Wilt Chamberlain HoF Index

This is an Index of our postings related to Overbrook alum Wilt Chamberlain

1961 Fleer Wilt Chamberlain (IA/RC - image swiped from PSA)

Wilt Chamberlain HoF Index

100 point game random thoughts

Don Schwall vs Walt Chamberlain 

Philly Sports HOF inaugural class (2004)

Hoop HOF Index

HOF Gaylord Perry Index

 This is an Index of our postings related to HOF pitcher Gaylord Perry

1962 Topps #199 Gaylord Perry (rc)

1984 Topps #4: 1983 Highlights - Ryan, Carlton and Perry Surpass Johnson for Career Ks

Phungo HOF Index

1996 All-Star Game 25th Anniversary: John Smoltz 2002 Topps #145

Our 2021 year long series is dedicated to the 1996 All-Star Game which occurred at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia 25 years ago. 

My goal is to get 20 or so postings on the subject. Almost anything will be better than the half dozen columns on last years subject, the 1980 World Champion Phillies.

Tonight our first posting is dedicated to Braves Hall of Famer John Smoltz who was bestowed the honor of staring for the National League by his manager Bobby Cox.  

2002 Topps #145 John Smoltz (stolen from amazon)

Smoltz was the first of 9 pitchers involved in the The NLs 6-0 shutout the Junior circuit. Among the hurlers Smoltz was the only pitcher to record more than an inning pitched. He faced 8 batters giving up a pair of hits. Smoltz only strike out was Albert Belle, among the other five batters he retired were four future Hall of Famers: Wade Boggs, Robby Alomar, Cal Ripken, and Pudge Rodriguez. For you advanced stats folks among the 14 pitcher who saw action in the game Smoltz was the WPA Leader with +0.102.

2002 Topps

This is definitely one of my least favorites Topps flagship issues. Don't like the brown/orange border color. It's a shame because I do like the pennant design - and this is the one year where I think Chrome looks better than flagship. 

Chose this one because it ties together two Braves Hall of Famers. The other is Eddie Mathews who passed away in 2001. To Honor Mathews the Braves wore a memorial patch which you can see on Smoltz upper sleeve. It is Eddie Mathews #41 which the Braves retired on July 26 1969. 

Sources and Links

1996 All-Star Game 25th Anniversary

John Smoltz HOF Index

Eddie Mathews HOF Index

Baseball-Ref 

mlb

1959 Topps All-Star #553 Orlando Cepeda - and a BIG cartoon

Last month Orlando Cepeda had to be rushed to the hospital to be treated for a "cardiac incident". Thankfully, according to a SF Gate article the Hall of Fame first baseman has made significant progress towards recovery. 

The scary news got me to check and I realized that I had not yet dedicated a column to Cepeda. Tonight we rectify this issue. 

1959 Topps All-Star #553 Orlando Cepeda

In 1959 Orlando Cepeda made the first of eleven All-Star teams that he would be part of during his 17 year career. 1959 began a four year run that featured two all-star games. Cepeda made all 8 of those teams. Cepeda only appeared in the first of the two 1959 games, with the NL winning the contest 5-4 despite the fact that Cepeda went 0-4.

In addition to the 11 ASG Orlando Cepeda's accolades include a World Champion, four postseason appearances,  an MVP (1967) award and a Rookie of the Year (1958).

And oh yeah that Hall of Fame plaque awarded by the Veterans Committee in 1999.  

The 1959 Topps All-Star cards close the set and were the last to be released for the year. The nice thing about this is that it allows Topps to put out an All-Star set representing the current years game, unfortunately they made some dubious choices in selection.

Orlando Cepeda would appear on two other All-Star cards, 1962 and 1968. In addition to being included in the 1968 ASG set Cepeda was also the subject of that years NL All-Star puzzle.

Flip

1959 Topps All-Star #553 Orlando Cepeda (b-side)

I like the backs of the 1959 Topps All-Stars, The full-size cartoon and fun-fact are nicely done. I also like the Bazooka ad at the bottom.

BIG Cartoon
1959 Topps #535 Orlando Cepeda also happens to be a landmark card. I believe 1959 Topps All-Stars are the first subset to include the full-size cartoon. There are actually 2 cards that precede Cepeda in the 1959 ASG Subset, but those are both managers, The first of which is Fred Haney who is the first oversized cartoon back. However since he is not a player, and neither is #534 Casey Stengel that makes today's featured guest Orlando Cepeda the first player to have an oversized cartoon back - PIONEER! Thanks to Fuji for getting my wheels rolling in this direction.

Other Voices
CommishBob covers this over at his 1959 Topps Blog

Orlando Cepeda Index
1975 Topps  #205 1967 MVP  (with Carl Yastrzemski)


Sources and Links
1959 Topps All-Stars Index 
1968 Topps Blog
1959 Topps 1 f/g card at a time
SF Gate
baseball-ref

Updates
2018 0321 - Added Big Cartoon Paragraph, Thanks Fuji

Happy Birthday & Anniversary Alan Trammell

On Thursday February 21st Alan Trammell celebrates his 60th birthday. His first as a Hall of Famer.

1981 Topps #709 Alan Trammell (pix swiped from Topps Baseball Card Database)

In this photo on his 1981 Topps card the Tigers Shortstop has a "You have Got To be Kidding Me" expression. An expression that many a SABRmetrician had each year when Alan Trammell was rejected for Hall of Fame induction.

This past December after a long wait Alan Trammell was selected for Hall of Fame induction by the latest incarnation of the Veteran's Committees.

Fifteen tallies and Trammell never got more than 50% of the vote. That is an awful lot of NO votes.

Trammell's HOF case is complicated. His career numbers are a tick below the traditional "Hall of Fame Thresholds". Hits = 2365, HR = 185, RBI = 1003. He checked the box on a World Champions and has some All-Star, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger hardware. Unfortunately he did not come up with the MVP, However....

Two years ago in my HOF ballot discussion of Trammell I examined the 1987 MVP award which I felt he deserved over George Bell. While I felt that two candidates were pretty even overall for me one big factor pushed Trammell past Bell. He performed better down the stretch when the players two teams were vying for the same division title.

For my complete Alan Trammell HOF Analysis click here.

1981 Topps
In general I like the 1981T design. I think the use of a cap as the palate for the Team & Position info is unique in the Topps canon. In fact I am not sure baseball cap icons have been used on many sets Topps or otherwise. However, I am not fond of the color combo given the Tigers by Topps. Purple & Black just appear to go together in this format, Works for Rockies Pinstripes but not 1981 Topps.


Flip
Check the Title of this posting. First we mentioned a Birthday, which we covered in the first sentence. But we also specify an Anniversary well...


 
1981 Topps #709 Alan Trammell (b-side)

Check out the first -toon. Yep In addition to being Alan Trammell's 60th Birthday, it is also his Wedding Anniversary. Since the Trammell's Wed on Alan's 20th Birthday it is also a Milestone Wedding Anniversary as well #40.  If Alan is reading this, the gift for the 40th Anniversary is the Ruby.

June 12 1979
The latter cartoon notes a Steal of Home by Trammell during a 9-2 Tigers victory over the Oakland A's. I am not sure, but this steal may be a borderline violation of an unwritten rule. The Tigers had an 8-2 in the bottom of the 8th inning.

The steal was so insignificant that it did not even make the Sporting News Write up for the game.

Although the write up does mention that the game was one of two led by Dick Tracewski who was holding the post on an interim basis until Sparky Anderson could take over. Perhaps Tracewski was trying to get the team in a more aggressive mode prior to Sparky showing up. 

Alan Trammell Index
1980 Topps - 1987 MVP aWARd / 2016 HOF credentials

Sources and Links
Game Dated Cards
Polish Sports Hall of Fame
Sports Illustrated Jay Jaffe 
Baseball-Ref
Topps Baseball Card Database
AnniversaryGift.Org 

Welcon to the Hall of Fame Vladimir Guerrero: 2001 Topps Gallery Heritage #GH10

Today's HOF Recognition posts goes to Vlad Guerrero. He is going in as an Angel but I will think of him more as an Expo. For this reason our Vlad HOF posting features the following Expos card.

2001 Topps Gallery Heritage #GH10 Vladimir Guerrero (image swiped from trading card db)

Topps Gallery returned this past fall and I found the cards pretty meh. For me the apex of  Topps Gallery is the 1965T Homage insert that was produced in 2002. Guerrero is the last of the 10 offerings in the set.

Bill Purdom
The artist responsible for the Guerrero portrait above is the late Bill Purdom who appears to have done the artwork for all ten cards in the set. The paintings are all well done and in my opinion superior to anything I have seen in the latest edition of Gallery.

Purdom has done a number of really cool pieces for various baseball entities including the Hall of Fame. His Phillies related subjects include Robin Roberts and Mike Schmidt during the teams 1976 season when the club hosted the All-Star Game

Mike Schmidt Lithograph by Bill Purdom

During the 1976 season the Phillies celebrated the Bicentennial, among the teams various decorations to honor the occasion is the Happy Birthday sign in Left-Centerfield.

1965 Topps
In addition to the original artwork I like how Topps has brought forward the classic 1965 Design. The colors on the card are really sharp and really pop off the cardboard.

Flip

2001 Topps Gallery Heritage #GH10 Vladimir Guerrero (b-side - image swiped from trading card db)

The design carries through to the back. The blue is significantly brighter than on the originals but that doesn't bother me. 

2001 Topps Gallery Heritage Checklist
GH1 Todd Helton
GH2 Greg Maddux
GH3 Pedro Martinez
GH4 Orlando Cepeda
GH5 Willie McCovey
GH6 Ken Griffey, Jr.
GH7 Alex Rodriguez
GH8 Derek Jeter
GH9 Mark McGwire
GH10 Vladimir Guerrero

I am thinking of building this Set and this posting will be an index for those cards. As things stand it appears this set will have 7 or 8 Hall of Famers. Todd Helton who debuts on the 2019 ballot  and A-Rod are the "Maybe" players while Mark McGwire appears doubtful.

Peanut Gallery
Dime Boxes 1998 Topps #5 and others (top 5)
Orioles Card o The Day 2011 Bowman #167
Sports Card Info 1995 Bowmans Best Refractor #2
Padrographs Custom

Vladimir Guerrero Index
1998 Topps #5 HOF Candidacy / Game Dated 1997 05 21
2012 Heritage #108  Pack Break
2009 UD Rivals #R9 Pack Break

Sources and Links
The Art of the Game
Andrews Mortuary
Tom's Old Days
ebay/brotherly love memorabilia
2014 Heritage/1965 Topps Index
Trading Card Database

1992 Topps #78 Ivan Rodriguez

In recognition of the Phillies Interleague matchup with the Texas Rangers this week we are going to take a look at 2017 Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez

1992 Topps #78 Ivan Rodriguez (rookie cup)

Twenty-Five Years ago Ivan Rodriguez made the 199 Topps All-Star Rookie Team. In 88 Games he batted .264 with three Home Runs. The numbers were good enough to rank 4th in the AL Rookie of the Year voting which was won by Chuck Knoblauch.  

Pudge spent the bulk of his 21 year career with the Texas and he will be the first player enshrined in the Hall of Fame with his primary team listed as the Rangers. He is also the Franchises first rep, as all the Senators inducted are from the DC->Minnesota squad.

Rodriguez was selected for the Hall in his first year of eligibility, although his 76% tally was just one point above the 75% Hall of Fame threshold. Regardless it puts Ivan Rodriguez in the inner circle of Hall of Famers. Of the 15 Catchers in the Hall, I think he and Johnny Bench are the only two to get in on the first ballot.  

 

Catchers are surprisingly under-represented in the Hall. The are 15 Backstops enshrined, which is the lowest of any Batting position other than 3rd Base. 

Flip

1992 Topps #78 Ivan Rodriguez (rookie cup)

I was to lazy to look up a Box for the FSL All-Star game referenced, perhaps I will add it to this posting in the future. I like the fronts of 1992 Topps, but I am not a fan of the wasted space on the back. Do we really need the same picture of the stadium for every player on the team? It is a pretty dumb concept when you think about it, I mean how do you capture a stadium in basically a landscaped thumbnail.

Ivan Rodriguez Index

2010 Phungo #7
2011 Phungo #21
2015 Topps Stadium Club (Blaster Break)

Sources and Links
1992 Topps All-Star Rookie Cup Index
Baseball-Ref

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

ANNIVERSARY: 1987 April 18 Mike Schmidt 500th Home Run

April 18th marks the 30th Anniversary of the day Mike Schmidt joined the 500 Home Run Club.

 

Not only was the Home Run a milestone number, it was also a high impact HR. Entering the 9th inning versus Pittsburgh on the road the Phillies trailed 6-5. Schmidt was scheduled to hit 5th that inning. Fortunately for the Phillies Milt Thompson singled and Von Hayes walked which allowed Mike Schmidt to come to the plate with two outs in the 9th.

 

It was then that Schmidt hit is 500th career Home Run. The Home Run came off of Pirates Pitcher Don Robinson. Former Pirate Kent Tekulve came in for the save and the Phillies went home with a 6-5 victory.  

 

For video of the HR click here.  

 

 

2005 UD #CM-MS Mike Schmidt

 

In 2005 Upper Deck honored the event with a card in their Classic Moments Insert.

 

Nice looking card with the 70s era Phillies Logo I remember from my childhood. The photo does hit one of those minor things that drives me crazy. This game-dated card notes an event that happened in Pittsburgh, however Schmidt is clearly wearing the Phillies Home uniform.  

 

The Classic Moments set consisted of 20 cards three of which are dedicated to Phillies. The two other Philadelphia Reps are Lenny Dykstra and Steve Carlton. The base set for 2005 UD Classics is also noteworthy for having a Ryne Sandberg Phillies Card.  

   

 

2005 UD #CM-MS Mike Schmidt (b-side

 

The blurb on the reverse gives a mini summary of the Home Run with the date of the game nicely ghosted behind the text.

 

As the card states Schmidt was the 15th player to reach the milestone, Thirty years later the 500 club has nearly doubled now containing 27 members. Albert Pujols is the only active player in the club with Miguel Cabrera (448) and Adrian Beltre looming (445) 

  

Phun Phact

After hitting the Home Run Mike Schmidt returned to the field as a SHORTSTOP. Due to a series of late game moves by Manager John Felske both Luis Aquayo and Steve Jeltz were out of the game for the Phillies.  Schmidt filled the vacancy and Rick Schu came into play 3rd Base. Neither player fielde a chance in the 9th inning as Tekulve induced three fly outs.    

 

Sources and Links

Mike Schmidt Index

Game Dated Cards Index

MLB

Upper Deck

Baseball-Ref

Anniversary: 45 Years ago Harmon Killebrew Joins 500 HR Club.

August 10th marks the 45th Anniversary of Harmon Killebrew's 500th Homer. The milestone occurred in the first inning of a Twins 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles

2015 Topps #H-74 Harmon Killebrew 500 Home Runs.

 

The event was honored in Topps 2015 Highlight of the Year insert.

 

2015 Topps #H-74 Harmon Killebrew 500 Home Runs. (b-side)

A brief synopsis on the back of the card also notes that the hit was part of a pretty big day for Killebrew in which he had a pair of Home Runs, both lead changers, and 3 RBIs.


Sources and Links
Phungo Harmon Killebrew HoF Page
Baseball-ref

 

20th Anniversary: 1996 07 09 Philadelphia hosts All-Star Game

Saturday will mark the 20th Anniversary of the 1996 All-Star Game which was hosted by the Philadelphia Phillies.

In the contest which the NL took 6-0 the Philllies were only represented by one player Ricky Botallico, however there was a Hometown Hero involved in the Game.

Mike Piazza from nearby Phoenixville went 2 for 3 with a Homer and a pair of RBI. The performance earned the Dodgers Catcher Game MVP Honors.

1997 Topps #104 Season Hightlights Mike Piazza

Topps noted Piazza's accomplishments with a card in the Highlights Subset of the 1997 Flagship Set.

I will not sloppy Topps this one as Piazza is wearing a Home jersey, which he would have donned for the All-Star game, but I am thinking this shot is from LA during a glorious day game at Chavez Ravine not at Philadelphia creaky old Veterans Stadium.

The front of the card isn't specific the event, however...

1997 Topps #104 Season Hightlights Mike Piazza (b-side)

Nice  blurb on the back including dateline Philadelphia. The Home Run Piazza hit is detailed nicely, in the 70 or so games I saw at the Vet I can only recall a handful of balls that were hit as far as that one.

Finally the card also mentions Piazza Tenure at Phoenixville High - Makes for a nice add to the Phungo Locals collection.

Mike Piazza HoF Index
In a Couple of weeks Piazza will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. This posting will serves as our index of Piazza related postings.

1994 Topps #1 Philly Sports Hall of Fame
2006 Fleer Ultra #HRK15 - Junk of the Month (Padres WTF?)

Phungo Games Collection
I was lucky enough to attend the 1996 All-Star Game and I am very happy to have this Piazza card in the Phungo Games Collection which is indexed here.

As far as I know Topps did not issue All-Star cards in 1996 Update/Traded or 1997 Cards with ASG flairs. This is kind of a bummer as I would love to have more cards to represent that game. 1997 UD did add have a nice ASG logo on their 1997 Series 1 cards, I hope to take a look at those in a future posting or series.

Sources and Links
Phungo Games Index 
1996 ASG Index
Baseball-Ref

Rod Carew HoF Index

Phungo Rod Carew HoF Index
1977 Hostess #3 (Var/SP)
1981 Topps #100
1983 OPC #386 All-Star (DeGumming experiment)
1991 Bowman #3 (1976 ASG +40)

1991 Bowman #3 Rod Carew

Tonight in honor of the Phillies rare trip to Minnesota (and as part of our 1976 All-Star Game Coverage) we take a look at Twins Hall of Famer Rod Carew.

1991 Bowman #3 Rod Carew III

When he played in Philadelphia's Bicentennial All-Star Game Rod Carew was 30 years old and was playing in his 10th major league season.

Incredibly He was also a member of his 10th All-Star Team.

In every one of his eight previous All-Star games (Made team but DNP 1970) Carew played 2nd Base. 1976 was the first mid-summer classic which Carew played at his new position, First Base.

The Seven time batting champion did not fare quite as well in All-Star game play. In 1976 Carew was 0-3 with a walk and a stolen base. At the time the performance brought his career numbers to 2-24 a .083 Batting Average. Quite an anomaly for a player who batted .328 in the regular season through that point in his career.

Carew's All-Star performances would improve during the 2nd half of his career, he finished with a career .244 BA in 48 ABs. His best performances was in 1978 when he had a pair of triples and scored two runs.

1991 Bowman
I went with the 1991 Bowman card over one of the many Rod Carew All-Star cards.

This is because I am fond of the #29 Jersey stamp on the upper right. The flair represents Carew's uniform number that was retired by the Twins on July 19 1987.

Recently Rod Carew suffered a major heart attack, and may possibly need a heard transplant. Subsequently in partnership with the Twins Carew and his wife Rhonda launched a project to raise funds for the American Heart Association - the name of the initiative is The Heart of 29 Campaign.

Flip

1991 Bowman #3 Rod Carew III (b-side)

The post career card highlights Carew's accomplishments during the 1970s including his six batting titles and 1977 MVP award.

Sources and Links
1976 ASG Index
Rod Carew HoF Index
Minnesota Twins
Baseball-ref
Cardboard Connection

Don Sutton HoF index

This is an index of our posts related to Don Sutton and his cards

 

 

1966 Topps Bill Singer Don Sutton (rc)

1968 Topps #103
1986 Donruss Highlights #16 (300th Career Win - 30th Anniversary)


 

Gordie Howe (1928-2016)

Earlier this week we got the news Gordie Howe died at the age of 88.

2008 UD Hit Parade of Champions #HPC-10 Gordie Howe

Here Mr Hockey is featured with the Art Ross and Hart Trophies. The Ross Trophy is awarded to the leagues leading scorer while the Hart Memorial Trophy goes to the MVP. Gordie Howe won each award six times.

The Photo credit is Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty circa 1965.

In 2008 Upper Deck issued the Hit Parade of Champions Insert withing their Retro themed Goudey Offering. The HPC set is based off the 1951 Berk Ross set and contains 30 card featuring subjects from various sports. The cards are undersized measuring slightly larger than 2" x 2".
 

2008 UD Hit Parade of Champions #HPC-10 Gordie Howe (b-side)

Nice Mr Hockey reference on the back of the card. If the date on the photo is correct it was taken 3 years prior to the impressive season referenced on the back of the card.

Mark Howe 

Gordie, Marty and Mark Howe's Jerseys from the Houston Aeros

 
Gordie Howe as a player is from well before my time, but I did get to see him in the local barn once - sort of.

Gordie's Son Mark is a celebrated Philadelphia Flyers Alum. A few years ago the club retired his Number and Mr Hockey came to Philadelphia to be part of the ceremony.

I know it isn't the same as watching the man actually play but let me tell you it was pretty cool to see that man walk out on the ice. It was a great time and made me happy to be a fan - to read more on that ceremony click here.

Other Gordie Howe Tributes and Memorials
Cards that Never Were (1974-74 OPC)
NYT - George Vecsey

Sources and Links
Hockey-Ref
ESPN
Baseball CardPedia
Getty Images 

Happy 70th Birthday Reggie Jackson

On May 18th Reggie Jackson Celebrates his 70th birthday.

2013 Topps Across the Years #ATY-RJ Reggie Jackson 

A few years ago the common insert in A&G was these Across the Years cards that each recognized the birthday of a star player. Nice for a posting regarding a players birthday - Even the cards don't mention the birthday on the card front

Reggie as with any athlete that can be identified by only a single name doesn't need any introduction.

The first ballot Hall of Famer (1993) clouted 563 Home Runs. He was on Four World Series Winners and took home MVP honors in the Fall Classic twice. His regular season accolades include an MVP award in 1973 and four home run titles. He also led the circuit in OPS+ four times including 1969 when he finished first in Offensive WAR with a number of +8.5.

I think he is primarily know for his five years with the Yankees, but he spent twice as much time with the A's. In fact Jackson played 34 more games with the Angels than he did as a Yankee.

One other note on Geography, Reggie Jackson is from Philadelphia. He went to Cheltanham High School just on the edge of the city, yet he is never mentioned in connection with Philly. Never.

All four teams that he played for were in the AL, so Reggie never got to play in Philadelphia. He made 14 all-star teams including every year from 1971-1984 except one, 1976 the year the game was played at the Vet - It was also Jackson's only campaign with the Baltimore Orioles.

flip

2013 Topps Across the Years #ATY-RJ Reggie Jackson (b-side) 

The ATY inserts list a number of other notables that share a birthday with the A-side subject. The other baseball players listed are fellow Haller Brooks Robinson (celebrating birthday number 79) and early 20th century Pirates pitcher Babe Adams (b 1882).

The cards also contain in interesting event from the players date of birth. Appropriate for an Out of the World player Reggie card contains a UFO reference.  A story regarding the UFO sighting can be found here. the Gosta Carlsson on the back of the card is NOT the same person as the Olympic Cyclist.

Sources and Links
Reggie Jackson HoF Index
Topps
baseball-ref
UFO Conjecture
Sports-ref

1976 ASG +40: Joe Morgan 1976 Topps #420

This weekend the Phillies open a nine game homestand with a three game set against the Reds. Forty years ago when the All-Star game was held in Philadelphia the Reds sent an entourage of seven players plus manager Sparky Anderson.

1976 Topps #420 Joe Morgan AS

Among the seven was the teams entire infield including future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan. At the time of the 76 All-Star game Morgan may have been at the height of his 22 year career. He was in the middle of his 2nd consecutive MVP season. The Reds won the World Series during both of Morgan's MVP campaigns. The only folks that separated Joe Morgan from winning both of those MVP awards unanimously were his Reds teammates (Pete Rose 2 Votes in 1976 & George Foster 5, 1976).

And from an advanced stats perspective, the Voters were correct, Joe Morgan was a monster. 1976 was the 5th of  six consecutive seasons in which the second baseman would lead the league in Offensive WAR. Four of those years he would lead all Position Players in WAR, during both MVP years he led all players in WAR.

1976 All-Star Game
Morgan started the game along with the rest of the Reds Infield, He went 1 for 3 including a single off of HoF Pitcher Cafish Hunter in the 3rd. Later in the inning he would score on a Home Run by teammate George Foster.

The 1976 All-Star Game was the 7th of 10 trips to the Mid-Summer Classic including 1972 when he was the Games MVP. Morgan started and played all nine innings of that game, He only picked up one hit, but it was an important one. With one out and Nate Colbert at second base Morgan punched a single off of Dave McNally to drive in the game winning run.

1976 Topps #420 Joe Morgan AS (b-side)

Just posting the b-side so you can see Morgan's 1975 MVP Stat line.

For more on this card and a lot of info on his playing career plus a couple of videos check out Project Baseball 1976.


Sources and Links
1976 ASG 40th Anniversary Index
Joe Morgan HoF Index
Project Baseball 1976
Baseball-Ref

Joe Morgan HoF Index

This is an Index of Cards and Postings related to Joe Morgan

1976 Topps #420 Joe Morgan AS

Joe Morgan HoF Index
1976 Topps #420 (1976 ASG 40th Anniversary)
1984 Topps #705 (NL Active SB Leaders / 1983 NL Champ Series)

ANNIVERSARY: George Brett Sets Record for Consecutive 3-Hit Games

Forty years ago George Brett set a bit of an odd record. He logged 3 or more hits in six consecutive games.

1977 Topps #231 Record Breaker George Brett 

I am a little amazed that in the pre-BigData era that anyone (probably Elias in this case) was able to research this record. The Streak began on May 8 1976 in Baltimore where Brett recorded 3 hits in the last two games of a three game set. The Royals then returned home to face the Twins, Brett collected 3 hits in each of the three games of that series and then he was able to repeat the feat for one game versus the White Sox.

During the six games Brett went 18 for 26 and added a pair of Walks for an average of .692 and an OBP of .714. His long hits were a Double and a Homer for a slugging number of .846.

The Royals went 5-1 during the streak.

Brett's Victims
May 8 vs Orioles - Ken Holtzmanman (2), Doyle Alexander (3rd Hit in 8th inning),
May 9 vs Orioles - F Jim Palmer (2), Ross Grimsley,
May 10 vs Twins - HoF Bert Blyleven (3, Double, 3rd Hit in 8th, but batted in 9th),
May 11 vs Twins - Jim Hughes (2), Tom Burgmeier
May 12 vs Twins - Joe Decker (2), Vic Albury
May 13 vs White Sox - Bart Johnson (2, HR), Francisco Barrios (3rd Hit in 8th Inning

During the streak Brett saw his average rise from .277 to .396. Pretty good for mid May.

 1977 Topps #231 Record Breaker George Brett (b-side)

According to Baseball-Ref the record still stood as of 2009. Although B-Ref also mentions a streak by Dodgers second baseman Ted Sizemore in 1970 that is overlooked by Topps. 

1976 All-Star Game
We ran a column on George Brett and the 1976 ASG previously, just wanted to take this opportunity to post a couple of screenshots and addendums to that post:

George Brett introduced himself as "Ken Brett's baby Brother"

During his first At Bat ABC put up his stats and it is easy to see why Brett made the All-Star game.

Brett tailed off a bit but still ended up leading the league in batting with a BA of only .333. He also led the league in Hits, Triples, Total Bases and Offensive WAR. For a more detailed discussion of the 1976 AL MVP voting check the post from last month. 

Sources and Links
1976 All-Star Game Index
1977 Topps Record Breakers Index
George Brett HoF Index
Baseball-Ref
YouTube - 1976 ASG
Baseball Almanac

1976 ASG +40: Bob Lemon 1956 Topps #255

The Phillies are hosting their first Home Inter-League Series of 2016 this weekend. The rare meeting with the Indians gives us the opportunity to discuss Hall of Famer Bob Lemon as part of our 1976 All-Star Game Anniversary coverage.

1956 Topps #255 Bob Lemon

The 1976 inductees for the Hall of Fame were Pitchers Bob Lemon and the Phillies own Robin Roberts.

As part of the All-Star game festivities the two were made honorary captains for the squads. Lemon who spent his entire career with the Indians was affiliated with the AL while Roberts repped the NL.

Haller
Bob Lemon was a borderline Hall of Famer who had been on the Ballot over a dozen times prior to being elected in 1976. His resume is by a World Championship with the 1948 Indians. Lemon recorded 2 wins in the series including the game six clincher.  The seven time All-Star garnered AL Pitcher of the Year honors from the Sporting News three times, He won 20 games seven times and lead the AL three times. Lemon was a durable starter leading the league in complete games five times, innings four times and Strikeouts and Shutouts once each. 

Lemon spent three years during the early part of his career in the Navy. The time lost was likely a significant consideration for Hall of Fame voters. 

Flip

1956 Topps #255 Bob Lemon (b-side)

I want to start with the last cartoon. I like how they point out Bob Lemon moved from the infield to pitching. The switch was made following Lemon's return from the service. Note that the cartoon has the hitter batting left-handed and the pitcher throwing righty, which matches the description of Mr Lemon.

Now I want to take a look at the middle panel. In the politically correct 21st century I am not sure we would see this cartoon on the back of a baseball card.

Getty Got It
According to the Getty Images archive the posed action shot was taken on September 28 1954, the day prior to game one of the World Series. However, I doubt the accuracy of that info as Lemon is wearing Home White on the card and in the photo and game 1 of the '54 series was played at the Polo Grounds.

However, if the photo is from prior to 1954 Game 1 it is connected to this card in the 1959 Topps Set. Yes that is correct, that is the game in which Willie Mays made "the Catch" at the Polo Grounds.

The Bob Lemon Action Shot is from the Otto Bettmann Collection.

Bob Lemon HoF Index
1978 Topps #574 (As Player/As Manager)

Sources and Links
1976 ASG 40th Anniversary Index
YouTube - 1976 All-Star Game
SABR Bio Jon Barnes
baseball-ref
baseball almanac
Getty Images