1976 SSPC Dave Heaverlo

 

The card, in brief: The 1970s were full of ballplayers with long hair. Dave Heaverlo was not one of them. In fact, his nickname was "Kojak".

Playing career, in brief: Dave Heaverlo pitched seven years in the majors for the Giants, A's and Mariners. In 356 games, all in relief, he went 26-26 with 26 saves and a 3.41 ERA. I imagine that must be a record for the highest number where a pitcher has the same number for wins, losses and saves for a career.

Post-playing career, in brief: After his playing career Heaverlo was a college baseball coach and college football announcer. He appears to now be retired.

My collection: I have eight of his cards, from 1976 to 1981. I would be interested in trading for  1983 TCMA Tacoma Tigers #21

1986 Renata Galasso Mattingly #8

Get off the court, kid! How old does Mattingly look here? High school senior, junior maybe?

7th grade! Maybe I was just a scrawny kid, and it's certainly been a while, but I don't remember 12-year-olds being that muscular.

 

1988 Domino's Willie Horton

Great shot of Willie Horton, but definitely not from 1968. Facial hair on ballplayers was still a no-no at that point.

Horton was a powerful hitter who had his best season in '68, hitting .285 with 36 HR and 85 RBI. Horton had a big swing and struck out a lot, but had enough power to top 20 HR six times in 15 seasons. Unlike many power hitters he aged poorly, with most of his best seasons coming early in his career. In the mid-to-late '70s he bounced around from team to team, with one more excellent season coming with the Mariners in 1979, hitting .279 with 29 HR and 106 RBI. Overall in 2,028 games he hit .273 with 325 HR and 1,163 RBI. After his playing days he was a coach for the Yankees and White Sox, and since 2003 he has been a Special Assistant for the Tigers.

I have 26 of his cards, from 1965 to 1980. I would be interested in trading for 1964 Topps #512 and  1972 Topps #750. 

Burgers or gum? Barbaro Garbey

Last time Wendy's won a close one, 4-3. This time will it be Barbaro Burgers or Garbey Gum?

Wendy's goes for Garbey looking glum while holding his bat, while Topps has Garbey looking glum with no bat.

Barbaro Garbey defected from Cuba to the US in 1980. Known as a great player in Cuba, he was quickly signed by the Tigers and worked his way through their system. He made the team out of Spring Training in 1984 and got off to a very good start - at the team's 35-5 high-water mark he was hitting .355. However, he tailed off significantly after that, ending the season hitting .287 with 5 HR and 52 RBI in 110 games. He also spent some time with the Tigers in '85 and the Rangers in '88, but made little impact. Since his retirement he had a long career as a minor league coach, and is now a Spanish-language announcer for the Tigers.
 

Wood vs. Wood #325

Last time it was a 7-3 win for 1987. Who will win here?

Luis Aparicio is photographed at the old Yankee Stadium, with the facade, grandstand and bleachers all nicely represented. Luis Aparicio came up with the White Sox as a 22-year-old shortstop, and led the AL in stolen bases. It was the first of nine straight seasons for him to lead the league in steals. Considered the greatest-fielding shortstop of his generation, he also had a great batting eye, walking as often as he struck out. A walk and a steal were considered an "Aparicio double".  He had some of the least impressive "traditional" hitting stats of any Hall of Famer - .262 batting average (only one season above .280); 83 HR (only one season with 10), and 791 RBI (never more than 61 in a season). He did have 2,677 hits, but never more than 182 in a season. After his playing career he returned to his native Venezuela and was a manager and an announcer. He is now retired, and since 2024 is the oldest living Hall of Famer.

Garry Templeton gets a simple spring training shot. Templeton's career started off looking like he could be an equal or better than Aparicio, at least as a hitter. In his first three full seasons for the Cardinals, Templeton led the NL in triples each year, and he led the NL in hits in 1979. Unlike Aparicio, he was a poor defensive shortstop, and was traded straight-up to the Padres for their shortstop, Ozzie Smith. Smith blossomed into an Aparicio-like HOFer in St. Louis, while Templeton devolved into a mediocre shortstop who still managed to hang around for a decade in San Diego. Overall he hit .271 with 2,096 hits, 70 HR, 728 RBI and 242 SB. Numbers that were on the surface quite similar to Aparicio's, but most of those numbers came in his first few years in St. Louis, dragged down by his decade in San Diego, where he managed just 10.1 WAR in 10 seasons. After his playing career Templeton was a minor league coach and manager. He is now retired.
 

Cake or gum? 1977 Ron LeFlore

Last time the voting went, in order, cake-gum-cake-gum-cake-gum-cake-gum-cake-gum: a 5-5 tie. Who will win here? And will we get another fun vote pattern?

Two spring training shots, two very different photos. I'm not sure if these were taken at the same time or not.

Ron LeFlore's first experience playing organized baseball came when he was in prison for armed robbery. An inmate with connections to Tigers manager Billy Martin (who but Billy would have prison connections for baseball talent?) convinced Martin to give LeFlore a tryout. LeFlore was released from prison in July of 1973, and a year later he was in the major leagues. He immediately became a star, as one of the fastest players in the league and an excellent hitter as well. From 1976 to 1979 he was one of the best hitters in the American League. He hit .300 in three of those four seasons, and in 1978, hitting .297, he led the AL with 126 runs and 68 stolen bases. However, his continuing association with drug dealers and mob figures led new Tigers manager Sparky Anderson to trade LeFlore to Montreal. In his one season with the Expos LeFlore led the NL with 97 stolen bases, though he hit just .257. After the season LeFlore signed a big free agent contract with the White Sox. In Chicago LeFlore's baseball skill rapidly declined, while he continued to make bad decision off the field. At the end of the 1982 season, he was arrested for drug and gun possession. He failed to make the White Sox roster in spring training of 1983 and retired. After his career he worked in a variety of jobs, even attending umpire school. He was also arrested twice for failure to pay child support. At last report he was retired and living in Florida.
 

OBC Roundup

 It's been almost a month since my last roundup post. I've gotten some nice cards from OBC members since that last post.

Six cards from 1986, three Leafs and three True Values, from Randy Griffin.

Four 1960s Topps cards, from Bob Chapman.

Six 1988 Sportflics cards, from. Rick Lyons.

A mix of old and new, from Ron Hoehne.

Nine '62s, from Jon Jeans.

 Finally, four from Fifty-Three, from Cesar Capio.

 

Wallet Card at a Waldbaum's that burned down 60 years ago

 

Waldbaum's was a major Long Island supermarket chain that went bankrupt in 2015, the same year I started doing wallet cards. There are still plenty of Waldbaum's remnants that felt too new to include as wallet card entries. 

This one is more interesting, though. I had passed by this strip of stores on Broadway in Hewlett, NY hundreds of times without noticing the back. It's pretty faded but the WALDBAUM'S is still fairly legible. It took a fair amount of internet detective work to figure out that this Waldbaum's was destroyed by fire in 1965. A New York Times article mentioned that it was "suspicious". Articles from other more local papers are behind paywalls, but I wonder if it's suspicious that another, larger Waldbaum's had been opened in the same town a few years earlier? Whatever is the case, it's cool that this sign survived a big fire and still is visible 60 years later.

1981 Topps Tom Hume

 

The front: Hume follows through on a pitch at Shea Stadium. Hume pitched in one day game at Shea, July 26, 1980. Hume pitched four shutout innings to save a 5-1 Reds win. 

The back: Hume went to Manatee after being drafted in the 35th round of the 1971 draft by the Dodgers. After one year at Manatee he was a first round pick of the Reds, with whom he signed.

The player: Hume was an ace reliever for the Reds for several years, winning NL Fireman of the Year in 1980. Overall in 11 seasons, 10 with the Reds, Hume went 57-71 with 92 saves and a 3.85 ERA.

The man: In November of 1980, shortly before this card came out, Hume, teammate Bill Bonham and their wives were staying at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas when a massive fire broke out, kiling 87 people. The Humes and Bonhams were among 300 guests that were evacuated off the roof via helicopter. They had been staying on the 24th floor, where 10 people were later found dead. After his playing career, Hume was a Reds bullpen coach for several years but is now retired.

My collection: I have 34 of his cards, from 1978 to 1988. I would be interested in trading for 1978 SSPC #120.
 

1976 SSPC John D'Acquisto

The card, in brief: Another night card. Looks like just about all of the Giants cards were taken at or after sunset.

Playing career, in brief:  John D'Acquisto pitched ten years in the major leagues from 1973 to 1982. In 1974, he was the National League Rookie Pitcher of the Year. Overall in 266 games (92 starts) for six teams, he went 34-51 with 15 saves and a 4.56 ERA.

Post-playing career, in brief: D'Acquisto was involved in a wide variety of business ventures after his playing career, and is a published author and artist. He shared his thoughts on baseball cards with this blog in 2010.

My collection: I have 11 of his cards, from 1974 to 1983. I would be interested in trading for 1982 TCMA Richmond Braves #4.

1986 Renata Galasso Mattingly #7

Even future major league stars took photos like this if they were a high school senior in 1980. Sears?

Once again reiterating that he was not really a big baseball fan. I think few big leaguers were growing up.

 

1988 Domino's John Hiller

 

One of the things I like about this set are the great photos. They can't all be winners, though.

The chubby young southpaw seen here pitched well during the 1968 regular season as both a starter and a reliever. On August 6 he set a record by striking out the first six batters of a game, and two weeks later he pitched a one-hitter. In January of 1971, Hiller suffered a heart attack, and everyone but him assumed he would never pitch again. In 1972 Hiller, who lost 40 pounds, was offered a minor league coaching job with the Tigers, but he was able to prove to them he was in pitching shape and was back on the team by July. The next year he had an extraordinary season, going 10-5 with a 1.44 ERA, and led the AL with 38 saves, earning Comeback Player of the Year honors. Hiller remained the Tigers closer throughout the 1970s, and when he retired in 1980 his 545 games pitched was most for the team all time, and it still is today. After his retirement he owned a farm and worked a variety of jobs. The 82-year-old Hiller has participated in the Mackinac Island 1880s Vintage Baseball Game for over 20 years - you can see him at the 2025 event here. 

I have 17 of his cards, from 1966 to 1980. I would be interested in trading for 1977 Hostess #28. 

Wallet Card with a Deadly Disease

I noticed some empty spaces for advertising posters on Track 18 at Penn Station. I've had surprisingly good luck with really old flyers that have been hidden underneath ads, stuck on for good with adhesives that are no doubt banned today. This one is a weird one.

Not much to go on but just a hunch that these were old. I actually was thinking they were probably just modern rat poison warnings, but it's actually more interesting.

While there's a lot to dislike about modern Google search, one great thing is that Google Images now automatically searches for text in photos, not just in the website the photo is on. I tried googling "Deadly Disease Stay Away From", with no luck in the regular results but a perfect match in Images.

This is a photograph by acclaimed photographer Louis Clyde Stoumen, called Deadly Disease, Times Square, New York. There are copies of the photo in the museums of Amherst University, who date the photo as 1980, and Duke University, who date it 1978. 

I couldn't find any more information about who was posting these flyers about tuberculosis around New York City in the late 1970s or early 1980s, but it's cool to know that at least a little bit of these 45+ year old amateur flyers are still visible today. 

Burgers or gum? Darrell Evans

Last time was an easy win for Topps, 6-1. Will this one be as easy?

Wendy's has Evans in spring training, with a nice view of the stands. It is clear that the Tigers logo on his helmet is a decal. Topps has him leaning on the Tiger Stadium dugout roof, signing autographs pregame.

The Tigers were slow to enter the world of free agency, and after the 1983 season finally made their first big-time free agent signing, bringing veteran NL slugger Darrell Evans to the Junior Circuit. Evans hit just .232 but walked more than he struck out, and hit 16 HR with 63 RBI. He hit .300 in the ALCS but was one-for-fifteen in the World Series.

Evans played 21 years in the major leagues, 10 of them with the Atlanta Braves. The other 11 were split between San Francisco and Detroit. He was the AL home run king in 1985 with 40 HR. Overall in 2,687 games he hit .248 with 414 HR and 1,354 RBI. Unlike many other sluggers from his era, Evans had an excellent strikeout-to-walk ratio (1,605-1,410). Since retiring as a player, Evans has coached professional baseball in the US, Canada and New Zealand. He also gives private instruction.
 

'52 Pick Up

I was able to snag a small 1952 Topps lot from eBay at less than $1 a card. Not the best shape but still good enough for me. I needed six of the eight cards. Seeing them all together makes me notice how colorful they are.

 Two of the cards I have already. Low grade '52 trade bait! Actually the Frank House card is in quite nice shape other than some staple holes.

 

Wood vs. Wood #321

Last time 1987 won big, 7-2. Who will win here?

Don Landrum strikes a contemplative pose pregame. Landrum was what would today be called a AAAA player. He played 13 years of pro baseball, with stints for the Phillies, Cardinals, Cubs and Giants between 1957 and 1966. In 456 games over 8 seasons, mostly for the Cubs in '62, '63 and '65, he hit .234 with 12 HR and 75 RBI. After his baseball career he worked in a variety of businesses. He died in 2003.

Al Newman hits one high in the air; judging by how high he's looking up, that might be a popup. This is in West Palm Beach, dual home to the Expos and Braves, so this must have been a Braves home game with Newman in the road powder blues. Newman was a utility player who started his career with the Expos and ended it with the Rangers but is best known for his time with the Twins, where he was a member of the '87 and '91 World Champs. In 854 games over 8 seasons, he hit .226 with 1 HR, 156 RBI and 91 SB. After his playing career he was a Twins coach for a while, and now does some occasional youth coaching. 

Cake or gum? 1977 Jerry Morales

Last time there wasn't much action, but Topps got the votes, 3-1. Will we see more interest here?

Two photos probably taken at the same time, at Shea Stadium. Hostess has Jerry smiling for the camera, his beaded necklace prominent in the photo. Topps goes for a more traditional look, with him all business in his batting stance, the Shea scoreboard in the background.

Jerry Morales was a solid-hitting outfielder for five teams over a fifteen-year career. His best years were with some bad Cubs teams in the late '70s, including an All-Star appearance in 1977. Overall in 1,441 games he hit .259 with 95 HR and 570 RBI. Morales was a minor league coach and scout for many years, and has been heavily involved in youth baseball in his home of Puerto Rico.
 

1981 Topps Bobby Brown

 

The front: Lots of people on the field before the game. Some big early 80s hair there.

The back: Brown had a long road to the majors and was released by the Orioles in 1976. However he impressively stuck with the game and would end up playing more than 500 games in the major leagues.

The player: Outfielder Bobby Brown played for the Blue Jays, Yankees, Mariners and Padres from 1979 to 1985. His best season was 1980 when he hit .260 with 14 HR and 47 RBI.  Overall, in 502 games he hit .245 with 26 HR and 130 RBI.

The man: After his playing career he owned a company with former Yankee teammate Jerry Mumphrey called "Major League Dairies", which distributed food to various outlets including ballparks and casinos. The company was based in Atlantic City and was eventually barred by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission for it's poor business record. The most recent mention of Brown that I saw was a 2016 post on Night Owl's 1985 Topps blog saying that Brown was working in "food consulting" in 2008.

My collection: I have 16 of his cards, from 1980 to 1986. I would be interested in trading for 1984 Smokey Bear San Diego Padres SGA #NNO.
 

1976 SSPC Mike Caldwell

 

The card, in brief: I would assume the sky is dark enough to count this as a night card?

Playing career, in brief:  Caldwell pitched fourteen years in the major leagues, winning 137 major league games. His best seasons were with the Brewers in 1978, when he won 22 games and finished second to Ron Guidry in the AL Cy Young voting, and 1982, when he won 17 games in the regular season and two more in the World Series.

Post-playing career, in brief:   Caldwell was a minor league coach for many years but is now retired. He shared his thoughts on baseball cards with this blog in 2010. 

My collection: I have 30 of his cards, from 1973 to 1985. I would be interested in trading for 1983 Gardner's Brewers #4. 

Wallet Card at the Turkish & Arabian Coffee Company

Some surviving 1930s signage from the Turkish & Arabian Coffee Company. Insert T&A joke here.

The coffee company left this site some time in the 1950s or possibly 1960s. In more recent years the building was converted into a single-family townhouse, owned until recently by former Gap CEO Mickey Drexler. Drexler sold it to an unnamed company in 2023 for $24 million, well below the initial asking price of $30 million. Here are some photos of the inside if you don't live in a $24 million townhouse and are curious about what they look like.
 

1974 Topps Stamps

Got a nice lot of '74 Topps stamps, 40 stamps for under $7 shipped. I still need half the set and needed about half the stamps. Some big names in that third row. I still need most of the Yankees so I was glad Blomberg was in there.

Plenty to trade. Some big names up top.

Cards and a little mystery from Mark Z.

Mark Zentkovich is one of those guys that spans the blogs, OBC and TCDB. He sent a nice little RAOK PWE my way recently.

My 1970s and 1980s Topps football wantlists are low enough priority that I don't post them directly here or on TCDB. However, they are high enough priority that I do keep wantlists and am glad to send them on request. Mark did and sent me some '82s and '89s. That Joe Fields card is by far the best of the bunch. Rarely does a card capture the essence of a franchise's past, present and future the way that card does.

He also sent this intriguing Yogi Berra photo, which he said came out of a scrapbook. First Elston Howard from Bob, then Yogi Berra from Mark. Can a Bill Dickey scrapbook page be far behind?

The page is newsprint, so I assumed it came out of a newspaper. The back didn't provide a whole lot of clues for what it was, but eventually I figured it out. 

Maybe others are smarter than me, but it took me a realize that these stories were being told by Mickey Mantle. I just had to look up Mickey Mantle talking about Yogi Berra. I also remembered that magazines of that time were often basically newsprint on the inside.

It is from the May 1963 issue of Sport Magazine. Thanks to an eBay listing, here is the cover (in this case autographed) . . . 

. . . and the full first two pages of the article.

 

1986 Renata Galasso Mattingly #6

15-year-old Mattingly at the height of 1977 fashion with his brown shirt and white tie.

I'm guessing that a year before this photo, teenage Mattingly was very happy the Yankees lost the World Series. Maybe that's why he was cursed to never win one.

1988 Domino's Ernie Harwell

 

Ernie Harwell is an announcing legend, though he only did Tigers games so I didn't heard him announce all that much.

Most of the cards in the set had identical backs, but Domino's baked up a special back for this card.

The last line caught my eye. Apparently Harwell was a collector himself and had an amazing collection. It was donated to the Detroit Public Library after his death, and is available for viewing by appointment.
 

Burgers or gum? Marty Castillo

Last time was a 6-3 win for burgers. What will happen here?

Wendy's has another standard spring training shot, while Topps has Castillo in the dugout, with lots of fans lining up behind the dugout to watch the players. Castillo was a seldom-used catcher-3rd baseman for the Tigers between 1981 and 1985. 1984 was the year he played the most, 70 games where he hit .234 with 4 HR and 17 RBI, his only season above the Mendoza line.

Overall in 201 major league games he hit .190 with 8 HR and 32 RBI. Castillo has stayed away from baseball since his retirement, with the Tigers and Detroit newspapers unable to secure him for team reunions. In 1995 Castillo and his wife opened a sports bar called Marty Castillo's Upper Deck in Cape Coral, FL. In 1999 Castillo, whom Sports Illustrated called one of the nicest and most popular Tigers in 1984, was convicted of assault and battery against his wife. The two divorced and his wife traded his share of the bar for child support; now called BackStreets Sports Bar, it recently celebrated it's 30th anniversary. The most recent mention of Castillo is another domestic violence arrest in 2011. 

Wood vs. Wood #321

Last time Aaron beat Bonds in the big heavyweight matchup, 7-3. Who will win here?

Lee Stange gets a very simple card. Stange was employed by several teams in a long career as a player and coach but is most closely associated with the Red Sox. Stange pitched for four teams over a ten-year career, making his only World Series appearance with the Red Sox in 1967. In 359 games (125 starts) he went 62-61 with 21 saves and a 3.56 ERA. He was a major league pitching coach for three teams, including two stints with the Red Sox. He then worked as a minor league roving instructor for Boston for many years. At one Red Sox function rookie shortstop Jody Reed introduced Stange to his mother; the two later married, making Stange Reed's stepfather. Stange died in 2018.

Mike Laga's card is one of the most famous in the set, and he mentioned the pink uniform when I had the chance to interview him recently. Laga played nine years in the major leagues for the Tigers, Cardinals and Giants. In 188 major league games he hit .199 with 16 HR and 55 RBI. He is now a mortgage loan originator with Freedom Credit Union in Enfield, MA

Cake or gum? 1977 Dave Goltz

Hostess continues to struggle in '77 after being so strong the prior years, last time losing 7-0. Can it pick up a win here?

Two photos that line up rather well. I think this might be Anaheim Stadium?

Dave Goltz quietly put up several excellent season pitching for some bad Twins teams, with mediocre W-L totals despite low ERAs. In 1977 he had by far his best season, leading the AL with 20 wins. The next season he burnt his pitching hand grilling in his backyard, and he wasn't the same pitcher after, pitching poorly for the Dodgers after signing a big free agent contract with them. Overall in 353 games over 12 seasons, he went 113-109 with a 3.69 ERA.
 

1981 Topps Dan Schatzeder

 

The front: Schatzeder shows a quirky delivery at Yankee Stadium. Schatzeder pitched in two day games at Yankee Stadium in 1980. Most likely this is May 26, the same day as Lance Parrish's card. Schatzeder game up 5 runs in 4 innings, and the bullpen was no relief for the Tigers, who got mauled 13-5. The third baseman examining the dirt in detail is Richie Hebner, probably figuring out how deep a grave he could dig there. The other game is less likely - the last day of the season, not usually a time Topps sent out photographers. Schatzeder pitched a complete game, allowing just a 2-run HR to Eric Soderholm, but it was enough for another loss, 2-1.

The back: Schatzeder's ERA was 0.12 higher than league leader JR Richard.

The player: 1981 was the last year Schatzeder was primarily a starter. He spent another 10 years as a journeyman middle reliever for several teams, most notably the Twins with whom he won a World Series in 1987. Overall in 504 games (121 starts) over 15 seasons for nine teams, he went 69-68 with 10 saves and a 3.74 ERA.

The man: After his playing career he was a gym teacher and coach at Waubonsie High School in Illinois. He is now retired. 

My collection: I have 33 of his cards, from 1978 to 1991. I would be interested in trading for 1982 Topps Traded #104.
 

Wallet Card at the 9 train

The 9 train hasn't run since 2005. It covered most of the same territory as the 1 and there wasn't enough ridership to sustain it. Yet Penn Station still has a sign for the 9 train on the 8th Avenue side. Most likely the sticker that was covering the sign came off. Ironically enough it is brighter than the lines that are still active.

 

1976 SSPC Jim Barr

 

The card, in brief: I don't know if it's intentional but it looks like Barr is making a funny face here.

Playing career, in brief:  Jim Barr had several good seasons as a starting pitcher for the Giants in the mid-1970’s. winning 80 games from 1972 to 1978. In 1972 he set a major league record by retiring 41 straight batters, a mark that held for 25 years. He was a “pitch-to-contact” guy with few strikeouts or walks. A free-agent signing for the Angels in 1979, he was one of many to disappoint the club in that era, going 11-16 over two seasons. He reemerged with the Giants as a solid middle reliever in 1982 and 1983.

Post-playing career, in brief: Barr had a long career as a college and high school pitching coach, but appears to now be retired. Both of his daughters, Betsy Barr and Emmy Barr, played professionally in the Women’s United Soccer Association. They faced each other in a San Jose-Washington game in 2003.

My collection: I have 22 of his cards, from 1972 to 1984. I would be interested in trading for 1975 Hostess #13. 

1986 Renata Galasso Mattingly #5

Another little league shot of Mattingly. Looks like something happened to the film when it was developed to mess up the color.

Rod Carew is a good role model for a young hitter.