Wallet Card at Wilson's Cleaners

The sign for this Seventh Avenue dry cleaners, best known for being visible in the movie Broadway Danny Rose, recently re-appeared due to the sign in front of it being taken down. I always like being able to catch these, even for a pretty minor business, as it's still a little glimpse into the past.

1981 Topps Mike Caldwell

The front: A simple spring training headshot.

The back: Caldwell was the leading starter on the AL Winning Percentage leaderboard in 1979. Yankees reliever Ron Davis led the league with an .875 mark.

The player: 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.

The man: 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 21 of his cards, from 1973 to 1985. I would be interested in trading for 1976 Topps #157.

Vintage backgrounds: Al Lopez Stadium

In my last post I thought the pictures were from spring training. Wrigley Wax notes they are actually Seals Stadium in San Francisco.

This one I am pretty sure is spring training, though. The curved grandstand was what caught my eye. I checked out photos of Crosley Field and it didn't match.

However, 1960 was the Reds' first year in the new Al Lopez Stadium, and it does look like a match:

Wallet Card at Circuit City

Next month will be ten years since the closing of the last Circuit City. The company began as Wards Electronic Stores in 1949 and officially changed their name to their long-standing slogan in 1984. The company went bankrupt in 2008 and closed its' stores soon after. The brand was recently revived as an online-only merchandiser.

Signage remains in the nearly-dead Source Mall in Westbury, L.I.

1981 Topps Johnnie LeMaster

The front: A day game at Shea Stadium. LeMaster played in two day games at the Mets in 1980, getting two hits in five at bats.

The back: Frank LeMaster played nine seasons for the Eagles, making the Pro Bowl in 1981.

The player: A decent fielding shortstop with a weak bat, he was known as “Johnnie Disaster” to Giants fans. In 1,039 games he hit .222 with 22 HR and 229 RBI.

The man: He is now the baseball coach at Paul Blazer High School in Ashland, KY.

My collection: I have 24 of his cards, from 1976 to 1986. I would be interested in trading for 1985 Mother’s Cookies #14.