1952 Bowman Bobby Brown - Former AL President

This is a followup from our #tbt posting last week where we saw some Official Major League Baseballs from years past

 1952 Bowman #105 Bobby Brown

Former AL President Bobby Brown never had a Topps card issued while he was playing, but he does have a couple of cards on the Bowman checklist including the 1952 set.

Its interesting to see Bobby Brown's facsimile signature on his 1952 Bowman Card, presumably from a contract he signed with Bowman around 1949. And then take a look at the UD card from 2009

2009 Upper Deck 20th Anniversary #1014 Subway Series/Interleague Play
The lower baseball has Bobby Brown's signature as AL President. He took office in 1984 which means there is roughly 35 years difference in the two signatures. I am no handwriting expert but it is interesting to see the similarities in the two autographs. 

1991 Score
While working on our Year of the No-Hitter Project I ran into this 1991 Score Card

1991 Score #568 Bob Welch

While most of the 1991 Score base set is a bit tired, the cards are so overproduced they can be found EVERYWHERE, there are a few interesting cards spread throughout the set.

There are a lot of subsets within 1991 Score, plus there are base cards like the above Bob Welch gem. The close up is used to display Welch's grip on the split-fingered fastball. In an 800 card set the image jumps off the page. An interesting nuance one may never think about, unless they are checking in on the differences in Official MLB Baseballs, is that it is an Official AL ball of the era signed by Bobby Brown.

So we have found at least two baseball cards that are so detailed that we can see one time AL president Bobby Brown's signature on the horsehide.

FLIP
Fear not Bob Welch Fans

1991 Score #568 Bob Welch (b-side - click to enlarge)

For those collectors that are dismayed that there isn't a player photo on the front Score did put a nice action photo on the b-side. In addition to the pix there is a nice synopsis of Bob Welch's experience with the Split-Finger. Sorry about the blurriness here, if you click on the photo it should enlarge and be a bit easier to read.

Sources and Links
baseball cardpedia
phungo (ibid)
SABR bio of Bobby Brown by Mike Huber

#tbt Official Major League Baseball from the past

During the off-season Bud Selig retired from the position as Commissioner of Major League Baseball. 

Official Major League Baseball

That means that as of this week Major League baseballs will no longer contain the "Allan H Selig" signature.

Thus we have a "Throw Back Thursday" item - dubbed #tbt in the Social Media Realm. Yes The Bud Selig baseball is now an artifact, albeit from the relatively recent past - Regardless, it is part of a world that no longer exists.

I have about a dozen MLB baseballs in the Phungo Collection, most or possibly all of which came from foraging after Batting Practice Homers. The above ball is likely one of these. Every single MLB Ball I have is of the Bud Selig variety.

Hopefully during the new season we will be adding one with the Rob Manfred signature to the collection. 

2009 Upper Deck 20th Anniversary #1014 Subway Series/Interleague Play 

Baseball didn't always carry Selig's signature. Prior to the interleague play and the homogenizing of the leagues the AL and NL had different baseballs. The above card from the massive UD 20th Anniversary set shows the NL ball signed by one time Phillies player and NL President Bill White along with it's AL counterpart carrying the autograph of Bobby Brown. 

Sources and Links
SABR Bio Bobby Brown by Mike Huber
SABR Bio Bill White by Warren Corbett