Bad day street trade

I went over to Al's table today for our usual street trade. Al was pretty upset - earlier today some kids came up to his table and swiped a box of Prizm (soccer, I think) and ran off. He had spent $60 on the box. This is the first time in the 20 or so years he's been selling cards on the street that he'd gotten robbed. I know there have been a few high profile card robberies lately, but this one hits closer to home. Al was understandably unhappy. It was the end of the work day and I stayed after the trade to keep an extra eye out while he packed his table up.

On the bright side, we had a nice trade, some Mets and Yankees for Al to sell in exchange for these cards. At this point I'm going through boxes I'm sure I've gone through before, but I'm still finding stuff. Out of these the only ones I had already were the Ford and the Justice, which I'll take back to Al unless someone here needs them. Also of note are four cards from a Yankees team set and a really nice double play card of the Scooter. 

 

Generous bloggers

I got a couple of very nice surprise PWEs from a couple of generous bloggers this week.

Night Owl sent an awesome envelope with a variety of newer and vintage. Starting with the newer, including a pair of Cam Schlittler parallels.

Also some great vintage! 1973 is by far my favorite Kelloggs set, as I don't really care for the primitive lenticular designs of the others. The four 1977s are cloth stickers. It's tough to tell in the photo, but in person the texture actually reflects a bit of light, making a cool effect.

The Best Bubble, meanwhile, struck with a surprise PWE filled with retired Yankees greats. I wonder how Night Owl feels about seeing Babe Ruth in a Dodgers uniform?

This card below was my favorite. I can't find anything about it online, so I assume it's an unlicensed modern card. Mickey Mantle owned a Holiday Inn in his hometown of Joplin, MO in the 1960s. Even advertising for this hotel is overinflated by Mantle-mania; matchbooks from the hotel go for $20 and up on eBay, easily 20x what they should be worth. Postcards and other ephemera are even more. This card uses designs from 1960s advertising. As it is the size of a typical baseball card and seems to be UV-coated, I'm assuming this is some kind of modern unlicensed reprint. I really do like it.

Here's the back. Great piece!

 

Wallet Card in Toronto: Maple Leaf Gardens

I was in Toronto for work this week and had some down time in the evenings which I used to take a lot of wallet card photos. I had time to prepare and map out some places to take photos, but perhaps the coolest one is something I discovered completely by accident.

I was flying out early Friday morning and knew I might not have time for breakfast in the airport, so as I was walking the blocks by my hotel on Thursday evening I decided to stop inside a Loblaws (big Canadian supermarket chain) for a little snack I could eat in the morning. I went up the escalator and saw a huge art installation made out of stadium chairs which certainly caught my eye. I quickly got out my phone and quickly realized that this supermarket was in no ordinary location - this was the former Maple Leaf Gardens, home of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs from 1931 to 1999. From the outside, especially at night, you would never know it was a former NHL stadium, it just looks like another city building.

Here is the sculpture that grabbed my attention. There are also remnants from where the seats used to be. I didn't realize until much later when I was looking at the photos again that the seats are arranged in the shape of a maple leaf.

Naturally once I realized where I was I immediately looked up Maple Leaf Gardens to see what else might be worth photographing. Most of the old arena is now being used by the local college, TMU, for their sports, but the supermarket takes up a fair amount of the building. For the most part, other than a lot of photographs from the old Gardens, there are no other remnants to indicate this used to be an NHL arena. However, in Aisle 25 they have a Maple Leafs logo on the floor, and the white circle in the middle represents where center ice was located.

Other than those representations of the old arena, little remains in the supermarket. I did see something peeking out behind some tiles, though. I couldn't find any references to whatever this sign might be, and it's entirely possible it's just some of the supermarket signage, they do use big block letters to designate departments.

For the record, I bought a "No Name" cheese-and-crackers pack for $1 CAD ($0.73 USD). The crackers weren't great and I didn't try the cheese. And my flight was delayed due to weather so I had plenty of time for breakfast at the airport.
 

Wood vs. Wood #359

Last time it was a 6-2 win for '62. Who will win here?

Locke is shown here in Cleveland pinstripes, though he is listed as a Cub. After three solid years in the Cleveland bullpen, the Indians traded him to the Cubs after the 1961 season. However, right before the 1962 season, on April 7, the Cubs traded him to the Cardinals, making this a "zero-year card". Locke pitched in only one game for the Cubs before being traded for the second time in three weeks, this time to the Phillies. Locke went on to brief stints with the Phillies in '63 and '64, as well as with Cincinnati and the Angels later in the decade. Overall in 165 games, he went 16-15 with 10 saves and a 4.02 ERA. After his playing days he worked for the USPS and Frito-Lay. He died in 2020.

Doug Corbett poses against a mountainous backdrop at Spring Training in Arizona. Corbett was a lights-out reliever for the Twins in 1980 and 1981. He struggled to begin the 1982 season, so in May he and Rob Wilfong were traded to the Angels for a young outfield prospect named Tom Brunansky, a steal of a trade for the Twins. Corbett had a great 1984 but was otherwise mediocre in five seasons with the Angels. Overall in 313 games he went 24-30 with 66 saves and a 3.32 ERA. Corbett is now an autism and special needs instructor and private pitching coach in Yulee, FL. 
 

1981 Topps Garth Iorg

The front: Pregame shot at Tiger Stadium.

The back: In a battle of two teams who were 20 games under .500, the score was tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth. The White Sox brought in Ed Farmer, who with one out walked Roy Howell, and then allowed the walk-off triple to Garth Iorg.

The player: Infielder Garth Iorg played nine seasons for the Toronto Blue Jays. The brother of major leaguer Dale Iorg, and father of three pro baseball players, he payed in 931 games, hitting .258 with 20 HR and 238 RBI.

The man: After his playing career he was a longtime coach in the Blue Jays and Brewers organizations, and is now retired. He shared his thoughts on baseball cards with this blog in 2020.

My collection: I have 31 of his cards, from 1978 to 1988. I would be interested in trading for 1983 Fleer Star Stickers #110.
 

1976 SSPC Dan Spillner

 

The card, in brief: An interestingly framed card, a tighter close-up than usual for this kind of pose. An unidentified Padre throws a ball in the background.

Playing career, in brief: Spillner came up with the Padres as a starter, and moved to the bullpen in 1976. He was traded to the Indians in 1978. Cleveland moved him back to the starting rotation in 1980 and he went 16-11, but he moved back to the bullpen the following season. His last season was 1985 with the White Sox. He was an effective reliever for them (4-3, 3.44 ERA) but due to collusion he was unable to sign with a team for 1986. He was later awarded over $400,000 as a victim of collusion.

Post-playing career, in brief: Since his retirement Spillner has worked in construction and been a youth baseball coach.

My collection: I have 26 of his cards, from 1975 to 1986. I would be interested in trading for 1983 Wheaties Cleveland Indians SGA #NNO.

1986 Renata Galasso Mattingly Puzzle #9

What a cool card. Very much a product of it's time, though.

So ends the last of the series from the sets that Stuart sent several months ago. I need some new themes for series as I still like to post something every day. I don't have the time that I used to so I will be aiming for shorter posts. I mentioned one idea a while back, that I will start soon. Fuji made another suggestion in a comment recently. I have a couple of other ideas I'm noodling on as well. Any other suggestions welcome!
 

Wallet Card at Crawdaddy

 Crawdaddy was a New Orleans-themed restaurant that opened in 1975 at NYC's Roosevelt Hotel on East 45th Street, enjoyed some years of popularity, and closed some time in the late 1980s. A portion of the restaurant's sidewalk sign can still be seen when not covered up by a mat.

I was taking out my wallet card to get ready for this photo when a group of what I assume to be tourists stopped by, saw the sign, and excitedly took photos of it. Judging by their accents I assume they were Southern, but I wouldn't know how to pinpoint further. One got very excited telling her companion - "first I saw Craw, then I saw Daddy!" It would be cool if these random tourists were deep into suriving remnants of obscure 1970s NYC restaurants, but I assume that the word Crawdaddy just had some particular meaning for them. First time I've ever had to wait for someone else to take a photo to take one of my wallet card shots.
 

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.
 

1981 Topps Ron Pruitt

 

The front: Topps goes for the extreme closeup here.

The back: Pruitt hit 21 home runs for Anchorage, a record at the time.

The player: Pruitt was a backup catcher for four teams over nine seasons, six of them with Cleveland. In 341 games he hit .269 with 12 HR and 92 RBI.

The man: After his playing career Pruitt was a youth and college baseball coach. He is now retired.

My collection: I have five of his cards, from 1977 to 1981. I would be interested in trading for 1982 Valley National Bank Phoenix Giants #13.

1976 SSPC Danny Frisella

 

The card, in brief: Great hatless photo, you can see why his nickname was "Bear".

Playing career, in brief: An excellent set-up reliever, Frisella pitched for five teams over ten seasons, six of those seasons with the Mets. In 351 games he went 36-40 with 57 saves and a 3.32 ERA. He started 1976 with the Cardinals but was traded to the Brewers in June, for whom he went 5-2 with 9 saves and a 2.74 ERA. He would have been a big part of the Brewers' bullpen in 1977, but on January 1 of that year he was tragically killed in a dune buggy accident. 

My collection: I have 11 of his cards, from 1968 to 1977. I would be interested in trading for 1971 Dell Today's Stamps #NNO. 

Wallet Card at Gilda's Club

This is hardly one of the oldest signs I've shown in this series, but it is interesting, and it looks like it's in danger of disappearing.

In 1995, six years after Gilda Radner died of cancer, her husband Gene Wilder and several other New Yorkers created Gilda's Club to help families affected by cancer. The organization has grown to many chapters nationwide, but in recent years has rebranded as Red Door International, perhaps because younger generations don't know who Gilda was. It looks like, as part of the rebrand, the building is being remodeled, and the painted sign with the cartoon of Gilda Radner on the side of the building is likely a casualty.