Lets Play 2

2002 UD Piece of History Phenom #126 Rene Reyes

2011-10-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

Rene Reyes was signed as a free agent by the Rockies in 1996. He was viewed as a top hitting prospect with above average speed. However, he played two seasons with the Rockies and struggled at the major league level. In 2003 and 2004, Reyes played in 81 games for the Rockies. During his stay in the majors, he hit .220 with 2 home runs and 8 RBIs. He was granted free agency in October 2004. Later that month he signed with the Cubs but never played for them.

He dropped out of baseball during 2005. He returned to the Mexican League in 2006. Since 2008, Reyes has found his niche with Puebla of the Mexican League. During his stay in the Mexican League, he has batted .334 with 60 home runs and 298 RBIs.

2002 UD Piece of History Phenom - #95 Reed Johnson

2011-10-01T12:26:00.000-07:00

Reed Johnson has been a solid outfielder for nine years at the major league level. After he was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 1999 MLB Draft, he debuted for Toronto in April 2003.

For Toronto, Johnson played all of the outfield positions and was often their lead-off hitter. He appeared in an average of 122 games each season through 2007. During his stay in Toronto, he batted .281 with 42 HRs and 234 RBIs. He was released near the end of 2008 spring training because other players made him expendable. He was immediately picked up as a Free Agent by the Cubs.

He platooned with Felix Pie and Jim Edmonds. Johnson played in 174 games as a Cubs during 2008 and 2009. He was a reliable and effective backup for the Cubs hitting .303 in 2008 and .255 in 2009. He became a Free Agent at the end of 2009 and was signed to replace Juan Pierre as the Dodgers fourth outfielder. Johnson played 102 games for the Dodgers and once again became a Free Agent at the end of 2010.

He signed with the Cubs for the 2011 season and again was a solid backup in the outfield. In 2011, Johnson hit .309 in 111 games. He will be a Free Agent again but has expressed a desire to return to the Cubs for 2012.

2002 UD Piece of History - First Complete Page of Phenoms

2011-09-29T17:21:00.000-07:00

Today marks a milestone in my quest to collect all of the 2002 UD Piece of History Phenoms. The Phenoms subset was a short printed insert set in this set. All of the Phenoms were serial numbered cards with print runs of either 625 or 950. Either way they are not as readily available as the base set cards. Today I filled out my first page in the ring binder. Only thirteen more pages to go.

I now have all three of the Phenom cards for Corey Thurman, Reed Johnson and Gustavo Chacin. I have already posted about Thurman and Chacin and will complete the posts for with one about Reed Johnson within a few days.

2002 UD Pice of History - Phenom #103 Doug DeVore

2011-09-29T09:59:00.000-07:00

Doug DeVore was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 12th round of the 1999 MLB Draft. He had just concluded his junior year at Indiana University, where he hit .360 with 19 HR and 65 RBIs. DeVore was also named to the All Big Ten team. His university time is of interest to me because I am an Indiana University graduate. Of course, I graduated from IU about seven years before DeVore was born.

Doug Devore made his major league debut on May 6, 2004. During 2004, he split his time between the Diamondbacks and Tucson of the PCL. He played 61 games for Tucson hitting .269 with 14 HR and 43 RBIs. With the Diamondbacks he appeared in 50 games hitting .224 with 3 HR and 13 RBIs. Devore did not play in the major leagues after 2004 but played in the minor leagues through 2006.

More recently he has been playing in the Columbus (Ohio) Men’s Senior Baseball League.

2002 UD Piece of History Phenom #94 Corey Thurman

2011-09-23T10:32:00.000-07:00

Corey Thurman was a 4th round pick of the Kansas City Royals in 1996. Thurman has played in 14 minor league seasons for many different teams. In 2002, Thurman played the entire season with the Toronto Blue Jays as a relief pitcher. He also played for Toronto during part of the 2003 season. During his short major league career, Thurman appeared in 49 games with a record of 3 wins and 4 losses. His major league ERA was 4.75.

Thurman played for several different major league organizations through 2007 but has not appeared in the majors since 2003. In 2008, Thurman joined the York Revolution in the Atlantic Independent League. It seems that he has found a home in York. He has become a fan favorite and an effective pitcher for the Revolution. In 2011, Thurman was second in the league in Wins (13), Strikeouts (111) and ERA (3.33). He was selected to the league all star team and was the starting pitcher for the Revolution in the Divisional Playoff series against the Lancaster Barnstormers. He tossed 5 2/3 innings in the playoff game but did not get a decision. York came from behind in the last two innings to win the game 3-2.

Childhood Memories

2011-09-20T12:37:00.001-07:00

I think I will take a day off from the 2002 Piece of History set and write about the card that I got at the Redford, MI card show Sunday. I have been looking for this card off and on for several years because for me it represents collecting baseball cards during my childhood. I would guess that most of us have particular baseball cards that are more meaningful and that bring back strong memories of our childhood.

Like many of us, I am in my second round of baseball card collecting. My first collecting period began about 1955 and lasted until about 1963. If I had known back then what I know now, I certainly would have kept all those Mickey Mantle cards in mint condition. I remember having multiple copies of the 1957 and 1958 Mickey Mantle cards. I gave all of my baseball cards away when I was no longer interested in collecting.

But when I think back to my childhood baseball card collecting days, there is one card that brings back strong memories. Memories for me are of buying packs of cards at Ollie Limp’s Hilltop Grocery in Delphi, Indiana and sitting on the porch at David Issac’s house trading cards and playing Ed-U-Card baseball games.

The card that brings back these memories is a 1955 Topps card - #57 – Billy O’Dell. I am not sure why this card is so meaningful. Billy O’Dell was not a major star. The 1955 card is actually his rookie card. The Baltimore Orioles were not my favorite team. In those days I liked the Chicago White Sox. He was not even from my home state of Indiana. O’Dell lived in Newberry, SC. I clearly remember having this card and liking it even back in the 1950’s.

Billy O’Dell was the Orioles first “Bonus Baby” signing for a huge sum of $12,500 in 1954. O’Dell never played in the minor leagues. After playing in 7 games in 1954, O’Dell spent most of 1955 and 1956 in the military. After returning from the military in late 1956, O’Dell was a solid pitcher for the Orioles, Giants, Braves and Pirates in a career that lasted until 1967. He won 105 games while losing 100 during his career.

Now that I have this card, I think I will frame it and hang it on the wall of my baseball room.

2002 UD Piece of History - Early Wynn

2011-09-16T10:30:00.000-07:00

The 2002 UD Piece of History set features about 30% Hall of Famers and other old timers.These cards are always bound to bring back memories of when I was younger. I picked several of the cards that have the strongest memories to post over the next several days. The first card that I selected is #10 Early Wynn.

Early Wynn was one of baseball's most feared pitchers. Wynn learned how to pitch back when pitching inside was just a basic part of the game. Mickey Mantle once said that Early Wynn was so mean that he would knock you down in the dugout.

Wynn was stubborn. He pitched for 23 years, refusing to quit until he had won his 300th game. At age 43, the Cleveland Indians signed Wynn to give him a chance to win his 300th game. After several failures, he finally won number 300 with a 5 inning outing against Kansas City.

My memories of Early Wynn are from 1959. I have posted some time ago that I was a big Luis Aparicio fan in the late 50's and early 60's. In 1959, Aparicio and the White Sox won the AL pennant and went to the World Series against the Dodgers. Early Wynn was the stopper for the White Sox that year. At the age of 39, Wynn won 22 games and was named the winner of the Cy Young Award. He shut the Dodgers out in game 1 of the series but his arm stiffened and he was not effective during the rest of the Series. I will always remember Early Wynn as a part of the magical Go-Go-Sox in 1959.

2002 Pice of History Insert Set - 500 HR Club

2011-09-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

The 2002 Upper Deck Piece of History set had several insert sets that are quite interesting. Each of the insert sets followed along with the historical theme. The first insert set that I want to talk about is the 500 Home Run Club set. The front of the cards in this insert set showed an picture of the player. 8 of the nine pictures showed the player‘s home run swing. The only exception is the picture of Jimmie Foxx. The back of each card featured a short home run history of each player. This set featured 9 of the 16 members of the 500 Home Run club as of 2002.

Of course, I am always looking for Cubs cards for my collection. The 500 Home Run Club set featured one Chicago Cubs – Ernie Banks.

The other players in this insert set were Mickey Mantle, Eddie Mathews, Harmon Killebrew, Jimmie Foxx, Mark McGwire, Willie McCovey, Reggie Jackson and Mel Ott. Other members of the 500 Home Run Club that were not included in this insert set were Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Mike Schmidt, Ted Williams, Barry Bonds and Eddie Murray.

2002 UD Piece of History Phenom - #115 Jamie Cerda

2011-09-12T11:19:00.000-07:00

Jamie Cerda was a left handed relief pitcher for the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals. He played parts of four seasons in the majors. Cerda debuted on June 28, 2002 for the Mets. In his debut, Cerda pitched 1 2/3 innings in an 11 to 5 loss to the Yankees. Cerda faced 5 batters in his initial outing. He did not allow a hit and struck out three in the game.

During Cerda’s short career, he compiled a 3 W and 9 loss record with a 4.26 ERA. He pitched in 132 games and logged 122 2/3 innings. In addition, he collected 2 saves.

Cerda was traded to the Royals in January of 2004 for Shawn Sedlacek. He appeared in 73 games with the Royals before he was selected off of waivers by the Rockies. He was later signed as a free agent by the Mariners but never played in the majors for either the Rockies or the Mariners.

2002 UD Piece of History Phenom - #120 Cliff Bartosh

2011-09-08T10:06:00.000-07:00

Cliff Bartosh was a left-handed pitcher who played for the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs. He was originally selected by the Padres in the 1998 Baseball Draft.

His debut was on May 15, 2004 for the Indians. During 2004, Bartosh played in 34 games for the Indians. He posted a record of 1-0 with and ERA of 4.66 during 2004. He only logged 19 1/3 innings of work as he generally was brought in to face only one or two batters.

He was traded to the Cubs in 2005 for Ronald (Bear) Bay. The Cubs were looking for one more lefty for the bullpen with this trade. Bartosh proved not to be the answer for the Cubs as he posted an 0-2 record with a 5.49 ERA. After appearing in 19 games, Bartosh was sent to the AAA Iowa club and did not play in the majors after June 18, 2005.

2002 UD Piece of History Phenom - Gustavo Chacin

2011-09-07T12:37:00.000-07:00

I currently have 4 different complete sets of Phenoms from the 2002 UD Piece of History set. Each complete set includes three different serial numbered cards.

The first complete Phenom set features Gustavo Chacin. Gustavo Chacin is #96 in the 2002 Upper Deck 21st Century Phenom set. In 2002, Gustavo was in the Toronto Blue Jay organization. He was signed as a free agent by the Blue Jays in 1998. He worked his way up through the Blue Jay organization and made his MLB debut on September 20, 2004. Chacin started 2 games for the Blue Jays and finished 2004 with a MLB record of 1 win and 1 loss. His best year for the Blue Jays was 2005. He started 34 games and pitched 203 innings. His record for 2005 was 13 wins and 9 losses with an ERA of 3.72. He played in the Toronto organization through 2008 when he was granted free agency.

Chacin’s career seemed to start in a downward direction after he was arrested in Tampa for DUI. Since then he has been in the Nationals, Phillies and Astro organizations. He appeared in 44 games as a reliever for the Astros in 2010. The Astros released him in July 2011 and he was immediately signed by the Mets. The Mets assigned him to their AAA Buffalo team. 2011 has been a rough year for Chacin. He has a minor league record of 3 wins and 7 losses with an ERA of 6.39.

As a side note, I saw Chacin pitch on August 24 of this year. I was at a Toledo Mudhens game. Toledo was playing the Buffalo Bisons and Chacin was brought in as a relief pitcher. Apparently, that night was typical of his 2011 season. He pitched 1 1/3 innings and gave up a grand slam home run to Danny Worth. Worth’s HR gave the Mudhens the victory and Chacin got a blown save for his work.

2002 Upper Deck Piece of History

2011-09-06T17:43:00.000-07:00

I think it is interesting that some baseball sets may be a favorite to one person while another person may completely dislike the same set. One baseball card set that has always been a favorite of mine is the 1975 Topps set. This set features bright colors leading to a party like atomsphere. The 1975 Topps set is a favorite of many people.

Another set that has been a favorite of mine is the 2002 Upper Deck Piece of History. This set has a very serious and professional look. It is a small set with just 90 cards in the base set with 42 additional cards that are a subset of rookies called 21st Century Phenoms. The first 90 cards in the set feature a nice mix of current (2002) players and some old timers. There are 10 short printed cards among the first 90 cards.

The Phenoms sub set features 42 different players each with 3 serial numbered cards. Two these phenom cards came in hobby boxes and were numbered to 625. The third card came in retail boxes and was numbered to 950.

To build a complete master set of the Piece of History set, one must collect the entire 90 cards of current and old timers including the 10 short prints. Then to collect all of the Phenom cards one must assemble an additional 126 cards.

Of course, I was originally just collecting the Cubs in the base set. This include 4 cards including one SP. The Cubs in this set include Billy Williams, Andre Dawson, Ernie Banks and the SP, Sammy Sosa.

As time goes on I will talk more about this set. It also has several interesting insert sets and jersey -jersey/autograph variations of the insert sets. It is still possible to get reasonably priced boxes of these cards.

I currently have 67 of the 126 different Phenom cards. I am actively working on the 59 Phenom cards that I am missing. I plan to use this blog to track my progress on completing the entire Phenom set. All in all, the 2002 UD Piece of History set is a fun and challenging set to collect.

3000 Hit Club

2011-06-15T16:39:00.001-07:00

As a Cub fan, it is too bad that Derek Jeter went on the DL. I thought it would be great fun to see him chase number 3,000 at Wrigley Field this weekend. This made me think of a picture that I have on the wall of my “baseball” room. The picture shows Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente standing together at an All-Star Game. I keep the picture on my wall because these players were three of my favorites as I was growing up.

There are currently 27 players who have reached 3,000 hits. Of those 27, I have been able to watch 20 during my lifetime. When Jeter reaches 3,000 hits I will be able to say that I have watched 75% of the members of this exclusive club (mostly on television but I have seen a few in person) .

A Book For Every Season

2010-10-09T06:13:00.000-07:00

About three years ago, I picked up a book at a local discount store. At the time the book interested me because it was about the early Chicago Cubs. But it has initiated another collection for me. The book that I picked up about three years ago was “When Chicago Ruled Baseball” by Bernard Weisberger.

Baseball cards tell a part of the story of each season. As a supplement to the baseball cards that I collect, I am now seeking books that cover a particular season. I don’t know whether it is possible to find a book fro every season, but that is the goal of this collection. Many times the books focus on a specific team but often they will discuss the teams involved in a pennant chase and the subsequent World Series. In any case, the books provide additional insight into the players and events of a particular season. Now, three years later, my baseball seasons book collection has reached 21. I will list my current collection. If any readers have suggestions for additional books, please let me know.

1903 – “When Boston Won The World Series”, Bob Ryan

1903 – “Autumn Glory”, Louis Masur

1906 – “When Chicago Ruled Baseball”, Bernard Weisberger

1912 – “The First Fall Classic”, Mike Vaccaro

1918 – “1918 Babe Ruth and The World Champion Boston Red Sox”, Allan Wood

1921 – “1921”, Lyle Spratz

1934 – “The Gashouse Gang”, John Heidenry

1935 – “September Streak”, Doug Feldman

1948 – “Epic Season”, David Kaiser

1951 - “The Echoing Green”, Joshua Prager

1959 – “59, Summer of the Sox”, Bob Vanderberg

1960 – “1960, The Last Pure Season”, Kerry Keene

1964 – “October 1964”, David Halberstam

1965 – “Cool of the Evening”, Jim Thielman

1966 – “Black and Blue”, Tom Adelman

1967 – “Rico Petrocelli, Tales From The Impossible Dream”, Rico Petrocelli

1969 – “The Cubs of ‘69”, Rick Talley

1969 – “The Greatest Team That Didn’t Win, Durocher’s Cubs”, David Claerbaut

1975 – “1975, The Boys of October”, Doug Hornig

1984 – “84, The Last of the Great Tigers”, Eli Zaret

2008 – “Sweet Lou and the Cubs”, George Castle

A Time When I Was A Pirates Fan

2010-10-02T10:08:00.000-07:00

There was a short time that I abandoned Aparicio and the White Sox. That was during the 1960 World Series and for very good reason. I become one of the many fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates who had won the National League pennant and were trying to best the mighty New York Yankees.

This may have been a pre-cursor to my switch to the Cubs in the early 1970’s. Certainly no one with any sense thought that the Pirates could beat the Yankees led by Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Whitey Ford. Anyone who believed in the 1960 Pirates would be qualified to be a die hard Cubs fan.

In the end, the 1960 World Series came down to a deciding 7^th game. When Bill Mazeroski came to bat in the bottom of the ninth, the game was tied at 9. With one swing Mazeroski hit a home run to win the game and the series for the Pirates.

I know that I was listening to the broadcast on radio. October 13, 1960 was a Thursday. I was a 7^th grader at Elwood Haynes Junior High School in Kokomo, Indiana. My memory of exactly where I was at 3:30 PM that day is a bit fuzzy. I may have been on the school bus coming home from school when Mazeroski hit the home run to end the game.

I have several items pertaining to this game on the walls of my office/hobby room. These items in clued a color copy of the World Series Program, the very familiar photo from behind home plate that captures Mazeroski’s swing that launched the ball to left field and two baseball cards featuring Mazeroski and the home run. These were all posted on October 19, 2009 in this blog. Go to my older posts to check these items out.

I have another photo that I did not put in the earlier post. The photo came from a friend who grew up in the Pittsburgh area. The photo features the entire 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates team. Although the photo has a few wrinkles, it makes a great addition to my collection.

I continued to follow the Pirates after 1960 but my favorite team was still the White Sox. That was at least until 1975 when I switched to the Red Sox. But again that is another story for another post.

Luis Aparicio - Rookie Season - 1956

2010-09-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

I wish that I could say that my Luis Aparicio collection begins with his 1956 Topps #292 Rookie Card. But I have not been able to add that card to my collection as yet. I do have a 1997 reprint of the rookie card that is a certified autograph issue, which is shown below.

I did have some 1956 baseball cards when I collected back in Delphi, but I do not remember having one of Aparicio. That may be because I really did not get interested in the White Sox and Little Looie until 1958.

Aparicio's debut came on April 17, 1956. He put together a very impressive rookie season for the White Sox. He appeared in 152 games while collecting 147 hits, scoring 69 runs and putting up a .266 batting average. As a preview of what was to come, Aparicio led the league with 21 stolen bases. Aparicio won the Rookie of the Year Award easily beating out both Rocky Colavito and Tito Francona.

My First Major League Ballgame – July 13, 1962

2010-09-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

Thanks to http://www.baseball-reference.com/ , I have been able to track the date and box score of the very first major league game that I attended. I talked a little about my early baseball hero, Luis Aparicio, in an previous post. When I was fourteen, my parents took me to a White Sox game in Chicago. Luis Aparicio was playing in his last season with the White Sox. In January 1963, Aparicio and Al Smith were traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Ron Hansen, Dave Nicholson, Pete Ward and Hoyt Wilhelm.

However, On July 13, 1962, my dad, my mother and myself were among 21, 191 people who saw the White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers by a score of 4 to 1. Ray Herbert pitched a complete game allowing only three hits.

Aparicio batted seventh for the White Sox, but was quiet for most of the game. In the bottom of the first, with two runners on base, Luis grounded into a force out at 2nd to end the inning. In the bottom of the third, Luis popped out to the second baseman for the 2nd out of the inning. In the bottom of the sixth, Aparicio led off the inning by flying out to the left fielder.

By the time Little Louie came to bat with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, I was getting concerned about two things. First, Aparicio had not given me anything to cheer about offensively. He had only a ground out and two flyouts so far.

The second thing that I had hoped would happen was a home run so that I could see the scoreboard fireworks show. Bill Veeck had created the famous Monster Scoreboard in 1960. Whenever a White Sox player hit a homer they would be greeted by the lighted pinwheels and fireworks display. However, other than Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio was probably the least likely position player to light up the “exploding scoreboard”. The monster scoreboard operated until the 1990 season.

With the White Sox leading, Louie could well be the last batter for the White Sox. Aparicio took care of both of my concerns with one swing. He hit a two run homer to left field. I am sure that somehow he knew that I was in attendance and hit that home run just for me so my first ball game would be one to remember for ever.

Growing Up In Delphi, Indiana

2010-09-22T06:29:00.000-07:00

My early years were spent in Delphi, Indiana. Delphi is located in west central Indiana near Lafayette. Along with my friends, Dave Issacs, David Cunningham and Steve Hutton, a good part of the summer was spent participating in baseball related activities. We typically either played actual baseball games or used our baseball cards and our imagination to play games.

From 1957 through 1959, we all collected baseball cards, although Steve had by far the most extensive collection. Most of my baseball cards were purchased at Ollie Limp’s Hilltop Grocery Store. I recently found this picture of Ollie in Carroll County Historical Society files. Back in 1959, you could get a pack of cards for a penny.

Cards were sorted by team and our favorite players were saved for baseball games using the Ed-U-Card game. We bought the Ed-U-Card decks at the dime store downtown, probably for less than a dollar. These vintage games go for quite a bit more on EBay today. We usually double and triple decked the Ed-U-Cards so that we could play full games without reshuffling. We would keep score of the games and log player stats in a notebook.

I recall that most of us did not really like the Yankees and in particular the 1957 and 1958, Mickey Mantle cards were not considered very valuable. It sure would be nice to have a few of those Mantle cards today.

My favorite team during this time period was the White Sox and my favorite player was Luis Aparicio. I think I liked Aparicio because he played the best position on a baseball team, shortstop. He was a sparkplug for the White Sox with his speed and defense.

When we could find enough players, we would play games in the “Big Lot”. The “Big Lot” was a full sized empty lot located between my house and Cunningham’s house. We played baseball and football on this lot. At one time David Cunningham’s dad owned a Crosley which he let my brother drive in circles on the “Big Lot”. If you are not familiar with the Crosley automobile, it was a quirkly little vehicle that was the brainchild of Powell Crosley of Cincinnati, Ohio. Crosley also owned the Crosley Broadcasting Corporation and for a time the Cincinnati Reds. The Crosley could get up to 50 mpg and were built in Richmond, Indiana up till 1942. After WWII, production resumed in a factory in Marion, Indiana. The last Crosleys rolled off the assembley line in 1950. Bob Cunningham bought two Crosleys and used the parts to make one of them operational. The picture shows some Crosleys. The second body sat in our back yard as a outdoor toy. Years later, a house was built on this lot.

My family moved from Delphi to Kokomo in the summer of 1959. I continued to follow the White Sox and Aparicio until the mid-sixties when I switched to the Red Sox……..but that is a story for another time.

I will show some of the Aparicio cards that are in my current collection and talk about thefirst Major League baseball game that I attended to see my "hero" play ball in another post.

Upgrading a PSA Set Means a Good Day!!

2010-05-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

It is a very good day when I am able to upgrade a card or cards in one of my PSA Graded Cubs sets.

Recently I was able to get a good deal on a pair of PSA 8's that I needed for my 1964 Topps Cubs set.

Moving up one grade in a set like the 1964 Topps moves to a significantly rarer version of the card. The first upgrade was #131 - Steve Boros. In the case of this card, there are over 90 graded cards that are rated higher than PSA 7. There are 71 PSA 8's and only 23 cards graded higher than PSA 8.

The second PSA 8 that I got was #486 - Bob Kennedy. There are 80 cards with a grade higher than PSA 7 for this card. Moving up to a PSA 8 means that there are only 20 cards with a higher grade.
I have posted scans of both the PSA 7 and PSA 8 versions of each card. The difference between a grade level is ofter hard to see. In the case of these two cards the PSA 8's appear to have slightlt better centering, clarity and color.

1968 Topps #542 John Boccabella - PSA 8.5

2010-04-25T06:02:00.000-07:00

John Boccabella was a journeyman catcher and utility player for the Cubs, the Expos and the Giants during his 12 season career. He was signed by the Cubs as an amatuer free agent in 1963. Boccabella played for six season with the Cubs. During his stay with the Cubs, he appeared in 146 games and made 403 plate appearances. His Cubs batting average was .223 with 8 home runs and 44 RBIs.

The Cubs made him available in the 1968 expansion draft and he was selected as the 56th pick by the Expos. Boccabella spent five seasons with the Expos and a final season with the Giants before his career ended after the 1974 season.

The card in my 1968 Topps PSA graded collection is a PSA 8.5 version.

1968 Topps #516 Pete Mikkelson - PSA 7

2010-04-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Pete Mikkelsen had a very brief Cubs career. He was picked up off waivers from the Pirates in August 1967 and was traded to the Cardinals along with Dave Dowling for Jack Lamabe and Ron Piche on April 22, 1968. His Cubs career lasted 10 games and 11 and 2/3s innings. During his stay with the Cubs he did not record a win or a loss and compiled a 6.94 ERA.

Overall, Mikkelsen had a nine year MLB career with 5 different teams. He primarily worked out of the bullpen. His MLB record was 45 wins and 40 losses with and ERA of 3.38.

1968 Topps #475 - Joe Niekro - PSA 8

2010-04-23T07:17:00.000-07:00

Joe Niekro is featured on card #475 of the 1968 Topps set. Joe Niekro was the brother of HOF pitcher Phil Niekro and the father of Lance Niekro who played for 4 years for the Giants. Joe Niekro was drafted by the Cubs in the 1966 amateur draft and played two plus years for the Cubs. Niekro debuted for the Cubs in April 1967 and was traded to the Padres in late April 1969 along with Frankie Libran and Gary Ross for Dick Selma.

As a Cub, Niekro played in 74 games compiling a record of 24 wins and 18 losses with and ERA of 3.83. Overall Niekro played for 22 seasons with 7 different teams. During his MLB career he won 221 games while losing 204. His career ERA was 3.59. Niekro’s final game was for the Twins in April of 1988. He died in October of 2006.

I currently have a PSA 8 version of Niekro’s 1968 Topps card.

1968 Topps #451 Al Spangler

2010-04-08T05:57:00.000-07:00

Al Spangler appears on card # 451 in the 1968 Topps baseball set. The version currently in my graded 1968 Cubs set is a PSA 8.

Spangler was originally signed by the Braves in 1954. His debut with the Braves occurred in September 1959. He was drafted by the Colt 45’s in the 1961 expansion draft and became one of the original members of that team.

Spangler’s Cubs career began in 1967 after he was signed as a free agent. Spangler played five seasons with the Cubs as a reserve outfielder and pinch hitter. As a Cubs Spangler appeared in 258 games compiling a .241 batting average with 7 HR’s and 55 RBI’s. One of the highlights of his Cubs career came on June 12, 1969 when he hit 2 home runs and drove in 4 runs in a game with the Atlanta Braves.

1968 Topps #339 Rich Nye

2010-04-07T05:55:00.000-07:00

Rich Nye was a promising left handed pitcher for the Cubs in the late 1960’s. He was drafted by the Cubs in 1966 and played for the Cubs for 4 years. He appeared in 99 games as a Cub both as a starter and a reliever. His best year for the Cubs was 1967 when he won 13 games with a 3.20 ERA. Overall as a Cub, Nye had a record of 23 wins and 29 losses with an ERA of 3.66. Injuries shortened what was a promising career. After spending 1970 with the Cardinals and Expos, he retired.

He completed studies as a veterinarian at the University of Illinois in 1976 and set up a practice in Brookfield, Illinois. His practice was directed towards exotic animals. He has retired from his practice but still serves as a consultant to veterinarians treating exotic animals.

In the 1968 Topps baseball set, Nye appeared on card #339. My PSA 8 version of this card is shown here.

1968 Topps #279 Bill Hands - PSA 7

2010-04-06T06:01:00.000-07:00

Card # 279 in the 1968 Topps baseball set features Bill Hands. Bill Hands played for the Cubs for 7 seasons. Hands was a solid starting pitcher for the Cubs from 1966 through 1972. His most memorable season may have been 1969 when he and Fergie Jenkins were an outstanding 1, 2 punch for the Cubs. Fergie finished with 21 wins while Hands won 20.

Overall Hands compiled a record of 92 wins and 86 losses with the Cubs. His ERA of 3.18 was also very solid. In 1972, Hands was traded to the Twins along with Joe Decker for Dave LaRoche.

1968 Topps #83 John Stephenson

2010-04-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

John Stephenson spent parts of 10 seasons with four different teams including the Cubs. He was primarily a back-up catcher and pinch hitter. Stephenson’s busiest season occurred in 1971 for the California Angels. During that season, he played in 98 games and 308 plate appearances.

Stephenson came to the Cubs in a deal with the Mets. In June 1967 Stephenson and Rob Gardener came from the Mets for Bob Hendley. Stephenson played in 20 games for the Cubs in 1967 and 1968. He was released by the Cubs in April 1968 after playing in 2 games.

Even though Stephenson barely played for the Cubs in 1968, he was pictured on card #83 in the 1968 Topps baseball set. The copy that I have for my graded Cubs set is a PSA 8.

1968 Ken Holtzman

2010-04-04T05:50:00.000-07:00

Ken Holtzman had three different cards in the 1968 Topps baseball set. His base player card was #60....shown here in PSA 9 - Mint condition.

Holtzman was also pictured on one of the set checklists (card #356). The checklist had two variations. The location of the player's head within the circle created the variation. This is a card that I have not yet collected in a graded version.

The third Holtzman card was #380 which was his All-Star card. This is shown in this post as a PSA 8 - NM-MT version.

Holtzman was drafted by the Cubs in the 1965 amatuer draft. He debuted in September 1965 and was a solid pitcher for the Cubs through 1971. He twice won 17 games as a Cub. Holtzman was traded to the A's for Rick Monday in November of 1971. Holtzman returned to the Cubs in June 1978 and completed his career in 1979 in a Cubs uniform. Holtzman won 80 games as a Cub during 9 seasons.

1968 Topps #37 - Billy Williams

2010-04-03T06:01:00.000-07:00

I like the Cubs new owner already. Tom Ricketts has announced that the Cubs will erect a statue in honor of Billy Williams on September 7. Hopefully this will be the first of several statues to honor the Cubs players that have made this a very special franchise.

So it is fitting that the first card in my 1968 Graded Topps set is Billy Williams. 1968 was a "typical" year for Williams. He played in every game and made 699 plate appearances. Williams posted a .288 batting average with 30 home runs and 98 RBI's. During Williams 18 year career, he had a batting average of .290 with 28 home runs and 96 RBI's.

Williams 16 year career with the Cubs was a special time for Cubs fans.

1968 Topps PSA Graded Cubs Set

2010-04-02T06:07:00.001-07:00

I still have some work to do on my PSA Graded 1975 Topps - Chicago Cubs team set, but this work will slow down considerably now. I am only missing one card now from that set (#15 Jose Cardenal). The remainder of the work will involve upgrading the many PSA 8's to PSA 9 or better.

So for my blog, I will move on to my 1968 Topps PSA Graded Cubs set. Currently, my 1968 set is ranked 10th in the PSA Set Registry. I have 11 out of the required 36 cards for this set (30.56% Complete). The cards vary from PSA 7 to PSA 9, giving the set a weighted grade of 7.672.

1975 Topps Cubs Set Upgrade

2010-03-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

I just added a PSA 9 1975 Topps #197 - MVP's to my collection. This was just an upgrade from PSA 8 to PSA 9. This upgrade raised to overall set grade from 8.22 to 8.27. From now on the progress with this set will be slow. Other than the two cards that I am missing evrything else will be upgrades.

1975 Mistake Cards- These Guys Are Cubs!!

2010-03-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

The 1975 Topps baseball set has at least four error cards that I can find…..or at least they are error cards in the eyes of this Cubs fan. These four cards feature players who are obviously pictured in the wrong uniform and listed as playing for the wrong team.

Billy Williams is shown in an Oakland A’s uniform. Williams played for the Cubs for 16 seasons in 2,213 games. As a Cub, he hit 392 home runs and drove in 1,353 runs. His Cubs batting average was .296. Williams was traded to the A’s in October 1974 for many Trillo, Darold Knowles and Bob Locker. He played just two seasons for the A’s before retiring.

Ron Santo is shown as a White Sox in the 1975 Topps set. Santo played most of his career in Wrigley Field. As a Cub, he appeared in 2,126 games over 14 seasons. He hit 337 home runs during those 14 years with 1,290 RBI’s and a .279 batting average. In December of 1973, the Cubs sent Santo to the White Sox for Ken Frailing, Steve Stone and Steve Swisher. Santo retired after just one season for the White Sox. Even though he was pictured in the 1975 Topps set, he did not play during that season.

Fergie Jenkins is shown as a Texas Ranger in the 1975 Topps set. Jenkins had six of his seven 20 win seasons as a Cub. Altogether, Jenkins was a Cub for 10 seasons compiling a record of 167 wins and 132 losses with the Cubs. He pitched 2,673 inning for the Cubs with 2.038 strikeouts and ERA of 3.20. Jenkins was traded to the Rangers in October 1973 for Bill Madlock and Vic Harris. After playing for Texas and Boston, Jenkins returned as a free agent in December 1981 to the Cubs to finish his career.

Glenn Beckert played for the Cubs for 9 years in 1,247 games. Along with Don Kessinger, Beckert was a fixture in the middle infield for the Cubs for nearly a decade. Beckert collected 1,423 hits and scored 672 runs for the Cubs. In November of 1973 he was traded to the Padres for Jerry Morales. Beckert played for two seasons in San Diego before retiring.

It just seems wrong for any of these players to be pictured in a uniform other than the Cubs. However, these errors will seem minor after Andre Dawson goes into the Hall of Fame as an Expo.

1975 Topps #638 Cubs Team - PSA 8

2010-03-13T13:14:00.001-08:00

I have added a PSA 8 copy of the Cubs Team card to my collection. This is a somewhat difficult card to find in PSA 8 or better condition. Currently there are 74 copies grade as PSA 8 with only 12 cards graded above PSA 8.
The 1975 Cubs finished the season with a record of 75 wins and 87 losses. This record tied the Cubs with the Expos for last place in the NL East. The Pirates won the division but the NL East division winners just won the right to face the Big Red Machine for the NL Title. The Pirates lost 3 straight to the Reds and were finished for the year.

Jim Marshall was the manager of the Cubs from late season 1974 through the end of 1976. Marshall replaced Whitey Lockman after 93 games of the 1974 season. If nothing else, Marshall was consistent during his two full seasons at the helm of the Cubs. In both 1975 and 1976, the Cubs won 75 and lost 87.

With the addition of this card, I need just two more to finish the 1975 Graded set. I still need #15 Jose Cardenal and #190 – 1952 MVPs. My 1975 Cubs set is currently #4 on the list. It is 93.55% complete with an average grade of 8.226.

1975 Topps PSA Graded Cubs Set - Update on Progress

2010-03-12T08:08:00.000-08:00

The most recent addition to my PSA Graded 1975 Cubs set has pushed my set into the #5 position on the all-time list. I have also purchased a PSA 8 version of the #638 Cubs team card. When I receive it I should move up one more step to #4.

Currently, the 1975 Topps set has an overall grade of 8.237 and the set is 90.32% complete. To move any higher than #4 will take some real work and investment. The top three 1975 Cubs sets are all 100% complete and have average grades of 9.29, 9.23 and 8.79 respectively. The price for playing goes up substantially when one moves to PSA 9 or higher.

1975 Topps #434 - Bob Locker - PSA 8.5

2010-03-12T07:55:00.000-08:00

I recently added #434 - Bob Locker to my 1975 graded Cubs collection. I was able to purchase a PSA 8.5 version. This has been a bit of a challenge to find in a grade above PSA 8. There are only 4 PSA 8.5's and 21 graded above 8.5.

Bob Locker pitched for the Cubs during two different years - 1973 and 1975. !973 was a strong year for Locker. Probably his best in MLB. In 1973 he had 10 wins to go along with 18 saves and a2.54 ERA. Apparently when he was traded to the Cubs from the A's in 1973 for Bill North, he told the Cubs he would pitch one year in Chicago and then wanted to be traded back to the A's. The Cubs honored the request and sent him back to the A's for Horacio Pina in 1974. Unfortunately for the A's, Locker had to have surgery to remove bone chips and did not play in 1974. He was then traded back to the Cubs along with Darold Knowles and Manny Trillo for Billy Williams.

Locker was not able to repeat his strong play in 1975. In 22 games he won none and lost 1 with an ERA of 4.96. He was released by the Cubs in late June and never played in the majors again.

1975 Topps #494 - Pete LaCock

2010-02-23T12:15:00.000-08:00

Last week, I added a new card to my 1975 PSA Graded Topps baseball set. I purchased a PSA 8 copy of #494 - Pete LaCock through an EBay auction.

Pete LaCock had a fairly unspectactular 9 year career in MLB. He was drafted in 1970 by the Cubs and made his MLB debut in September 1972. In all he played during 5 seasons as a Cubs. As a Cubs he appeared in 263 games while compiling a batting average of .221 with 15 home runs and 73 RBI's.

In December of 1976, LaCock was part of a three team (Cubs, Mets and Royals) trade that sent him to the Royals. He was granted free agency in 1980 but never played again in the majors.

LaCock's non-baseball claim to fame is that he is the son of Peter Marshall (Hollywood Squares) and actress, Joanne Dru.

1975 Topps #436 - Ken Frailing

2010-02-22T07:21:00.000-08:00

I recently have added a PSA 8 copy of 1975 Topps card #436 - Ken Frailing. While Frailing was only a minor part of the Cubs in 1975, this card is somewhat difficult and expensive to obtain. There are just 101 versions of this card that are graded PSA 8 or higher.

Frailing came to the Cubs along with Steve Stone and Steve Swisher in the December 1973 trade with the White Sox that sent Ron Santo to the southsiders. Frailing had a three year Cubs career with an overall record of 9 wins and 16 losses. Frailing got himself in to trouble by allowing a lot of baserunners. As a Cub, he pitched in 197 innings but gave up 231 hits and 74 walks. This translates to 13.8 hits and walks per 9 innings.

Frailing's hits plus walks ratio per 9 innings (13.8) was higher than Oscar Zamora's (12.6). See the January 6 posting that talks about the song Cubs fans made up about Zamora and his tendency to allow baserunners.

Nu-Card Scopps #410 - Don Cardwell's 1960 No-Hitter

2010-02-21T06:49:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago (2/6/10) Wrigley Wax (http://wrigleywax.blogspot.com) which is another blog that talks about Cubs baseball cards, had a several part post that focused on the 1960 Topps Cubs cards. Don Cardwell was card #384 in the 1960 Topps set. He was featured as a Phillie on that card, but was traded to the Cubs on May 13, 1960. Two days later, he pitched a no-hitter in his first game as a Cub.

The Wrigley Wax post made me think of a card that I recently purchased. The card that I thought of was from the 1961 Nu-Card Baseball Scoops set. This 80 card set features a mock newspaper on the front and commemorates great moments in various player's careers.

Card #410 of this set features Cardwell's 1960 no-hitter. If you are counting, only two other cards in this set feature the Chicago Cubs. #417 highlights Fred Merkle's 1908 Boner and #420 features Ernie Banks hitting 47 home runs and winning the MVP in 1958. Of course, Merkle was actually a Giant but made his famous base running "boner" against the Cubs.

1975 Topps #566 - Ray Burris

2010-02-20T07:29:00.000-08:00

I have been able to add a PSA 9 version of 1975 Topps #566 - Ray Burris to my collection. The 1975 Topps set is new enough that a PSA 9 is not uncommon. In the case of this card there are 52 PSA 9's with a total of 4 cards that have been graded higher than PSA 9.

Ray Burris played 7 seasons with the Cubs and was the ace of the staff for a couple of years. He completed his career with the Cubs with a record of 55 wins and 58 losses. In 1975 he compiled a 15 and 10 record and followed that in 1976 with a record of 15 wins and 13 losses. As a Cubs, Burris appeared in 237 games with an overall ERA of 4.27.

Burris was traded to the Yankees in May 1979 for Dick Tidrow. He played for a total of seven teams over his 16 season career.

Break is Over!!! Sandberg/Williams Swatch Card

2010-02-20T07:07:00.000-08:00

OK, break is over!!! I have taken about two weeks off now with no good reason except that I just did not seem to get around to updating the blog.

So let me start with a card that is just fun to have. It is not numbered or really unique......but for me there are two of my favorite Cubs on this card. The card is from the 2009 Sweet Spot set. It is a dual swatch card featuring Ryne Sandberg and Billy Williams. The Williams swatch does have a pinstripe included, but beyond that these are readily availble on Ebay at a reasonable price.

1980 Cubs Scorecard - Cubs vs Braves - A Battle of 5th Place Teams

2010-02-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

Here is a scorecard from the Cubs 1980 season. This scorecard is for the game played on Friday the 13th (June 13). The opponent for the day was Atlanta. Neither team was setting the world on fire. Atlanta had a record of 23 wins and 31 losses while the Cubs stood at 23 wins and 30 losses. Both teams were in 5th place in their division.

Bobby Cox was in his third year as the manager of the Braves. The Braves would ultimately end up with a winning record for the year at 81 wins and 80 losses. Preston Gomez would not fare as well with the Cubs. He managed the Cubs to a 38 and 52 record. He was replaced by Joey Amalfitano on July 29th. Amalfitano finished the season with 26 wins and 46 losses. Apparently, the Cubs needed more than a managerial change.

This particular game featured pitchers Doyle Alexander (Braves) versus Lynn McGlothen (Cubs). The Cubs raised the fans hopes in the 1st by scoring 4 runs. However, McGlothen gave up 7 runs over 6 1/3 innings and the Cubs lost 7 to 6. Dale Murphy was the hitting star with a single, a double, a home run and 2 RBI’s. For the Cubs Lenny Randle went 3 for 3 with a stolen base and Jerry Martin hit a three run homer.

The one good thing was that a day at Wrigley was reasonably inexpensive. A General Admission ticket along with a hotdog, fries and a large coke cost $5.35

Upgrade - 1975 Topps #39 Andy Thornton - From PSA 8 to PSA 9

2010-02-03T09:01:00.000-08:00

I have been able to upgrade one card in my 1975 Topps PSA Graded Cubs set. Recently, I purchased a PSA 9 copy of card #39 - Andy Thornton. This card replaces the PSA 8 version that I had. The PSA 8 version of this card was posted on December 2, 2009.

This also is a good time to undate the current status of the 1975 Topps Cubs - PSA Registry set. My set is currently #7 on the current finest list at the PSA Registry. My set is 77.42% complete with a weighted grade of 8.22.

1975 Topps #196 1958 MVP's - Ernie Banks and Jackie Jensen

2010-02-02T08:51:00.000-08:00

This card is another in the MVP sub-set that was part of the 1975 Topps Baseball set. The 1958 National League MVP in 1958 was Ernie Banks. This was the first of twp MVP Awards that Ernie would receive. The second came in 1959 and the card was shown in a previous post.

1975 Topps #617 Rookie Infielders - Manny Trillo

2010-02-01T08:37:00.000-08:00

This card is one of the 11 card sub-set of Rookies in the 1975 Topps baseball set. The Cub featured on card #617 is Manny Trillo. Trillo had minimal MLB experience with the A's in 1973 and 1974 (38 games with 45 AB). In October 1974, Trillo along with Bob Locker and Darold Knowles were traded to the Cubs for Billy Williams.

In all, Trillo played 7 seasons as a Cubs during two different stints (1975 -1978 and 1986 - 1988). As a Cub, Trillo played in 881 games. During his Cubs career he scored 265 runs and drove in 300 runs. His Cubs batting average was .261. As a Cub, he was an All-Star in 1977.

Manny Trillo was also a member of the 1980 World Champion Phillies.

1975 Topps #519 - Jim Todd

2010-01-31T08:09:00.000-08:00

Jim Todd was drafted by the Cubs in the 1969 amatuer draft. He worked his way up in the Cubs minor league system and finally got a chance in the majors in April 1974. He pitched in 43 games for the Cubs in 1974 posting 4 wins and 2 losses with an ERA of 3.89. He was traded to the Oakland A's in April of 1975 for Champ Summers.

After two years with the A's, Todd returned to the Cubs in a pre-season 1977 trade for Joe Coleman. Todd had a miserable early season with the Cubs. In 30 2/3 innings he allowed 66 baserunners. He was sent to the minors in July and then to the mariners after the season ended.

Todd performed slightly better with the Mariners but still allowed too many baserunners. He was released by the Mariners after the 1978 seasons and played his final year (1979) with the A's.

1975 Topps #315 - Don Kessinger

2010-01-29T12:54:00.000-08:00

Don Kessinger was a familiar face in a Cubs uniform for 12 seasons (1964 to 1975). Although he was not known for his offensive abilities, Kessinger was a solid defensive shortstop. He was named to the All-Star team six times (1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1974). In at least in one list of all-time Cubs, Kessinger ranks #43.

During the 12 years as a Cubs Kessinger played in 1,648 games and collected 1,619 hits. He had a Cubs career batting average of .255 and scored 769 runs.

1975 would be his last year with the Cubs. After the season he was traded to the Cardinals for Mike Garman. Mike Garman would play 47 games with the Cubs in 1976 and then be a part of the trade that sent Rick Monday to the Dodgers for Bill Buckner and Ivan DeJesus.

Kessinger would play 1976 with the Cardinals and then be traded in August 1977 to the White Sox. Kessinger’s career ended in 1979 after a short stint as the White Sox playing manager.

1975 Topps #129 - Rick Monday

2010-01-27T11:54:00.000-08:00

Rick Monday was the first player ever taken in the amateur draft in 1965. This distinction led to very lofty expectations for Monday. However, Rick Monday had a solid 19 year career but never became the superstar that many thought he would.

Monday led Arizona State to the 1965 College World Series championship on a team that included freshman Reggie Jackson. Monday was the 1965 College Player of the Year before becoming the #1 draft pick by the Kansas City Athletics.

On November 29, 1971, Monday was traded to the Cubs for Ken Holtzman. Monday was a solid outfielder during his 5 year stay with the Cubs. In 702 games, he hit 106 home runs with 293 RBI’s. During this period his batting average was .270. Monday may be best known for his action during the April 25, 1976 game in Dodger Stadium. Two protesters run on to the field during the game with an American flag. As they tried to set the flag on fire, Monday raced over a grabbed the flag. After Monday handed the flag to Dodger pitcher Doug Rau, the police arrested the protesters. Monday received a standing ovation from the crowd when he came to bat in the next inning.

On January 11, 1977, Monday was traded by the Cubs to the Dodgers for Ivan DeJesus and Bill Buckner. As a Dodger, Monday was part of the 1981 World Series champions.

1975 Topps #197 - 1959 MVPs - Ernie Banks and Nellie Fox

2010-01-26T07:29:00.000-08:00

The 1975 Topps set marked the 25th anniversary of Topps baseball cards. Topps included a subset picturing 25 years of MVPs. Each card from #189 through #212 pictured the MVPs of each year from 1951 to 1974. Most of the cards pictured were actual cards produced. However a few of the pictured cards were manufacured specifically for this subset since the player did not have a Topps card during the actual year.

Cubs player appear in this subset three times. Hank Sauer was the NL MVP for 1952 and apears on card #190. Ernie Banks apears on cards numbered #196 as the 1958 MVP and #197 as the 1959 MVP. The card shown in this posting is #197 featuring Ernie Banks along with Nellie Fox of the White Sox. It was a good year for Chicago baseball as both MVPs were from Chicago teams. The first three in AL MVP voting were White Sox. Luis Aparicio finished second and Early Wynn came in third.

1970 Milton Bradley Cubs Team Set

2010-01-25T09:36:00.000-08:00

Today as a break in presenting the 1975 Topps PSA Graded Cubs, I will present a complete Cubs team set. This team set is very small and in some collector's eyes may not qualify as a team set. This set comes from the 1970 Milton Bradley Baseball board game. The 1970 Milton Bradley Baseball board game had only 28 different players. Many teams had only one player represented. While other teams did not have any players represented. The Cubs had two players - Ernie Banks and Ron Santo (There could have been three Cubs when you consider that Billy Williams was also playing at the time. This game is sometimes on EBay as a complete game but if in reasonably good condition, will go for a fairly high price ($75 to $200). The picture that I have added shows a complete game that was auctioned on EBay. If you are only looking for a single player like I was, you then have to hope that the particular player is in gradable condition. Otherwise, you must wait until someone puts up a single card of your player.

1975 Topps #282 Jerry Morales

2010-01-24T13:45:00.000-08:00

Jerry Morales came to the Cubs in 1973 from the Padres in exchange for Glenn Beckert and a minor leaguer (Bob Fenwick). The Cubs were making trades to fill roster spots with youth and speed. The Cubs also traded Fergie Jenkins after the 1973 season. The Cubs also decreased their payroll significantly by moving Jenkins and Beckert. Many thought that Billy Williams would also either be traded or moved to 1st base.

Morales played a total of seven seasons as a Cubs in two diferent stints. The first stint was from 1974 through 1977. The second stint came at the end of his career (1981 through 1983). As a Cub, Morales hit .275 with 59 home runs and 375 RBI's. He was known as a strong outfileder with speed and a good glove. He was selected as an All-Star in 1977. After his playing career ended, Morales became a minor league hitting and outfield coach for the Cubs. He served in that position until 1986.

Morales also played for the Padres, Cardinals, Mets and Tigers during his career.

1975 Topps #104 Bill Madlock

2010-01-23T17:41:00.000-08:00

Bill Madlock was intimately involved with the departure of two Cubs greats. Madlock came to the Cubs in a trade with the Rangers. Madlock and Vic Harris came to the Cubs for Fergie Jenkins. The arrival of Madlock allowed the Cubs to trade Ron Santo to the White Sox.

While Madlock only played for the Cubs from 1974 through 1976, he complied outstanding numbers. In 400 games as a Cubs, Madlock batted .336 with 31 home runs and 202 RBI's. He was the National League Batting Leader in both 1975 and 1976. He finsihed third in the 1974 Rookie of the Year balloting and was an All Star in 1975. After the 1976 season, Madlock was traded to the Giants for Bobby Murcer.

Madlock who had the nickname "Mad Dog" for his fiery temper, completed a 15 season career with six different teams. His overall statistics showed a .305 batting average with 2008 hits, 163 home runs and 860 RBI's.

1975 Topps #63 Steve Swisher

2010-01-22T11:06:00.001-08:00

Steve Swisher came to the Cubs in the December 1973 trade that sent Ron Santo to the White Sox for Swisher, Ken Frailing and Steve Stone. Swisher started 362 games for the Cubs at catcher during a four year period (1974-1977). Swisher was not a strong offensive factor as he batted .217 with 16 home runs and 106 RBI’s as a Cub.

In 1977, Swisher was traded to the Cardinals along with Jerry Morales for Hector Cruz and Dave Rader. It was the Cub’s intent to strengthen the catcher position with this trade. Rader played only 116 games as a Cubs and exhibited less fire power than Swisher.

Swisher is the father of current Yankee, Nick Swisher.

Dave Kingman Autograph And Graded Cubs Cards

2010-01-18T18:10:00.000-08:00

I have added a new item to my collection of Cubs autograph and game-used cards. This card is from the 2005 Upper Deck Origins set and features a Dave Kingman autograph.

When the Cubs signed Dave Kingman as a Free Agent in November 1977, fans were excited by the possibility of the 6’6” Kingman taking aim at the ivy covered walls with the wind blowing out. I remember thinking that he could hit 75 HRs if the wind could just blow out every day. Kingman did not disappoint as he averaged 31 HRs and 84 RBIs during his three year stay in Chicago. Kingman had the best year of his 16 year career in 1979.

During the 1979 season, Kingman hit 48 HRs and 115 RBIs. His 48 home runs were good enough to lead the major leagues. After three years with the Cubs, Kingman was traded to the Mets for Steve Henderson and cash.

Although Kingman only played for the Cubs during three seasons, he has four different Topps cards in a Cubs uniform (1978 to 1981). I currently have two of these cards in my graded Cubs collection. Both cards are graded PSA 9 – Mint.

One of Kingman's career days at the plate occurred in Los Angeles on May 14, 1978. He hit three home runs against the Dodgers, including a three run shot in the top of the 15th inning that gave the Cubs a 10-7 victory. Eight of the Cubs' ten runs were driven in by Kingman.

Although Kingman hit over 400 home runs during his career, he was never a seriously considered candidate for the Hall of Fame. He became the first MLB player to hit over 400 home runs and NOT be voted into the HOF.

More Sosa HR Parade Cards

2010-01-08T07:41:00.000-08:00

After my last post about the 1999 Topps Sosa Home Run Parade set, I went to Beckett and found a number of reasonably priced cards that I needed to complete my Sosa set. I am not completely done but I have made a big dent in this 66 card set. In the last 2 days I have recieved cards #9, #14, #22, #23, #37, #38 and #55. In addition, I should recieve #18, #29 and #52 shortly.

When every thing has been recieved, I will need only 5 more cards to finish this set. The ones that I still need to find are #16, #19, #26, #42 and #61. I believe that #61 will be both the most difficult and most expense to finish my set.

1975 Topps #658 - Vic Harris

2010-01-07T10:34:00.000-08:00

The last card that I currently have in my 1975 Topps graded Cubs collection is #658 featuring Vic Harris. Harris played for the Cubs in 1974 and 1975 during an 8 years career with five different teams.

He came to the Cubs after the 1973 season. Harris along with Bill Madlock were traded to the Cubs from the Rangers for Fergie Jenkins. Harris started the 1974 season as the Cubs 2nd baseman but was sent to the minors after hitting .195 in 62 games. In 1975, Harris was on the Cubs bench as a pinch hitter and utility player. During his Cubs career, Harris batted .191 in 113 games with no home runs and only 16 RBIs. After the 1975 season, he was traded to the Cardinals for Mick Kelleher.

1975 Topps #604 - Oscar Zamora

2010-01-06T10:11:00.000-08:00

Oscar Zamora is featured on card # 604 of the 1975 Topps set. Zamora played 15 seasons in professional baseball. However, parts of 14 seasons were spent in the minors. Zamora played parts of three seasons in the majors. Only one season was spent entirely in the majors (1975). As a Cub, Zamora was a reliever. He pitched in 148 games for the Cubs winning 13 and losing 14. His ERA as a Cub was 4.34 with 23 saves. Zamora became expendable in 1976, when Bruce Sutter arrived on the scene. He was granted Free Agency in November 1977 and signed with Houston. He played in 10 games for Houston before his MLB career ended.

During his years with the Cubs, Zamora gave up an average of more than one hit per inning (236 hits in 209 2/3 innings). Cubs fans made up a song to the tune of “That’s Amore”.

“When the pitch is so fat,”
“That the ball meets the bat,”
“That’s Zamora.”

Two More 1999 Topps - Sosa Home Runs Added

2010-01-04T09:25:00.000-08:00

Although I took some time off during the holiday week, I was able to add two more home runs from the 1999 Topps subset. There are 66 variations of card number 461 in the 1999 Topps set. Each variation commemorates one of Sosa's 66 Home Runs during the 1998 season. I now have 51 of the variations, leaving only 15 more to complete the subset.

The challenge to this subset is not finding the variations because they are reasonably easy to locate on EBay, Sportslot or Beckett. The challenge is finding the home runs that one needs for a reasonable price. It would seem that most of the numbers can be purchased for $3.00 or $5.00 including shipping. At this price it would cost about $300 to $350 to complete a set. But I have seen these cards listed for $6.00 to $10.00 (and higher).

The cards that I have just added are home runs #4 and #53. Sosa hit home run #4 on April 23, 1998 off of Dan Miceli of the Padres. This was before Sosa's big June home run explosion. After this home run, he was on track to hit a season total of 37 HRs.

Home run number 53 came on August 28, 1998 against the Rockies. The pitcher was John Thomson. This home run tightened the race between McGwire and Sosa to just a single HR.

The 15 cards that I still need to complete this HR Parade sub-set are; 9, 14, 16, 18, 19, 22, 23, 26, 29, 37, 38, 42, 52, 55 and 61.

1975 Topps #587 Chris Ward

2009-12-25T11:00:00.000-08:00

Chris Ward is another player featured on a 1975 card who did not actually play for the Cubs in 1975. Ward had a very short two year career in the majors. After a single plate appearance in 1972, Ward got into 92 games for the Cubs in 1974. He started 24 games during 1974 and either was a late game replacement or pinch hitter in 70 appearances. After hitting .204 with 1 home run and 15 RBI’s, he was returned to the minors where he played though 1977. Ward displayed minor league power with 74 home runs and 232 RBI’s during his 9 seasons in the minor leagues.

1975 Topps #469 Tom Dettore

2009-12-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

Tom Dettore had a short career in MLB. He appeared in 68 games with an overall record of 8 wins and 11 losses. After 12 games as a Pirate in 1973, he was traded to the Cubs for Paul Popovich in April 1974. Dettore served as a spot starter and reliever in 1974 and 1975. After 4 games and a 10.29 ERA, Dettore was released by the Cubs in late April 1976. Although he signed as a free agent with the Padres shortly after being released by the Cubs, he did not play in the majors. He played in the minor leagues through 1977 before ending his career.

1975 Topps #411 George Mitterwald

2009-12-23T07:26:00.000-08:00

George Mitterwald was primarily a back-up catcher for 11 seasons with the Twins and the Cubs. After 7 seasons with the Twins, he was traded to the Cubs in December 1973 for Randy Hundley. Hundley had a solid career with the Cubs but apparently the Cubs knew when to send him out. As a Twin, Hundley only played in 28 games and hit .193. He was released by the Twins less than a year after the trade.

Mitterwald served as a back-up to Steve Swisher until 1977 when Mitterwald started 102 games for the Cubs. As a Cub for 4 years, Mitterwald hit .216 with 26 home runs and 125 RBI’s. On April 17, 1974, Mitterwald hit 3 home runs in one game. He is one of about 500 major league ball players to accomplish this feat.

After the 1977 season, Mitterwald became a free agent and signed with Seattle in the spring of 1978. However, he never played in the majors after 1977.

Another Mustache Card - 1975 Topps #388 Steve Stone

2009-12-22T10:51:00.000-08:00

I had a comment on the Carmen Fanzone post about the look alike Fanzone and Knowles cards. Alot of that may be the 1970's mustaches. I guess this card carries on that theme with another 1970’s mustache.

Steve Stone had a successful 11 season MLB career with four different teams including the Cubs. Then after his career was over, he moved into the Cub’s broadcasting booth with Harry Caray in 1983. After Harry’s death he was paired with Harry’s grandson, Chip until 2004.

Stone went to Kent State College where his battery mate at catcher was Thurman Munson. He was originally drafted by the Indians with whom he did not sign. He was later drafted and signed by the Giants.

In December of 1973, Stone was traded to the Cubs from the White Sox along with Ken Frailing and Steve Swisher for Ron Santo. Stone started 70 games for the Cubs from 1974 through 1976. During that time he compiled a record of 23 wins and 20 losses with an ERA of 4.04. After the 1976 season, Stone was granted free agency and signed with the White Sox.

In 1978, he again was granted free agency and signed with the Orioles. His three years with the Orioles were perhaps his most successful. He had a combined record of 40 wins and 21 losses with and ERA of 3.60. In 1980, Stone had a record of 25 wins and 7 losses with an ERA of 3.23. Stone was the 1980 Cy Young award winner and an AL All-Star.

Before the 1980 season, Stone was determined to have an outstanding year. During the year, over 50% of his pitches were curveballs. He realized that the heavy curveball diet would take a toll on his arm. But he believed that one career year was worth the damage that might occur. In 1981 he developed tendonitis and slumped to 4 wins and 7 losses in 1981 and retired.

1975 Topps #363 Carmen Fanzone

2009-12-21T11:33:00.000-08:00

Carmen Fanzone was a solid utility infielder/outfielder for the Cubs during the early 1970’s. He was originally signed by the Red Sox and played 10 games at 3rd base for the Red Sox in 1970. The Red Sox had George Scott as the regular at 3rd with several other capable infielders so Fanzone was traded to the Cubs in December 1970.

Fanzone played 227 games for the Cubs between 1971 and 1974 before being released. With the Cubs, Fanzone hit .225 with a total of 20 home runs and 94 RBIs. He may be best known for catching the fly ball which wrapped up the 1972 Milt Pappas no-hitter. Fanzone was an accomplished musician and at least once played the National Anthem before a Cubs game. Fanzone played in the San Diego minor league system in 1975 and then retired.

After his MLB career ended, Fanzone went on to be a jazz musician. His wife, Sue Raney, is a Grammy nominated jazz vocalist.

1975 Topps #352 Darold Knowles

2009-12-16T11:50:00.000-08:00

Darold Knowles had a successful 16 season career as a relief pitcher for seven different teams. During his career he appeared in 765 games. He only started a total of 8 games during that span. Knowles finished his career with the highest pick-off rate in MLB. His career pick-off rate was 1 runner every 24 innings.

In 1973 as a member of the Oakland A’s, Knowles became the only pitcher to appear in all seven World Series games. During the 1973 Series, he pitched 6 1/3 innings with an ERA of 0.00. He collected 2 saves during the Series.

Knowles played for the Cubs two years (1975 and 1976). During 1975 he was the closer. However, in 1976, a 23 year old pitcher named Bruce Sutter replaced Knowles in the closer’s spot. Knowles Cub’s career consisted of 116 games with a won-lost record of 11 and 16. He had a two year ERA of 4.50 with 24 saves. Knowles was traded to the Texas Rangers in February 1977 for Gene Clines.

Sport magazine - September 1969

2009-12-14T11:06:00.000-08:00

I have just recently received an issue of Sport Magazine. This one came from an EBay auction and was the September 1969 issue featuring Leo Durocher, Ernie Banks, Ron Santo and Billy Williams on the cover. At the time this issue was put together, it looked like the Cubs might be playing in the World Series. Unfortunately, shortly after this issue of Sport magazine hit the news stands, the Cubs went into a losing streak that ended up throwing them into 2nd place behind the Mets.

Sport magazine went out of business in 2000 but I remember the magazine as part of my youth. My father bought each issue at Hook’s Drugstore or Kroger’s Grocery store when it came out. I had to wait until he was done with it before it was my turn. I spent time reading about my heroes in baseball each month.

This 1969 issue is probably one that I never saw when I was younger. My father had died and I was newly married and away at Indiana University. It was the Vietnam War that was the hot topic on the IU campus. Serious students did not have time for such trivial things as pennant races. The General would arrive at IU after the 1971 season.

The report in Sport focused on Durocher’s managerial style. He questioned player’s abilities and commitment to create tension. Durocher believed that such an approach would either make a player better or show that he did not belong on Leo’s team. Whether one believes in Durocher’s approach or not it did seem to work. When he took over the reins of the team in 1966, the Cubs were a last place team with a record of 59 wins and 103 losses. By 1969, Durocher had the team in first place bringing hopes of a World Series to Cubs fans. From 1967 through 1972, the Cubs won 515 while losing only 449. This was a winning percentage of .534.

The article has a number of great stories about the 1969 Cubs and how Durocher’s firm hand was guiding the team. There are also a few great pictures like this one of Durocher in the Cubs dugout.

1972 Cubs Scorecard

2009-12-11T07:43:00.000-08:00

Here is another early 1970s Cubs scorecard that I have in my collection. This scorecard is from the 1972 season. 1972 was actually a good year for the Cubs. They completed the season with a record of 85 wins and 70 losses. This was good enough for second place in the NL East. The Cubs started the season with Leo Durocher as manager but replaced him with Whitey Lockman ninety games into the season. Durocher had a winning record of 46 and 44 but Lockman apparently inspired the team even more as they finished the season by winning 39 and only losing 26 with Whitey as manager.

This scorecard is from the September 1st game against the Padres. The Padres under Don Zimmer were already 33 games behind in the standings with a record of 46 and 79. The Cubs added to the Padres woes by beating them 14 to 3 in this game.

The starting pitcher for the Cubs was Bill Hands. Hands went 5 2/3 innings before Bill Bonham came in to get the save. Hands would complete the season with a record of 11 and 8. Bonham was only in his second year with the Cubs but would have a solid 7 year run with the Cubs.

This game apparently was after the call up from the minors so there were several unfamiliar faces in starting lineup. The regulars in this game included Cardenal, Kessinger, Williams, Santo and Monday.

The unfamiliar faces included Ellie Hendricks (catcher), Carmen Fanzone (1st Base) and Al Montreuil (2nd Base). The Cubs got Hendricks from Baltimore for Tommy Davis in mid-August. He was traded back to Baltimore after the season. Hendricks played in 17 games for the Cubs.

Fanzone would play a part-time roll for the Cubs from 1971 through 1974 and then be out of baseball. Montreuil would play only five games for the Cubs in 1972 and never play in the majors again.

Three From The 1975 Set That Were Really not 1975 Cubs

2009-12-09T11:32:00.000-08:00

The next three cards currently in my collection are players who for one reason or another did not appear in a Cubs uniform during the 1975 season.

#233 Billy Grabarkewitz – Grabarkewitz was purchased by the Cubs from the Phillies in July 1974. He played in 53 game for the Cubs during 1974 batting .248 with 1 HR and 12 RBIs. He was released by the Cubs in March 1975.

#258 Dave LaRoche – LaRoche played 2 years (1973 & 1974) for the Cubs collecting a record of 9 wins and 7 losses in 94 games. His ERA as a Cub was 5.17.In February 1975, LaRoche was traded to Cleveland along with Brock Davis for Milt Wilcox. LaRoche had a 14 year career in MLB with five different teams. He appeared in 617 games with nearly 50% as an Angel.

#338 Rick Stelmaszek – Stelmaszek was traded to the Cubs by the Angels for Horacio Pina in July 1974. He played in 25 games for the Cubs during 1974 and then spent the 1975 season in the minor leagues at Wichita. The Cubs traded him to the Yankees in 1976 but Stelmaszek did not play in the majors after September 1974.

1960 Cubs Scorecard

2009-12-08T11:36:00.000-08:00

Today, I am featuring another scorecard that I have obtained for my collection. This scorecard comes from 1960 and in particular the game played at Wrigley Field on June 28, 1960 between the Braves and the Cubs. This game featured six future members of the Hall of Fame in the lineups of the two teams.

Eddie Mathews
Hank Aaron
Warren Spahn
Red Schoendienst
Ernie Banks
Richie Ashburn

The game was played like so many of the earlier era. The two starting pitchers (Warren Spahn and Glen Hobbie) both had complete games. Both pitchers would finish the year with league leading W-L stats. Spahn would lead the league with 21 victories and Hobbie would lead the league with 20 losses.

The final score of this game would be 5 to 3 in favor of the Braves. The hitting star for the Braves was not Aaron or Mathews but rather Wes Covington who had three hits including a HR and 3 RBIs. Richie Ashburn would collect three hits and two RBIs for the Cubs.

By this time the Cubs were already 15 games behind in the standings and would finish the year in 7th place with a record of 60 wins and 94 losses. This record was one more win than the Phillies managed come up with.

1975 Topps Baseball - #176 Burt Hooten

2009-12-08T10:09:00.000-08:00

Burt Hooten appears on card #176 in the 1975 Topps baseball set. However, Hooten was on the 1975 Cubs rooster for about 15 days. On May 2, 1975, he was traded to the Dodgers for Eddie Solomon and Geoff Zahn to start a 10 year run with Los Angeles.

Hooten’s Cubs career began with three games in 1971. In his first game of 1972 (only his 4th in MLB), Hooten pitched a no hitter against the Phillies in Wrigley Field. Hooten had 7 strikeouts and 7 walks in the game that the Cubs won 4 to 0.

As a Cub from 1971 through early 1975, Hooten pitched in 129 games. He started 92 games and completed his Cubs career with a record of 34 – wins and 44 losses. His Cubs ERA was 3.71.

The move to Los Angeles was good for Hooten. As a Dodger over 10 seasons, he won 112 games and lost only 84. His ERA with the Dodgers was 3.14. While with the Dodgers, Hooten played in three different post seasons. In 11 post season games he won 6 and lost 3. Hooten was a member of the 1981 World Series champion Dodgers

A Pair of Cubbie Starters from 1975.

2009-12-07T11:09:00.000-08:00

The 1975 Cubs had a very stable starting rotation. Ray Burris, Rick Reuschel, Bill Bonham and Steve Stone started 86% or 140 of the Cubs game during the season. Unfortunately, the Cubs only won 75 games while losing 87 during season. There were only five other pitchers that started a game for the Cubs in 1975 (Geoff Zahn – 10, Tom Dettore – 5, Willie Prall – 3, Burt Hooten – 3 and Donnie Moore – 1).

Bill Bonham was card #85 in the 1975 Topps set. Bonham had a solid ten year career in the majors with the Cubs and the Reds. As a Cub, he won 53 games and lost 70 games with a 4.31 ERA. After seven years with the Cubs, he was traded to the Reds for Bill Caudill and Woody Fryman. Bonham’s career ended when he was released by the Reds in August 1981.

Rick Reuschel appeared on card #153 in the 1975 Topps Baseball set. Rick Reuschel played MLB for 19 seasons with four different teams. Reuschel played in 12 seasons with the Cubs. Reuschel appeared in 358 games as a Cub. He won 135 games and lost 127 with an ERA of 3.50. He played with the Cubs from 1972 to 1981 and was then traded to the Yankees. He was not effective during his one year stay with the Yankees and was released. He signed with the Cubs in 1983 and appeared in 23 games during 1983 and 1984. His career ended in 1991 after playing for the Pirates and Giants. Overall in his 19 seasons, Reuschel won 214 games and lost 191 with a career ERA of 3.37.

Three Cubs HOFers - Game Used Card

2009-12-02T09:47:00.001-08:00

Around the end of November, the new names elgible for the Hall of Fame were announced. This made me remember a game used card that I won in an EBay auction earlier this fall. The card from the 2008 Upper Deck Premier set featured three Cubs HOF's. The serial numbered card (24/50) featured a Sandberg Bat, a Banks uniform and a Williams uniform. Although the green uniform piece from Williams makes me think it came from an Oakland A's uniform instead of a Cubs uniform.

1975 Topps - Cubs Team Set - PSA Graded

2009-12-02T06:41:00.001-08:00

One thing that I have started with the older Cubs team sets (1980 and earlier) is to collect them as PSA graded cards. Many of these cards, particularly those from the 1940’s, 1950’s and 1960’s, are very difficult to find at a reasonable price in excellent condition. When I am able to get a card in excellent condition, I want to preserve it. So I am either buying graded cards directly or sending cards to PSA for grading. I also have several partial sets included in the PSA Registry.

I have posted some of the graded cards earlier. However, today I am going to start posting my 1975 Topps set. I currently have 15 of the 31 Cubs cards needed in the PSA Registry. I also have two raw sets plus a complete mini set. My PSA set is 48.4% complete with an average grade of 8.267. The 31 cards that make up the 1975 Cubs PSA Registry set are listed below. The cards that I currently have as PSA Graded are listed in bold.

1975 TOPPS - CUBS
15 Jose Cardenal
39 Andy Thornton
63 Steve Swisher
85 Bill Bonham
104 Bill Madlock
129 Rick Monday
153 Rick Reuschel
176 Burt Hooton
190 1952 MVP’s – Sauer/Shantz
196 1958 MVPs – Banks/Jensen
197 1959 MVPs - Banks/Fox
233 Billy Grabarkewitz
258 Dave LaRoche
282 Jerry Morales
315 Don Kessinger
338 Rick Stelmaszek
352 Darold Knowles
363 Carmen Fanzone
388 Steve Stone
411 George Mitterwald
434 Bob Locker
436 Ken Failing
469 Tom Dettore
494 Pete LaCock
519 Jim Todd
566 Ray Burris
587 Chris Ward
604 Oscar Zamora
617 Rookie Infielders – Cubbage/DeCinces/Sanders/Trillo
638 Jim Marshall
658 Vic Harris

I have always been attracted to the 1975 Topps set because of the interesting color combinations that were used. I have a near set of 1975 Topps. The only card that is missing from this set is the George Brett RC.

But back to the 1975 Cubs PSA graded 1975 set. The first card that I currently have in my collection is:

#39 – Andre Thornton. This card is a PSA 8 – NM-MT. Thornton began his 14 year MLB career with Cubs in 1973. Thornton played in 271 games as a Cubs – primarily at 1st base. As a Cubs he hit .267 with 30 home runs and 122 RBI’s. In May of 1976, Thornton was traded by the Cubs to the Expos for Larry Biittner and Steve Renko. In December 1976, Thornton was traded by the Expos to the Indians. Thornton had a solid 10 year career with the Indians as a 1st Baseman and DH. As an Indian, Thornton hit .254 with 214 HRs and 749 RBIs. He was a member of the AL All Star Team in 1982 and 1984.

Another Scorecard Joins My Collection

2009-11-30T10:33:00.000-08:00

I was able to add another Cubs Scorecard to my collection. This time the scorecard was from 1957. This scorecard features some more of the great baseball art that appeared on Cubs scorecards through the years.

The 1957 Cubs under first year manager, Bob Scheffing compiled a record of 62 wins and 92 losses. With that record, the Cubs tied for last place in the National League.

Ernie Banks was in his fourth full season as the Cubs shortstop. Ernie played in 156 games in 1957. He batted .285 with 43 home runs and 102 RBI's.

The primary starters during 1957 were:

Catcher - Cal Neeman

1st Base - Dale Long

2nd Base - Bobby Morgan

Shortstop - Ernie Banks

3rd Base - Bobby Adams

Left Field - Lee Walls

Centerfield - Bob Speake

Right Field - Walt Moryn

The starting rotation included Moe Drabowsky, Dick Drott, Bob Rush and Don Kaiser. The closer was Turk Lown.

This particular scorecard was for the game played Friday, August 2. The opponent for the day was Pittsburgh. The Pirates was the team that the Cubs would tie for last place in the National League.

The August 2 game was number 102 for the Cubs. It was a notable game for 1957 as this game was the first win in what would be the Cubs longest winning streak of the year (6). This game would also feature three future Hall of Fame members. Ernie Banks, Roberto Clemente and Bill Mazeroski. Banks and Clemente would both go hitless during the game while Mazeroski would collect one hit. The game winning hit for the Cubs would be a three run homer by Cal Neeman. That HR allowed the Cubs to win 6 to 4.

The Cat and the Bat - Ron Santo

2009-11-24T10:46:00.000-08:00

I don't collect alot of the game used uniform or bat cards, but every 0nce in a while I find one that attracts my attention or that I can get a good deal on. This 2004 Donruss Throwback Threads bat card featuring Ron Santo hit on both acounts. I got it for the starting price of $0.99 in an EBay auction. Santo cards usually have a little more interest but in this case I was the only bidder.

The card carried a serial number of 211/250 which is always fun to have.

Finally the bat slice is guaranteed to be personally game used by Ron Santo. So in my imagination I can believe that I also have a picture of Santo holding my bat. I am now on the look out for the card that has an actual hair from the cat.

1949 Bowman #115 - Dutch Leonard

2009-11-23T09:55:00.000-08:00

Card #115 in the 1949 Bowman set features Emil “Dutch” Leonard.
Leonard had a successful 20 year career in MLB (1933 to 1953). His final five seasons were spent as a Cub. He joined the Cubs as part of a trade with the Phillies. The Cubs traded Hank Borowy and Eddie Waitkus to the Phillies for Leonard and Monk Dubiel in December of 1948.

Leonard had been a starting pitcher for most of his career, but became a valuable relief pitcher for the Cubs. 28 of his 44 career saves came as a Cub. His record as a Cub was 26 wins, 28 Losses and a 3.60 ERA.

Overall, Leonard finished his career just 9 wins short of 200. Notable about Leonard is that he was one of the first pitchers to rely heavily on the knuckleball. While he would periodically throw a fastball or a slip pitch, his “out” pitch was the knuckleball. Leonard also played for the Dodgers, Senators and Phillies during his 20 seasons. He was selected to the All-Star team four times (1940, 1942, 1943 and 1944). Leonard was the winning pitcher in the 1943 All-Star game.

1949 Bowman #22 - Peanuts Lowrey

2009-11-23T07:55:00.000-08:00

In the next two posts, I will be showing two of the oldest cards in my Cubs collection. Both cards are from the 1949 Bowman set. The subject of this post is #22 featuring Harry “Peanuts” Lowrey.

Harry “Peanuts” Lowrey played 726 games as a Cub between 1942 and 1949. He was signed as a free agent by the Cubs before the 1937 season. In his Cubs career, Lowrey hit for a .278 average with 22 home runs and 311 RBI’s while playing primarily as an outfielder. During his Cubs career he played in the 1945 World Series against the Tigers and appeared in the 1946 All Star game. The 1946 All Star game was a one sided affair with the American League winning 12 to 0. Ted Williams went 4 for 4 in the All Star game with 2 home runs and 5 RBI’s. Lowrey was traded to the Reds in June of 1949 along with Harry Walker for Frank Baumholtz and Hank Sauer.

Lowrey played for a total of 13 seasons with the Cubs, Reds, Cardinals and Phillies. His career was rejuvenated in the 1950’s with the Cardinals as one of the NL’s premier pinch hitters. He contributed 13 pinch hits in 1952 and increased that total to 22 in 1953.

Lowrey was born in California near Hollywood. As a child, he appeared in bit parts in several silent movies. In 1952, he had a speaking part in “The Winning Team” which starred Ronald Reagan and Doris Day.

His nickname “Peanuts” originated from his grandfather, who comments that as a baby he was “no bigger than a peanut”.

1999 Sosa Home Run Parade #20

2009-11-20T11:37:00.000-08:00

I just received the 49th card in the 1999 Topps Sosa Home Run Parade set. This is a sub-set of the 1999 Topps Baseball set.

I recently bought HR #20 in an EBay auction. Sosa's HR #20 came in an inter-league game between the Cubs and the Twins in Minnesota. Both the Cubs and Sammy were HOT at the time. For the Cubs it was win number 10 in a row. In those 10 games Sosa had hit .405 with 11 HRs and 25 RBIs.

The 17 cards that I still need to complete this HR Parade sub-set are; 4, 9, 14, 16, 18, 19, 22, 23, 26, 29, 37, 38, 42, 52, 53, 55 and 61.

1971 Dell Todays Chicago Cubs

2009-11-12T07:51:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the most interesting additions to my Cubs collection are the unusual items. This post describes one such item. Dell produced small booklets for the 1971 season for each MLB team. The booklets sold for $0.39 and could be ordered from Dell in sets of 6 with a binder.

Dell packed a lot of information into each booklet including a short team story, player stamps with a narrative on the back, a seperate page of individual player statistics, a page of all-time team stars and the 1971 schedule.

Many stamps from this series are included as requirements in PSA player Master sets. In the case of the Cubs - Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams and Fergie Jenkins have the 1971 Dell stamp as part of their PSA Master Set.

The Greatest Team That Didn’t Win – The 1969 Cubs

2009-11-11T08:30:00.000-08:00

1969 is a memorable year. A man walked on the moon. The Vietnam War was consuming and dividing the nation. And the Cubs fielded arguably one of their best teams ever. Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins, Ken Holtzman, Randy Hundley, Ron Santo and Don Kessinger were led by their unforgettable manager, Leo Durocher. The Cubs finished April 1969 in first place and held that position through August. Then they lost 8 in a row, dropped out of first place and finally lost the pennant to the “Miracle Mets”.

As difficult as it is to read about the 1969 season, this is a rich part of Chicago Cubs history. I have recently added two books about the 1969 Cubs to my collection.

The first book is “The Cubs of “69” by Rick Talley. Talley is a noted former sports columnist who contributed to the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Today and the Los Angeles Daily News. This is a well written book containing stories and recollections about the 1969 Cubs.
The second book is called “Durocher’s Cubs – The Greatest Team That Didn’t Win” by David Claerbaut. Claerbaut is a lifelong Cubs fan who works as a consultant in Chicago. This book covers the 1967 through 1972 Cubs seasons with a focus on the 1969 season.
Both of these books are well written and would be enjoyed by nearly any baseball fan. Of course they are particularly interesting for a Cubs fan. Regardless of the outcome of the 1969 season, the stories about Ernie, Fergie, Billy, Ron and the others are great reading for the Cub fan.

1951 Bowman - 2 PSA Graded Cubs Cards

2009-11-03T11:31:00.000-08:00

I have described my Cubs collection in earlier posts. One thing that I am including in this collection is graded cards from 1980 and earlier. I will typically pick these up from Ebay when the price is right or I will send raw cards to PSA for grading.

I have recently added two cards to start my 1951 Bowman graded set. In a post in late October, I showed a raw Smokey Burgess rookie card. The two PSA graded 1951 card are #103 - Andy Pafko and #139 - Doyle Lade.

Andy Pafko should be a familiar name for most collectors of my generation. He may be best known as a member of the 1957 Milwaukee Braves World Series Champions. Pafko started his career as a Cubs in 1943. He played for the Cubs from 1943 through 1951. Pafko was a five time All-Star for the Cubs and started the 1945 All Star game as the 3rd baseman. Pafko played for the Cubs, the Dodgers and the Braves during his career. He was released by the Braves after the end of the 1959 season. Pafko played a total of 1852 games while collecting 1,796 hits, 213 home runs and 976 RBI's. His career batting average was .285.

Doyle Lade is a lesser known name as he only played five seasons, all as a Cub. Lade was a pitcher for the Cubs from 1946 through 1950. He was on the pre-season 1951 roster but was cut in May of 1951 to reduce the Cubs roster to 25 players. In a total of 126 games for the Cubs, Lade had a record of 25 wins and 29 losses. His career ERA was 4.39. Lade's best season was 1947 when he won 11 and lost 10 with an ERA of 3.94.

1951 Bowman - Smokey Burgess

2009-10-22T10:44:00.000-07:00

This post is linked to the previous post about the 1960 World Series. The Pirates catcher in 1960 was Forrest "Smokey" Burgess. As a kid collecting baseball cards I remember him as the catcher for the Reds. I clearly remember having his 1957 Topps baseball card like the one below.However until I started collecting Cubs team sets I did not realize that Burgess' rookie card was in 1951 and he was a Cub. The card pictured here is #317 in the 1951 Bowman set.Smokey played a total of 140 games as a Cubs in 1949 and 1951 before being traded to the Reds in October 1951. The Cubs got Johnny Pramesa and Bob Usher for Burgess and Bob Borkowski. Burgess was traded to the Phillies about two months later in a 7 player trade. Burgess returned to the Reds 1955.

October 13, 1960

2009-10-19T07:37:00.000-07:00

Game 7 of the 1960 World Series gets my vote as the greatest World Series game of all time. The Pirates beat the Yankees with a score of 10 to 9. Bill Mazeroski hit the walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th inning that won the 1960 World Series.
I was a 7th grader at the time in north central Indiana. My two favorite MLB teams were the White Sox and whoever was playing the Yankees. So I was hoping like many that the over-matched Pirates could some how pull off a miracle……..and they did.

Was this the greatest game ever? Well, that will never be settled for sure. There are just too many great moments and game in World Series history to be able to pick just one. Of the games that I have personally watched or listened to, several could fall into the category of greatest.

For example, Game 6 of the 1975 World Series certainly is memorable. The battle between the Red Sox and the Reds was finally decided by that dramatic HR by Carlton Fisk.

Then, of course, there was Game 6 of the 1991 World Series. Kirby Puckett won that game with an 11th inning HR. The Twins beat the Braves 1-0 in game 6. This is often included because then in Game 7, Jack Morris threw a 10 inning shut-out to complete the Twins magical ride.

In 1956, Don Larsen tossed his perfect game. The 1962 Yankee win over the Giants (1-0) must be included as well as the 1924 extra inning Senator win over the Giants.

The purpose of this posting is not to generate any additional discussion of great World Series games but rather to present a book that I am currently reading. The Book is The Best Game Ever by Jim Reisler. This book focuses on the October 13, 1960 World Series game between the Pirates and the Yankees. The author proceeds inning by inning through this game presenting a play by play account along with historical perspectives on many of the player that were involved.

If you enjoy reading about the rich history of baseball, this book should be a part of your library. I found the book on the Barnes and Noble site as a used book for a very reasonable price. Throughout this posting, I have included scans on some of the memorabilia that I have collected specific to this game. I hope that you enjoy the scans and the book if you choose to read it.

1999 Topps - Sosa HR Parade

2009-10-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

In 1998, nearly every baseball fan got caught up in the home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Even though, this period in baseball has been tainted by alleged use of steriods and other performance enhancing drugs, it was a time when nearly everyone knew the status of the HR race.

In 1999, Topps included multiple variations of card #220 and #461. Card #220 featured 70 variations for each of McGwire's HR's and card #461 featured 66 variations of Sosa's 66 HR's. The front of the cards were the same except for the HR number. The back featured a description of each HR including date, location, pitcher and other interesting information.

To collect each different variation is a labor of love, but something that I am committed to completing for Sammy Sosa. Currently, I have 47 of the 66 different variations. Almost all variations are readily available but I don't want to pay $6.00 to $10.00 each. So I will continue to pick up individual cards from EBay, Beckett or Sprotslots as they become available at a reasonable price.

Home Run #66 is interesting to me. Sammy hit his 66th HR off of Jose Lima from Houston. In 2001, the Cubs and Sosa came to Detroit for three inter-league games. I was able to get tickets about four rows from the field along right field. Sammy was always a great ambassador for baseball. In Detroit as every where he went, he interacted with the fans. After he warmed up before each inning, he threw his warm-up ball into the stands. He was happy and just appeared to love to play the game of baseball. In this game, he hit 2 HR's off of Jose Lima, now a pitcher for the Tigers. Lima may have fooled most of the Cubs that day, but certainly not Sosa. Unfortunately for me the Cubs lost that game 9 to 6. Kerry Wood pitched but did not have a stellar game giving up 9 hits and 6 runs in six innings pitched. Sosa has 2 HR's, 4 RBI's and 2 walks.

The cards that I still need to complete this HR Parade sub-set are; 4, 9, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 26, 29, 37, 38, 42, 43, 52, 53, 55 and 61.

Cubs Scorecard Collection

2009-10-04T08:05:00.000-07:00

Not long ago, I received another Chicago Cubs scorecard to add to my collection. The newest member of my scorecard collection is from 1948. It is a bit wrinkled and worn, but will fit my needs just fine.
I have been picking up scorecards as the opportunity presents itself for the past year or so. The goal is to collect a Cubs scorecard from every year beginning in 1948 (my birth year) to present. Once these scorecards are framed, I am using them to make a border around my "Baseball" room. I have not done any investigation of the scorecards from other teams, but I can report that the Cubs scorecards up to 1981 have some very neat artwork on the front. The art changed each year (although some is repeated later). As you can see, it makes an interesting and unusual border. To date, I have collected about half of the scorecards that I am looking for. I am still looking for 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954 1955 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1969, 1975, 1980, 1983, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.

If you have an interest in Cubs scorecards there in a great site that has scans of scorecards back to the 1890's. plus other interesting Chicago Cubs information and scans. Check it out if you have the time. www.cubsbythenumbers.com.

1954 Bowman Cubs Team Set - Part 2

2009-09-30T06:49:00.000-07:00

The three primary starting pitchers were featured in the 1954 Bowman set – Bob Rush (13 wins and 15 losses), Paul Minner (11 wins and 11 losses) and Johnny Klippstein (4 wins and 11 losses).
The Closer (Hal Jeffcoat - 5 wins, 6 losses and 7 saves) and relief pitcher (Warren Hacker 6 wins, 13 losses and 2 saves) were also featured in this set. Turk Lown (o wins and 2 losses) was also included in the 1954 Bowman set, but did not figure into many Cubs games during the 1954 season. The final player featured in a Cubs uniform was Roy Smalley. After playing SS for the Cubs from 1948 to 1953, Smalley was traded to the Braves in March of 1954 for pitcher Dave Cole. Cole played in 19 games for the Cubs and was traded to the Phillies for the 1955 season. The 1954 Cubs were managed by Stan Hack and finished 7th in the 8 team National League. Their record was 64 wins and 90 losses. They finished 33 games behind the league and World Series champion Giants.

1954 Bowman Cubs Team Set - Part 1

2009-09-29T11:17:00.000-07:00

The 1954 Bowman baseball set numbered 224 cards. Card #66 originally featured Ted Williams. However, Bowman discovered that Williams had an exclusive contract with Topps and pulled that card. The revised #66 featured Jimmy Piersall. The short printed #66 featuring Williams has a value of $3500 + in NRMT condition.

The 1954 Bowman set was produced and distributed very quickly in competition with Topps. As a result there are many errors in this set. Many of the errors were corrected which causes the set to contain several variations. The current PSA Registry set has 265 different cards including variations.

I have completed a 1954 Bowman Cubs Team set for my collection. In time, I plan to send this set into PSA for grading. Of the eight position players that started the most games for the 1954 Cubs, only 4 are featured in the 1954 Bowman set. The 1954 Bowman Cubs team set is missing Ernie Banks, Hank Sauer, Bob Talbot and Gene Baker.

The starters that are featured in the 1954 Bowman set are Joe Garagiola, Dee Fondy, Randy Jackson and Ralph Kiner.

Other position players featured in this set are Eddie Miksis (2nd Base), Bill Serena (Infield) and Frank Baumholtz (OF) .

Part 2 of this posting will include the 1954 Bowman cards of the Cubs pitching staff.

Current Stats on My Cubs Team Sets

2009-09-29T10:23:00.001-07:00

I thought it might be interesting to present some statistics on my Cubs Team Set collection. My goal is to collect as many different Cubs team sets as possible. Right now I have a total of 4,584 different cards and 137 different completed sets. The oldest card that I have in my collection is from 1948. I have many completed and partial sets from 1948 through 1969 and from 2004 to 2009 that I need to get sorted, cataloged and counted. To date I have sorted a total of 535 team sets from 1970 through 2003. As I get additional cards sorted and cataloged, I will update this count.

There is another blog (Wrigley Wax http://wrigleywax.blogspot.com) that I have found that also focuses on Cubs cards. Check it out if you have a chance.

Reinventing My Collection

2009-09-29T08:36:00.000-07:00

For about two years I worked diligently on a PSA graded 1964 Topps set. I posted each new card that I added to my collection in this blog. However, in March of this year, I found that I was enjoying my Cubs collection more than the effort and time that it would take to finish the 1964 set. So in March and April of 2009, I auctioned about 350 PSA graded 1964 Topps cards. I am now spending my time and money collecting a variety of Cubs items including team sets and scorecards from 1948 through 2009. Other items include books, back issues of magazine, pocket schedules, buttons and photos. These items along with other baseball related finds are displayed in my “Cubs” room.

This blog is now officially shifting from a chronicle of my quest to build a 1964 graded Topps set to a log of my efforts to determine if it is possible to collect too many Chicago Cubs items. I think I already know the answer to that question but lets see how it goes.

Upgrade - 1964 Topps #286 Don Landrum - PSA 7 to PSA 8

2009-01-03T13:34:00.000-08:00

I was able to upgrade one of my 1964 Cubs cards. I have replaced the PSA 7 Topps #286 Don Landrum with a PSA 8 version of the same card.

Don Landrum was an outfielder who had blazing speed but little in the way of offense. He was originally signed by the Phillies in 1954 and made his MLB debut for the Phillies in late 1957. In 1960, Landrum was traded by the Phillies to the Cardinals. After two years of minimal playing time with the Cardinals, Landrum was traded to the Cubs along with Alex Grammas for Bobby Gene Smith and Daryl Robertson in June of 1962. Landrum played in 309 games for the Cubs from 1962 through 1965. He was the regular centerfielder for the Cubs in 1965 playing in 131 games. However, his lack of offensive ability ultimately hurt as he batted only .226 with 6 HRs and 34 RBIs during 1965.

In December of 1965, Landrum was traded to the Giants along with Lindy McDaniel for Bill Hands and Randy Hundley.

Landrum played MLB for eight seasons but was a part of two different famous error cards. The first was Landrum’s 1963 Topps #113. The photo on card #113 was not that of Landrum but rather Ron Santo. The scan on the left shows the 1963 error card.

The second error card was corrected so there are three different variations. Landrum’s card #43 in the 1966 Topps set is sometimes known as the “Button on the Fly” card. The scan shows the two more common versions of this card. The card on the left is #43A and has a button showing on the fly of Landrum’s pants. The card on the right is 43C and has the button completely airbrushed away. The rarer version of the card is 43B and the button is partially airbrushed away.

Landrum’s final MLB game came on July 21, 1966. Landrum died in 2003.

A Cubs Snowfall - Thanks, Night Owl!

2008-12-22T07:28:00.000-08:00

Here is a news flash.....it just snowed Cubs in Michigan. Actually it seems like it has been snowing here in the Ann Arbor area since late July, but the snow fall I'm talking about came from Greg at the Night Owl Cards http://nightowlcards.blogspot.com/ I had sent him some 1986 Topps to help with a set he is building. He returned the favor by sending me some recent Cubs cards. The only set that I am actively building is a 1964 PSA Graded set. I also add PSA Graded vintage Cubs to my collection. My other interest is a few boxes Cubs cards that I have collected through the years. I like to add to this collection as the opportunity presents its self.

I am sure that I am no different than many collectors. Almost any stack of baseball cards will bring back great memories of seasons past. Most of the cards that Greg sent were from the past three or four years, so the memories that surface were of the efforts that the Cubs organization to bring a pennant and World Series Title back to Wrigley Field. The team that is being built on the northside with Zambrano, Soriano, Ramirez, Lee, Theriot and Dempster will eventually get the job done.

There were at least two older cards of interest included in the package. A 1991 card featuring Dave Smith was included. Smith had his great years with the Astros (probably several great games at the expense of the Cubs). Smith was a 2 time All Star with the Astros while saving 199 games (2nd only to Billy Wagner). Smith died recently (age 53) after a battle with cancer. Smith played two seasons for the Cubs near the end of his career.

The second interesting card actually commemorates one of the dark times in the Cub's history - 1993 Topps #183 - Greg Maddux. In a move remembered sadly by most Cub fans, Maddux was granted free agency in October 1992 and signed with the Braves in December of 1992. Cubs fans just wish that the picture of Greg in a Cubs uniform on the 1993 card was true. But after 95 wins for the Cubs, Greg moved to Atlanta to continue his Hall of Fame career. Of course, Maddux did return to the Cubs in 2004....just in time to win his 300th game.

1964 Topps #557 Leo Burke - Upgrade from PSA 7 to PSA 8

2008-12-17T17:24:00.000-08:00

I was able to upgrade this high number card recently from a PSA 7 to a PSA 8. This not only helps my 1964 set but also my 1964 Cubs team set.

Leo Burke was a utility player who played for four different teams during seven major league seasons. He played both infield and outfield. He even caught in three games near the end of his career. Burke was signed as a free agent by the Baltimore Orioles in 1957. He was drafted by the Washington Senators in the 1960 expansion draft but was purchased by the Angels less than 30 days later. He also played for the Cardinals and Cubs later in his career.

His career stats include 165 games with 301 at bats. He collected 9 home runs and 45 RBIs with a batting average of .239.

The difference between a PSA 7 and PSA 8 can be seen in these two scans. While the centering is slightly better on the PSA 7 card, you can clearly see that the corners on the PSA 8 card are superior.

My Two Favorite Shortstops

2008-11-25T17:28:00.000-08:00

I won a great photograph on EBay earlier this month. I think I like this photo because it represents the greater part of my personal baseball history. If only Rico Petrocelli were standing between Aparicio and Banks, it would be complete. It would also be very unusual to find Rico Petrocelli in this picture that was most likely taken around 1960. Petrocelli only became a fulltime player for the Red Sox in 1965.

When I was 9 or 10 living in central Indiana, I began to follow the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox had many heroes on the roster - Early Wynn, Jim Landis, Nellie Fox, Sherm Lollar and Billy Pierce. But my favorite player was Luis Aparicio. When I saw my first major league game at Cominsky Park around 1960, Aparicio hit a home run to win the game. I am not certain which game was my first major league experience, although it is much easier to narrow this down as Aparicio only hit 83 home runs during his 18 year career. I have most of his cards during the White Sox years plus a couple of autographs in my collection.

As a high school student, I switched my allegiance to the Red Sox. Yaz, Rico and Sparky became my favorites. This lasted for a few years until I met the love of my life and married in 1969. My wife's father was a die hard Cubs fan. I attended a number of Cubs games during the mid to late 1970's. Unfortunately, I never did get to see Ernie Banks play ball in person. I soon switched my allegiance a final time. I have followed the Cubs since the 1970's. "Its a beautiful day for a ballgame, lets play two" not only represents everything that is great about baseball but just is a great attitude to carry with you every day of your life.

So as you can see, this photo depicts Luis Aparicio which is the beginning of my love of baseball. Ernie Banks is the other end as I now follow the Cubs avidly. This photo will take a place of honor on the walls of my office.

1970 Milton Bradley Ernie Banks - PSA 8

2008-11-21T11:07:00.001-08:00

Today I am going to take you down a little rabbit trail. This blog generally is about graded 1964 Topps baseball cards that I am adding to my PSA Registry set. But I guess if I talk about something else that interests me, you just have to live with it.

One of my other interests is a Graded Ernie Banks Master set. I have just started this set and have quite a way to go. I currently have 5 of the 93 cards that make up this PSA Registry set.

I have just been able to add a PSA 8 copy of the 1970 Milton Bradley Ernie Banks card. The thing that is challenging about some of these PSA Master Set is that some of the cards that are included are rather obscure and difficult to obtain in high quality condition. This 1970 Milton Bradley Ernie Banks card comes from a 1970 Milton Bradley Baseball board game. This game is sometimes on EBay as a complete game but if in reasonably good condition, will go for a fairly high price. The picture that I have added shows a complete game that was auctioned on EBay. If you are only looking for a single player like I was, you then have to hope that the particular player is in gradable condition. Otherwise, you must wait until someone puts up a single card of your player.

A total of 88 1970 Milton Bradley Ernie Banks cards have been graded by PSA. Of these 75% have either been graded as a PSA 9 or 10. So my copy is not particularly great, but since this card has a relatively low weight in the master set, I will watch for a better deal but not dwell on obtaining it.

1964 Cubs Team Set Progress Update

2008-10-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

With the addition of the 1964 Topps #424 – Dick Bertell, my 1964 Cubs team set is 92.86% complete. I have 26 out of the required 28 cards included in this set. Currently, I have 11 of these cards as PSA 8, including:
#29 Lou Brock
#220 Dick Ellsworth
#237 Cubs Team Card
#309 Paul Toth
#336 Andre Rodgers
#359 Jim Schaffer
#424 Dick Bertell
#451 Joe Amalfitano
#469 Rookies
#510 Lindy McDaniel
#578 Glen Hobbie

In addition, I have 14- PSA 7 and one (#55) Ernie Banks as PSA 6.
The two cards that I am still missing are #175 Billy Williams and #550 Ken Hubbs – In Memoriam. #175 has been particularly difficult to find in NRMT – MT condition with good centering. #550 is harder to find just because it is from the high number series.

I will continue to have dual goals regarding this set. First, I am searching for the two cards that I am still missing and second I will continue to try to upgrade the cards that I have. My set currently has a weighted Grade Point Average of 7.347. The current GPA of the highest rated set is 9.13. The highest possible GPA for a set at this time is 9.173.

Another Cub Down - #424 Dick Bertell PSA 8

2008-10-28T10:56:00.000-07:00

I have added another 1964 Cub to my collection. This card helps with two different graded sets (1964 Topps and 1964 Topps Cubs Team set).

1964 Topps #424 - Dick Bertell - PSA 8

Bertell was originally signed as a free agent by the Cubs in 1957. His first MLB game occurred on September 22, 1960. While he was hitless in his first game, he did knock in a run with a sacrfice fly in his first at bat.

In 1961, Bertell was platooned with Sammy Taylor and Moe Thacker. He also was platooned during 1962, 1963 and 1964. By 1964, he was seeing more playing time than any other catchers. In 1964 he had career highs for doubles (11), triples (3), home runs (4) and RBIs (35) but only batted .238. Bertell started the 1965 season with the Cubs but was traded along with Len Gabrielson to the Giants in May for Harvey Kuenn, Ed Bailey and Bob Hendley. He saw limited playing time with the Giants. Tom Haller was the primary catcher for Giants in 1965. A knee injury kept Bertell from playing in 1966. In 1967 Bertell was traded back to the Cubs for Don Bryant. Bertell played in just two games before he was released by the Cubs. Randy Hundley had secured the starting catcher's position for the Cubs in 1967.

Bertell died in 1999 at the age of 64.

Two Great Old Ernie Banks Cards

2008-10-22T03:47:00.000-07:00

Periodically, you may find that I discuss something different than the 1964 Topps Baseball set. I did check my rules for this blog and found that it is OK to digress from time to time.

One other set that I am building in an Ernie Banks PSA Master set. This set covers various cards that were issued during Ernie's playing career (1954 through 1971.). There are a total of 94 different items required to complete this tough set. I use the term items because some of the required items are coins issued in various years. If you interested, this link will take you to the PSA web page that details the Ernie Banks Master Set http://www.psacard.com/SetRegistry/SetComposition.aspx?c=1545

I sent two Ernie Banks cards to PSA for grading recently. Both came back with high grades for card of their age.

1956 Topps #15 Ernie Banks PSA 8.5

The first card that I sent in was from the 1956 Topps set. Card #15 in the 1956 set featured Ernie in his 3rd year. This card is a whiteback and a double print. To date PSA has graded 1374 of this particular card. Of those cards that have been graded by PSA only three have recieved an 8.5 and 12 have recieved a grade of 9. The Sports Market Report lists the value of a PSA 8 at $315.00 and the value of a PSA 9 at $2500.00. The ultimate value of a PSA 8.5 will probably be closer to that of a PSA 8 than a PSA 9.

1958 Topps #482 Ernie Banks - All Star PSA 8

The second Ernie Banks card that I got back from PSA was from the 1958 Topps set. This card featured Ernie Banks as an All Star. PSA has graded 788 examples of this card with 162 receiving a PSA 8. There have only been 12 graded higher than PSA 8. The SMC value of a PSA 8 of this card is $115.00.

1964 Cubs - Relief Pitching

2008-10-05T05:24:00.000-07:00

Lindy McDaniel - 1964 Topps #510
The closer for the Cubs in 1964 was Lindy McDaniel. McDaniel had been signed in 1955 by the St. Louis cardinals as a bonus baby. In October of 1962, McDaniel was traded to the Cubs along with Larry Jackson and Jimmie Schaffer. The cardinals got George Altman, Don Cardwell and Moe Thacker in the trade.
McDaniel spent three years with the Cubs as a relief pitcher. During that period (1963 to 1965), Lindy appeared in 191 games and saved 39 games.
In December of 1965, McDaniel was traded to the Giants along with Don Landrum for Randy Hundley and Bill Hands.
Other relief pitchers for the Cubs in 1964 were:

Don Elston - 1964 Topps #111
Elston was signed by the Cubs in 1947 and played his first game in the majors in 1953. He was traded by the Cubs to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1955. After playing one game with the Dodgers he was traded back to the Cubs in 1957.
Elston played in 449 games for the Cubs. During his time with the Cubs, he won 49 and lost 54 while saving 63 games. Elston was released by the Cubs in 1965.

Wayne Schurr - 1964 Topps #548
Wayne was signed by the Giants in 1959. He was drafted by the Cubs in the 1963 Rule 5 draft. Schurr's only season in the majors was for the Cubs in 1964. During that season, he pitched in26 games (48 innings). He did not record a win, loss or save in 1964 (or in his career). He was traded to the Angels in 1966 along with Chris Krug for Mike White and Don Furnald. Neither of these players ever appeared in a Cubs uniform.

Bobby Shantz - 1964 Topps #278 (Pictured as a Cardinal)
Bobby Shantz had a 16 year career in the major leagues. He had two outstanding years with the Philadelphia A's (1951 and 1952). He was the AL MVP in 1952 posting a record of 24 wins and 7 losses. During his career, Shantz won 119 games and lost 99 games.
Shantz came to the Cubs late in his career in the 1964 trade with the cardinals that sent Lou Brock to his HOF career with St. Louis. Shantz served as a relief pitcher for the 1964 Cubs from June 15 to August 15. He was sold to the Phillies in August of 1964. He pitched his final major league game for the Phillies on September 29, 1964.

Freddie Burdette - 1964 Topps #408
Burdette was signed as a free agent in 1954 by the Cubs. He played in the major league during parts of three years (1962 to 1964). During his career he played in 30 games and a total of 34 innings. He won 1 game, lost none and recorded one save.

1964 Cubs Starting Pitchers

2008-10-03T09:37:00.000-07:00

The 1964 Cubs had three pitchers that started more than 20 games and won more than 10 games. These three pitchers started 2/3's of the Cubs games in 1964.

Larry Jackson

1964 Topps #444

In 1964, Larry Jackson had the best year in his career for wins when he won 24 and lost 11 with and ERA of 3.14. Jackson was originally signed by the Cardinals in 1951. He pitched for the Cards from 1955 through 1962. The Cardinals traded Jackson along with Lindy McDaniel and Jimmy Schaffer to the Cubs for George Altman, Don Cardwell and Moe Thacker. In three full years with the Cubs, Jackson won 52 games. In April of 1966, Jackson was traded to the Phillies along with Bob Buhl for Adolfo Phillips, John Herrnstein and Fergie Jenkins.

Bob Buhl

1964 Topps #96

Bob Buhl was originally signed by the White Sox in 1947. He was awarded free agency in 1948 and was then signed by the Boston Braves in the same year. Buhl played for the Braves in nine seasons and won 109 games before being traded to the Cubs in 1962 for Jack Curtis. Buhl appears in one of the famous variation cards in the 1962 Topps set. #487A has buhl wearing a Barves cap. #487B is the same picture but the Braves emblem has been airbrushed out. #487B is the rarer and more valuable variation. Buhl won 15 and lost 14 with an ERA of 3.83 in 1964. While both Jackson and Buhl were efffective pitchers for the Cubs, many would say their greatest contribution to the Cubs was being traded to the Phillies in the deal that brought Fergie Jenkins to the Cubs.

Dick Ellsworth

1964 Topps #220

Dick Ellsworth was originally signed as a free agent by the Cubs in 1958. He pitched in eight different seasons for the Cubs and won a total of 84 games. His best season was 1963 when he won 22 and lost 10 with a 2.11 ERA. His ERA 1963 was second best in the National League to Sandy Koufax. As a result, Ellsworth also appears on 1964 Topps card #1 - NL ERA Leaders. In 1964 Ellsworth won 14 and lost 18 with an ERA of 3.75. Ellsworth was traded to the Phillies in 1966 for Ray Culp.

The other two primary starting pitchers for the 1964 Cubs were both pictured as Cardinals in the 1964 Topps set. These two pitchers were Ernie Broglio (Card #59) and Lou Burdette (Card #523). On June 2, 1964, the Cubs traded Glen Hobbie to the Cardinals for Lou Burdette. Later, on June 15, the Cubs traded Lou Brock, Jack Spring and Paul Toth to the Cardinals for Ernie Broglio, Bobby Shantz and Doug Clemens.

1964 Topps Baseball #55 Ernie Banks

2008-10-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

The first player card for the Chicago Cubs that I have in my 1964 collection is #55 Ernie Banks. This is also one of the first graded 1964 cards that I picked up. As one might expect, the Banks card is one of the most expensive 1964 Cubs to collect. This PSA 6 card carries a book value of about $35.00. A PSA 8 Banks card has a book value of $110.00. I plan to upgrade my Banks card to at least a PSA 8 some time in the future.

By 1964, at age 33, Ernie had been moved to 1st base. Ernie's last game as shortstop was in 1961. Other than a few games in the outfield and at third base after 1961, Ernie played 1st base until he retired after the 1971 season. Ernie's offensive capabilities remained strong , but he also showed that he was a very capable 1st baseman. Ernie played over 1200 games at 1st base with a fielding percentage of .994. In 1964, Ernie batted .264 with 23 home runs and 95 RBIs.

Building Graded Cubs Sets

2008-10-02T15:47:00.000-07:00

I mentioned earlier that I got back into collecting baseball cards when I put together Chicago Cubs sets for my son. At the same time, I was also collecting Cubs sets for myself. I have partial and complete Cubs sets as far back as 1948. However, as my interest has turned to graded cards, I am also building some graded Cubs sets. Right now I have focused on 1964, 1966, 1967 and 1968. I will start more as time and money permits.

As you might expect, my 1964 graded Cubs set is the most complete of the Cubs sets. My 1964 graded Cubs set is about 82% complete. I have 23 of the 28 cards that are required to complete this set.

The 1964 Chicago Cubs were not very good. They finished with a record of 76 Wins and 86 Losses. However, this team had three of the Cubs all-time favorites playing that year.......Ernie Banks, Ron Santo and Billy Williams. In the next few postings I will present the 1964 Cubs as depicted by the Topps Baseball card from that year.