HR and 503 RBI.

Post-playing career, in brief:  Paciorek was an announcer for several teams, most notably the White Sox. He is now retired.

My collection: I have 40 of his cards, from 1973 to 1988. I would be interested in trading for 1971 Topps #709.

 

Forgot to give away those Tigers cards on Saturday. Got three comments, running the randomizer:

 

Night Owl, I'll get the cards out to you next time I hit the post office, probably after Thanksgiving. 

1986 Renata Galasso Mattingly #1

 Not much to say about the front. I've never been able to get into art cards.

Wow, Don Mattingly got a pinch hit in his first major league game? I'm surprised I didn't know that.

*looks up first game* Comes into a game in the ninth inning as a defensive replacement for Dave Winfield in left. Does not bat.

*looks up second game* Again comes in as a defensive replacement in left. Gets to bat and pops out to third.

*looks up third game* Comes in as a defensive replacement in right this time. Gets another at bat and strikes out.

*looks up fourth game* Comes in as a defensive replacement in left. Gets to bat and hits a sac fly, getting his first RBI before his first hit.

*looks up fifth game* Comes in as a defensive replacement at 1B. Gets to bat and gets his first MLB hit. Later strikes out to end the game with the tying run on base.

*looks up sixth game* First time in the starting lineup. Goes 0-4.

*looks up seventh game, last of the 1982 season* Pinch-hits for Jerry Mumphrey and grounds into a double play.

*cheats and looks it up* Mattingly's first pinch hit came on July 22, 1983, a double off of Dan Quisenberry. It was his 34th major league game.

Two days later Mattingly pinch hit again and flew out, and two innings later George Brett hit one of the most famous "home runs" ever. 

1988 Domino's: Gates Brown

Kicking off a series of the 1988 Domino's set commemorating the 1968 Tigers. The backs are all the same, but the fronts have a different black-and-white photo of every player.

Gates Brown follows through on a big swing. Based on the crowd reaction (or lack thereof), I assume this is a foul ball.

Brown was discovered while playing on a prison team while serving a sentence for burglary. A pinch-hitter extraordinaire, he had his best season by far in 1968, hitting .370 with 6 HR and 15 RBI in 67 games. In 13 seasons, all with Detroit, he hit .257 with 84 HR and 322 RBI. After his retirement he was a scout and a hitting coach. He died of a heart attack in 2013.

My collection: Probably a good time to note that when I put these in posts, it's about filling set needs I happen to have of a certain player, not a separate PC. I don't have any PC's, I just fill every set I can. I have 15 of Brown's cards, from 1965 to 1976. I would be interested in trading for 1964 Topps #471.

 

 

Burgers or gum? Sparky Anderson

Kicking off the 1985 Tigers set showdown. Which card is better - the one Topps used for the base set, or the Wendy's/Coca-Cola Tigers set?

These photos look like they were taken at the same time, from two opposite directions. Spring training photos of a very serious looking Sparky Anderson. The Coke card has some coaches visible, while the Topps card has the stands.

Sparky Anderson had won two World Series with the Big Red Machine, and in 1984 he sealed his Hall of Fame case by leading a much less star-studded Tigers team to a World Championship. The Tigers went off to a 35-5 start, and despite cooling off considerably were still easily the best team in a weak American League that season. In the ALCS they made quick work of the Royals (who would have finished 6th if they played in the AL East), and in the World Series they knocked off the Padres, who surprised the favored Cubs in the NLCS. Sparky kept the Tigers competitive for several more seasons, but they slid into mediocrity under his watch, as he ended his career with five sub-.500 seasons out of seven before retiring after the 1995 season. Anderson, who played in one major league season, for the Phillies in 1959, was involved in various charitable endeavors after he retired. He died in 2010.
 

Cake or gum? 1977 Mike Schmidt

 Last time gum squeaked by, 5-3. Is this cake's turn for a victory?

Hostess has Schmidt wearing a batting helmet, but not batting, in a spring training shot. Topps has Schmidt batting, but not wearing a batting helmet, at Shea Stadium. Of note are that stylized bicentennial logo, and his #20 on the batting glove.

One of the best third basemen of all time, Mike Schmidt played 18 seasons, all for the Phillies. A 12-time All Star and 3-time MVP, Schmidt led the NL in home runs eight times. Overall in 2,404 games he hit .267 with 548 HR and 1,595 RBI. He was the World Series MVP in 1980, hitting .381 with 2 HR and 7 RBI. Since his retirement he has been involved in a variety of charitable endeavors, primarily for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
 

Weekly roundup

RIP Randy Jones, read about his passing on the Baseball Card Breakdown blog. He shared some baseball card stories with this blog in 2014.

A few incoming cards this week, starting with some relatively cheap vintage on eBay. This is not one of the great vintage sets, but the generic player on the front has the Mickey Mantle name on it, so it's hard to get one cheap. This one had writing on the back which kept it under $10. 

Any time I can pick up a prewar Yankee for under $5, I go for it. Nothing important missing on this card.

TCDB trade with Twinjim8791. With a name like that, of course I got some Twins cards. That Knoblauch card is a fun hologram. Nice photo on the Baseball Card Magazine photo of Brian Harper, too.

Speaking of magazine cards, Johnny's Trading Spot had a generous giveaway which was heavy on those. Some other cards too including my first 1989 CMC card, and what a card - Babe Ruth!

 

Wallet Card at Forest Paper Co.

Found another old labelscar in Hudson Square. Forest Paper Co. at 90 Vandam St. As far as I can tell, this business opened sometime in the early 20th century, moved into this space in 1937, and was still there in 1966, when a New York Times article noted that Leon Pomerance, president of this company at this address, was financing an archeological dig in Crete that had been hampered by a robbery. Pomerance was an amateur archaeologist who financed several important excavations. As far as I can tell this business dissolved in 1981, but their impression into the side of the building lives on.

 

Wood vs. Wood #305

Last time we had a close one, with 1987 eking out a 4-3 win. Will 1962 come out on top here?

Jerry Lumpe is framed by a bright blue sky. The A's wearing something other than green always throws me off. Infielder Lumpe (pronounced Lumpy) came up with the Yankees in 1956, and played in the '57 and '58 World Series. Unable to fully break into the mighty Yankees lineup, he was shipped to the A's in '59 as part of the trade that brought Ralph Terry and Hector Lopez to the Bronx. He had some solid seasons with the A's, and was dealt to Detroit in the Rocky Colavito trade after the '63 season. He was an All Star in '64, but age caught up to the 32-year-old infielder and he retired after three more mediocre season with Detroit. Overall in 1,371 games he hit .268 with 47 HR and 454 RBI. After his playing career he worked in banking and insurance. He died in 2014. Famous Yankee announcer Bob Sheppard once said in an interview that Lumpe was his least favorite name to announce. (His favorite, Jose Valdivielso, is a little farther into the '62 set.)

Brooklyn native John Franco is seen here pitching at Shea Stadium, the place he would call home for most of his career. Buddy Bell can be seen looking into his glove as Franco delivers, so this must be a warm-up pitch. This must be May 11, 1986. Pete Rose hit a three-run, bases-loaded single in the second inning, and starter Bill Gullickson and two relievers kept the mighty Mets in check, with the Reds bringing closer Franco into the game to start the eighth. Franco pitched two innings of no-hit ball, striking out three, to hand the Mets just their fifth loss against 20 wins. Franco was one of the premier closers in the National League in the 1980s and 1990s. Starting with the Reds in 1984, and signing with the hometown Mets in 1990, Franco lead the NL in saves three times, was a four-time All Star, and had 15 straight seasons of 10-or-more saves. Overall in 1,119 games (all in relief), Franco went 90-87 with 424 saves and a 2.89 ERA. Since his retirement Franco has stayed active making appearances for the Mets organization.
 

1974 Topps Deckle Dating: Bob Watson

Second Bob Watson post within a month.

TCDB didn't have a back scan; I found this image on Collectors.com.

March 24, 1973. I've posted that date from several cards already. Astros teammate Doug Rader was listed on that day, and I determined that had to be wrong in my post for that card. By association, that casts some doubt on this date as well.

This is a spring training shot, and Watson's 1973 Topps card has his photo at Shea Stadium, so this is not a repeat of the issue with Rader's card. I didn't see any other Topps cards that had a spring photo of Watson with a dark shirt under his jersey. However, as I looked at his cards, it was clear that his 1973 Topps and 1974 Topps photos were taken at the same time. 

'80s team sets from Stuart

Stuart of S.R. '75 Cards generously sent me some of his extra team sets. He suggested these could be new blog series - great idea!

Not really a team set but one player here - it's the 1986 Renata Galasso Don Mattingly set! Lots of fun photos from the Hit Man's childhood, minor league and major league days. This could certainly be a fun series centering on something not usually seen on a baseball card. 

Most of the card backs have canned interview questions, but the last nine cards make a really cool puzzle!

Next up is the 20th anniversary set of the 68 Tigers. (Bet my kids wish it was 67 instead.) Some great vintage photography on this Domino's set, this series will be a great way to dig into some 1960s player bios.

Finally there's the 1984 Tigers team set from Wendy's. The Coca-Cola logos are cool but the photo selection is really bad. Maybe a series comparing a card here to a much more interesting card of the player? 

Stuart included two of these sets but I only needed one. So in the spirit of his generosity, I'll give this one away! Leave a message in the comments, and next Saturday I'll randomize the message-leavers and pick a winner. US only, and if we haven't traded before, send me your address within 24 hours of winning or I'll pick someone else. (Last time I had a giveaway multiple people claimed cards and then never gave me their address, which is pretty rude.)

EDIT: That team set will be minus the Barbaro Garbey card. I totally didn't catch until Stuart just pointed out to me - he had Garbey autograph this at a show recently! I'll be keeping this one.

Thanks Stuart!

 

1981 Topps Britt Burns

 

The front: The White Sox had some of the more unusual uniforms of their era. Looks like he's wearing blue jeans here.

The back: Burns put up his dominant numbers at Huffman High School in Birmingham, AL. Wikipedia says that he was "discovered" by a Chicago Tribune book critic but that is not exactly correct; Cromie attended a game where Burns threw an 18-strikeout no-hitter, and let the White Sox know about him; but scouts from almost every other MLB organization were also at the game.

The player: Burns had a great rookie season in 1980, going 15-13 with a 2.84 ERA; he is credited with a league leading 7.0 WAR that season. Burns was a solid performer for the next few seasons, though injuries cut at his ineffectiveness. After a 1985 season when he went 18-11 despite a 3.96 ERA, he was traded to the Yankees. He never pitched for the Yankees, as a degenerative hip condition quickly worsened, requiring surgery that cut his femur in half. He attempted a comeback in 1990 but was unable to return to the major leagues. Overall in 193 MLB games, all for the White Sox between 1978 and 1985, he went 70-60 with a 3.66 ERA.

The man: Burns had a long career as a minor league pitching coach after his playing days. He still does some youth pitching instruction in Alabama.

My collection: I have 25 of his cards, from 1981 to 1990. I would be interested in trading for 1983 Kellogg's #43.
 

An OPC day

Did a street trade with Al yesterday. This time the box he brought seemed filled with junk wax, but surprise surprise some of it was Canadian junk wax. I pulled out a whole lot of OPC from 1987 and 1988.

The '87s all came from the middle third of the set. I have a lot of '87 OPC and only needed the two on the right; the rest are available for trade. 

I don't have nearly as many '88 OPC; I needed all the ones on the left; just the column on the right available for trade.

Then when I got home I got a package from an eBay win, a lot of '77 OPC. These are actually in really good shape, but it slipped through the cracks I guess and I was able to get 'em cheap. I need these cards, lots of interesting ones here including that cool OPC exclusive Expos coaches card.

There was some duplication in the lot and I had a couple already, so these 9 are available for trade.

 

 

Roundup!

Various incoming cards from the past couple of weeks. I posted a '53 Berra the other day - here's a '54 Berra I got on eBay. Went cheap because of some tape that's far away from anything important on the card.

Nice stuff from 49ants. Some wacky cards, a vintage, and the next to last card I needed for the 2014 Topps set. (Anybody have an extra #537 Madison Bumgarner?) The Johnson card is a fun one, took out the "magnifying glass" - aka cellphone camera - to check out the photos on his wall. Saw a range of baseball celebrities from Carlton Fisk to Youppi posing with the Big Unit.

Another cheap ebay purchase, Willie Mays '71 Topps Super. Some '70s kid drew a beard on Willie on the back, making this a cheap card. The fronts are what make the cards in this beautiful set.

Nice eclectic mix of vintage, retro, and 80's cards from mattheinz23.

Brian Betza sent these with a note, "Fun food stuff!" He was right!

These cards from Joe Stout came the same day I got my big trade package from Crocodile. Stout's PWE contained cards from the '57, '58, '60, '62 and '63 sets. The trade with Croc had cards from the '53, '54, '55, '56, '59 and '61 sets. Eleven consecutive sets covered in two trade packages received on the same day, with no overlap in the sets. What are the odds?

Mark Camps sent some great '54 Topps cards. Two of the pitchers (Garver and Haddix) were coming off 20 win seasons.

Richard Labs sent nine needs from the 1960 Leaf set. The headshots aren't the most exciting, but the photos are so crisp and clear that I enjoy them more than I would expect.

Not all cards came through the mail. Got these in a street trade with Al last week. The four at the bottom were the only four Upper Deck cards I picked out, and as it turns out the only four I had already. Again, what are the odds?

 

Wallet Card with a Typhoon Fence

I've been finding a lot of old fence signs lately. This one on the property of a private house in East Rockaway, L.I.. It has two old phone numbers on it! SUnset 5-5555, and TUrner 4-3333.

Typhoon Industries was founded in Lindenhurst, L.I. in 1959 by former employees of Tornado Industries of Seaford, L.I. Tornado sued Typhoon claiming the new company's name was trade-name infringement, but lost the suit. Typhoon appears to have gone out of business sometime in the early 2000s.

1976 SSPC Manny Mota

 

The card, in brief: That big box on the scoreboard with a Mets logo would change out to a Yankee logo for Yankee home games. However the Jets (and, for one season, the Giants) did not get a logo there.

Playing career, in brief: Manny Mota was a good outfielder who could hit for average and doubles power. He started his career with the Giants, Pirates and Expos before being traded to the Dodgers in June of 1969, starting an affiliation with the team that continues to this day. The Dodgers used him primarily as a pinch hitter, and he set the all-time record for pinch hits (since broken). Overall in 1,536 games he hit .304 with 31 HR and 438 RBI.

Post-playing career, in brief: After retiring as a player Mota was a major- and minor-league coach for the Dodgers, and spent several years as an announcer for the team. Most recently he has been a community liaison for the team, though at last report had suffered a stroke in April.

My collection: I have 25 of his cards, from 1964 to 1981. I would be interested in trading for 1963 Topps #141. 

1990 Topps Big cartoon deep dive: Steve Lyons

Psycho runs to first in a game at Yankee Stadium. Lyons was 3-for-5 in two day games at Yankee Stadium in 1989, both Yankee wins.

Hey! You slid right over my game!

Not once, but regularly, Lyons would play tic-tac-toe with the opposing first baseman. Here's video of him cheating Wally Joyner. He would play hangman too - here's a funny story about a hangman game between Lyons and Kent Hrbek.

Cake or gum? 1977 John Denny

Last time was another big win for gum, 7-0. Will this be closer?

This is an interesting pair. Hostess has Denny in front of the outfield, with what looks like the whole Cardinals team lined up behind him. For the Topps card, it looks like the photographer had Denny move around a bit so he was in front of the dugout, but you can still see several Cardinals lined up on the right side of the photo.

Denny put up some good seasons for some bad teams for the late-70s Cardinals and early-80s Indians. He finally pitched for a winning team with the Phillies in 1983 and won the Cy Young Award, going 19-6 with a 2.37 ERA. Overall in thirteen seasons he went 123-108 with a 3.59 ERA. After his playing career Denny was a coach for a while but now appears to be retired.
 

Wood vs. Wood #304

Last time it was another easy win for 1987, 8-2. Will this be closer?

Dick "Turk" Farrell is shown in his Dodgers uniform but is listed with the expansion Houston Colts (aka Colt 45s), who drafted him before the '62 season. Farrell came up with the Phillies in '56 and quickly became one of the better relievers in the National League. After a rough start to the 1961 season he was traded to the Dodgers, and after the season LA let him get drafted by Houston. The Colt 45's turned him into a starter and he pitched very well in '62, becoming the first All Star for the team. In 43 games (29 starts) he had a 3.02 ERA and 203 strikeouts, though the team was so bad he went only 10-20. He had several more good years for Houston, before being sold to Philly in 1967. He spent the last three years of his career where it started, in the Phillies' bullpen. Overall in 590 games (134 starts) he went 106-111 with 83 saves and a 3.45 ERA. After his career, he worked in the oil industry, a job that took him to England, where he was killed in a car accident in June of 1977. While with the Phillies in 1958, Farrell got a woman pregnant, who raised the child thinking a different man was his father. That boy grew up to be a major leaguer himself. Former Yankee Richard Dotson discovered that he was Richard Farrell's son in 2020 via DNA testing.

By the time 1987 rolled around the Colts had long since grown up to be Astros. Team fan-favorite Phil Garner, in a somewhat unusual shaved look, takes a ground ball in fielding practice.  A three-time All-Star, Phil Garner was a good defensive second baseman with speed and a little power. He played in 16 games for five teams, mostly the A's, Pirates and Astros. In 1,860 games he hit .260 with 109 HR, 738 RBI and 225 SB. He had a long career as a manager as well, for 15 seasons with the Brewers, Tigers and Astros, going 985-1,054, winning a pennant with the Astros in 2005. In February of 2024 Garner was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer but has stayed active, throwing out the first pitch on his birthday at a game in Houston in May.