Playing career, in brief: Doug Konieczny appeared in 44 games for the Astros between 1973 and 1977, 32 of them in 1975 when he went 6-13 with a 4.47 ERA.
Post playing career, in brief: After his playing career he had a long career in procurement in the chemicals industry for DuPont and Invista. He is now retired.
My collection: I have three of his cards - this one, and his 1975 and 1976 Topps cards. I would be interested in trading for 1975 Houston Astros Photos #NNO.
One player per team, this was the Braves representative. Cepeda had a fine season, but Hank Aaron was far better. Maybe being a new acquisition made him more interesting.
Some great cartoons here, with the mom and dad and the bull with the bat.
The giant coach with the tiny Cepeda is really strange.
Giant bat pictures are always fun.
RIP Al Fitzmorris, who shared his thoughts on baseball cards with this blog in July.
Last time cake and gum tied at 4-4. Will there be a winner here?
Vintage or retro? A few months ago I took a wallet card photo of the inside of this pizzeria in Hell's Kitchen. I passed by again this week and now they have a 7up sign on the front. I don't know if it's a real old sign or just a reproduction. Either way it's a nice look. "Fresh Up 7up"
Last time 1962 cruised to an 8-1 victory. Who will win here?
Nice action-packed photo of Juan Espino dropping the bat (maybe after a bunt?) and running out of the batters box, in a spring game against the Expos in West Palm Beach. Espino played in 49 games for the Yankees from 1982 to 1986, hitting .219 with 1 HR and 8 RBI. After his playing career he returned to his native Dominican Republic, where he still resides.
The awkward shape of the card leaves the bill of Speier's hat cropped out.
The Giant's hosted the A's that day, but I couldn't find a score. The big news of the day was the special election of Roberto Clemente to the Hall of Fame. In other news, the US Attorney General ordered the Director of the FBI not to cooperate with the Watergate investigation, and a border skirmish between Iraq and Kuwait killed two.
The back: John Underwood pitched briefly in the Phillies organization before serving in World War II.
The player: Pat Underwood made his major league debut pitching against his brother Tom, the first time that happened in major league history. Pat beat his brother in that game. Later that season, he was the winning pitcher in the infamous Disco Demolition Night. However, injuries curtailed his performance. In four seasons, all with the Tigers, he went 13-18 with 8 saves and a 4.43 ERA.
The man: After his career he had a long career in youth baseball. He is now retired an living in Indiana.
My collection: I have eight of his cards, from 1980 to 1983. I would be interested in trading for 1983 TCMA Evansville Triplets #10.
Picked up a little lot of 1958s.
I needed four of them. The big prize is the Orlando Cepeda rookie. The only way to get that card cheaply is with a defect. In this case it's the hole in the middle. Since centering is considered important to card condition, the fact that the hole is in Cepeda's center should be a big plus, right? The Curt Flood rookie was also a nice addition.
I picked up a nice cheap lot of 1965 Topps Embossed. For me, the picture is the most important part of the card, so I've never held this set in high esteem. Still, they are shiny which is very unusual for the time. In good condition they reflect the light quite nicely.
This lot was all commons, with a few minor stars like Dick Allen and Ron Santo. I needed about half:
That leaves plenty to trade. Let me know if you're working on the set, need some for your team set or maybe a PC. Condition varies but most are in good shape. Notables include Fairly, Santo, Versalles, Allen and Bobby Richardson.
The card, in brief: The photo itself is pretty standard, so I'll just point out the great orange uniform. This was the first year of the bright orange Astros uniform. Here's a great article about how it was almost even wilder.
Playing career, in brief: Ken Forsch came up with the Astros as part of the starting rotation in 1971. He moved to the bullpen in 1974 and put up excellent numbers over the next five seasons. In 1979 he returned to the rotation and was better than ever, going 11-6 with a 3.04 ERA, leading the NL in WHIP and BB/9. After the 1980 season he was traded to the Angels straight up for Dickie Thon. Both players had three excellent seasons for their teams. Then, on April 7, 1984 Forsch dislocated his shoulder, an injury which effectively ended his career, managing just a brief comeback in 1986. The very next day, April 8, Thon was hit in the eye socket by a Mike Torrez pitch, permanently damaging his sight and derailing his own promising career. Odd coincidence that two guys traded straight up for each other suffered devastating injuries a day apart, three years later.
Post-playing career, in brief: After his retirement Forsch worked in commercial real estate, and was a member of the Angels front office for many years, winning a World Series ring in 2002. He is now retired and living in California.
My collection: I have 34 of his cards, from 1971 to 1986. I would be interested in trading for 1979 Hostess #51.
According to Roy Carlson's research, this is based off the photo used on Banks's 1971 Baseball's Greatest Moments card.
Last time it was gum winning, 8-4. Will cake do better on Thanksgiving?
Looks like these two photos are from the same shoot. The Hostess photo is a longer shot, showing Brett in a bit of a crouch as he poses in his stance. Topps went for the tighter crop, and as you can see from the angle of the dugout, he was probably crouching in this photo and Topps aligned the photo so he appeared more straight-up.
Arguably the greatest third baseman of all time and definitively the greatest Kansas City Royal of all time, Hall-of-Famer George Brett is one of four players all-time to hit .300 with 3000 hits and 300 home runs, the only player to win a batting title in three decades, and a 13-time all-star. Probably his most well-known accomplishment was his run at a .400 batting average in 1980. He finished at .390, led the league in both on-base and slugging percentages, and was the only player to have an OPS+ higher than 200 (203) between 1970 and 1991. After his 21-year playing with the Royals, he has just completed his 31st year as the team's VP of Baseball Operations. 52 straight years with one team!
Last time it was a 6-0 sweep for 1962. Can 1987 get on the board this time?
It's an identity switch for the two sets. The rare case where it's the 1987 card that is missing the cap!
Norm Sherry was a backup catcher for the Dodgers from 1959 to 1962, and the Mets in 1963. An excellent handler of pitchers, he is widely credited for teaching Sandy Koufax how to be a pitcher, not just a thrower, allowing him to fully harness his talent. In 194 MLB games Sherry hit .215 with 18 HR and 69 RBI. After his playing career he was a coach for many teams, mentoring another young Hall of Famer with the Expos, Gary Carter, and winning pennants with the Padres and Giants. He managed the Angels in 1976 and 1977. Sherry died in 2021 at the age of 89.
Bill Krueger was an undrafted free agent who eked out a 13-year-career as a journeyman pitcher for seven teams. His best season was 1991, when he went 11-8 with a 3.60 ERA for the Mariners. Overall in 301 games (164 starts) he went 68-66 with a 4.35 ERA. Krueger has been an announcer for the Mariners since he retired after the 1995 season. He has also had a successful career in asset management, currently working at Hohimer Wealth Management in Seattle. He has also been involved in many charitable endeavors over the years, mostly related to autism treatment.
A decent attempt, but clearly an airbrushed SD logo. What kind of BS will Topps give us for the date?
The exact same BS they used for Bobby Tolan! Same wrong date, same wrong ballpark.
Come on people! Was I really the only person this month to claim a card in the monthly Diamond Jesters Time Travel Trade? There are so many fun cards to trade for, from all eras, and it's easy to find something to send in return. Just any older card! I was one of only two trades last month, but still found a vintage Hall of Famer I needed. I haven't sent my return yet - what kind of cards should I send Matt to maybe rekindle a little interest? Hall-of-Famers? OPC? Oddballs? Something else? Leave a comment with suggestions!
A few more from OBC to show off. Greg Henthorn always make me say "wow!" with what he sends. No exception here.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Roy Carlson's research revealed that this image was based on the photo that Topps would use for Rose's coin the next year.
