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.

Croc rocks!

Did a vintage trade with Crocodile Sports Cards. He sent me some really great vintage cards.

Starting off with some 1961 semi-high and high numbers.  

Eight cards for my 1959 Topps set. I'm down to under 35 needs for this set which is pretty remarkable.

Some fantastic older cards, including NFLer Vic Janowicz and Willie Puddin Head Jones.

Crocodile just posted some '56s on his blog, and the ones he sent are just as awesome. Some pretty good ones here with "Windy", "Duke" and Big Klu glaring at the collector.

These are even better! That Jim Rivera card, making a leaping catch in the stands at Yankee Stadium, instantly became one of my favorite cards. Jerry Lynch getting emphatically called out on his own card is pretty fantastic, too.

Thanks again, Crocodile!
 

Football and cake

Won a couple of cheap '70s lots on eBay.

This '72 Topps football lot was advertised as low grade, but other than a little writing on a couple they are in good shape. Getting this lot was a good reminder of why I couldn't get that deep into vintage football cards, too many of them look boring. I needed all but the four on the right, a little trade bait. 

I love Hostess baseball cards in any condition. Won a small lot which had these cards that I needed. The biggest highlight is the rare action photo, and a terrific one of that with Chris Chambliss. Nate Colbert didn't have a proper card as a Tiger, just this and his '75 Topps cards which were airbrush jobs. Unless you count team-issued photos, the only other card of Colbert as a Tiger is a Panini, so another one with no proper Tigers logo.

There were several I had already, so available for trade, though a few have been earmarked for some OBCers. As usual I'm happy to trade the better conditioned of my cards, as I'm generally unconcerned about card condition.

 

Daniel Palka on baseball cards

Outfielder Daniel Palka played 14 years of professional baseball. He reached the majors with the White Sox in 2018 and 2019. In 154 major league games he hit .218 with 29 HR and 79 RBI. Now an Assistant Coach at the University of Rhode Island, he kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

- Do you have any stories about cards of yourself or of other players? 

One of my best friends took his org card with the orioles as a left handed catcher and it made it through. He was an outfielder, second baseman so it was hilarious to come across.
- Do you have a favorite card of yourself or of another player?

I've had a Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire two sided card for 25 years. It is one of my few I keep out of a box or sleeve.

- Do you collect baseball cards?

I do not, my dad is an avid collector. Has crazy old sets completed, cereal box sets, but has switched over to more autographed balls now.

Thanks! 

 

1974 Topps Deckle Dating: Bill Melton

The black and white creates a couple of illusions here. Melton isn't wearing a watch - just a dark strap on his white batting glove. And the water tower floating in the background is actually on the white Bronx Courthouse building.

The final year of the original Yankee Stadium. 

April 25, 1973. Melton went 1-for-4 as Wilbur Wood outdueled Mel Stottlemyre for a 3-0 White Sox win. Wood had a complete game 5-hitter, and Carlos May's first inning solo HR was all the wily knuckleballer needed. Wood, a known Yankee killer, didn't even walk anyone, a testament to his control of baseball's toughest pitch.

In other news, General Alexander Haig testified at the Pentagon Papers trial, 19 people were killed in Communist shelling of Phnom Penh, the California legislature considered a law that would create non-smoking sections in public buildings, and at 10 pm that night in Enfield, IL, a man named Henry McDaniel had an encounter with a strange creature later called the Enfield Monster, the first of several reported sightings that summer which culminated in amateur monster hunters descending on the town, leading to five arrests. The incident has since been determined to be either an exaggeration of an existing animal, or a hoax.

Melton's 1974 Topps Stamp looks to have a photo taken at the same time.

 

 

1981 Topps Bert Campaneries

Congrats Dodgers, that was a heck of a game and heck of a series. 

I realized I made a mistake and am batting out of order here, I posted card 411 last time and forgot about card 410. I hope I haven't skipped any other cards in this set but I'm not about to audit 400 posts to figure it out.

The front: Another pregame photo at Tiger Stadium.

The back: Long career for Campy. I don't think of him as an Angel but he played three years for the team.

The player: Bert Campaneris came up with the Kansas City A's in 1964 and quickly became one of the AL's most exciting young stars, leading the AL six times in eight years from 1965 to 1972. He was the sparkplug of the great Oakland A's teams that won three straight World Series from 1972 to 1974. A six-time All Star, he played in 2,328 games for the A's, Rangers, Angels and Yankees, hitting .259 with 79 HR, 646 RBI and 649 SB.

The man: Campaneris was a coach for several teams and is still involved with many events for the MLBPAA.

My collection: I have 39 of his cards, from 1969 to 1984. I would be interested in trading for 1975 SSPC #14. 

1976 SSPC Charlie Manuel

 

The card, in brief: It's always fun to see people that you only know as a grizzled old manager, back in their younger playing days. 

Playing career, in brief: By the time this card came out Manuel had played his last game in the US, playing parts of six seasons for the Twins and Dodgers. In 242 games he hit .198 with 4 HR and 43 RBI. After the season he signed with the Yakult Swallows and played the next six seasons in Japan. He won an MVP award in 1979 and had four seasons of 35+ HR and 90+ RBI.

Post-playing career, in brief: Manuel managed twelve seasons in the major leagues for Cleveland and Philadelphia. He had winning record in ten of those seasons, and was fired mid-season in the other two. He led the Phillies to a World Championship in 2008. He is now retired and lives in his home state of West Virginia.

My collection: I have three of his cards: 1970 Topps, 1971 Topps and this one. I would be interested in trading for 1971 Dell Today's Team Stamps #NNO. 

1990 Topps Big Deep Dive: Rick Sutcliffe

 Looks like a foul territory bullpen shot.

Gee, thanks, folks!

Since 1934 the Jaycees have presented 10 young Americans with this award, highlighting community service, military or scientific achievement. Sutcliffe was one of the 1988 winners (not 1987). Another winner that year was 38-year-old former NFL QB Archie Manning. The full list of winners contains not only many sports stars but famous people from many other areas, including future US Presidents Kennedy, Nixon, Ford, Clinton and Biden, all when they were in their 30s.