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.

Time Travel Bonus

My time travel trade with Diamond Jesters this month came with an unexpected Yankees bonus! I had sent Matt a few extra Red Sox cards last time, and he sent me this really nice serial numbered Ron Guidry card!

It makes it hard to hate the Red Sox when they have fans like this. And how embarrassing must it be for Red Sox fans to lose so badly to the Yankees, and then have the Yankees revealed to be complete pretenders when matched up against a good team?

Everything from the time travel section this week was football. And why waste time thinking about a team that might commit more errors than hits this series, when I can enjoy the 3-1, sole-possession-of-first-place Giants? It may not be sustainable but it sure is fun. Ironically almost all of these cards are from the Giants' opponent this week, from back when they had a name even stupider than "Commanders".

Cake or gum? 1977 Butch Wynegar

Last time it was a 4-0 win for Topps. Will Hostess get votes here?

Judging by the background these photos look to have been taken at the same time, but differences in the way the photos were lit or developed make the Hostess card seem much darker, and makes Wynegar's uniform much bluer there.

Wynegar was an excellent fielding catcher with a little bit of pop in his bat. In 1976 he was the youngest ever All-Star (20 years, 212 days), and finished behind just Mark Fidrych in the Rookie of the Year voting. He was solid for a while in Minnesota, but after starting the 1982 season hitting .209, he was traded to the Yankees. Wynegar did not adapt well to the stresses of playing in the Bronx, and left the team in mid-season 1986. He returned to baseball for the Angels, retiring in 1988. Overall he hit .255 with 65 HR and 506 RBI in 1,301 games. Wynegar stayed in baseball after his playing days, coaching for various minor league teams, and appears to now be retired.

Wood vs. Wood #355

Last time it was a 4-3 win for 1987. Will it win again here?

I need a new copy of this 1962 Topps Steve Barber card, so I can send this one to Sir Nailhead. Anyone got an extra? Nice Yankee Stadium shot here. Barber had some great seasons for the Orioles in the early 1960s. A two-time All Star, he led the AL with 8 shutouts in 1962 and won 20 games in 1963. Despite not having a huge workload (only three 200+ inning seasons) he was hampered by injuries after a great early start to his career. He was traded to the Yankees mid-1967 and had stints with the Pilots, Cubs, Braves, Angels and Giants, without regaining his All Star form. Overall in 466 games (272 starts) he went 121-106 with a 3.36 ERA. After his playing career he was a school bus driver in Nevada. He died in 2007.

Don Carman delivers a pitch in spring training. Carman came up with the Phillies as a reliever, and had very good seasons as a setup man in 1985 and 1986. He then converted to starting where he had much more limited success. After leading the NL in losses in 1989 he was returned to the bullpen, where he was unable to match his previous form with the Phillies, and in brief stints with Cincinnati and Texas. Overall in 342 games (102 starts) he went 53-54 with 11 saves and a 4.11 ERA. He is now a sports psychologist for the Boras Corporation.