Monday, February 17, 2014

2014 Heritage the Originals - 1965 Topps #534 John Herrnstein

In less than three weeks MLB teams will be in the heart of Spring Training and collectors will be talking about the latest edition of Topps Heritage. This year Topps will be moving on to the much loved 1965 Topps set.
 

1965 Topps #534 John Herrnstein

There is a lot to like about 65T. The pennants are dominant feature and almost always a winner. For 2014 I am sure the team logo will be updated, I will always be a fan of the Phillies Cap featured here. The blue border always works for Phillies colors and it is pretty close to the powder blue shade that the Phils wore for Roadies in the Late 70s and 80s. The player position is right there above their name. It is a very solid design, straightforward, colorful, simple yet elegant.

I am sure this will be one of the most anticipated edition of Heritage, even with plain designs (like 1964/2013) there is excitement around Heritage. Of course this level of excitement inevitably leads to disappointment upon release. Perhaps this is because we get over-excited for Heritage. Or maybe it is just the retro-fatigue. I tend to think it just Topps ignoring the brand. I have always liked 1962 Topps, but when the Heritage version came out in 2011 it was horrible. The pix were bland and almost all alike. I understand this is a nod to the look of the original set, but I think mixing up the image styles for Heritage and flagship would help both brands. 2014T has done pretty well with interesting shots, but the previous 2 years I think there have been to many action shots. Throw in a little variety, Headshots, bench, battersbox etc.

John Herrnstein 

In addition to introducing our feature  on the 1965T flashback, We are going to double duty this post for our 1964 Phillies feature. John Herrnstein was a rookie for the 64 squad, He batted .234 with 6 Homers and 25 RBIs across 125 games. His 64 games at first base were enough for him to lead the team at the position.

Unfortunately for Herrnstein those 125 games would be the most he would ever play in a season. After the 64 campaign Herrnstein batted less than 200 times at the Major League level. Early in the 1966 season The Phillies traded Herrnstein and future Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins to the Cubs for veteran pitcher Larry Jackson. I would have to think that trade is on the loser list for the Phils.  
 

Prior to his professional baseball career Herrnstein was a star Running Back at Michigan. In 1956 he led the Big Ten in TDs with 7 and the Wolverines finished ranked 7th in the nation. 

Following his career Herrnstein returned to his native Ohio and maintained a career in banking and finance. This past fall his grandson Justin Herrnstein was a member of the Division II Tiffin Dragons football team of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.  

Other Voices
The Great 1965 Topps Project - #534 John Herrnstein

1964 Philies Series 
Johnny Callison
Tony Gonzalez

John Herrnstein 
Tony Taylor 
Frank Thomas

 
More info on 1965 Topps
The entire 1965 Topps Series was covered by Kevin B of Orioles Card "O" the day on The Great 1965 Topps Project
Cardboard Connection
Sports Collectors Digest (TS O' Connell)
Golden Age of Baseball Cards
Dean's Cards
Beckett

PSA
 
Sources
The Year of the Blue Snow: The 1964 Phillies
Baseball-ref.com

Tiffin Dragons 

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