1976 SSPC Dan Spillner

 

The card, in brief: An interestingly framed card, a tighter close-up than usual for this kind of pose. An unidentified Padre throws a ball in the background.

Playing career, in brief: Spillner came up with the Padres as a starter, and moved to the bullpen in 1976. He was traded to the Indians in 1978. Cleveland moved him back to the starting rotation in 1980 and he went 16-11, but he moved back to the bullpen the following season. His last season was 1985 with the White Sox. He was an effective reliever for them (4-3, 3.44 ERA) but due to collusion he was unable to sign with a team for 1986. He was later awarded over $400,000 as a victim of collusion.

Post-playing career, in brief: Since his retirement Spillner has worked in construction and been a youth baseball coach.

My collection: I have 26 of his cards, from 1975 to 1986. I would be interested in trading for 1983 Wheaties Cleveland Indians SGA #NNO.

1986 Renata Galasso Mattingly Puzzle #9

What a cool card. Very much a product of it's time, though.

So ends the last of the series from the sets that Stuart sent several months ago. I need some new themes for series as I still like to post something every day. I don't have the time that I used to so I will be aiming for shorter posts. I mentioned one idea a while back, that I will start soon. Fuji made another suggestion in a comment recently. I have a couple of other ideas I'm noodling on as well. Any other suggestions welcome!
 

Wallet Card at Crawdaddy

 Crawdaddy was a New Orleans-themed restaurant that opened in 1975 at NYC's Roosevelt Hotel on East 45th Street, enjoyed some years of popularity, and closed some time in the late 1980s. A portion of the restaurant's sidewalk sign can still be seen when not covered up by a mat.

I was taking out my wallet card to get ready for this photo when a group of what I assume to be tourists stopped by, saw the sign, and excitedly took photos of it. Judging by their accents I assume they were Southern, but I wouldn't know how to pinpoint further. One got very excited telling her companion - "first I saw Craw, then I saw Daddy!" It would be cool if these random tourists were deep into suriving remnants of obscure 1970s NYC restaurants, but I assume that the word Crawdaddy just had some particular meaning for them. First time I've ever had to wait for someone else to take a photo to take one of my wallet card shots.
 

Cake or gum? 1977 Ron Cey

Last time it was a 6-0 win for gum. What will happen here?

Hostess has Cey being photographed at Candlestick Park. It looks like we can see the photographer's shadow. Topps meanwhile has Cey taking a big swing at Shea Stadium. The angle of the photo makes it looks like Cey is kneeling on the ground while swinging. Cey played in two day games at Shea in 1976, going 2-for-7 with a double. 

One of the premier NL third basemen of the late 1970s, Ron Cey was an All Star for six straight seasons, 1974-1979. After the 1982 season the Dodgers traded him to the Cubs for Vance Lovelace, and two seasons later Cey helped them win a pennant. Overall, in 2,073 games for the Dodgers, Cubs and A's, Cey hit .261 with 316 HR and 1,139 RBI. Cey kept up his slugging ways in the postseason, with 7 HR in 45 playoff and World Series games. Today Cey is Vice President, Business Development & Relationship Manager for Professional Baseball at BFF Financial in Glendale, CA.
 

Wood vs Wood #357

Last time it was a 3-1 win for 1987. What will happen here?

Jerry Walker is photographed against a bright blue sky, or just some background. Walker pitched eight seasons in the majors for Baltimore, Kansas City and Cleveland. In 190 games (90 starts) he went 37-44 with 13 saves and a 4.36 ERA. He went on to have a 40-year career as a scout, coach, and front office executive for several teams, mostly the Yankees, Tigers and Reds. He died in 2024.

Steve Fireovid also has a simple headshot, but at least there is a little more going on in the background. Fireovid pitched sixteen years of professional baseball, including parts of six seasons in the major leagues, where he went 3-1 with a 3.39 ERA in 31 games for five different teams. He is currently a Financial Advisor at Trilogy Wealth Advisors in Bryan, OH. He shared some baseball card stories with this blog in 2011.
 

1981 Topps Jim Beattie

 

The front: Beattie is pictured wearing his windbreaker in the dugout. Rain delay?

The back: Looking at the back of the card I realize that there is an error - "Sycracuse". I'll report it to TCDB after I post this.

The player: Beattie came up with the Yankees in 1978, and despite some initial struggles which angered owner George Steinbrenner, he won some big games down the stretch, most notably eight shutout innings in the second game of the famous Boston Massacre in Fenway Park. He also won the fifth game of the 1978 World Series, pitching a complete game 12-2 victory over the Dodgers. After two years for the Yankees he was traded to Seattle for Ruppert Jones, and had several solid seasons for some pretty bad Mariners teams. 

The man: He became a front office executive after his playing career, including stints as General Manager of the Expos and Orioles. He was then a Blue Jays scout for many years, retiring after the 2018 season. He shared a baseball card story with this blog in 2010.

My collection: I have 23 of his cards, from 1979 to 1987. I would be interested in trading for 1985 Mother's Cookies Seattle Mariners SGA #15.
 

1976 SSPC Randy Jones

 

The card, in brief: The age-old question - is he holding a baseball, or not? My guess is not.

Playing career, in brief:  Randy Jones won 100 games in his ten-year major league career. A two-time All-Star and twenty-game winner, he was the NL Cy Young Award Winner in 1976, going 22-14 with a 2.74 ERA and 25 complete games for the Padres. 

Post playing career, in brief: He owned a restaurant and had a barbecue sauce business. He was also the chairman of the Randy Jones Foundation, which provides opportunities and resources for military families. Jones passed away in 2025. He shared his thoughts on baseball cards with this blog in 2014. 

My collection: I have 24 of his cards, from 1974 to 1983. I would be interested in trading for 1981 Topps Coca-Cola New York Mets #4 and 1999 Sports Illustrated Greats of the Game #35.

Johnny's album: The Lindbergh kidnapping

Most of the items on these pages focus on the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, primarily from the conviction of Bruno Hauptmann for the crime.

The top article is from when the baby was first kidnapped, and chronicles the life and career of Lindbergh. The bottom is photos of Lindbergh and Hauptmann from the end of the trial.

On the other side, we can see that the article on top folds over, revealing an article about a proposal to develop the Great Salt Lake. The article on the page is mostly the Hauptmann guilty verdict, which was delivered on February 13, 1935. Hauptmann was executed the following year. The photo on that page is of Lindbergh getting his annual military physical at Mitchel Field on Long Island, only about a mile from Roosevelt Field, where he took off on his transatlantic flight. On this page there is also an inspirational anecdote and a couple of inspirational quotes.

 

Wallet Card at Federal Express

A couple of years ago an old sign was revealed on Manhattan's Duane Street. It's a sign for "Federal Express", the former name of the company that has been called FedEx for over 30 years. This sign and logo must date to earlier than 1994, when the company changed it's name and logo. This is a hard plastic awning with the sign firmly attached, explaining why it's been such a survivor despite other signs covering it for decades.

 

Street trade

I started a new job which puts me closer to midtown, which means closer to Al's table to do some street trading. I picked out 10 cards and needed all 10!

The Robin Yount card is probably the coolest one here, and I didn't even realize it was serial numbered until later. Ryan McMahon is a lousy player on this Yankees team that played real lousy in this ALDS loss, but I'll always have a little fondness for him, as I saw him get a walkoff hit at a game I went to. That Edgar Martinez card is somehow my first ever 2004 Finest card.