A couple from OBC

Not too many old cards in this post, but a couple of interesting, fully-packed PWEs from OBC members.

Starting off with Dan Williams, whose envelope included two 1960s cards. Bean and Cookie.

Also two from 1990 Sportflics. The first run of Sportflics sets always put a smile on my face.

I hardly ever get junk wax variations, so I found these particularly fun. The Aldrete is a uniform number variation while the other two are reverse-negatives. Fun to still be able to add cards from these sets years after completing them.

Aaron Shirley sent several PWEs, this all didn't fit into one. Impressive variety in these. Starting off with some 1983 OPC. I would guess that of all the cards with Ron Cey as a Dodger, this is Night Owl's least favorite.

Some Return of the Jedi needs.

Aaron sent a whole lot of the 1982 TCMA Baseball's Greatest cards. Some are in color . . .

Some are in black-and-white. Fun photos either way.

A few football needs.

Finally, some great vintage Hostess cards.

1981 Topps Jay Johnstone

 

The front: Johnstone smiles big at Shea Stadium.

The back: His career dates back to 1966; no room for anything else.

The player: Jay Johnstone was a semi-regular outfielder for eight teams over a 20-year career. In only two seasons did he reach 400 at-bats. Overall in 1,748 games he hit .267 with 102 HR and 531 RBI.

The man: Johnstone was much more well-known for his pranks than his playing ability. Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda was Johnstone's favorite target. Johnstone played up the clown persona after his career with three books about his crazy antics and hosting a sports bloopers show. He also did some regular announcing for the Yankees and Phillies. He died from COVID-19 in 2020.

My collection: I have 35 of his cards, from 1967 to 1986. I would be interested in trading for 1978 SSPC #43.

1976 SSPC Jim Crawford

The card, in brief: We are now finished with Cincinnati and move to Houston as we travel alphabetically through NL West cities. The #40 patch is in memory of Don Wilson.

The player, in brief: Jim Crawford pitched for the Astros in '73 and '75, and the Tigers from '75 to '77. In 181 games he went 15-28 with 13 saves and a 4.40 ERA.

Post-playing career, in brief: Crawford seems to have kept a low profile since the end of his playing career.

My collection: I have five of his cards, from 1974 to 1977. I would be interested in trading for 1973-74 Venezuelan Winter League Stickers #225.

Wallet Card at Hoboken Furniture

Not the oldest sign ever, but I like this quirky sign for the long-defunct Hoboken Furniture. After WWII this location was a diner called City Queen. The sign, with some decoration on top to look a bit like a crown, said City along the top and Queen down the bottom. In 1972 it became a furniture store. The lettering in Hoboken certainly gives off a 1972 feel. At some point in the 1980s or early 1990s the furniture store closed, but the sign still remains.

 

1970 Topps Booklets: The Pete Rose Story

 Roy Carlson's research revealed that this image was based on the photo that Topps would use for Rose's coin the next year.

Rose's father actually played semi-pro football, with the original semi-pro Cincinnati Bengals. A long career through the age of 42 - like father, like son.

I like the angle used for the drawing on the left. Gives some of the excitement of Rose the sparkplug.

Rose would hit .316 in 1970, 13th among major leaguers and 50 points behind Rico Carty.

Vintage star card roundup

Been almost a month since I did one of these posts. Four more Greg Morris auction results to show. Last week I skipped it for the first time since I started doing them about a year ago. I'll probably go back to it this week though.

Getting a cheap Mantle is a baseball thrill. So is adding a card of Al Schacht, Clown Prince of Baseball.

Another Mantle in here. He's not even on the card but it's still hard to get cheap. I like the photo of Griffith Stadium with the buildings around. Also two football checklists with the same Giants action photo cropped differently in '70 and '72.

The week before I snagged a whole lot of cheap '66 Venezuelans. The '67 Tony Perez is not a high number but people treat it like one, so glad to add that one.

Nothing too outstanding here. Did nicely on '72 high numbers, including an extra #683 that can be trade bait.

Speaking of trade bait I got this six-card lot of '57s. I needed the top three; the bottom are all available.

Only one other star card pickup in the past month, but it's one I'm very excited about! My first T206! It was trimmed so it stayed pretty cheap, I got it for about $15. Wouldn't have paid that much except it is a Yankee card. Actually my first Highlanders card!

Here it is unscrewed from it's prison. Bridie Cree was a solid outfielder for the Highlanders/Yankees from 1908 to 1915. His best season by far was 1911 when he hit .348 with 30 2B, 22 3B, 4, HR, 88 RBI and 48 SB.

Here's the back. A little rough but not too bad. I'm sure I won't be picking tobacco cards up very often but it sure is fun!

 

Cake or gum? 1976 Ted Simmons

Last time there was a 5-5 tie. Will we have a winner this time?

Hostess shows Simmons squinting at the camera. I'm not sure which ballpark this is. Topps definitely has their usual spot at Shea Stadium for Simmons's batting pose.

Ted Simmons was a fine catcher for many years for the Cardinals, Brewers and Braves. He was a nine-time All-Star who hit for a fairly high average (.285) and some power (six 20+ HR seasons). He is considered one of the weaker Hall-of-Fame selections in recent years (he had 50.4 WAR in 2,456 games, compared to Thurman Munson, 46.1 WAR in 1,423 games). After his playing career he was an executive, coach and scout for several teams.

Wood vs. Wood #229

Last time it was an 8-0 sweep for 1987. Can 1962 get on the board this time?

Orlando de Jesus McFarlane was usually known as Orlando, but is called Jesus here on his rookie card. Great photo at the old Forbes Field with the big catching glove. Born in Cuba, McFarlane made his MLB debut in 1962 with eight games for the Pirates. He also played for them in '64, the Tigers in '66, and the Angels in '67 and '68. Overall in 124 games he hit .240 with 5 HR and 20 RBI. He died in Puerto Rico in 2007.

Simple headshot of Mike Birkbeck. 1987 was the first baseball set I collected and I'm pretty sure this was one of my first cards. The Brewers had two pitchers whose names were fun to say out loud over and over - Birkbeck and Clutterbuck. (I have to admire someone like Night Owl who seems to remember every card from his childhood in the order he got them.) Birkbeck made his MLB debut in 1986 with seven games for the Brewers. He was a part-time member of their starting rotation through the 1989 season. He also had brief stints with the Mets in '92 and '95. Overall in 54 games (51 starts) he went 12-19 with a 4.86 ERA. In 1997 he joined Kent State as their pitching coach, where he remains to this day. 

Wallet Card with some more 100+ year old ghost signs

 Some more signs visible on a building at 7th Avenue and West 17th Street.

 Many of these have faded beyond the point where the business can be made out, including a neckwear business and a leather business. Two that are legible are Brandenstein Trimmings, which operated from 1907 to 1931, and Geo A. Powers Printing, which also operated in the early 20th century; their most notable book appears to be 1903's Lincoln in Caricature.

1974 Topps Deckle Dating - Luis Tiant

RIP Luis Tiant.

March 4, 1973. Seems right as he didn't have a mustache on 1973 cards.

The same day Tiant was posing, his Red Sox suffered an injury blow, as catcher Vic Correll broke his leg in a sliding drill. In other news, 34 American POWs were released in Vietnam, elections were held in Chile and France, and Yankees pitchers Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich held press conferences to announce that they were swapping wives.