1956 Topps Jack Robinson

Notice in the title I have referred the pioneering civil rights leader as Jack Robinson not “Jackie”. That is because in interviews his wife Rachel (Still living at 96!) has mentioned that is what she always called Jack.

I have also chose to use the name Jack Robinson on my latest phungo original cardboard creation

1956 Topps Jack Robinson (phungo variation)

So far I have made about three dozen colored pencil drawings and this is one of my favorites. I think to myself the drawings may not look like who I want them to, but it does sort of look like a person.

While this work is inspired by Robinson’s 1956 Topps card it is far from a replica. First off, as mentioned above, is the name modification. The next major difference is that I changed the play at the plate – I chose the iconic image from Robinson’s steal of home versus the Yankees in game 1 of the 1955 World Series. The play is filled out in color while the portrait side of the card is done with an abstract black & white background. This is a nod to the crossing of the color line – further symbolized by the foul line in the action shot.  This barrier is also illustrated by the staccato lines behind Jack’s headshot which echoes a fence – the line unbroken prior to Jackie Robinson entering major league baseball. 

I added a 42 to Jackie’s uniform. This is not historically accurate for Dodgers jerseys of the era, but I felt the number has become so much a symbol of our cultural memory it belonged in the illustration.

1956 Topps #30 Jackie Robinson

For comparison we present here the original 1956 Jackie Robinson card featuring the full background and original action shot.

Gummy Arts put together this more faithful rendition of the card.

1956 Topps #30 Jackie Robinson (Gummy Arts edition)

One of the other Robinson artworks I spotted today was done by Tim Carroll 

Carroll also uses the B/W vs color to mark the breaking of the color barrier. His works are mosaics created by using discarded baseball cards to create a new image. 

Sources and Links

Jackie Robinson HOF Index

Gummy Arts

Tim Carroll Art
Phungo Artwork

Imdb

Getty images

Topps card database

baseball-ref

Jackie Robinson 1956 Topps, Dodgers, Artwork

Roy Halladay Hall of Fame!!

Things have been busy around Phungo HQ with a myriad of activities that have kept me from posting regular columns here. Most of these distractions are good things including one hobby I have picked up in the last year - sketching.

 2011 Topps Roy Halladay NLDS No-Hitter

It may not be great, but it is mine - I had never drawn anything beyond a stick figure prior to last summer and I am pretty happy with some of the outcomes. The pictures never look like the people who I am trying to portray, however they do sort of look like people.  This particular drawing is inspired by a 2011 Topps card, click here for a better look.

I use color pencils and draw inspiration from folks like @Mosely_Mark and @Gummyarts who both put together some fun and exciting cardboard art.

This drawing commemorates one of my favorite games and I am glad to see Roy Halladay get honored by the Hall of Fame.



 

 

sources and links
Roy Halladay HOF Index
Phungo Artwork

Andy Warhol 1985 Topps Pete Rose Print up for auction

When Andy Warhol painted his Pete Rose Serial in 1985 he also produced a set of 50 lavender prints. As part of this process an additional 30 test prints were created. One of those test prints is currently up for auction.

Pete Rose (1985) test print #6/30

According to Artnet the test print is from the Cincinnati Art Museum, which is where the Warhol Pete Rose original resides. Artnet lists the estimate for the work at $15,000 - $20,000. This may seem high however less than a year ago the work was listed as $25,000 - $30,000. By those numbers the low estimate has dropped by 40% in 8 months.

The auction for this unique piece of memorabilia ends on January 29 2019.

For more information on the primary Warhol Pete Rose portrait click here.
For an index of the Lavender and Test Print variations click here.


Sources and Links
Andy Warhol Pete Rose Index
Artnet

Richard Pryor + Ice Cube + Julia Roberts + AFC Championship Game = ???

Hey it is NFL Championship weekend! to honor the occasion we have this fun trading card from 1992.  

1992 Studio #208 Pat Mahomes

1990s MLB relief pitcher Pat Mahomes is the father of Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes. One of the early fun cards of the elder Mahomes is his 1992 Studio offering. This fine set artfully places a nice profile photo atop a black and white action shot. 

The idea is carried through to the reverse where fun facts regarding the player are presented rather than just your typical baseball stats.

Flip

1992 Studio #208 Pat Mahomes

I always enjoy the pop culture connections on these cards. This set would be a great one for a card/card deep dive. I imagine there would be a lot of redundancy among the big stars of the era but this would make the outliers stand out even more.

Mahomes is  a cross section of early 90s and outliers. Neither Ice Cube nor Julia Roberts is surprising however I find seeing them listed together quite charming. Amazingly a quarter century later and both stars remain active, yet near as I can tell they have never been involved in a project together - unless you count Patrick Mahomes 1992 Studio card.

The outlier on the card is "Which Way is Up", a 1977 star vehicle for Richard Pryor which I have never heard of previously. Apparently the film features Pryor playing a triple role - sounds pretty madcap, would love to hear a review from the peanut gallery discussing the merits of this work.

Best of luck to Patrick Mahomes the younger this weekend. Anybody who has a father who digs RIchard Pryor is ok by me.  

Sources and Links
imdb
Baseball-Ref
Amazon

1966 Topps All-Star Rookie Cup Team (1967 Topps Set)

This is an index to our postings related to Topps 1966 All-Star Rookie Cup Team. The subset was published in 1967 to honor the Rookies of 1966. 

1967 Topps #363 Dave Johnson

Randy Hundley, C, Chicago Cubs
George Scott, 1B, Boston Red Sox
Davey Johnson, 2B, Baltimore Orioles
Tommy Helms, 3B, Cincinnati Reds
Sonny Jackson, SS, Houston Astros
Tommie Agee, OF, Chicago White Sox
Byron Browne, OF, Chicago Cubs
#165 Cleon Jones, OF, New York Mets
#90 Jim Nash, RHP, Kansas City Athletics
Woodie Fryman, LHP, Pittsburgh Pirates

sources and links
All-Star Rookie Cup Master Index

Eight Men Out Index

This is an index to postings related to the book film and cardset "Eight Men Out"


SABR Eight Myths Out
Of Myths and Men pt 1 Myths 1-4 (SABR)
Of Myths and Men pt 2 Myths 5-8 (SABR)
Of Myths and Men pt 3 Set Summary

Sitting 20 feet from Eddie Cicotte pt 1 (David Strathairn in "Leaving")
Sitting 20 feet from Eddie Cicotte pt 2 (Strathairn "Cherry Orchard")
John Cusack 50th Birthday

Pre-War Cards Black Sox Series I
Pre-War Cards Black Sox Series II
Pre-War Cards Black Sox Series III
Pre-War Cards Black Sox Series IV
Pre-War Cards Black Sox Series V

Andy Warhol Pete Rose II (1985) Variations

This is an index of information on the variations of Andy Warhol's 1985 painting Pete Rose II, Also referred to as the lavender Pete Rose.

 

Pete Rose II (1985) Andy Warhol

Lavender
There were originally 50 lavender Pete Rose prints

#23/50 Personal Collection
#30/50 Lelands (2018 08 17 $18,830.40)
#40/50 Cowans (2017 10 27 $13,200.00)
#??/50 National Portrait Gallery
#??/50 the Butler institute of American Art 
#??/50 Revolver Gallery

Test Prints
#6/50 Artnet/ Cincinnati Art Museum (2019 01 29)


Sources Links
Andy Warhol Pete Rose Index
Revolver Gallery 
Antiques Roadshow

National Portrait Gallery
the Butler institute of American Art 

1980 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies Index

This is an Index related to the 1980 World Series Campion Phillies.

1981 Topps #404 Phillies Win First World Series 

This index is divided into two sections. The first is of new profiles done for the 40th anniversary of the Championship, original material written in the 2019-2020 time frame.

Steve Carlton
Bob Boone
Pete Rose
Manny Trillo
Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt (70th Birtday)
Larry Bowa
Greg Luzinski
Garry Maddox
Bake McBride
Tug McGraw
Dallas Green

Lonnie Smith
Del Unser
Greg Gross
Dick Ruthven

This latter list is of Player Indexes that link to various articles on players. My output is not nearly what it was a decade ago, so I wanted to point readers to something somewhat relevant until I get around to an actual posting.

Steve Carlton
Bob Boone
Pete Rose
Manny Trillo
Mike Schmidt
Larry Bowa
Greg Luzinski
Garry Maddox
Bake McBride
Tug McGraw
Dallas Green

Lonnie Smith
Del Unser
Greg Gross
Dick Ruthven

1981 Fleer #645 Triple Threat Schmidt Rose Bowa (30th Anniversary project which was Abandoned)


Sources and Links
Featured Teams Page

1976 Topps All-Star Rookie Cup Index (1975 Award 1976 Card)

This is an Index to our postings related to the 1975 Topps Rookie All-Star Team. The award is for the 1976 season with the cards issued in the 1976 set. 

1976 Topps #406 Tom Underwood 

#	Pos	Player	Team
441	C	Gary Carter	Montreal Expos
	1B	Mike Ivie	San Diego Padres
	2B	Jerry Remy	California Angels
	3B	Larry Parrish	Montreal Expos
	SS	Tom Veryzer	Detroit Tigers
	OF	Dan Ford	Minnesota Twins
		Fred Lynn	Boston Red Sox
		Jim Rice	Boston Red Sox
	RHP	John Montefusco	San Francisco Giants
407	LHP	Tom Underwood	Philadelphia Phillies

Sources and Links

Topps All-Star Rookie Master Index

B-R Bullpen