Game Dated Cards: 1978 Topps #52 Jim Lonborg

There are so many trading cards that most are never considered deeply. 

One thing that is good about an active social media collecting community is it gives us an opportunity to examine random cards based on the whims of others. This happened to me over the weekend. The V Family(@CollectibleVs) posted a TTM of the 1978 Topps Jim Lonborg card.

1978 Topps #52 Jim Lonborg

1978 Topps has a couple of action cards but not many and I thought "Hey is that Candlestick". It was a Saturday Night and I quickly got a lot of confirmations including one from Night Owl Cards - who did do some research on this fine card and covered the card here. Turns out it is one of several 1978T cards featuring the -Stick. 

Greg had come to the conclusion that the photo was taken during a game played on July 21 1977 which was a Night Game and qualified the card for the NOC Night Games collection. 

I perused the comments on the NOC post and Lo and Behold apparently I had followed up Greg's initial research and basically confirmed his findings adding some Phillies specific background.  

I had obviously forgotten any of this but it does make me happy to find out that I have been looking into game dated cards for eight years now. 

1977 July 21

Not sure how much I looked into the game in 2016, but turns out the game had a crazy twist that involved Lonborg. Philadelphia Inquirer sportswriter Bruce Keidan described the outing with this bit of Hyperbole: 

What was Keidan referring to? See if you can spot what happened here:

It's blurry so here is the baseball-reference link. 

Turns out that Lonborg left the game after 5 innings with the Phillies DOWN 6-0. Manager Danny Ozark sent Tommy Hutton up to pinch hit for Lonborg, who likely went to the shower expecting to take an L. 

But that's not what happened. Look at the line score, the Phillies put up 8 runs in the top of the 6th, they sent 13 batters to the plate. The fatal blow was a bases loaded triple off the bat of pinch hitter Jerry Martin. The Triple was a misjudged line drive towards converted infielder Derrel Thomas who was in his first year as a Center Fielder. 

Here is the detailed account of the scoring from the following days Inquirer:

  

According to Keidan the Phillies turn at-bat, which included 2 pitching changes, lasted 25 minutes. 

Flip

The win referenced in the text on the reverse put the Phillies into the postseason for the first time in over a quarter century. Jim Lonborg pitched a complete game versus in Montreal that day holding the Expos to four hits. A two-out double by Future Hall of Famer Andre Dawson in the sixth inning was the only thing that stood between Lonborg and a shutout.

Lonborg quickly got that run back on his own when he singled home Garry Maddox in the following inning - picking up one of his 43 career RBI. The Phillies big blow came on a 3-Run Homer by Greg Luzinski. 

Lonborg would go on to start two postseason games for the Phillies losing both. He retired in 1979 just missing the 1980 world championship squad.  

This concludes our deep dive into 1978 Topps #52 Jim Lonborg - 2 game dated card columns for the price of 1, and thanks to Night Owl Cards for discovering this card Eight Years ago. 

References and Links

Game Dated Cards Index

Baseball-ref

CollectibleVs

Night Owl Cards

Philadelphia Inquirer (Bruce Keidan)

Happy 70th Birthday Greg Luzinski 1978 OPC #

Today we are noting a milestone birthday for Phillies Slugger Greg Luzinski born on November 22 1950. 

Luzinski remains active with the Phillies in an baseball ambassador role and as namesake for one of the teams signature restaurants "Bull's BBQ"

To mark the Birthday we are going to feature his 1978 OPC card

1978 #42 OPC Greg Luzkinski

I always the All-Star subset. 1978 has its own icon never used before or since - Topps/OPC gave the cards a dash of Red White and Blue on a shield that kind of looks like an Interstate Route Number sign. 

In 1978 Luzinski played in the final of his four consecutive All-Star games. He went 1-2 with an RBI on a Bases Loaded Walk off of Hall of Fame Pitcher Jim Palmer. Of course the 1978 card represents the previous years ASG in which the Bull Homered, also off of Palmer. 

OPC

1978 OPC #42 Greg Luzinski

Typically I would use an OPC card for a column with a Canadian or French Connection. Today my reason is for the card number 42. 

While the Bull is remember for wearing #19 for almost the entirety of his career, when he came up in 1970 he wore the now league-wide retired #42 which happens also to be his OPC card. Six other Phillies wore the number after Luzinski, the most significant of which was Ron Reed. The last player to wear the number as a Phillies Player was Toby Borland. 

Luzinkski 1978T Card number is 420 - significant to some folks for a totally non-baseball reason. 

Phungo Original

1978T Greg Luzinski

I tackled the 1978T card by going pretty vanilla. I elected to not give the sketch a background and had Luzinski's powerful Rawlings Bat busing out of frame. I also added the discrete position of LF to the All-Star Shield. 

Greg Luzinski Index

1971T #439 (rc) 2013 Philadelphia Sports HOF Induction

1977 Topps #30: 1976 ASG +40 

2003 Fleer Ultra All-Vet Stadium #7 Spot the Sig

1971T #439 Card Show Swag

1974 Kellogs 3D Swag from the Phillies Room

1975T Mini Card Show Swag

1978T #420 Year of the Tiger

Sources and Links

1980 Phillies World Champs

Baseball-Ref

MLB

Keith Jackson (1928-2018) Baseball Broadcaster?

Over the weekend we got the sad news of the passing of Sports Announcer Keith Jackson.

1994 Action Packed #66 Keith Jackson (image swiped from COMC)

Most of us know him as the voice of College Football, but he called a variety of sports including baseball.

One of the most famous ballgames he called was game 6 of the 1977 World Series.

That night Reggie Jackson hit 3 Home Runs and the Yankees defeated the Dodgers 8-4 clinching their first World Series Win in 15 years. The TV broadcast of the game can be found on YouTube. I did not check out the entirety of the broadcast, but I did drop into a few spots. It is a good listen despite the fact that Howard Cosell elephants his way into all the big moments. Also of interest is that the third man in the booth is Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver.

1978 Topps #7 RB Reggie Jackson

Reggie's 3 Homer game is commemorated in the 77 Record Breakers Subset at the top of the 1978 Topps.

1978 Topps #7 RB Reggie Jackson (b-side)

The back of the card does a real nice job of summarizing the MANY accomplishments of Reggie Jackson during the 1977 Series. Right at the top we see the 5 Homers hit by Jackson, A record that was matched in 2009 by the Phillies own Chase Utley, however that was in a losing effort.

All three of Reggie's Game 6 Homers can be found on the YouTube link cited above, unfortunately as I mentioned Cosell walks all over Jackson on each Homer.

I always like Newsprint themed cards, not sure this really considered one as there is no Header or dateline. There is a Headline and a tear at the bottom, I suppose that is close enough.

Sources and Links
Reggie Jackson HOF Index
Game Dated Cards 
Baseball-Ref 
imdb
COMC
YouTube
@KevinCooney (Twitter h/t for the heads up on Jackson covering the 1977 WS)

1976 All-Star Game +40: Sparky Anderson 1978 Topps #401

With the Phillies in Cincinnati for Opening Day it gives a chance to look at the leader of the NL All-Star Squad and manager of a Reds squad that placed seven players on the 76 squad.

1978 Topps #401 Sparky Anderson

George Lee "Sparky" Anderson earned the privilege of managing the 1976 All-Star Squad by leading the Reds to capturing the prior years pennant en route to a World Championship. It was the first of three World Series Wins for the Hall of Fame manager who managed in five of them, Four with the Reds and one with the Tigers.

The Five League Pennants meant that Anderson got to helm a like number of All-Star teams. His record was 3-2 in the contests with all 3 of the victories coming for the NL.

The 1976 Reds and their 7 all-stars would go onto win 102 games and the final World Series of their 1970s era dynasty.

Anderson was likely an Hall of Fame manager based on his Reds resume alone, if there was any question an additional World Championship with the 84 Tigers rebuffed most doubts.

1978 Topps Managers
I am a fan of these cards, it is a nice variation on an solid and underated base design. The dual pictures which couples a current photo with a shot of the manager from their playing days is a concept that I would like to see Topps reprise in a flagship set - it doesn't have to happen every year, but we shouldn't have to wait 40 years for it to return. 

Source and Links
1976 All-Star Game Index
Sparky Anderson HoF Index
Baseball-ref
Baseball Almanac

2015 ASG Franchise Four Johnny Bench

Tonight MLB concluded their Franchise Four promotion. It ended with a ceremonial first pitch that was thrown by Don Sutton and caught by the Reds own Johnny Bench.

1978 Topps #700 Johnny Bench

I wouldn't immediately think of Bench at one of the four greatest living players.

Further research has revealed he has the highest career WAR of all catchers in History and he won two World Championships including 1976 when he was Series MVP.

During his 17 year career the first ballot Hall of Famer represented the Reds on 14 All-Star teams at one of the games most grueling positions. 

1978 Topps 
Johnny Bench's 1978T #700 was his second of six hero number cards. Judging by the era and condition of this card I believe it is from the v1.0 Phungo Collection.

Johnny Bench HoF Index 
2011 Topps #198 Legends Variation
2014 Topps Heritage Draft Pick Cards

Sources and Links
2015 ASG Coverage
baseball-ref
baseball card database

Sunday Night Baseball: Dodgers Tom Lasorda 1978 Topps #189

This week Sunday Night Baseball remains in LA for a second consecutive weekend but moves across town to broadcast the Cardinals and Dodgers. Our companion column features Baseball Ambassador Tommy Lasorda

1978 Topps #189 Tom Lasorda

To me he has always been Tommy Lasorda, but the only Topps card that lists him as "Tommy" is his 1954 RC. The eleven Lasorda Manager cards in the Baseball Simulator Topps DB all list the Hall of Fame Manager as "Tom"

Lasorda was elected into the Hall of Fame as a manager by the Veteran's Committee in 1997. His HoF Credentials include 1599 career victories all at the helm of the Dodgers. The pinnacle of those Wins were World Series Championships in 1981 and 1988. During his 18 full seasons the Dodgers won seven division titles and four NL Pennants. In addition to those season Lasorda also at the Dodgers leading the NL West in 1994 prior to the seasons work stoppage. 

His Division wins in 1983 and 1988 won him the Manager of the Year award, an honor he received votes for six times during his career.

1978 Topps

I don't believe Topps will ever release a better looking manager card than 1978T. This is a subset I would like to cover at some point. The recent/archive photo combo is a terrific take on the manager card. 1978 was probably the last moment you could pair a Black & White photo with a color one on a trading card.

flip

1978 Topps #189 Tom Lasorda (b-side)

As you can see Tommy was born in nearby Norristown. Prior to becoming a Dodger Lasorda was initially signed by the Phillies and still has ties in the area.  His family used to own a Bar/Restaurant in Exton PA - among my regrets is never making it out to the eatery which is now Weso's

Baseball Ambassador
Every team should have a Baseball Ambassador, the Phillies have a few: Mike Schmidt, Dallas Green, Gary Matthews, and Greg Luzinski.

Tommy Lasorda at age 87 is less visible than he once was but at one time he fulfilled the ambassador role not just for the Dodgers but for all of Baseball.

We have chronicled several Baseball Ambassadors over the years and I am going to use this Tommy Lasorda posting as an index for those postings:

Phillies
Larry Andersen
Dallas Green
Greg Luzinski
Gary Matthews

Boston Red Sox - Johnny Pesky
Milwaukee Braves/Brewers - Johnny Logan
Minnesota Twins - Kirby Puckett
Pittsburgh Pirates - Bill Mazeroski
Pittsburgh Pirates - Dick Groat


Tommy Lasorda HoF Index
1978 Topps #189
 

Sources and Links
baseball-ref
Baseball Card Database
Weso's

2014 Playoffs: Royals George Brett 1978 Topps #100

The Kansas City Royals return home tonight, Unfortunately for them they are down 3-2 in the best of seven series and facing elimination. Tonight in an effort to help the Royals extend the Series and the season we bring out a Hall of Famer for our posting.

1978 Topps #100 George Brett

We have seen plenty of George Brett during the 2014 World Series and for good reason - 3000 Hits, 300 Homers and a member of the Royals 1985 World Series Team for whom he won ALCS MVP honors.

He is also the Royals only legitimate Hall of Fame Player. They have had a few other players make cameo appearances on the teams HoF register - Kllebrew, Cepeda, and Gaylord Perry - but none of them spent more than a season in Kansas City.

1978 Topps #100
1978 was the first time that George Brett checklisted a Hero Number. It was an honor that Topps gave to Brett 10 times during his career including his return to card #100 in 1985. At one time or another Brett occupied every Hero Number between 100 and 700.

I like a couple of things about this card, first George appears to be enjoying a nice pinch of chewing tobacco - that may be a no-no on a modern baseball card. Secondly I like the All-Star Shield used in 1978T. I believe it is the only year that style of flair was used for All-Stars, it has always evoked a Interstate route number sign for me. 

1978 Topps #100 George Brett (b-side)

On the flip of Brett's 1978T Card his 215 hit 1976 season is noted. 38 years later it still ranks as the Royals 2nd best single season hit total - Willie Wilson eclipsed Brett with 230 hits for the 1980 AL Pennant Champion Royals.

George Brett HoF Index
This posting is going to function as our HoF Indes for George Brett:
1977 Topps #231 Record Breaker Consecutive 3-Hit Games
1982 Topps Kmart #34 1976 All-Star Game/1980 MVP aWARd discussion
1991 Topps #2 RB 3 Batting Titles in 3 Different Decades 
1991 Score #769 HL 3 Batting Titles in 3 Decades
1994 Topps #180
2002 Fleer GOTG Dueling Duos #DD-27 (with Phillies HoF Mike Schmidt)
Phungo Complete HoF Page

Sources & Links
Playoff Teams
Phungo Complete HoF Page
Baseball-ref
Baseball Card Database

Reading the Competition: 1978 Topps #317 Dave Johnson

This week the Phillies are hosting the reigning NL East champion Washington Nationals for a 4 game set. The Nats will be led for one last season by one time Phillies infielder Davey Johnson. 

1978 Topps #317 Dave Johnson

Davey Johnson put together a nice career the bulk of which he spent with the Orioles including two World Championship Teams (1966, 1970). The four time all-star reached the postseason a total of five times, four with the Orioles and once with the 1977 Phillies.

He collected 1200+ hits including 136 homers across 13 seasons. It appears that Davey Johnson was pretty good at working pitchers enabling him to grind out a decent .340 OBP despite only being a .261 hitter. He was also good in the field collecting 3 gold gloves at 2nd base.      

Davey Johnson moved from Baltimore to Atlanta in 1973 and had a truly unique season - As an Oriole he had 66 dingers in just under 3500 ABs. His first year with the Braves he hit 43 (2nd to Willie Stargell 44).  That would be a call for a PED test if it happened today.

As a part time player for the 1977 Phillies Johnson batted .321 with good numbers for his meager 156 ABs.  Those numbers fell off in 1978 he was traded to the Cubs where is playing career ended.

Skipper    
I have no idea what gets a guy into the Hall of Fame as a manager, but I think Davey Johnson may be qualified.  He has managed for five different franchises, and won division titles with four of them. He has won 5 division titles (6 if you count the 1994 Reds strike shortened season) and he of course was the leader of the 1986 Mets squad that beat the Red Sox.  1300+ Wins and counting. 

1967 Topps #363 Dave Johnson

Carded 
Davey Johnson's rookie card is 1965 Topps #473 which is shared with Paul Blair. His 1966 #579 is also a shared card so he doesn't show up solo on a card until 1967 Topps #363  (above). The amazing thing here is after showing up on 2 Rookie Stars cards he finally gets a solo card and it has a rookie cup. This means that Topps issued cards specifying Johnson as a rookie for 3 consecutive years.  The 1957 #363 card is also Johnson's first card that is not part of a more limited hi-number series.

 I think the 1978 Topps card at the top is the only one with Johnson representing the Phillies. His last card as a player is 1979 #513 with the Cubs. My research in the Topps Baseball Card Database indicates that every card lists him as Dave Johnson, rather then the Davey Johnson that I have always heard.

References
Baseball-Ref.com
ebay.com
baseball card database