Baseball Cards Come to Life!

According to Roy Carlson's research, this is based off the photo used on Banks's 1971 Baseball's Greatest Moments card.

The Bunyan-esque panel is fantastic.
So many great accomplishments in Banks's career. His vintage cards always seem undervalued to me.
Now that's a panel you would never see today!

Last time it was gum winning, 8-4. Will cake do better on Thanksgiving?

Looks like these two photos are from the same shoot. The Hostess photo is a longer shot, showing Brett in a bit of a crouch as he poses in his stance. Topps went for the tighter crop, and as you can see from the angle of the dugout, he was probably crouching in this photo and Topps aligned the photo so he appeared more straight-up.

Arguably the greatest third baseman of all time and definitively the greatest Kansas City Royal of all time, Hall-of-Famer George Brett is one of four players all-time to hit .300 with 3000 hits and 300 home runs, the only player to win a batting title in three decades, and a 13-time all-star. Probably his most well-known accomplishment was his run at a .400 batting average in 1980. He finished at .390, led the league in both on-base and slugging percentages, and was the only player to have an OPS+ higher than 200 (203) between 1970 and 1991. After his 21-year playing with the Royals, he has just completed his 31st year as the team's VP of Baseball Operations. 52 straight years with one team!

Last time it was a 6-0 sweep for 1962. Can 1987 get on the board this time?

It's an identity switch for the two sets. The rare case where it's the 1987 card that is missing the cap!

Norm Sherry was a backup catcher for the Dodgers from 1959 to 1962, and the Mets in 1963. An excellent handler of pitchers, he is widely credited for teaching Sandy Koufax how to be a pitcher, not just a thrower, allowing him to fully harness his talent. In 194 MLB games Sherry hit .215 with 18 HR and 69 RBI. After his playing career he was a coach for many teams, mentoring another young Hall of Famer with the Expos, Gary Carter, and winning pennants with the Padres and Giants. He managed the Angels in 1976 and 1977. Sherry died in 2021 at the age of 89.

Bill Krueger was an undrafted free agent who eked out a 13-year-career as a journeyman pitcher for seven teams. His best season was 1991, when he went 11-8 with a 3.60 ERA for the Mariners. Overall in 301 games (164 starts) he went 68-66 with a 4.35 ERA. Krueger has been an announcer for the Mariners since he retired after the 1995 season. He has also had a successful career in asset management, currently working at Hohimer Wealth Management in Seattle. He has also been involved in many charitable endeavors over the years, mostly related to autism treatment.

A decent attempt, but clearly an airbrushed SD logo. What kind of BS will Topps give us for the date?

The exact same BS they used for Bobby Tolan! Same wrong date, same wrong ballpark. 

McCovey and Tolan, as well as Glenn Beckert and Matty Alou, were the big off-season pickups for the Padres to improve on their 60-102 1973 record. The strategy was unsuccessful, as the team again went 60-102. They did have a nice improvement in '75, to 71-91, with McCovey and young star Dave Winfield leading the San Diego attack.

 Come on people! Was I really the only person this month to claim a card in the monthly Diamond Jesters Time Travel Trade? There are so many fun cards to trade for, from all eras, and it's easy to find something to send in return. Just any older card! I was one of only two trades last month, but still found a vintage Hall of Famer I needed. I haven't sent my return yet - what kind of cards should I send Matt to maybe rekindle a little interest? Hall-of-Famers? OPC? Oddballs? Something else? Leave a comment with suggestions!

Another generous blogger is Johnny's Trading Spot. Johnny was giving away some cards recently and I was fortunate to win these. Two Mickey Mantle cards I needed! That Panini card is a nice, elegant design.

A few more from OBC to show off. Greg Henthorn always make me say "wow!" with what he sends. No exception here.

Shawn Smart sent this fun quartet, including Joe Torre's brother.
Ron Hoehne sent a nice mix that included Eli Manning's father and Hall of Famers in two sports.

 

Not too many old cards in this post, but a couple of interesting, fully-packed PWEs from OBC members.

Starting off with Dan Williams, whose envelope included two 1960s cards. Bean and Cookie.

Also two from 1990 Sportflics. The first run of Sportflics sets always put a smile on my face.
I hardly ever get junk wax variations, so I found these particularly fun. The Aldrete is a uniform number variation while the other two are reverse-negatives. Fun to still be able to add cards from these sets years after completing them.
Aaron Shirley sent several PWEs, this all didn't fit into one. Impressive variety in these. Starting off with some 1983 OPC. I would guess that of all the cards with Ron Cey as a Dodger, this is Night Owl's least favorite.
Some Return of the Jedi needs.
Aaron sent a whole lot of the 1982 TCMA Baseball's Greatest cards. Some are in color . . .
Some are in black-and-white. Fun photos either way.
A few football needs.

Finally, some great vintage Hostess cards.

 

The front: Johnstone smiles big at Shea Stadium.

The back: His career dates back to 1966; no room for anything else.

The player: Jay Johnstone was a semi-regular outfielder for eight teams over a 20-year career. In only two seasons did he reach 400 at-bats. Overall in 1,748 games he hit .267 with 102 HR and 531 RBI.

The man: Johnstone was much more well-known for his pranks than his playing ability. Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda was Johnstone's favorite target. Johnstone played up the clown persona after his career with three books about his crazy antics and hosting a sports bloopers show. He also did some regular announcing for the Yankees and Phillies. He died from COVID-19 in 2020.

My collection: I have 35 of his cards, from 1967 to 1986. I would be interested in trading for 1978 SSPC #43.

The card, in brief: We are now finished with Cincinnati and move to Houston as we travel alphabetically through NL West cities. The #40 patch is in memory of Don Wilson.

The player, in brief: Jim Crawford pitched for the Astros in '73 and '75, and the Tigers from '75 to '77. In 181 games he went 15-28 with 13 saves and a 4.40 ERA.

Post-playing career, in brief: Crawford seems to have kept a low profile since the end of his playing career.

My collection: I have five of his cards, from 1974 to 1977. I would be interested in trading for 1973-74 Venezuelan Winter League Stickers #225.

Not the oldest sign ever, but I like this quirky sign for the long-defunct Hoboken Furniture. After WWII this location was a diner called City Queen. The sign, with some decoration on top to look a bit like a crown, said City along the top and Queen down the bottom. In 1972 it became a furniture store. The lettering in Hoboken certainly gives off a 1972 feel. At some point in the 1980s or early 1990s the furniture store closed, but the sign still remains.

 

 Roy Carlson's research revealed that this image was based on the photo that Topps would use for Rose's coin the next year.

Rose's father actually played semi-pro football, with the original semi-pro Cincinnati Bengals. A long career through the age of 42 - like father, like son.
I like the angle used for the drawing on the left. Gives some of the excitement of Rose the sparkplug.
Rose would hit .316 in 1970, 13th among major leaguers and 50 points behind Rico Carty.