Baseball card story from Ritchie Moody

The second round pick of the Texas Rangers in 1992, Ritchie Moody pitched six seasons in the team's minor league system. In 101 games (12 starts), he went 6-16 with 30 saves and a 3.91 ERA. Now the owner of a real estate investment company in Dayton, OH, he kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

"I think hearing Billy Ripken telling us about the f face card. I did the next year a card with a catchers mitt on. All in good humor of course. I think it was my AAA card."

 Thanks! I don't have that card, but here is one from my collection.

TCDB trade - Lyrical Kees

I pulled off a small but nice trade with TCDB member Lyrical Kees, who PCs Korean players, Japanese Red Sox, and a few others. In return for a few PC needs, LK sent me six of my few remaining needs for the 2006 Topps Update set. 

It's a pretty nice summary of a typical Topps Update set from when that line was pretty good. There's familiar players in unfamiliar uniforms (my favorite), a card of the Weaver brothers, a couple of All Stars, and a Home Run Derby card that embarrasses Troy Glaus, who managed only one home run in the contest.

Wood vs. Wood #122

Last time 1987 triumphed, 7-2. Who will come out on top this time?

Norm Bass with the KC A's hat, in front of the dugout at the old Yankee Stadium. It's always odd to me to see the A's not in green-and-gold. Bass has lived a life full of drama that might seem like it came straight out of a movie. In fact, a movie about Bass starring Terrence Howard was being planned before COVID hit. At the age of ten Bass nearly died from meningitis, even receiving the last rites at one point. He recovered, despite being blind and deaf for three months, eventually becoming a two-sport star at the University of the Pacific. Bass played baseball in the major leagues from 1961-1963, going 13-17 with a 5.32 ERA in 65 games. He played pro football in 1964, appearing in two games as a safety for the Denver Broncos. Unfortunately, his career in both sports was cut short by arthritis in 1965. Once again, Bass overcame a physical setback, taking up table tennis in the 1970s, eventually becoming a nationally ranked player and winning a Bronze Medal at the 2000 Paralympic Games. Bass is now retired and living in Inglewood, CA.

Jim Clancy is seen here firing off a pitch at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Clancy pitched twice in Baltimore in 1986, dominating the Orioles with a shutout each time. This is a day game so it must be April 27, an 8-0 Blue Jays romp. Clancy scattered nine hits and one walk and struck out four. An original Toronto Blue Jay, Clancy came up during the team's inaugural season in 1977 and stuck around for 12 years. His 127 wins and 1,237 strikeouts with the Blue Jays are both third all-time. He ended his career with Houston and Atlanta, going 140-167 with a 4.23 ERA. Clancy is now retired and living in Dunedin, FL.

Hollywood bit players on baseball cards: Part 30

Who is this German soldier being apprehended by Vic Morrow on a 1963 episode of Combat?

Did you recognize Braves Hall of Famer, and real WW2 combat veteran, Warren Spahn? On June 28, 1963, with the Braves in Los Angeles, Spahn visited the set of his favorite TV show, and was able to land a brief walk-on role as an extra, playing a German soldier. That evening, The 42-year-old left-hander pitched a three-hit, 1-0 shutout over the eventual World Champion Dodgers.

This is the only vintage card I have of Spahn, an Exhibits card I won in one of the many generous giveaways over the years from Johnny's Trading Spot (this particular giveaway had tickets, and I'm reusing the old photo).

Art on the Back: 1976 Topps Football

After skipping cartoons entirely in the 1975 set, Topps brought cartoons back to some of their football card in 1976. Cards either had a trivia question to guess a mystery player, or a rather generic cartoon relating to a bit of football history.

Sometimes the exact same cartoon was used on multiple cards. I saw examples of this a couple of times in the 100 or so cards I have from this set.

Here are a few of my favorites . . .

. . . and a few more.

Cards and Vintage Stuff: May 15, 1939

Tension roiled throughout world headlines on May 15, 1939. England, France and the Soviet Union argued over a mutual aid treaty with Turkey. (The treaty would be signed the following month, but broken by Turkey two years later, as that country allied with Germany for much of the war.) Meanwhile, Italy opened a military airfield near the French border. In the US, President Roosevelt and the Senate jockeyed over taxes, while the years-long Harlan County mine strikes neared their end, as Kentucky Governor (and future MLB commissioner) Happy Chandler sent 900 members of the National Guard to intervene between strikers and mine operators.

May 15, 1939 was also the last date to send in your matchbooks for a tube of Bost Toothpaste and a Tefra refillable toothbrush. In the 1930s, Bost claimed to be the best-selling toothpaste in the country, while Tefra had patented a toothbrush with replaceable bristles. Both companies were owned by Barbasol, which stopped manufacturing these products in the 1940s.

Based in Indianapolis, most Bost employees were probably Cubs fans. The Cubs were in Pittsburgh that day, taking care of the Pirates 6-2. With the game tied 2-2 in the third, Billy Herman led off with a double, coming around to score on a base hit by Rip Sewell, and the Cubs never looked back.

 

Vintage bats & gloves: 1976 SSPC Part II

 Some more equipment gems from the 1976 SSPC set.

I've noticed this on many Cubs cards from the 1970s - players having their number written in the C on their batting helmet. This seems to have just been a Cubs thing, just for a few years in the 1970s. I'm not sure why.

Leon Roberts was #44, but there certainly doesn't appear to be a second 4 on this bat. If this bat did say #4, then it belonged to teammate Aurelio Rodriguez.

Here's an interesting one. Billy Williams is listed as Oakland's #7 on the back. The bat says #28. Baseball-Reference indicates he started at 7 and moved to 28. I couldn't find an explanation for the number change. Williams wore #26 for most of his Cubs career, but presumably changed his number as longtime A's outfielder Joe Rudi was Oakland's #26.

Rick Miller, #16, has bat #39. That would belong to Tim Blackwell.

Last one for now, Tommy Davis, who has his initials and uniform number written on his batting gloves. T.D. 12

Cheap Broders

Got a few more cheap eBay wins. Splurged a bit on these two Rickey Henderson Broder cards, 15 cents each, but I like them, I like Broders and I like Yankee cards of Rickey.

By contrast, I got six Roberto Alomar Broders for a quarter. Some dupes as you can see, but perhaps they will make useful trade fodder, though I don't know how many people PC him anymore.

These aren't Broders, but they came in today with the Alomars so I took a photo of them too. I've been picking up '91 Line Drive AAA singles from someone who seems to be selling a few at a time. I don't have many cards from this set and I like them. These were a nickel each.

Wallet Card with a whole lot of privilege signs

I always love to post any privilege signs I find. Those are the signs that certain companies, mostly soda manufacturers, would pay for a business's sign in exchange for the privilege of having their logo prominent on the sign. These were highly prevalent in the 1950s-1970s; any surviving signs almost certainly date from that time, and provide a little window back into the past.

I found a lot of them in my ramble across the city this summer.

COCA-COLA

I found a lot of surviving Coke signs throughout Brooklyn.

 

 

 

Most of those signs have likely not moved for decades, though it is possible one or two were added at a later date for a "retro" look. This one in Greenpoint clearly falls into that later category, but it's still really interesting. It's a double-sided sign at a bowling alley.

 

 

 Take a closer look at the hanging part of the sign.

 It's clearer to see on the "BAR" side.

 

At some point, somebody painted over an old sign for "Evelyn's Groceries". Over time the white paint has faded and the original is once again visible. 

 

One more Coke privilege sign, this one is in Astoria, Queens. This was originally much longer and had a Coke sign on either side, but half the sign has been replaced by another business.

This is a "ghost sign", not a "privilege sign", but still fits the Coke theme. Partially obscured by a modern billboard in Soho, Manhattan.

 PEPSI

Moving on to Pepsi. This double-sider is another vintage sign that was added in recent years, but still gives off that nice retro feel.

This particular one was my personal favorite. While it is certainly possible that it is a reproduction added at a later time, the sign and bracket are both pretty old, and they fit in very well with the buildings around them. I've found a photo of it in the 1980s (above a business at the time which had a Coke privilege sign) so it's probably legit. Whether or not it's truly been there for 70 years, it felt like it to me, and it's one I looked at for quite a while (well, maybe a minute or two), imagining that I'd stepped back into the past.

I couldn't get as good an angle at the reverse side.

This one in Park Slope is obviously a lot more modern, but is probably 25 years or older. Probably not a true privilege sign, but painted on by the business, it's still pretty cool.

7-UP

This great sign is still visible under an awning in Washington Heights, Manhattan.

Here is the full sign.

This one in Chinatown is another one that was painted on, maybe 1980s or 1990s, but still has that retro look, and is fairly old in it's own right.

 

1981 Topps Rowland Office

The front: Office in the on-deck circle. It's not Montreal or New York, I am thinking either Philadelphia or Pittsburgh.

The back: Office's famous catch came in 1977, not 1975. Check out Night Owl's post about how Topps constantly referred to the catch on the back of Office's cards, as well as the comments on that post. Unfortunately the game was not televised, and there do not appear to be any photos of the catch. The New York Times writeup on the game does not even mention the catch.

The player: Office came up at the tail end of Hank Aaron's career and was often compared to him. However, his reckless style of play led to numerous injuries (including a back injury sustained in his legendary catch). His 29-game hitting streak in 1976 is one of the longest in Braves history. He spent parts of seven seasons in Atlanta, parts of three seasons in Montreal, and played in two games for the Yankees in 1983.

The man: Office seems to have lead a very low-profile life during and after his career. Anyone know where he is now?

My collection: I have 12 of his cards, from 1975 to 1982. I would be interested in trading for 1983 TCMA Columbus Clippers #27.