Wookie Cup: 1961 Topps #417 Juan Marichal

Yes, Wookie Cup 

That is not a spelling error or typo, this is a new Rookie Cup adjacent feature where we will analyze notable players or players who had notable rookie seasons that did not win Rookie Cup honors.

I see this as a series that will cover things like Rookie of the Year whom did not win a Rookie Cup and players who beat out HOFs for Rookie Cups. Today's column is on the latter. One way to look at it is the Wookie Cup is the sidekick to the Han Solo that is the Topps All-Star Rookie Cup. 

Wookie Cup: 1961 Topps #417 Juan Marichal (rc - image swiped from psa)

The 1961 Topps Rookie Cup Card for RHP went to Chuck Estrada for good reasons, which we discussed last week. There were a handful of good pitchers that debuted in 1960 of which was elected to the Hall of Fame, Juan Marichal. 

1961 Topps is a minimalist design that gets awfully text busy at the bottom with the player, position, and complete team name all squeezed in a quarter inch. Great smile from Juan here, he is also wearing a warm up jacket which is consistent with many of the other Giants in the 1961 set. 

1960 Juan Marichal vs Chuck Estrada

The first thing that jumps out at us is Topps Champ Chuck Estrada played a full season. Simply put several of the categories won by Marichal here may have gone if the 154 IP minimum was reached - most notably ERA and W-L Pct. 

While Juan Marichal's stats are excellent, His 2.66 ERA would have led both leagues had he qualified (Frank Baumann CHW 2.67) same for H/9 (Ernie Broglio STL 6.84), we cannot with any accuracy scale up these numbers to compare with Estrada's full season of data. 

It's simple just to think of Chuck Estrada as the present in 1960 while Juan Marichal was a Wookie Cup who was soon to be part of baseball's future.  

b-side 

Wookie Cup: 1961 Topps #417 Juan Marichal (flip - image swiped from psa)

As noted in the card text above Juan Marichal's MLB Debut was a dazzler, a 2-0 shutout. Clay Dalrymple's pinch single with 2 out in the 8th was the only thing that stood between Marichal and a no-hitter. He pitched to 3 over the minimum (Single, BB, E6). Three years later on June 15 1963 Juan Marichal would become the first Latin American pitcher to throw an NL/AL no-hitter. 

Dropping down to the comic section, Juan was proud of his control and led the league four times in BB/9 and ranks 60th all-time in the category. 

Sources and Links

Juan Marichal HoF Index

1961 Rookie Cup Index

baseball-ref
psa

Rookie Cup Series: 1961 Topps #395 Chuck Estrada

Chuck Estrada earned the RHP Rookie Cup award for 1960 by leading not just rookies but all of MLB in Wins with 18. At the time Estrada was the only rookie to ever lead the AL in wins and the first since 1932 (Larry Cheney) to lead either the NL or AL. He also led rookie pitchers in Strikeouts and Innings Pitched. His 7.0 Hits/9IP led all pitchers. 

Despite these superlative pitching numbers he did not win rookie of the year. He finished runner-up to Orioles teammate Ron Hansen (22/86/.255) 

1961 Topps #395 Chuck Estrada 

These seem like obvious qualifications to win the Rookie Cup, leading two of the triple crown categories and finishing 5th in Rookie ERA. However, modern stats may have swayed the vote. Estrada ranked 3rd in WAR among RHP behind Art Mahaffey (Phillies) and Don Lee (Senators). Estrada finished behind the pair in ERA & ERA+. Mahaffey bested the trio in Winning percentage. Mahaffey finished 3rd in the NL ROY voting. Lee did not receive any vote in the AL bracket

Flip

1961 Topps #395 Chuck Estrada (b-side) 

the third panel of the panel is kind of ironic as Chuck's attitude was mentioned in his SABR Bio as part of the reason he had trouble sticking in the majors after his incredible debut season. 

1961+ 

Unfortunately for Estrada his career peaked in 1960. He struggled with injuries the next few seasons and never regained his form. A 7 year career ended in 1967 with the struggling New York Mets. 

Chuck Estrada did make a career out of baseball serving as a pitching coach in several organizations. Among his mentees were Buzz Capra, Nino Espinosa, Craig Swan and fellow rookie cup winner Randy Jones

Subset Star

The 1961 Rookie Cup is not Chuck Estrada's Rookie Card. His RC is part of the 1960 Sport Magazine Rookie Stars subset from the previous years. Estrada's 18 Ws also earned him a spot on the very first AL Pitching (Wins) League Leader Card.

1961 Topps #48 LL Pitching (Wins) Chuck Estrada, Jim Perry, Bud Daley, Art Ditmar, Frank Lary

Estrada shared the 1960 Wins Title with Jim Perry who at the time was the only other RHP Rookie Cup winner. Jim Perry's Rookie Cup profile can be found here. 

Sources & Links 

1961 Rookie Cup 

SABR BioProject - David E Skelton

Trading Card Data Base

Baseball_ref

TASR: 1961 Topps #77 Dick Stigman

We are down to the PostSeason final 4 we are going to take this opportunity to look back on some cards representing the remaining contenders.

Today we lead off with the Cleveland Guardians (nee Indians) and 1961 Topps Dick Stigman.

1961 Topps #77 Dick Stigman

Dick Stigman at age 88 is one of the eldest of the TASR honorees. He had a remarkable career that is highlighted by being part of big baseball events but not getting a chance to participate. During his rookie campaign in 1960 (the Two ASG era) he was named to both All-Star Teams (despite a 5-11 record), but did not participate in either game. Stigman was also a member of the 1965 Twins Team who pushed the Sandy Koufax led LA Dodgers to 7 games in the World Series. He was a member of the postseason roster but did not get to pitch in the series. A disappointment for Stigman who was a local athlete from the small town of Nimrod Minnesota.

1961 Topps

Classic follow-thru pose of the young southpaw here. The Red and Yellow ID panels complement the old school original large form Rookie Cup Trophy. 

Dick Stigman's selection as a dual All-Star and All-Star Rookie cup member is pretty dubious. In addition to the aforementioned 5-11 record among LHP rookie pitchers in 1960 he ranked 8th in ERA (4.51) almost a run and a half behind the leader, Senators pitcher Jack Kralick (3.04). In fact Stigman was 8th in ERA for the subset (50+ip) which included the Phillies Chris Short (3.94). Among southpaws Stigman 5 wins ranked 7th (Steve Barber 10, Short 5). He did rank 2nd in Strikeouts with 104, a category again won by Steve Barber at 112. Pretty hard to justify a selection for a player that lost out in all 3 of the triple crown categories. The only thing that can point to Stigman is his combined Win+Save total of 14 eclipsed Barber by.... ONE (10 wins, 3 Saves)

30 Million Youngsters Can't be Wrong 

According to the TASR Team Announcement in the Sporting News 30 Million Youngsters voted for the team, who knew that Dick Stigman would be so popular?

The 1961 Topps Rookie All-Star Squad was only the 2nd one elected and during that era it was done by the "Youth of America". I don't want to group them in with the BBWAA, but their selection is suspect.

WAR Report

The Youth of America had no clue of what WAR was then, but I will  note that Dick Stigman did not do well here either, finishing with an abysmal -0.7. Jack Kralick's Southpaw leading ERA propelled him to the WAR crown with a 4.0 (Barber and Dick Ellsworth 2nd at 2.1 - Chris Short T5 1.1)

1961 All-Star Team(s)

4 Wins and 58 Career Strikeouts...

And 2 All-Star Teams 

That is where the Official Baseball Record stood for Dick Stigman on July 13 1960

That's Right, he had less than 60 Career Ks and the guy was already on his 2nd all-star team. 

How did this happen:

1) The biggest reason is this was during the two all-star games in one season era

2) 6 Saves. Coupled with his four wins this meant that Dick Stigman was involved in 10 of Clevelands 43 wins. Not sure where six saves ranked mid season, but chances are it was pretty high. For the season Stigman's teammate Johnny Klippstein led the league with 14. 

3) Possibly minor League Dominance - Stigman led his league in Ks twice while in the Minors. 

 

White Sox and 1960 AL All-Star Manager Al Lopez had seen Stigman a lot prior to the All-Star break,  those games were likely not helpful. In the week prior to the All-Star Break Stigman faced the White Sox 3 times, twice as a starter and once as a road finish. He pitched 8.2 innings and gave up 7 earned runs (7.27 ERA) including a start where he gave up 10 walks in 5.2 innings. 

All I can figure is Lopez was happy with the 3 Ws over Cleveland and selected Stigman - who knows. 

 

Flip

1961 Topps #77 Dick Stigman (b-side)

We have Couple of -Toons! 

In panel 1 we have the source for the aforementioned comment on Minor League Dominance. Panel 2 echoes the All-Star Rookie Trophy from the front side and in the finale we have an all-star reference with some dated artwork. 

Topps Subset Royalty

Dick Stigman's career may not have panned out but he ended up being in a number of Topps Subsets. Two years prior to being an All-Star Rookie he was one of 31 players in the 1959 Sporting News Rookie Stars Subset which was the first time that Topps had run a rookies subber of any kind. Stigman is one of three players from the set that is still living, Eddie Haas and Bob Lillis are the others.

In 1962 Stigman was on Cleveland's "Tribe Hill Trio" card with fellow hurlers Jim Perry and Barry Latham. Following a trade to his hometown Twins Dick Stigman made it into the League Leaders pantheon with 1964 Topps. He shares his 1963 Strikeout Card Podium with Hall of Famer Jim Bunning and fellow Twin Camilo Pascual

Pretty good for a guy that appeared on 7 base cards to appear in 4 different subsets: Rookie Stars, Rookie Cup, Team Multis and League Leaders. 

Dick Stigman Index

Placeholder for more Stigman

Sources Links

1961 TASR Index

SABR Bioproject (Tom Tomashek)

Baseball_ref

Sporting News

1961 Topps #402 Don Larsen (1929-2020)

When I was a kid I had a thick World Series chronicle that had the box scores for every Series game through somewhere in the late 1970s. One of the things that fascinated me was that for Don Larsen's 1956 Perfect game the entry was a batter by batter, PITCH by PITCH. I had never seen anything like it, and really PxP accounts didn't really exist in the real world until the relatively recent big data revolution. 

1961 Topps #402 Don Larsen Pitches Perfect Game

One of the trading cards that covered World Series achievement was in the 1961 Topps Baseball Thrills subset.

Great card of Larsen's perfect game which occurred on October 8th 1956.

To begin with outside of a swatch announcing the event commemorated by the card the design is minimal. The picture here features our hero Larsen and the line score - perfect way summarize any no-hitter. In addition the remainder of the scoreboard tells us #8 is batting with a 1-2 coutn.  The 8 correctly identifies Dale Mitchell who struck out looking on a 1-2 pitch giving the Yankees a 2-0 victory in the pivotal fifth game of the 1956 series.

The series would got the distance with the Yankees winning.

Flip

1961 Topps #402 Don Larsen Pitches Perfect Game

The newsprint themed text on the card back does a good job of recapturing the Thrill of the perfect game. The author also provides some historical context: "...first pitcher to ever hurl a no-hitter in World Series competition." and "...first in 307 World Series games". I have minor quibble that description fails to mention the games final score 2-0.

1961 Nu-Cards
On the 60th anniversary of the Perfect Game we profiled the 1961 Nu-Card dedicated to the game. That column can be found here.

Baltimore Orioles
One of my favorite fun facts is that Don Larsen started the first game in Baltimore Orioles history, a 3-0 lost to the Detroit Tigers on April 13 1954.

Peanut Gallery
Some other Don Larsen Baseball Card Memorials
The Lost Collector - Various Autographed Cards and a Baseball
The Chronicles of Fuji - 1958 Topps #161 & various Autograph/Relic cards

Sources and Links
1961 Topps Baseball Thrills Index
No-Hitter Index
Game Dated Cards Index
trading card db
Baseball-ref

ANNIVERSARY: 2010 Topps Heritage #310 Utley Ties Reggie

November 2nd marks the 10th Anniversary of the Phillies last World Series Game victory. An 8-6 victory over the New York Yankees.

That night Chase Utley tied a 30 year old World Series Record.

2010 Topps Heritage #310 Chase Utley (image swiped from trading card db)

The caption sums it up simply "Utley Ties Reggie". Nice to have your named in a comparative with a player who is such a superstar that they only need to be identified by a single name.

Flip

2010 Topps Heritage #310 Chase Utley (image stolen from comc)

The back of the Heritage cards remain faithful to the 1961T originals with scoring plays followed by the line score. The Utley Homers for game 5 can be found in the first and 7th innings of the Phillies portion of the text.

Reggie
Jackson's 5 Home Run Series was also celebrated by Topps in their 1978 set.

1978 Topps #7 RB Reggie Jackson

We covered this card a bit in our 2018 Memorial to broadcaster Keith Jackson. To read more about the card click here.

1961 Topps
2010 Heritage is an Homage to 1961 Topps. The World Series subset parallels the original with Utley's Record card matching with a card dedicated to a Pirates 5-2 victory, also over the Yankees, which featured an 8 out save from Elroy Face.

1961 Topps #310 Face Saves the Day

While both the PA teams were able to defeat the 1960 and 2009 Yankees in Game 5, afterward their fates diverged. The Pirates won the 1960 Series on Bill Mazeroski's famous Home Run while, Utley and the Phillies fell to the Yankees in 6 games. 

Phungo Games
This card reps the Phungo Game collection, read more about that game here.  In addition to the above Heritage card we have previously covered the 2009 Allen & Ginter card dedicated to Utley's World Series Record. This column can be found here.

Sources and Links
Chase Utley Index
Phungo Game Index
2009 World Series
Check out My Cards
Trading Card db
Baseball-Ref

2018 HOF Candidate: Johnny Damon

This year our first profile of a non-Phils HOF Candidate goes to Johnny Damon.

If you have been following the Ryan Thibodaux Hall of Fame vote tracker it is pretty obvious Johnny Damon is going to be a one and done candidate.

As of January 2 2018 Thibodaux had recorded 159 ballots, Johnny Damon received one vote. It was from Rick Telander who put together a complementary paragraph to justify his Damon selection.

He’ll never get in, but the guy thrilled many of us during those magical Red Sox-Yankees battles when the Theo Epstein-led Sox were emerging from their Cubs-like title drought. In 2002, Damon led the American League in triples. In 2004, he was second in the AL in runs scored. He sported wild hair and a lumberjack beard years before the latter became fashionable. I dug it.

2010 Heritage #309 Damon Steals 2 Bags on 1 Pitch

To honor Damon's career we pick a Topps Heritage card that shows off Johnny Damon's base running skills at the expense of the 2009 Phillies.

The play occurred during game four of the World Series. Damon came to the plate in the 9th inning of a 4-4 tie. There were 2 outs and nobody on base. He singled to left field to get the go-ahead run on base. The Phillies used a defensive shift versus Left-Handed batting Mark Teixeira. Damon stole 2nd on the first pitch easily beating a short throw from Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz. Damon then popped up and took off towards an unguarded third base.

Thus as the card says he stole "2 Bags on 1 Pitch".

Damon would later score on an Alex Rodriguez double, the scoring did not end there as the Yankees racked up 3 runs and took the game 7-4.

2010 Heritage #309 Damon Steals 2 Bags on 1 Pitch (b-side)

Interesting back of the card, where Topps mimics the 1961 World Series cards which Heritage echoes. Not sure but I believe 1961 is the only year that Topps used the "How They Scored" approach on the back of World Series cards. I don't think I need to see it every year but it is interesting to see it once.

The original 1961T #309 card also featured a big play at second. During the 1960 World Series the Yankees were the victims while the Pittsburgh Pirates were on offense.

The runner involved was Pirates left fielder Gino Cimoli. With the Pirates down a run in the fifth Cimoli beat a fielders choice throw to 2nd base. He would eventually be the first of three runs to score during the inning. That was all the Pirates needed to post a 3-2 victory.

One more thing
Johnny Damon is a Thai-American. That is the same Heritage as my own!

And in 2013 he chose to represent Thailand in the World Baseball Classic. Thailand didn't get very deep in the WBC, but Damon did get the opportunity to help develop the game there.

Hopefully someday I will get to see the Thai baseball team or even a baseball game in Thailand.

Until then I am happy to wear the above Thailand WBC cap whenever I get the opportunity. 

Verdict
HOF, I gotta go with Johnny Damon and his Asian roots here.

Johnny Damon Player Index

2009 Heritage #163 - Damon plays for Thailand WBC
2009 Topps T206 #261 - Pack Break
2008 Topps Chrome X-Fractor #106 - Swag Posting
2005 Leaf Century Collection #58 - Year of the Ox


2009 1102 - Game Report (World Series Game 5)
Wilmington Blue Rocks Number Retirement Ceremony


Sources and Links
2018 HOF Candidates
Game Dated Cards 
Chicago Sun-Times Rick Telander
BB HOF Tracker
Sports on Earth Pat Jordan
New York Times
Baseball-Ref 

1961 Topps MVP Subset

This is an Index to our postings on the 1961 MVP Subset

471. MVP -- Phil Rizzuto
472. MVP -- Yogi Berra (90th Birthday)
473. MVP -- Bobby Shantz (Wall of Fame Profile)
474. MVP -- Al Rosen
475. MVP -- Mickey Mantle 
476. MVP -- Jackie Jensen 
477. MVP -- Nellie Fox 478. MVP -- Roger Maris
479. MVP -- Jim Konstanty480. MVP -- Roy Campanella
481. MVP -- Hank Sauer
482. MVP -- Willie Mays (A-Rod at 659 HR)483. MVP -- Don Newcombe
484. MVP -- Hank Aaron
485. MVP -- Ernie Banks
486. MVP -- Dick Groat

 

 

 

 

1961 Topps #262 Tony Curry

Last night with Cubs featured on Sunday Night Baseball we featured a Rookie Cup card of Hall of Famer Ron Santo. Tonight we feature one of the Phillies representatives from the same Topps Rookie All-Star squad that featured Santo.

1961 Topps #262 Tony Curry

Tony Curry was the second player born in the Bahamas to reach the majors (following Andre Rodgers 1957). Curry had a decent debut with the Phillies batting .261 with 6 Home Runs in 95 games. Unfortunately those would be the only six Homers that Curry would hit in the major leagues.

Due to a contract dispute and personal issues Tony Curry would only play 15 games with the Phillies after his rookie season. Prior to the 1962 season he was traded to Cleveland and would only return to the majors one more time for a brief stint in 1966.


Toons

1961 Topps #262 Tony Curry (b-side)

A few notes on the cartoons. I want to start on the last panel first. As mentioned in our Ron Santo posting yesterday, of the 10 Rookie All-Star cards in the 1961 Topps set seven of them have cartoons that mention the Topps award. Next I want to go to the middle frame. I realize those were different times but "One of the fastest men in the Big Leagues" stole a grand total of ZERO bases in his major league career. Minor league records are spotty but baseball-reference lists Curry's single season minor league high as eleven stolen bases.


1960 Topps Rookie Cup All-Star Team
This column will serve as an Index of our postings related to the 1960 Topps All-Star Rookie Team. The players were honored with cards in the 1961 Topps Set. Here is a checklist of the 1960 hoorees

35	Ron Santo (HoF RC) - 3B
77	Dick Stigman - LHP
144	Jimmie Coker - C
148	Julian Javier - 2B
168	Tommy Davis - OF
240	Ron Hansen - SS
262	Tony Curry - OF
280	Frank Howard - OF
395	Chuck Estrada - RHP
559	Jim Gentile - 1B

Wookie Cup Series

1961 Topps #417 (RC & Wookie Cup Series)

1960 Rookie Of the Year Voting

1960 Top 20 Rookie WAR as Batters

1960 Top 20 Rookie WAR as Pitchers

Sources & Links
Topps All-Star Rookies Index
Baseball-Ref Bullpen
Baseball-ref
SABR Bio - Rory Costello

Sunday Night Baseball: 1961 Topps #35 Ron Santo

With Cubs on national TV tonight prior to hosting the Phillies this week I felt it was a good time to honor Hall of Famer Ron Santo.

1961 Topps #35 Ron Santo (rc)

Due to Topps diligence (and traded sets) it is rare that a player of Santo's stature gets a Rookie Cup on his actual rookie card. I took a glance at the list and among Hall of Famers the only other rookie cup/ rookie card combos I found were Willie McCovey (1960) and Eddie Murray (1978).

There are three other players that qualify, however they won their Rookie All-Star awards in years when Topps chose not to adorn winners cards with the rookie cup icon: Ozzie Smith(1979), Ryne Sandberg(1983), and Kirby Puckett (1985).

Sy Berger on Topps and Santo

1961 February 22 The Sporting News (JT Spink)

In a 1961 interview in "The Sporting News" Topps executive Sy Berger addressed the omission of both Willie McCovey and Ron Santo from the 1959 and 1960 sets respectively.  Regardless both were properly honored with Rookie All-Star cards that also happen to be Hall of Fame Rookie Cards.

1961 Topps #35 Ron Santo (rc - bside)

The center panel of the cartoons mentions Santo's Topps All-Star rookie award. Of the 10 All-Star Rookie cards in the 1961 Topps Set, seven of them have cartoons mentioning their selection.

The text notes that there was a Vote by "Youngsters". As part of an outreach program to raise interest in trading cards Topps sent out ballots via various youth organizations including the Boy Scouts, Boys Clubs of America and the YMCA. The Results of the voting were the early All-Star Rookie teams.

The origins of the Topps Rookie All-Stars is worthy of it's own posting and we hope to elaborate on this at some point.

Phungo Ron Santo HoF Index
1966 Topps Year of the Dragon Birthday
Obituary/Retired Number (2010)

Sources and Links
1961 Topps All-Star Rookies Index
Cards that Never Were
BR Bullpen
The Sporting News (1961 02 22, 1959 07 15)
baseball-ref

RTC Pirates Pitcher Bob Friend

The Phillies are hosting the Pirates this week which gives an opportunity to look back at the long career of Bucos 1950s and 60s era pitcher Bob Friend.

1961 Topps #270 Bob Friend

Among Pitchers who debuted in the last 100 years Bob Friend is the Pirates All-Time Leader in Wins, Strikeouts, Starts, Shutouts, Innings and WAR. Friend spent all but one of his 16 seasons with Pittsburgh including the 1960 pennant winning squad.

He was a 3 time all-star who led the league in ERA (2.53, 1955), victories (22, 1958) and shutouts (5, 1962). 

During his ERA Leading 1955 season Friend also led the league in WAR for pitchers, but did not get a single Cy Young vote - that was in the single CY days when the NL and AL split the award.

Post playing career Bob Friend went into politics and served as Alleghany County controller from 1967-1975. He also served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention and led fund raising efforts at the Chilren's Hospital in Pittsburgh

Bob's son Bob Jr was a golfer on the PGA tour and currently plays on the Champions Tour.  

Today Bob Friend is 84 and as of 2014 he was still living in the Pittsburgh area.

Sources and Links
Baseball-ref
SABR bio by Clifton Parker
Web.com Tour

HoF 90th Birthday Yogi Berra: 1961 Topps #472 MVP

On Tuesday May 12th Yogi Berra will celebrate his 90th birthday. 

1961 Topps #462 Yogi Berra MVP

The 1961 Topps MVP subset honors 16 MVPs of the 1950s. Yogi Berra along with Catching Contemporary Roy Campanella are the most decorated players in the subber, each having won three MVPs during the era.

Yogi's three were in 1951, 54 and 1955. Berra didn't lead the AL in WAR any of those years, but his 59.5 career mark does rank 5th among catchers all-time.

Flip

1961 Topps #462 Yogi Berra MVP (b-side)

The reverse of the card mentions the 3 MVPs, and Yogi's HR Record for catchers which was 318 at the time. He went on to hit 40 more Home Runs to finish his career with 358. Since then Berra has been passed by Mike Piazza, Johnny Bench and Carlton Fisk and now ranks fourth all-time.

Yogi's granddaughter Lindsay is a reporter with MLB.com. She authors an entertaining Twitter feed @lindsayberra which occasionally has great historic pictures and other info for Yankees fans. 

Sources and Links
Phungo Yogi Berra HoF Index
Baseball-ref
cardboard connection

1961 Topps #482 Willie Mays 1954 MVP

Regardless of your thoughts on Alex Rodriguez climbing up another rung on the Lifetime Home Run Ladder the occasion does give us an opportunity to re-examine the careers of baseball legends of the past.

A-Rod is currently (2015 04 27) standing at 659 Home Runs, one behind Hall of Fame Centerfielder Willie Mays.

 1961 Topps #482 Willie Mays 1954 MVP

When he retired Mays' 660 Career Home Runs ranked #3 on the list behind Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron.

The above card honors Mays' 1954 MVP season when he finished 3rd in NL Home Runs (41) behind Ted Kluzewsk (49) and Gil Hodges (42). Mays may not have won the HR title that year but he got his MVP for leading the league in Batting Average, Slugging, OPS and OPS+ while being a member of the NL Pennant Winning New York Giants who went on to sweep the Cleveland Indians in the World Series.

If one uses WAR as the MVP barometer the BBWAA got this one right. Mays led the League in WAR for All players,  His Offensive WAR tied Duke Snider but he exceeded the Duke in dWAR

Willie May received 2/3 of the 24 first place MVP votes. Seven of the eight remaining top votes went to Ted Kluzewski, with Mays teammate Alvin Dark mysteriously getting the last #1 vote (3.6 WAR)

1961 Topps MVP Subset
Apparently Topps Airbrushed Mays' cap. I guess they wanted a photo from the year that the MVP was awarded, but did not want to show the defunct New York Giants logo. Or perhaps they could not for legal reasons.

Regardless it is the rare airbrushing of a card for a player who did not switch teams until a decade later

FTC (For the Collector)
I laid down $9 for this card at a show in 2009. That is probably a bit of an overpay for a card in such marginal condition.

flip

 1961 Topps #482 Willie Mays 1954 MVP

Nice text, there is acknowledgement of Mays' military service in the year immediately prior to his MVP.  Also note that here on the back of the card Topps elects to use the New York Giants team name.

1954 was the first of two MVP awards for Mays, the second coming in 1965. To honor the award Topps placed Mays on card #1 in 1966. This year's Heritage set that homages 1966T paired Mays with current Giants star Buster Posey on Card #1

History Changes

Career Home Run Leaders (games through 2015 04 26 - from Baseball-ref)

The leader board as of press time on April 27 2015. 

Sources and Links
Phungo HoF Index - Willie Mays
Baseball-ref

100th Birthday HoF Joe Gordon

February 18th would have been Joe Gordon's 100th birthday. Not very often we get that milestone out of a Hall of Famer.

1961 Topps #216 Joe Gordon

Joe Gordon was an 1940s era second baseman who played with the Yankees and Indians. His name frequently comes up when analyzing the Sim Scores of Chase Utley.

Gordon was not an original BBWAA Hall of Famer. He fell of the ballot in 1970, eventually getting the nod from the Veterans committee in 2009.   

1960 Topps #216 Joe Gordon (b-side)

The flip of Joe Gordon's card has a couple cartoons that detail his Hall of Fame accomplishments. 

During Gordon's 1942 MVP campaign he was 2nd in the league in WAR to Ted Williams, finishing in the top 10 in BA, OBP, Slugging, Home Runs, RBI and dWAR.

In addition to his MVP trophy, Gordon had lots of team hardware: Between 1938 and 1948 Gordon was part of five World Championship teams four with the Yankees and one with the Indians.

The strongest argument for Joe Gordon being in the Hall of Fame is not his MVP or World Series Ttiles. When Larry Doby became the first African-American player in the AL, Gordon was one of the first players to welcome Doby to the team.

The following excerpt from Joseph Wancho's SABR Bio of Joe Gordon discusses Larry Doby's first game with the Indians.

While most players were cordial, a handful refused to acknowledge Doby or even shake his hand. Doby's feeling of isolation continued after the team moved to the diamond to warm up before the start of the game. "I felt all alone. When we went out on the field to warm up, to play catch, you know the way we always did, no one asked me to play. I just stood there for minutes. It seemed like a long time," recalled Doby. "Then Joe Gordon yelled, 'Hey kid, come on. Throw with me.' That was it. Joe Gordon was a class guy. He'd been a Yankee and the others looked up to him. So when he reached out to me, it really helped."

1960 Topps 
The same image of Gordon is on his 1961 Topps card however, the cap is airbrushed to show him as the Manager of the KC Athletics.

Sources and Links
Baseball-ref
SABR Bio by Joseph Wancho
Topps Card Database

Philly Show 9/28

The Phily Show is all weekend but Team Phungo has been to busy to pitch the event. Hopefully we will be able to make an appearance on Sunday.

1961 Topps #473 Bobby Shantz

For those of you that collect autographs there are a number of former players appearing on Sunday. These players include a number of folks that we have been featuring in our 1964 Phillies retrospective. Scheduled for Sunday are Art Mahaffey, Bobby Wine, Frank Thomas, Costen Shockley Tony Gonzalez and Bobby Shantz  

If you think you will be at the show let me know via email or twitter - would love to meet fellow collectors.

Reviews of Past Philly Shows
2013 December
2012 December
2010 September
2010 March
2009 December
2009 December (special 1959 Topps Edition)
2009 Septembe

Sunday Night Baseball: Dick Groat 1961 Topps #1

This week Sunday Night Baseball makes a rare visit to Pittsburgh. We are marking the occasion by taking a look at 1960s era Pirate.

1961 Topps #1 Dick Groat

I have been wanting to put together a column on Dick Groat for a while. He is an interesting sports figure who remains a Pittsburgh icon.

Dick Groat was raised in the Pittsburgh area prior to going to Duke on a basketball scholarship. At Duke Groat was a two sport athlete, and he was good enough to be an All-American in both hoop and baseball. During his senior season as a basketball player Groat led the nation in both points and assists per game. That same year Groat helped lead the Blue Devils Baseball team to a berth in the  College World Series.

After college Groat signed with the home town Pirates. The talented shortstop made the immediate jump to the majors and never played a day in the minors.  He debuted with the Pirates as a pinch-hitter on June 18 1952.  That same year Dick Groat was also selected 3rd overall in the NBA draft by the Fort Wayne Pistons. Less than 5 months after playing in his first Professional Baseball Game Groat played his first NBA game. Groat played a single season for Ft Wayne averaging just under 12 points per game.

1961 Topps #1
Dick Groat earned the #1 spot in 1961 Topps by winning NL MVP honors in 1960. His qualifications that year including winning the batting title and leading the Bucos to the NL Pennant. The 1960 Pirates are also the team that upset the Yankees in a seven game World Series despite being outscored 55-27. 1960 was the first of two times that Groat would play for a team that would beat the Yankees in seven - he was also a member of the 1964 Cardinals who were led by Bob Gibson's strong performance.  

Pittsburgher - Cager
Following his baseball playing career Groat returned home and to basketball. He is currently (at age 83) a color analyst for the Pitt Panthers. Despite choosing baseball as his sports playing career, Groat accumulated several hoop related accolades. His #10 was the first number retired by the Duke Blue Devils - thing about that for a second - all the great players to come out of the basketball powerhouse and the first to have their number retired was Dick Groat. In 2007 Groat was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the institutions 2nd class.

Sources & links
Topps #1 Club
Baseball: Past and Present
Pitt Panthers
College Basketball Experience
Duke Report
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Baseball-ref
SABR BioProject
Sports-Ref/CBB
The College World Series: A Baseball History 1947-2003

1964 Phillies @ 50: Tony Gonzalez 1961 Topps #93

Today's entry in our 1964 Phillies retrospective takes a look at Cuban Outfielder Tony Gonzalez.

1961 Topps #93 Tony Gonzalez

Tony Gonzalez was the primary centerfielder for the 1964 Phillies. I say primary CF because Gonzalez missed some time in '64 due to injury and he was also platooned with right handed batter Cookie Rojas. Those two issues resulted in Gonzalez getting less than 100 starts, however he did pick up a couple of starts at the corner outfield spots and was able to get into 131 games overall.

Gonzalez was the victim of two major beanings one each in 1963 and '64, which resulted in him having some vision issues.  This appears to have affected his offensive production. Going into 1964 Gonzalez was coming off of a pair of .300+ seasons including a 20 HR campaign in '62. In 1964 his average dropped off to .278 and he hit only 4 homers. His '64 OPS+ of 108 and 2.7 WAR were both respectable numbers but not up to his standards of the previous few seasons.  

The two beanings also led Gonzalez to become the first MLB player to wear a specially designed batting helmet with a molded earflap. Today, of course, the over-ear helmet is mandatory for all players.

Gonzalez remained with the Phillies through the 1968 season after which he was selected in the Expansion Draft by the San Diego Padres.

He was traded to the Braves during the 1969 season. With the Braves Gonzalez made his only playoff appearance in the inaugural NLCS versus the New York Mets. In game one of the series Gonzalez Homered and Doubled off of Hall of Famer Tom Seaver, unfortunately he also committed a critical error late and the Braves lost the game. The Mets would go on to sweep the Braves in 3 games.  

Following his playing career Taylor coached with the Phillies and Angels. In 1985 he was inducted into the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame (although he lives in exile). Today Gonzalez is 77 and still living, reportedly outside Miami (as of 2012). 

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

1964 Philies Series 
Johnny Callison 
Tony Taylor 

1957 Topps #24 Bill Mazeroski (RC)

Bill Mazeroski is the Hall of Fame Shortstop who spent his entire 17 year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He is best known for hitting the game winning Home Run in game 7 of the 1960 World Series to finish the Pirates dramatic upset of the mighty New York Yankees.

The Yankees outscored the Pirates 55-27 in the 1960 series but lost basically because the Bucos took all the tight games while all three of of the Yankees wins were by lopsided scores of 16-3, 12-0, and 10-0.  The Yankees averaged just under eight runs a game for the series and Lost!

Mazeroski's career .260 batting average makes him one of the more debated Hall of Famers. In his 1990 book "Men at Work" George Will dedicates a fair amount of time supporting Mazeroski spot in the Hall based on his defensive prowess.

The stats and advance defensive metrics that may not have been available at the time of the publication of "Men At Work" back up Will's argument.  His career DPs at second are first all time as his his career "Total Zone Runs" His carreer Assist number ranks 3rd all time versus a career error number clear down at 62nd.  He wasn't anemic at the plate accumulating 2000+ Hits. He was a 10 time all-star and part of two Pirates World Series teams (1960, 1971) 

Spending an entire career with one team as Mazeroski did is typically a bonus. Bill Mazeroski has spent a lot of his post career time with the Pirates as well filling in the Ambassador role for a club that has struggled on the field for the past two decades.  In 2001, Eleven years after the publication of "Men at Work" Mazeroski was elected into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Commitee. It was a controversial election and which has led to modifcations to the Vet Comittee voting process.

1957 Topps #24 Bill Mazeroski

When I returned to collecting this BIll Mazeroski Card was one of my first ebay picks.  This card was part of a small lot of Vintage HoF cards I picked up on via auction.  It is in real decent condition was a steal at $3.50.  Recent sales have concluded as low as $7.45.  At least 4 recent auctions of a 1957 Mazeroski finished under $12. A PSA 5 (Excellent) card went for $30. The card topped at $322 for PSA graded 8 (NM-MT). 


1961 Topps #312 1960 World Series Game #7 Mazeroski's Homer Wins It!
Another fine Bill Mazeroski card is the above 1961 Topps Card celebrating Mazeroski's famous Home Run.  This card was purchased for a dollar at a show in 2009.  Probably should dedicate a proper posting to this card alone at some point in the future.

The Original 1961 Topps - All Star Cards

Similar to the new Topps Heritage cards, the All-Star cards for 1961 Topps were found among the High Numbers. Consequently they hard pretty hard to find. In my opinion they are more scarce then the cards issued in the previous three sets (58-60).

There is only one Phillies cards among the 1961 All-Star set and that is card #569 of Frank Herrera. Unfortunately I do not have that card in the Phungo Collection. However, I do have this very nice 1961 All-Star card:



1961 Topps #579 Willie Mays All-Star


The 2010 Heritage cards mimic the 61 design well:
2010 Topps Heritage #498 Johan Santana

The cutout is the same right down to the headlines on the paper. "The Sporting News" has been replaced by "Topps News"


2010 Topps Heritage #498 Johan Santana (b-side)
1961 Topps #579 Willie Mays All-Star(b-side)
click to enlarge

The Flip sides of the 1961 and 2010 Heritage All-Star cards are similar and feature a good paragraph on the featured player. I am particularly impressed with the Heritage cards as most of today's cards are relatively short on copy. One note on the Heritage cards, the All-Star cards have the backs reversed - similar to the base cards which were mentioned previously.

Clones
1970 Topps #461 Carl Yastrzemski All-Star

Topps re-used the paper shredding design for their 1970 All-Star Cards. It is a design I like and I wouldn't mind seeing them bring it back every 10 years or so.

For a look back at some previous Phungo articles on the original 1961 Topps check out these links:

The Phillies
Topps Inserts

1961 Topps Baseball Thrills index

1961 Baseball Thrills is a 10 card subset that runs from #401-410.

1961 Topps #410 Harvey Haddix pitches 12 Perfect Innings

This is an index of postings related to the cards in the subber

401 Thrills - Babe Ruth Hits 60th Homer
402 Thrills - Larsen Pitches Perfect Game SP
403 Thrills - Brooklyn-Boston Play 26-Inning Tie: Leon Cadore / Joe Oeschger
404 Thrills - Hornsby Tops N.L. With .424 Average
405 Thrills - Gehrig Benched After 2130 Games
406 Thrills - Mantle Blasts 565 ft. Home Run
407 Thrills - Jack Chesbro wins 41st Game
408 Thrills - Mathewson Strikes Out 267 Batters SP
409 Thrills - Johnson Hurls 3rd Shutout In 4 Days
410 Thrills - Haddix Pitches 12 Perfect Innings

Sources and Links
Baseball Card Database
Cardboard Connection