Radcliffe Bailey: Mound Magician

If you do take in the SuperBowl or promotional programming today you may hear the name Radcliffe Bailey. No he is not a player or coach, he is an Atlanta based artists who has a marquee work in the Mercedes-Benz stadium which is hosting tonight's game.

Bailey has done a few baseball themed works including a piece titled "Mound Magician":  

Mound Magician: Radcliffe Bailey (Nelson-Atkins art museum)

The canvas of the collage is shaped like a baseball field with a #25 in a star at the center which represents Satchel Paige. The number was worn by the future Hall of Famer while a member of the Kansas City Monarchs. Similarly Josh Gibson #20 his shown at home plate. There are a number of other baseball references throughout the picture included a black & white photo in the second base area.

Conduit of Contact: Radcliffe Bailey Atlanta.Net

Radcliffe Bailey's work at Mercedes-Benz stadium is an 84 foot mixed-media behemoth which chronicles the journey of football at Atlanta Historically Black Colleges.  However that is just part of the artwork which also tells the much broader story of the black experience and African-American history.

Sources and Links
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Atlanta Magazine
Atlanta.Net

E - A - G - L - E - S!........................EAGLES!!! !

Loved enjoying the game last night with great friends.

Sports ain't everybody's thing and I get that. Hell, I have lots of other interests: Music, Film, Disc Golf,  Food, Comedy, Trivia, and Theater all quickly come to mind.

But man nights like the Eagles winning the SuperBowl make me feel sorry for folks that just blow off sports entirely.

There is something unique about having watched literally hundreds of games - lots and I mean LOTS of which are meaningless. However the time we all get to spend together before, during, and after those games is far from trivial.

All those games are remembered collectively as good times spent with my Eagles Family. Last Night is the Night that we will remember forever. It was great time and I am glad we got to experience it together.

2009 Topps #91 Jason Peters

 

When I returned to collecting a little over a decade ago I took an interest in just about any type of card, but I quickly realized that I had the most fun when I was focused on Baseball. My football collection is in pretty much a disarray but I was able to dig up a couple of Eagles cards.

 

The Jason Peters above is interesting to me, because he is a 14 year veteran of the NFL and has been with the Eagles for about a decade. Unfortunately for Peters he was injured and did not get to participate in the SuperBowl as a player. However I believe I saw a player bring out his jersey at some point during last nights game. Good stuff to see and it is always good to see the Lineman getting respect out there.

 

Fly Eagles Fly!  

 

Sources and Links

NFL

 

 

SuperBowl 50: Jamie Moyer?

My angle on today's Superbowl is the 50 in #Superbowl50

2009 Upper Deck #300 Jamie Moyer

One of my favorite Phillies is Jamie Moyer and he wore the Number 50 for the 2008 World Series Champions. I don't have many Phillies/Moyer cards where the uniform number is highlighted. In the above 2009 UD card you can see the ID on Moyer's left sleeve. The right sleeve displays a VUK patch to honor the memory of longtime Phillies player and coach John Vukovich.

In addition to the #50 on Moyer's sleeve there is one located at the bottom of the card next to the player position.

I also like this card because it would be a hero number if it was a Topps Card - #300.

2009 Upper Deck #300 Jamie Moyer (b-side)

There is your proof, 300. Of course this is UD so it is not a Hero card, 300 simply falls in a sequence of cards where the majority of Phillies players reside in 2009 UD. Cards 289-302 are all Phils Most of which were members of the 2008 World Series Championship Team.

2012 Topps
There are some cards on different teams that showcase Moyer's  #50 more prominently.

2012 Topps #US123 Jamie Moyer (Orange Parallel - Image Swiped from Ebay)

One of those cards that I am interested in today is a special Moyer card from the 2012 Update Series. In addition to having an easily visible #50 we also see that Jamie Moyer is featured in a Colorado Rockies, a team that share a community with one of today's Superbowl teams, the Denver Broncos.

And the Broncos are the team I will be rooting for today. I am rooting for Peyton Manning to go out a Winner. I fight it often but sometimes I must admit I am older and stories where the old guys win appeal to me.

Returning to the card, it notes Jamie Moyer becoming the Oldest Player to win a game. This game occurred on April 17 2012 versus the San Diego Padres. Moyer would break his own record a month later when he earned the W in a Rockies 6-1 victory over the Diamond Backs on May 16th.

I conclude with a Go Broncos! 

Sources and Links
bdj610s Topps Baseball Card Blog
baseball-ref
baseballcardpedia
ebay tscardstore
mlb
 

The Rolling Stones 2006 February 1

Ten Years Ago I got to see one of my biggest bucket list concerts.

Ticket Stub 2006 February 1 The Rolling Stones in Baltimore

I have been to I am guessing around 200 concerts, but I prefer more intimate (and more affordable) venues, Thus I rarely get to see acts that are the stature of the Rolling Stones.

This Stones reputation comes with very high expectations for me, While I don't know the entirety of their catalog, I of course know all the soundtrack of your life stuff - and some deeper cuts on Albums like Let It Bleed and Exile.

As noted I had very high expectations and was not disappointed. I wouldn't place the show at the top of the list of concerts I have seen but it was definitely in the top tier.

1st Mariner Arena was the smallest venue of the tour (13,000) which some fans would term a club show. We were pretty far from the stage So I would call it small arena, we were under an overhang and sometimes the sound got muddy - one nice touch was that the band had a mobile stage which came out to our side of the arena for a mini-set. Overall I was very happy with the song selection with the setlist including several mandatories for me (Gimme Shelter and Sympathy), surprises like "Get of My Cloud" and closing with and encore of "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Satisfaction"

Another interesting aspect of the show was the timing. It was the Stones last show prior to performing at Halftime of Superbowl XL in Detroit (Steelers 21, Seahawks 10). Two of the three songs that were performed on the National Broadcast were part of the Baltimore concert, "Start Me Up" and "Satisfaction". The Superbowl performance also included "Rough Justice" from the bands 2005 release "A Bigger Bang".

Rolling Stones Index
2014 Topps Heritage #NF-TRS Satisfaction

Sources and Links
VittlesTunes
It's only Rock n Roll
Rolling Stones
Football-Ref

SuperBowl: Ricky Bottalico is Ready for Some Football

Apparently there is some football game on Sunday - Ricky Bottalico is Ready

1998 UD Collector's Choice #204 Ricky Bottalico

Ricky appears to be relaxing in the dugout or bullpen, This shot was likely taken during BP and Botallico won't need to take the field for several hours. I am sure staying loose with a couple of tosses of the old pigskin isn'a a bad idea.

Today Ricky is still in the Phillies family working the the pre- and postgame shows for Phillies broadcasts.


There in no shortage of baseball cards with football references. Among the recent ones is the 2014 Topps card of Mark DeRosa who was a QB at U Penn and also the Sean Doolittle card which features an Oakland Raiders sign.

There are even cards of Hall of Famers working on their football skills.

Sources and Links
Cardboard Icons 
Penn Archives
The Big Lead
Amazon

Tonights Football Game related Posting: 1969 Topps #17 Mike Marshall

The Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks face off over in New Jersey tonight. I am rooting for Seattle, but overall I haven't developed much interest in the game either way. 

50 years ago Seattle didn't have any professional teams, well they probably did but not at the Major level. The Supersonics came in 1967. Then Seattle got BASEBALL. The Seattle Pilots arrived in 1969. The travails of that first team were famously chronicled by Jim Bouton in hsi book Ball Four. 

1969 Topps #17 Mike Marshall 

The first card issued of a Seattle Pilot was the above of relief pitcher Mike Marshall. It is card #17, there are 26 Pilots cards in 1969 Topps, The most notable players are Tommy Davis, Mike Hegan and the Lou Piniella RC (shared with Marv Staehler)

Mike Marshall didn't have much success with the Pilots (3-10, 5.13 ERA). He did eventually find his way to the Dodgers where he became a relief pitching phenomenon. During the 1974 Season he pitched in an impressive 106 games and 208 innings IN RELIEF. The numbers led to a Cy Young award for the then 31 year old righthander.  The Dodgers won the NL Pennant that season but lost to the A's in the World Series. Marshall pitched in all 5 games of the 74 Series. For his career Marshall led the league in Saves 3 times, Games 4, and Games finished 5.    

Phillies
Marshall was originally signed by the Phillies in 1960. He spent 5 minor league seasons in the Phils organization, but only one as a pitcher. Originally Marshall was a shortstop. He hit 32 Home Runs over those 5 years, topping out at 14 for single-A Magic Valley in 1963. Marshall batted .274 in the minors but his average dipped severely at AA and above, likely leading to the position change.  

The time Mike Marshal spent with the Phillies is mentioned on the flip of his 1969 card

1969 Topps #17 Mike Marshall(b-side)

Seattle Pilots
For further info on the cards of the 1969 Pilots check out this great summary post at the 1969 Topps Blog

Sources
Baseball-ref.com
TeamSets4U  
1969 Topps Blog

#SB47 New Orleans LA

Tonight's game is at the Superdome in New Orleans.  

2010 Phungo BFI Andrew Jackson - Jackson Square

There is a park on the edge of the French Quarter, Jackson Square named for Andrew Jackson.  The focal point of the park is a statue of Jackson. Many folks view the Big Easy as just a party town, but there is also a lot of culture and history there as well. It is the home to great music venues, great cuisine and many noted authors. If your a traveler and haven't been there, I suggest you get New Orleans on your to do list.

Enjoy the game, I am sure there will be many shots of New Orleans throughout the evening.

2011 Phungo Cards #45 Poe

I imagine the Superbowl will capture about 50% of my attention tonight. Due to proximity, I have a lot of friends that are Ravens fans and would like to see them win, but I won't be heartbroken regardless of the outcome.

2011 Phungo #45 Poe

This is a pix of the Ravens Mascot Poe at Camden Yards in 2010.  John Harbaugh threw out the first pitch that night.


As noted above I am not real invested in tonight's game but I do hope it's a good and or memorable one.

Either way a week from now we will be talking about spring training.