1976 SSPC Roger Metzger

 

The card, in brief: Lots of people milling around in the stands before gametime. Meanwhile Metzger already has his pregame chaw.

Playing career, in brief: The shortstop was known for his defense (Gold Glove in '73) and speed (twice led the NL in triples). In the 1979 offseason he sliced off part of four fingers on his throwing hand in a woodworking accident. He attempted a comeback in 1980 but hit just .074 in 28 games. Overall in 1,219 games he hit .231 with 101 2B, 71 3B, 5 HR and 254 RBI.

Post-playing career, in brief:  After his playing career he returned to his hometown of Brenham, TX, and taught high school math. Later he was the job procurement officer at the Brenham State School, a home for teenagers and adults with mental disabilities. He appears to now be retired.

My collection: I have 15 of his cards, from 1971 to 1980. I would be interested in trading for 1975 Hostess #115.

1970 Topps Booklets: The Vada Pinson Story

Best known for his time with Cincinnati, Pinson is wearing a Cleveland hat here. He played for them in '70 and '71.

I imagine Fuji is probably familiar with McClymonds High School.

Error card! 1967 should be 1957.

Pete Rose broke Pinson's record in 1977 and went on to have 13 straight seasons with 600 at-bats, the current record for all of MLB, from 1968 to 1980.

 

Cake or gum? 1976 Don Kessinger

Last time it was Topps winning, 8-3. Who will come out on top here?

After 12 seasons with the Cubs, Don Kessinger was traded to St. Louis in October of 1975, and he was airbrushed into his Cardinals uniform on both cards. Looks like a spring training shot in Arizona for his Hostess card, and Candlestick Park for the Topps card.

An excellent fielding shortstop with doubles power who would take a walk, Kessinger was an All-Star for six out of seven seasons from 1968 to 1974. The Cubs traded him to the Cardinals in 1975, and two years later he returned to Chicago when he was traded to the White Sox. In 1979 he was the White Sox player-manager, the last person to do that in the American League. It was an unsuccessful stint, resigning in August with a .434 winning percentage and .200 batting average. Overall in 2,078 games, he hit .252 with 1,931 hits, 254 doubles, 14 HR and 527 RBI. He was later the head baseball coach at Ole Miss for many years, and founded Kessinger Real Estate in Oxford, MS, which is now run by his son Keith, also a former major leaguer.
 

Blogger/TCDB/OBC roundup

Hadn't realized I hadn't done one of these since December. Some overdue thanks for all of these! 

Three 1962 Topps from Neal Thomas, OBC. Lee Thomas and Bob Cerv had just been traded for each other!

I love it when I can trade modern for vintage. I traded three modern cards to DSPokecards of TCDB, for these two '68 high numbers.

Two awesome additions to my 1953 set, from Steve Sankner, OBC. Always a thrill to get cards this old.

I love the Heritage flashbacks cards and any Don Mattingly card. These came from homerjg007, TCDB.

Great mixture of vintage needs from Randy Welk, OBC.

Two '58 Red Sox and some '82 Fleer stamps with great photographer, courtesy of Ymmat, TCDB.

Time travel trade with Diamond Jesters. A vintage card, a Topps sticker, and some big football names from the 80's.

I got four envelopes from Johnny's Trading Spot, in batches of two. The first two were all modern cards of vintage Yankees.

The second two were lots of shiny Yankee cards. All of the '24 design cards are from the 582 Montgomery set, with shiny foil. The Panini Chronicles Gary Sanchez card is two different color variations. I didn't even realize the cards were serial numbered until later.

Finally, I picked out some fun cards from the Angels in Order giveaway. Lots of great cards here but my favorite is the "Picture Perfect" insert, which I had never seen before. For some reason the photo under the Reds player is of Hilltop Park, the uptown Manhattan home of the New York Highlanders (later Yankees) before Yankee Stadium. That part of Manhattan is quite hilly, hence the park and team name. You can see the Fort Washington Armory behind the left field wall. That building is still there today. (The site of Hilltop Park is now Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital.)

 

Vintage purchase roundup

It's been a month since I did one of these, so four weeks of Greg Morris auction results.

Lots of fielding poses in this one, and some new-to-me oddball sets with the '52 Wheaties Bob Lemon and the two 1936 S and S game cards.

The next week would have been a dud if not for my first four '71 Milk Duds.

Pretty good mixture here, if lacking with star power.

Then last week I went out with a bang. Five '36 Goudey wide pens . . .

. . . my first eight National Chicle Fine Pens . . .

. . . and some really good vintage star power.

I say "going out" because I got laid off this week, and in this brutal job market it could be a long time before I find something else. I have savings so I'm not immediately hurting, but it was an easy decision to go cold turkey on eBay. I'm still up for small trades though - a dollar postage here or there won't break the bank. Hopefully it's not a long hiatus but it's a good time to go back to my roots as a low-end collector.

It was also a good month in general for random eBay winnings. A couple of '63 Posts with Yogi Berra...

. . . one of the top multi-player cards of the 1960s . . .

. . . another vintage Mays (with Topps's guess at the SF logo) . . .

. . . and a 1949 Bowman Ralph Kiner!

Even a couple of modern purchases worth a buck or two recently. I liked the look of these cards, part of a 20-card Kevin Maas set put out in 1991.

Finally, there was no way I could pass up this card for $2. A vintage photo of Mickey Mantle on a Manhattan street - that is certainly right up my alley! This is the corner of Sixth Avenue and Central Park South, site of the St. Moritz hotel, where Mantle lived for many years. One time Mantle and Billy Martin were caught dumping water out of Mantle's window onto the pedestrians below. Mantle spent so much time at Harry's Bar at the St. Moritz that he chose that location to open his famous restaurant in 1988. This photo looks like it dates back to the early 1970s, judging by the cards and the sideburns.

 

Wood vs. Wood #259

It was another big win for 1987 last time, 9-0. Will 1962 pull closer here?

Lou Klimchock of the Milwaukee Braves, in Yankee Stadium? That's because he was a KC Athletic at the time of the photo. The second baseman played parts of four seasons for the A's, only topping 20 games once, in 1961. He was traded to the Braves before the '62 season, but only played in six games for them. In 1963 the Braves sent him to the Senators on a conditional waiver claim; after nine games with Washington he returned to the Braves. Dick Phillips was the regular Senators 2B that year, which is probably why D. Phillips was written on this card.  Klimchock had a few more brief cups of coffee in the bigs, and finally had his one full MLB season in 1969 with Cleveland. Klimchock, now a third baseman, hit .287 with 6 HR and 26 RBI in 90 games. However, after the season the Indians traded for Graig Nettles, and Klimchock appeared in just 41 games in '71, his last year in the big leagues. Overall in 318 games he hit .232 with 13 HR and 69 RBI. Since 1989, Klimchock has been the President of the Arizona Major League Alumni Association, and at age 85 he is still very active in this role, most recently hosting a celebrity golf tournament with several baseball hall-of-famers.

Mike Greenwell's rookie card shows the young outfielder at spring training. The sky on his card is an almost identical color to the sky on Klimchock's. This card was a big deal for a short time in the early 1980s after Greenwell's one monster year of 1988, when he hit .325 with 22 HR and 119 RBI. Greenwell finished second in the MVP voting to Jose Canseco that year; Greenwell did a lot of public whining about it when Canseco's steroid use was later revealed. Greenwell was a solid outfielder for several more seasons but never put up a season close to what he did in 1988. Overall in 1,269 games Greenwell hit .303 with 130 HR and 726 RBI. Since his career Greenwell has been involved in a wide variety of activities. He has competed in NASCAR truck racing and Major League Fishing, owned an amusement park, a produce business and a construction company, and owns a large amount of property in rural Alva, FL. This became controversial when FL governor Ron DeSantis appointed Greenwell as Commissioner of Lee County's District 5, and the next year Commissioner Greenwell approved a land deal over the objections of the community's residents to build apartments and shopping centers, which would damage the rural environment of the community but would greatly increase the value of the land owned by Greenwell. The residents sued to stop the deal, with it's apparent conflict of interest, but were unsuccessful. Greenwell won reelection in November.
 

1974 Topps Deckle Dating: Buddy Bell

The last year of the old Yankee Stadium, with the Schaefer Beer advertisement prominently featured.

Had to find a photo from an old eBay listing for the back. This sold for $140.

July 1, 1973. It was a big day for the Bronx Bombers as they drubbed the Tribe 11-3.  Bobby Murcer, Ron Blomberg and Roy White all went deep for the Yankees. Bell went 1-for-4 and hit a sac fly in the second inning that at the time tied the score at 2-2.

In other news, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) was created within the Department of Justice; the US Military officially became all-volunteer, Loyola and Marymount universities merged, and the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Divine Principle (Black Book) was published, introducing the Unification Church to Americans.

The photos from his '74 Topps card . . . 

. . . and stamp were likely also taken at the same time.

1981 Topps Cubs Future Stars

 

Carlos Lezcano

The player: Lezcano played in 49 games for the Cubs in 1980 and 1981, hitting .186 with 3 HR and 14 RBI, though he hung on in the minor leagues through the 1984 season.

The man: Lezcano was a long time minor league manager, and also managed in the Puerto Rico winter leagues. He is now retired.

My collection: I have five of his cards, from 1981 to 1984. I would be interested in trading for 1983 TCMA Iowa Cubs #23.

 

Steve Macko

The player: Macko played in 25 games for the Cubs in 1979 and 1980 before his career was tragically cut short. In 25 games he hit .250 with 0 HR and 5 RBI.

The man: By the time this card was issued, Macko had been diagnosed with testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs. In February it spread to his brain as well. Despite losing substantial weight to chemotherapy, he worked out with the team, and traveled with them when the season started despite being on the 60-day disabled list. He stayed with the team whenever his radiation treatments would allow, both before and after the strike. After the season the tumors in his lungs worsened, and he died in November at the age of 27.

My collection: I have three of his cards, from 1980 to 1981. I would be interested in trading for 1980 TCMA Wichita Aeros #18.

 

Randy Martz

The player: Martz pitched in 66 games for the Cubs from 1980 to 1982, and one game for the White Sox in 1983, going 17-19 with 7 saves and a 3.78 ERA.

The man: Martz had a long career in college coaching, including 30 years as the head coach at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey, IL, from which he retired in 2021.

My collection: I have 10 of his cards, from 1981 to 1983. I would be interested in trading for 1984 TCMA Richmond Braves #18.

1976 SSPC Tommy Helms

  

The card, in brief: Don't let the two bats fool you. Helms was no slugger. He didn't hit any home runs in 1975, and only hit 34 in his 14-year career.

Playing career, in brief: Helms came up with the Reds and was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1966. The second baseman won Gold Gloves in 1970 and 1971, and after the '71 season was dealt to Houston in the Joe Morgan trade. On the wrong side of 30, Helms's production declined markedly in Houston. He ended his career in 1977 after brief stints with the Pirates and Red Sox.

Post-playing career, in brief: After his career he was a major league coach and minor league manager, and also managed the Reds after Pete Rose was banned from baseball in 1989. He is now retired.

My collection: I have 22 of his cards, from 1965 to 1978. I would be interested in trading for  1971 Dell Today's Team Stamps #NNO.

1970 Topps Booklets: The Bill Freehan Story

According to Roy Carlson, this is the same image as Freehan's '71 Topps card and tattoo.

Freehan's professor looks so sad to see him go.

"Gold Glove", not "Golden Glove" the boxing award. That makes this an error card.

Freehan looks a lot like the Esso Tiger (later Exxon) in that first panel.

 

Cake or gum? 1976 Dan Meyer

 Last time it was a romp for cake, 11-1. Will it be cake again here?

Not much difference here - he's looking away from the camera on the Hostess card, toward it on the Topps. Otherwise nearly identical.

Meyer was a 1B-3B for the Tigers, Mariners and A’s from 1974 to 1985. In 1,118 games he hit .253 with 86 HR and 459 RBI. He is now a hitting instructor at Brad Wellman Sports in San Ramon, CA.

Wood vs. Wood #258

Last time it was a 9-0 drubbing by 1987. Will 1962 do better here?

Marty Keough is listed as a Red on this card, but there is almost no red here. This was probably him in a Senators uniform. The outfielder came up with the Red Sox in 1956 and played sparingly for them over the next few years. He was traded to Cleveland mid-1960, and was picked up by the Senators in the expansion draft after the season. He had his best season in '61, hitting .249 with 9 HR and 34 RBI in 135 games. He was then traded to Cincinnati who used him as a backup OF. He played for the Braves and Cubs in 1966, was in the minors in '67, and ended his playing career in 1968 in Japan. Overall in 841 major league games he hit .242 with 43 HR and 176 RBI. In the 1970s he was a scout for the Padres and Dodgers. He joined the Cardinals organization in 1980, and worked for them for almost 40 years, retiring in 2018 at the age of 84. Among the players he signed were Todd Zeile, Terry Pendleton and Todd Worrell. He is now retired and living in Arizona.

1987 was my first year collecting cards, so this was my first exposure to Yeager. As a result I always associated him as a Mariner first, not a Dodger. Actually Yeager played the first 14 of his 15 MLB seasons with the Dodgers. Yeager was one of baseball's premier defensive catchers. Though he never won a Gold Glove, he was renowned for his strong throwing arm and his game-calling abilities. He was not a great hitter (.228 lifetime average) though he did have a little power (102 HRs in his 15 year career). Yeager was at his best in the postseason: in 21 World Series games he hit .298 with 4 HR and 10 RBI, much better than his regular season numbers, and was co-MVP of the 1981 World Series. Yeager had a reputation as a macho tough guy like his famous cousin Chuck Yeager, but he was also a partier who enjoyed the LA nightlife. In 1976, he married rock singer Gloria Giaone, who had toured with the likes of Steely Dan and Three Dog Night. The wedding took place on the steps of City Hall, with LA Mayor Tom Bradley as Yeager's best man. After his playing career Yeager was a longtime minor league coach for the Dodgers, owns a Jersey Mike's franchise, and appeared in the Major League movies.
 

1974 Topps Deckle Dating: Bobby Bonds

 Pretty good shot with some batting practice activity in the background.

The back image comes from eBay; this copy is available for a $98 BIN price.

June 3, 1973. An up-and-down day for Bonds and the Giants as they hosted the Phillies. Bonds led off the game with a single and scored the game's first run. He singled again in the third but was picked off by Ken Brett. Brett shut down the Giants through the 8th, and even chipped in an RBI double as the Phillies pulled ahead 4-1. In the bottom of the ninth, Brett gave up a single to Dave Kingman and a HR to Dave Rader to cut it to 4-3. Mac Scarce came on in relief of Brett to face Willie McCovey, and walked him. This brought up Bobby Bonds with a chance to be the hero. Philly countered with Bill Wilson, who induced the speedy Bonds to hit into a 6-4-3 double play. Now an out away from defeat and down to their last at-bat, Tito Fuentes singled, bringing up Garry Maddox. Maddox hit a walk-off HR to win the game for the Giants.

In other news, 14 people were killed when a Soviet aircraft crashed at an air show in Paris; the CIA delivered it's memoranda on Watergate to the Senate Investigating Committee, indicating that they thought the affair was a matter of politics and not national security; and the Russian lunar rover Lunokhod 2 ended it's mission.

1981 Topps Willie Stargell

 

The front: Stargell has hit a long fly ball at Shea Stadium. In two day games at Shea in 1980, Stargell had two singles in eight at bats.

The back: Almost two full decades in the major leagues at this point.

The player: Willie Stargell was one of the best power hitters of his era. He put up excellent numbers in the 1960s at Forbes Field, an extreme pitchers park. When the Pirates moved to Three Rivers Stadium in 1970, his power numbers jumped, and he led the majors in HR for the decade of the 1970s. In 2,360 games, all with Pittsburgh, Stargell hit .282 with 475 HR (twice leading the NL) and 1,540 RBI. His best season was 1979, when he was the MVP in the regular season, NLCS and the World Series. 

The man: Stargell was the heart and soul of the great Pirates teams of the 1970s. Beloved by teammates and opponents, he gave out "Stargell Stars" for great performances, which recipients would wear on their caps. After his career he was a coach for the Braves and worked in the Pirates organization. He was deeply involved in charitable endeavors during and after his playing days. He died of a stroke in 2001.

My collection: I have 37 of his cards, from 1964 to 1983. I would be interested in trading for 1963 Topps #553, a famously difficult and expensive card.

1976 SSPC Ken Boswell

 

The card, in brief: Interesting helmet; there is no logo, but you can see the labelscar where the Astros star used to be.

Playing career, in brief: Second baseman Ken Boswell came up with the Mets in 1967 and had some rough patches in the field and at the plate. However, he hit well in the stretch run of the Mets' 1969 World Series run, and hit a home run in the NLCS. In 1970 his defense improved greatly, with a record errorless-games streak. However, his batting did not improve and he was eventually traded to the Astros, for whom he was a backup from 1975 to 1977. Overall in 930 games he hit .248 with 31 HR and 244 RBI.

Post-playing career, in brief: Since his retirement from baseball Boswell has worked in antique auto sales and owns a ranch in Texas.

My collection: I have 11 of his cards, from 1969 to 1977. I would be interested in trading for 1971 Dell Today's Team Stamps #NNO.

1970 Topps Booklets: The Wally Bunker story

It's the ultra-rare stapled parallel!

The staples did make it harder to prop the booklet open to take photos.

Looks like the "homer" just barely missed Bunker's shoulder.

I like the KC logo the cartoonist made up here.