1981 Topps Jerry Reuss

 

The front: Where was this photo taken? Even Jerry Reuss doesn't know.

The back: No room for a blurb, and still a full decade of pitching ahead of him.

The player: Jerry Reuss pitched 22 seasons in the major leagues, winning 220 games. His best season was 1980, when he went 18-6 with a 2.51 ERA, leading the league with six shutouts (including a no-hitter), finishing second in the NL Cy Young voting.

The man: Reuss has been a broadcaster for many years, most recently for the Dodgers' AAA affiliate in Las Vegas. He is also an accomplished photographer. His flickr page not only has baseball card commentary, as linked above, but lots of his own professional-quality baseball photography, and lots of other great photos too. At one time he was also a reader of baseball cards himself, causing quite a stir when he commented on a Night Owl Cards post in 2010. He kindly answered some questions for my blog as well.

My collection: I have 59 of his cards, from 1970 to 1990. I would be interested in trading for 1976 Hostess #29.
 

1986 Renata Galasso Mattingly Puzzle #8

 

Don Mattingly was #23 for the Yankees. But this bat says #29! Pitcher Bob Shirley wore #29 for the Yankees from 1983 to 1987. Would this be his bat? Or is it a Dave Collins bat left over from 1982?

The Mattingly-Shirley connection is interesting, as the career-crippling back injury that Mattingly suffered in 1987 was initially attributed to play-wrestling between the two friends, which both players have categorically denied over the years. 

Wallet card with a remnant of the horse-and-buggy era

In New York City or any other older town, you may notice that the gates near entrances often have an opening near the bottom, with a thin edge. Do you know why?

One of the advantages of living in the age of the automobile, is that cars don't leave manure in the road when they go. Walking through a ninteenth-century city meant stepping in horse leavings, mud, garbage, etc. Since a proper gentleman wouldn't want to track that stuff into the house, these bootscrapers were a handy way to discreetly clean one's boots before stepping inside.
 

Blue Streak Part II

Another week, another eBay win on a surprisingly tough card, probably kept low because of blue markings on the front. 1956 Billy Martin!

As a bonus, another damaged card I won recently. It looks like some kind of clip with teeth, like what you might see on a clipboard, took a bite out of this 1954 Roy Campanella.

Anything but boring

PSA: If you're having trouble finding your favorite blogs, TCDB has a really great blogroll. I've been using it to keep track of all the great blogs I follow, including CardBoredom. On his post today he's got not one, but two fascinating tales of nautical misadventures and mistaken identities.

He is also a generous blogger who occasionally gives away cards, as he recently did on his other site. (There may be some available if they got missed in the recent blogger nonsense - I'm the only one who claimed cards in the comments.) 

Who else gives away 1952 Topps cards? I needed three of the availables. Tookie Gilbert was the son of a big leaguer; Roy Smalley was the father of one. Dick Fowler served in the Canadian Army in WW2 and later became a US citizen. His yellow card pairs nicely with the other card I needed, a 1958 Don Mossi card, who looks a little older than the 27 years old he was at the time. 

 

1976 SSPC Alan Foster

 

The card, in brief: Foster shows his Rawlings mitt to the camera.

Playing career, in brief: Alan Foster was a highly touted Dodgers pitching prospect, who had a 1.95 ERA over seven games in 1967 and 1968. However, he failed to live up to those expectations as part of the starting rotation in 1969 and 1970, going 13-22 with ERAs well over 4.00. He was traded to Cleveland after 1970 for Alex Johnson, but had little success for them or his next team, the Angels. Traded again in 1973, he finally found success with the Cardinals, going 13-9 with a 3.14 ERA. However he had another down year in '74, and spent '75 and '76, his last major league seasons, in the Padres bullpen. Overall in 217 games (148 starts) he went 48-63 with a 3.74 ERA.

Post-playing career, in brief: He seems to have kept a low profile since his baseball career ended. Anyone know where Alan Foster is now?

My collection: I have 13 of his cards, from 1968 to 1977. I would be interested in trading for 1971 Dell Today's Team Stamps #NNO.

Gum or cake? 1977 John Candelaria

Only two votes last time due to Blogger shenanigans. Both went to gum. Will cake get a vote this time?

Two photos clearly taken in the same shoot. Do you prefer Candy Man looking left, or looking right?

John Candelaria had several excellent seasons for the Pirates in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Highlights included a no-hitter in 1976, 20 wins in 1977, and winning Game 6 of the 1977 World Series. After being traded to the Angels in 1985, he pitched for eight teams in eight years with varying degrees of success. Overall, in 19 seasons he went 177-122 with a 3.33 ERA. During his career Candelaria was often a problem personality, with three DUI arrests and numerous conflicts with managers and other players. Since his career ended, however, he seems to have kept a low profile, though he was recently inducted into the Pirates Hall of Fame.
 

Wood vs. Wood #352

Last time the vote was suppressed by Blogger's commenting issues, but 1987 gets the victory, 3-2.

Phillies pitcher Frank Sullivan poses in front of a sky that is partly blue, partly cloudy and partly Bill Wetmore. Sullivan had some good seasons for the Red Sox in the mid-1950s, most notably 1955 when he led the AL with 18 wins and made the first of his two All-Star teams. Like many players at the time he seemed to hit a wall at age 30, going 6-16 with a 5.10 ERA, prompting a trade to the Phillies for Gene Conley. Sullivan was 6-6, and Conley was 6-9, making it the tallest trade in baseball history at that point. With the Phillies, Sullivan went 3-16 for a team that went 47-107. After a brief stint with the Twins his career ended. Overall in 351 games (219 starts) he went 97-100 with a 3.60 ERA. After his playing career he moved to Hawaii and became the head golf pro at the Kauai Surf Hotel. He died in 2016.

At 5-8, Mike "Tiny" Felder was almost a foot shorter than Sullivan, and he also poses in front of a partly cloudy sky. Felder was a speedy outfielder who was a solid bench player and pinch hitter for four teams over 10 seasons. His best seasons were with the SF Giants, where he was a fan favorite, even shaving "Beat LA" into his hair. His most famous moment was a walk-off squeeze bunt to win one of the first Turn-Back-The-Clock days in 1991. In recent years he has been a college coach, but he is now retired.
 

1981 Topps Denny Walling

 

The front: My first instinct was that this photo was taken in Philadelphia, but Walling hadn't played a day game there since 1978, when the Astros still wore rainbow uniforms. So my best guess is Pittsburgh, where Walling played in both games of a day doubleheader on September 1, 1980. Walling went a combined 2-for-9 as the teams split the twinbill.

The back: In recent years, Walling's leisure activities have switched from tennis to pickleball, an activity that wasn't around in 1980. 

The player: A pinch-hitter extraordinaire, Walling played 18 seasons in the major leagues, 13 of them with the Astros. In 1,271 games he hit .271 with 49 HR and 380 RBI. His 108 career pinch hits are tied for 13th all time.

The man: Walling was a long time hitting coach for several teams, and is now retired.

My collection: I have 42 of his cards, from 1977 to 1991. I would be interested in trading for 1984 Mother's Cookies Houston Astros SGA #19.
 

Wallet Card at Masback Hardware

Masback Hardware was started in 1875 as a hardware retailer, and eventually shifted to wholesale. By the 1930s, their best product was the Red Diamond Axe. The popularity of their products led to them taking a large factory space at 330 Hudson Street in Manhattan, where they operated until moving to New Jersey in 1979. The company went out of business in 1996.

You can still see traces of the old Masback signs on the outside of the building.