2016 Topps the Originals: Duos

Today we take a look at the rather random Dual Player cards of 1967 Heritage
 

1967 Topps #334 Twin Terrors Bob Allison and Harmon Killebrew
Four our cover card we picked this one because the Dual Player cards typically feature 2 players and it’s a Twins Card – get it?

However I am thinking Topps may dump the 'Terror' portion of “Twin Terror” for this cards Heritage counterpart.
 
Future Hall of Famer and 500 HR club member Harmon Killebrew was an obvious choice to represent the Twins. Bob Allison’s qualifications were a bit more wanting, he was coming off of a 70 game 1966 season in which he hit 8 Home Runs, well down from the 28 he averaged from 1959-65.

Flip

#334 Twin Terrors Allison Killebrew (b-side)

Nice bios of each players on the back of the cards. Although 2/3 of the text is dedicated to the lesser accomplished Allison. Regardless it is about twice as many words as I expected to see on the upcoming Heritage Card.
  
More Duos

 The Tigers card features a couple of mega prospects one of which is in the Hall of Fame. 

 

The White Sox came up with one of the weaker combos in the subset. Don Buford is acceptable but Pete Ward is coming off a 1966 season where he batted .219 with 3 dingers.

But for mre the Indians card is the worst of the 1967T Multi-Player subset. "Tribe Thumpers" is NOT alliterative!

Menke would spend some time as Hitting Coach for the Phillies, We probably should dedicate a post to him at some point.

Pretty strong one here - Donn Clendenon batted .299 with 28 Home Runs in 1966. He was just a step behind Willie Stargell (.315, 33 HR), but both were outpaced by teammate Roberto Clemente who won the MVP award in 1966.

We will Definitely be returning to this card in a future posting. 

Over at the 1967 Topps blog there is a write up on the #423 Giants Fence Busters Card that features Mays and McCovey.

Checklist
1967 is a decent edition of this subset, you may recall the 1966 duos were very random and consisted of just five cards. There is a great deal of Randomness in 1967 as well, but it's size (12 cards) and talent makes it a stronger set.

Team	1967 Topps	2016 Heritage
Cardinals	#63 Card Clubbers Brock/Flood	#63 Stephen Piscotty - Matt Carpenter
Indians	#109 Tribe Thumpers Colavito Wagner	109 Francisco Lindor - Jason Kipnis
White Sox	#143 Sox Sockers Ward Buford	#143 Josh Reddick (Oakland Athletics)
Mets	#186 Mets Maulers - Kranepool Swoboda	#186 Curtis Granderson - Juan Lagares
Tigers	#216 Bengal Belters Cash Kaline	#216 Ian Kinsler - Miguel Cabrera
Pirates	#266 Pitt Power – Stargell Clendenon	#266 Starling Marte - Andrew McCutchen
Phillies	#309 Hurlers Beware Callison Allen	#309 Maikel Franco - Ryan Howard
Twins	#334 Twins Terrors Allison Killebrew	#334 Miguel Sano - Byron Buxton
Braves	#396 Altanta Aces Menke Cloninger	#396 Nick Markakis  (solo?)
Giants	#423 Fence Busters – Mays McCovey	#423 Brandon Belt (solo?)
Indians	#463 Hill Aces McDowell Siebert	#463 Josh Hamilton - Texas
Orioles	#521 Bird Bombers Powell Blefray	na
Orioles	#1 Robinson Bauer Robinson	#1 Moustakas Escobar Hosmer

Last week we got a glimpse at the 2016 Heritage Checker for comparison. We have added the list here for comparison. To me the originals win on almost every card - the exceptions are possibly #109 Indians, #216 Tigers (close call), and amazingly Phillies (2008 WSC puts Howard over Dick Allen). 

Quick note on the Mets card, Topps has a run of Rookie Pairs that run from 161-190 that they interrupted to match Granderson/Lagares with Kranepool/Swaboda. One may make the argument that the Heritage card should win the Met battle, for me the 1999 SI Greats of the Game card w/ Ed Kranepool eating the Fried Chicken Dinner gives the edge to 1967T.

Sources and Links
1967 Topps/2016 Heritage Index
Harmon Killebrew HoF Index
1967 Topps Blog
Cardboard Connection 
Terapeak
Baseball-ref
Pnilly Inquirer

1954 Topps #201 Al Kaline RC

The Tigers are on Sunday Night Baseball this week which is an excellent opportunity for Team Phungo to show off a nice recent purchase.

We have a card show circuit that runs on weekends at local malls. Often the selection is pretty poor and the trip can be a wasted couple of hours.

However occasionally you find something...

1954 Topps #201 Al Kaline (rc)

I first saw the Kaline RC a few weeks ago and wasn't sure if I was ready to take the big plunge into building 1954T, a set I have been slowly hoarding cards for over the last few years.

The nice thing about the card shows returning every week is that if I see a card week one, and I am undecided about picking it up I can think about it buy it the following week.

That is what happened here. I decided at some point during the week to pick up the card if it was still available. I also consulted one of the leading authorities on cards - Twitter.  I simply posted.

Off condition 1954T Al Kaline RC $75,  Buy or Pass?  Soft corners edges,  minor creasing scuffs.

— phungo (@phungo2008) May 1, 2015

and I got one response

@phungo2008 holy crap buy all day buy buy buy buy buy buy and ask 'em if they have a crappy Aaron too

— Ugly Hyena Junkie (@CardJunk) May 1, 2015

I would categorize that as an enthusiastic yes, and I appreciated the feedback. If I was on the fence, It felt good to know there was somebody out there as nuts as me - Even if it was just a ploy to get me to pick up a Aaron RC beater.


1954 Topps
This is a great set, I love the bright colors and the small B/W photo. Team Logos are prominent but not oversized.

Kaline is one of three prominent RCs in 1954 Topps, the other two are Hank Aaron and Ernie Banks. That is one of the primary reason I am considering building the set.

No one has to explain the specialness of the 1954 Rookie Card Class. All three are first ballot guys, Kaline and Banks both spent their entire careers with one club and they are identified as such, Mr Tiger and Mr Cub Respectively.  

1954 Topps #201 Al Kaline (rc b-side)

When this card was issued Kaline was just 20 years old. He was a bonus baby and went directly to the majors. His December 19 1934 birthday is likely the most recent in the 1954 set.

HoF profile
Al Kaline's 3007 career hits made him a first ballot Hall of Famer in 2007. His Credentials go far beyond that single number. The 18 time all-star Spent his entire career with the Tigers including the teams Pennant Winning 1968 season. He won a batting title in 1955, Led the league in slugging in 1959 and collected 10 gold gloves (Ranks #3 behind Mays and Clemente).  His 399 career Home Runs rank 52nd all-time.

Kaline never won an MVP award but he was runner up twice, both times to Yankees Catchers (Yogi in 1955, Elston Howard in 1963).  In each year Kaline at a higher WAR number then the winner but in neither year did he lead the AL in WAR.

Baltimore
I also wanted to note that Al Kaline has roots in nearby Baltimore where he was born and attended school. He was inducted into the Maryland State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1972, He was still an active im the majors at the time.

Sources and Links
Phungo Al Kaline HoF Index 
baseball-ref
SABR bio by  Nick Waddell
Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame

2015 Heritage First Look - I am obsessed with PATCHES

Successfully avoided Target for a week after Heritage's release this year, but finally gave in earlier this week. Overall I was happy with look and feel of the cards. Here are the highlights from 3 purchases - 1 Blaster, 1 Rack, 1 Loose Pack.

please excuse the meh photo quality, these are Quick and Dirty shots under low light, Hopefully will revisit Heritage a little more in the upcoming weeks.

First Pack

2015 Heritage Glen Perkins

2015H First card is a nice one of Twins Pitcher Glen Perkins. I like the ASG patch on his cap. Late we will see this repeated on the card of Perkins Teammate Kyle Gibson/

Alicides Escobar
Brian McCann
Curtis Granderson (b-side)
Kelvin Herrera

Pack 1 was a Royals hot pack. Have been a fan of Herrera since seeing him pitch at Wilmington DE a few years back.

Kendrys Morales
Derek Holland
Mark Buehrle
Rookie Stars (John Holdkon RJ Alvarez)

There are far too many of the rookie stars representing two ball clubs. I appreciate Topps trying to carry the banner motif to both sides of the card, but it looks lame. On the other hand, I do like the Mark Buehrle card. Good shot of a deserving veteran.

Highlights from other packs
No Phils or hits in the first pack, but did find a few in the remaining pickups.

First Phillies card

Ryne Sandberg

It's a Phil, but not a player - although he was a Hall of Fame player prior to being a manager. As the Phillies Rooom pointed out, it is a little sad that Topps neglected matching the capitalization on the original 1966T cards.

Flair

Freddie Freeman
Steve Pearce
Nick Castellanos
Kyle Gibson

I really like all the special patches that are on MLB unis these days. Here we have Freddie Freeman with Hank Aaron 715 HR anniversary swag. Steve Pearce has a patch honoring the memory of Orioles minority owner and author Tom Clancy. Kyle Gibson has the ASG patch mentioned at the top of this post.

No patch for Nick Casteallanos but I wanted to post a Rookie Cup card, which reminds me - Are there any RC logos in 2015 Heritage. I didn't recall seeing any in the lot I picked up. 

SPs and New Age

Jacob DeGrom
Alex Gordon
#NAP 15 - Javier Baez
Chris Carter

Three Hi numbers and an NAP. There are 75 Hi SPs in Heritage, kind of curious if there is a disproportionate number of stars in the range. Future post possibility.

Flashbacks

#NF-5 Jimi Hendrix
#BF-6 Al Kaline

The top card notes the date the Experience was formed by Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding, and Mitch Mitchell , October 12 1966.

The Al Kaline card refers to a game a few weeks earlier on September 28th. Kaline hit a pair of Homers including a 10th inning shot which was the difference. The card does not mention that Kaline also had a stolen base and outfield assist in the game. 

Then and Now

#TN-9 Sandy Koufax and David Price

Not a fan of this card, also saving that up for a future post.

Target Only

2015 Topps Heritage #NR-4 Nolan Ryan A Legend Begins

This card is dedicated to Ryan's second no-hitter, July 15 1973. There are 15 cards in the Target Only set, this is the first where Ryan reps the Angels. 

MMMM Serial

2015 Topps Heritage Chrome #THC-441 Dee Gordon (#d 383/999)


I think the Topps Heritage Chrome inserts come 1 in 23 packs.

Relic

2015 Heritage Clubhouse Collection #CCR-MS Max Scherzer

So yeah the hit of the box and the Chrome card are both cards of players that have changed teams. bleck.

By the Numbers
1 Blaster (71 Cards)
1 rack pack (20 Cards)
1 standard pack (9 cards)

forgive me but I forgot to track pricing but my guess is $29 for the bounty ($20-Blaster,  $6-Rack, $3-single)

100 cards
2 Duplicates

3 Phillies
3 Hi Numbers
5 Inserts
1 Chrome
1 Relic

25 Teams represented (Snubs for Brewers, Rockies, Rays, White Sox, and Mariners) 

Phungo Verdict
As I mentioned above, I am happy with this years set. This may be due to low expectations. 1966 is one of the blander Topps releases. But I think Topps has done a good job of mixing in some semi-action shots and featuring more than the standard headshots of the original sets. Solid photography has caught some players in interesting moments and as I have noted, I like seeing several cards with interesting patches and uniform flair.

Sources & Links
1966 Topps/2015 Heritage Index
the Phillies Room
Cardboard Connection
baseball-ref

Al Kaline 80th Birthday

On Friday December 19th Al Kaline will celebrate his milestone 80th Birthday.

1959 Topps #463 Baseball Thrills Al Kaline 

60 years ago on this date Al Kaline turned 20, the following year he would pace the American League with 200 hits and a .340 batting average. The above 1959T card celebrates Kaline's batting title.  Kaline finished 2nd in the MVP voting that season, the award went to Yankee catcher Yogi Berra.

We have already featured this card in July of 2013, but I wanted to put up a fun card for Kaline's birthday, additionally this is one of the 1959 Topps BT cards that we have yet to cover in our subset series.

1959 Topps #463 Baseball Thrills Al Kaline (b-side)

The flip side of the card goes into some more detail on the first few seasons of Kaline's Hall of Fame career. 

In 1955 Al Kaline was the youngest Batting Champ and I believe he remains the player with that distinction today almost 60 years later. That season he collected 200 of his 3007 hits.

The 15 time all star played his entire 22 year career with the Tigers, Winning a World Series Title in 1968. His career 92.5 WAR ranks 7th all time among Right Fielders.

Happy 80th birthday to one of the all-time greats

1959 Topps
This card is examined in more detail over at the Commish Bob's Site 1959 Topps one f/g card at a time

Al Kaline HoF Index
1954 Topps #201 (rc)
1959 Topps #463 (RTC posting from 2013 July)
1965 Topps Embossed #13
2008 Donruss Threads #23
Kaline's SABR bio can be found here


Sources and Links
1959 Topps Baseball Thrills
Phungo HoF Index
baseball-ref

2014 Heritage the Originals - 1965 Topps Embossed #13 Al Kaline

Congrats to all who guessed Al Kaline

1965 Topps Embossed #13 Al Kaline

As I noted earlier today, I have no idea how you would figure out who this is without the name attached. Al Kaline is age 79 now, and if somebody told me the image on this card was of a 79 year old man, I would believe them. The image looks closer to a groundskeeper from "Eight Men Out" then he does to a mid-1960s All-Star ballplayer.  

The original 1965 Topps Embossed cards were inserted randomly to regular packs. Similarly their 2014 Heritage counterparts will be inserts. The set size is not very similar, In 1965 the set consisted of 72 cards. The present day checker consists of 15 cards, which leads me to believe that these will be a pretty tough Heritage pull. The Dodgers get 3 Reps in the small set, with the Tigers, Orioles and Yankees all posting 2. None of the 15 players in Heritage Embossed are Phillies, but they need not be upset - The World Champion Boston Red Sox and NL Champion Cardinals also came up empty as well.  

1965 Topps/2014 Heritage Index   

Base - #534 John Herrnstein 

Rookie Cup - #460 Dick Allen 

Rookie Stars - #282 Dick Estelle & Masanori Murakami 

League Leaders - #4 HRs Mays, B Williams, Callison, Cepeda, Jim Hart

World Series - #139 The Cards Celebrate

2010 Topps Vintage Collection - #VLC2 Johnny Mize

 

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 & Links
Phungo Al Kaline HoF Index
Cardboard Connection
Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards

Reading the Competition: 1959 Topps #463 Baseball Thrills Al Kaline

With the Phillies making a rare trip out to Detroit today we take a look at a great subset card of Tigers Hall of Famer Al Kaline.

1959 Topps #463 Baseball Thrills Al Kaline

I have a particular fondness for this Topps Subset.  I believe it is the first subset of cards other than All-Star cards featured in 1958 and rookies in 1959. There are a couple of other Futures HoFs in the set including Mantle, Mays, and Ernie Banks.

Curiously the Baseball Thrills go back further than the previous season.  This one goes back 4 years to the 1955 campaign in which Al Kaline won the batting title at age 20. This is documented on the back of the card in a psuedo-newspaper format which I am a sucker for.  

1959 Topps #463 Baseball Thrills Al Kaline (b-side - click to enlarge)

I think this might be the first baseball card set to ever echo the newspaper theme. not sure.  probably should verify with Night Owl. 

Al Kaline won a batting title at age 20, but then never accomplished the feat again. It isn't that he was a one year wonder, he just didn't repeat the feat.  We have covered his career numbers a bit more in depth here. 

FTC - Baseball Thrills

The Baseball Thrills Subset of 1959 Topps consists of 9 cards that run from #461-470. Al Kaline is the 3rd card of the set at #463.  The card shown above was picked up for $3.50 at a card show in 2011. It has the pencil mark on the back but in otherwise good shape. Current Lobay auction for #463 finished at $2.49 shipped.  

I am too busy to add the graded card pricing at this time, but may return to that at some point. 

Sources & Links

Phungo Al Kaline HoF Index

baseball-ref.com

baseball card database

ebay.com

Card Show Report 2011 12 03 - Philly Show, Valley Forge PA

The December edition of the Philly Show was a real success for Team Phungo.  I was real happy with results of the vintage bins I checked out.  Here are some of the Highlights: 


1959 Topps

Ernie Banks All-Star $6.00
Al Kaline Baseball Thrills $3.50
Commons Gus Bell 0.50, $1 for the Rest - I did spy a Solly Drake for 50 cents after I had already picked up the one above. 

The quest to complete 1959 Topps set is in the home stretch.  Going into the show I needed 20 cards to finsh the set, knocking out 35% of the cards on my want list in a matter of  a few hours was a complete victory.


 Phillies Vintage Bowmans

 This is a section of the Phungo collection that I plan on taking more seriously.  I have completed the 1948 Bowman Phils Set (all 2 cards of it) and have a lot of the 1955 set. The rest of the years are pretty sparse.  Most of the above cards went for $2-$5 each.  The commons were $1 or $2 while the High Numbers went for $5.  The Highlight in there is the 1955 Del Ennis Card ($2.50).

Other Phils Vintage

1963 Fleer Clay Dalrymple ($2)
1940 Playball Syl Johnson ($5)

The Dalrymple is my first 63 Fleer.  $5 for a card that is older then my parents is a buy. The 1940 Phillies Play Ball Set is likely hard to build, it is 15 cards.  One of the 15 is Chuck Klein, which I would imagine commands a bit of a price tag.


Hall of Famers

1969 Topps Willie McCovey
1969 Topps Phil Niekro 
1970 Topps AL HR League Leaders (Killebrew/F Howard/Reggie)
1970 Topps NL Battling LL (Pete Rose, Clemente, Cleon Jones) 

The first 3 cards were all 3 for a buck - The Rose/Clemente LL card went for a dollar. A stinking Dollar for Pete Rose and Roberto Clemente on a League Leaders card - That is like stealing.

The McCovey Card is in rough condition but the others are pretty decent the 1970 cards are in real good shape.

etc

1965 Topps Masanori Murakami RC (0.50)

This is a card I have always wanted but never was interested in throwing down real money for.  Masanori Murakami is the first Japanese player ever to play for Baseball in the US at the Major League level - 30+ years prior to Ichiro.  Murakami had some success with the Giants in his only season in the Majors but was forced to return to Japan due to a contract squabble involving his Japanese team.

Murakami is still alive at the age of 67.  The Giants honored him with a bobblehead at a game in 2008.  More info on his wiki.

Links
Willie McCovey Index
 

Hall of Fame Thusday - ALKALINE

I have been examining the 08 Donruss Threads cards and the players first and last names are certainly squished together. There is less then a half space in there like it’s a person’s work email address where they just combine the names. This card of Al Kaline is a great example. It’s always been spelled ALKALINE, but I doubt it ever has been more evident than in 2008 Donruss Threads.


2008 Donruss Threads #23 Al Kaline

Al Kaline played his entire career with the Detroit Tigers and has been dubbed Mr Tiger. His career stretched from 1953 through 1974. Kaline’s 3007 hits made him a first ballot Hall of Famer. 399 of those hits were Home Runs. The 18 time all-star also played for the 1968 World Series Champion Tigers. He batted .379 with a pair of homers in the seven game series.

Kaline still lives in Detroit and is active in his community. He has held various positions in the Tigers organization and was selected to present the line-up cards for the final game at Tiger Stadium on September 27th 1999.

Today Phungo is happy to present Al Kaline on Hall of Fame Thursday.

Sources & Links
Phungo Al Kaline HoF Index
Baseball-ref