Frank Robinson 1934-2019

I have covered Frank Robinson a few times on this blog but not nearly enough. While I never got to see him play, I did get to see an historic game in which he was involved.

2005 Topps Update Nationals Inaugural Lineup #NI-TEAM

The April 2005 game was so historic that Topps honored it with a trading card - It was the first game in the history of the Nationals.

Robinson appears prominently on the card twice. First in the top photo he is at the center to the left of home plate, while the Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel guards the other. The inset photo on the bottom left features Frank Robinson even more prominently. The two images are clearly from different games - note that the smaller picture features the Nats in their Home uniforms at RFK.

The Phillies won the game 8-4 you can read more about the game at the SABR Baseball Game project.

I go into this card more in depth here, but at the time I didn't mention Frank Robinson. 

Tributes
SABR BB Card Blog
1960s Baseball Card Blog 
Fresh Air - Terry Gross Terrific interview (13 mins audio & text) includes Robinson's views on integration/segregation.

Links and Sources
Frank Robinson HOF Index
2005 0404 Nationals inaugural game at Phillies
SABR games project
Baseball-ref

ANNIVERSARY: 10 Years of the Washington Nationals. 2005 Topps Washington Nationals Inaugural Lineup

2015 marks the 10th anniversary of the Washington Nationals Inaugural season.

2005 Topps Update Nationals Inaugural Lineup #NI-TEAM

Topps marked the move of the Expos to DC and becoming the Nationals with a 10 Card insert set that was part of 2005T Update.

There was a card produced for each player in the Nats opening day lineup plus the above team card. The batting order for that game is presented on the bottom center of the card.

Can anyone tell why I love this card?

Check the main image on the card, now look at the cover image for the Phungo Blog above.

Yes both pictures were taken at roughly the same time at different angles. Notice the distance between Charlie Manuel and Jimmy Rollins in both pix.   
 
The Nationals started their history versus the Phillies on the Road, This is not uncommon, it gives the club extra time to work out the kinks of their new Headquarters before having a Home Opener. Team Phungo was enjoying the Phillies Home Opener on that day 10 years ago and as a bonus we got to see the First ever game of the Washington Nationals.

Of course the card is far from perfect.

The 2nd photo on the card is from the Nats Home Opener - note the different uniforms, the RFK stadium wall, and the players standing in a different batting order (Nick Johnson is in the 2 hole behind Brad Wilkerson rather than Christian Guzman)  

Another Quibble with the card is that it is dated April 2nd. The game took place April 4th 2005, which can be seen in the box score.

Flip

2005 Topps Update Nationals Inaugural Lineup #NI-TEAM (b-side)

The B-Side of the card contains a close up of the Nats lineup for that first game and a brief description of the comings and goings of DC teams.

First Pitch
As part of their 10th anniversary the Nationals have a series of events planned. One of their promotions is a bobblehead of their first ever starting pitcher Livan Hernandez. The giveaway is scheduled for May 4th versus the Marlins - No Phillies tie-in.

I do find it amusing that the Nationals have a bobblehead promotion related to a game that was hosted by the Phillies.


Phungo Games

2005 04 04 Game Ticket - Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies

The Nationals Team Card is going to go into one of my favorite Binders, the Phungo Games Collection of cards related to games that we were fortunate enough to attend. Above we have the ticket to that game another nice piece of memorabilia buried in the Phungo Museum.

Update 2019 0219
For a brief posting regarding this card and the great Frank Robinson click here.
For the SABR Games Project description of this game click here.

Sources and Links
Phungo Games
Frank Robinson Memorial
Frank Robinson HOF Index
SABR Games Project (Steven C Weiner)  
Cardboard Connection
Baseball-ref
Washington Post

Updates 
2019 0809 added Frank Robinson related content, added link to SABR Games Project.