Thursday, October 31, 2024
"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: WARREN SPAHN
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
REVISITING A POST FROM 2015: MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #27: 1972 AL OLIVER
Fun card to revisit that I originally created back in 2015, my "missing" 1972 In-Action card for "Scoop" Al Oliver, a Hall of Famer in my book:
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
THE WHOLE NINE: SERIES 2- MISSING IN ACTION: 1964 JOE MORGAN
One of the all-timers right there at second base!
Monday, October 28, 2024
NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1975 ART HOWE
Sunday, October 27, 2024
WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" KID NICHOLS
Saturday, October 26, 2024
OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 DAVE ROBERTS
On the blog today, we take a closer look at the image variations for former #1 overall pick Dave Roberts and his 1977 OPC and Topps cards:
Roberts, who was the #1 overall draft pick by the San Diego Padres in 1972 out of the University of Oregon, never really panned out as the star infielder San Diego was hoping for.
In all fairness, that 1972 draft wasn't exactly teeming with stars. You have to go all the way to the third round to find a legitimate "star", those being Dennis Eckersley and Gary Carter. But you DID have Chet Lemon go late in the first round. Oh well...
Regardless, Roberts did manage to stick around with the Padres on the Major League level for four years, but in 1976 he spent the entire year in the minors, not really showing enough to be promoted before the year was up.
In October of 1976 San Diego sold Roberts, along with Dave Hilton and John Scott to the Toronto Blue Jays, seemingly giving up on their failed future star.
With that, Topps went ahead and airbrushed Roberts (along with Hilton, who I profiled earlier on this blog) in a Blue Jays uniform in anticipation of his new team for the upcoming season.
Only problem is Toronto then managed to turn right around and trade Roberts BACK to San Diego for pitcher Jerry Johnson in February of 1977, immediately making this an outdated card before it even came out!
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Topps must have been scratching their heads with this one.
Check out the airbrushed Blue Jay logo on Roberts' cap...a bit on the small side don't you think?
Friday, October 25, 2024
MISSING IN ACTION: 1974 A'S MANAGER CARD-DICK WILLIAMS
On the blog today, we have a "missing" 1974 manager card for the Oakland A's Dick Williams, Hall of Famer who guided the team to their second straight championship in 1973, but was left out of the 1974 Topps set because he was unceremoniously fired by volatile owner Charles Finley:
Thursday, October 24, 2024
THE WHOLE NINE: SERIES 2- 1962 BILL FREEHAN
But for the rest of the decade Freehan put up comparable numbers year after year, while taking care of a Detroit pitching staff that featured guys like McLain, Mickey Lolich and Earl Wilson.
He really was ahead of the rest of the pack as far as A.L. catchers during the decade.
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
REVISITING A 10-YEAR-OLD POST: "MISSING IN ACTION" 1978 DON COLLINS
On the blog today, we revisit a post from 10 years ago, my "missing" 1978 card for pitcher Don Collins, who made his MLB debut with the Atlanta Braves during the 1977 season and really should have had a card in the 1978 set:
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASE BALL CHAMPIONS" DAN BROUTHERS
Monday, October 21, 2024
NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1970 CHIP COULTER
Fun card to add to the WTHBALLS roster/checklist today, a "not so missing" 1970 card for former infielder Chip Coulter of the St. Louis Cardinals:
Sunday, October 20, 2024
WTHBALLS GUM PACK CUSTOM SET: BERT BLYLEVEN
During his great MLB run, he posted 17 seasons of 10+ victories, with a high of 20 in 1973, along with eight 200+ strikeout campaigns and nine with a 2.99 ERA or lower.
By the time the prankster retired after the 1992 season, he finished with 287 wins, a 3.31 ERA, 60 career shutouts and 3701 strikeouts over 692 games and 4970 innings pitched.
After having to wait 14 years, the BBWA finally voted him into the Hall of Fame in 2011, finally claiming a spot which he rightfully deserved.
Saturday, October 19, 2024
WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" JOHN WARD
On the blog today, we spotlight my "19th Century Base Ball Champions" card of Hall of Famer John Montgomery Ward, from my fun custom set released back in 2018 celebrating the stars of the game during Major League Baseball's infancy in the late-1800's:
Friday, October 18, 2024
NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1978 GIL PATTERSON
Thursday, October 17, 2024
REVISITING A POST FROM 2015: "THEN AND NOW" 1974 FELIPE ALOU
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: SANDY KOUFAX
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 MARTY PEREZ
Monday, October 14, 2024
REVISITING A POST FROM 2015: 1975 DEDICATED ROOKIE FOR KEITH HERNANDEZ
Sunday, October 13, 2024
THE WHOLE NINE: SERIES 2- CAREER-CAPPER: 1961 DON NEWCOMBE
Time today to spotlight my 1961 "career-capper" for Don Newcombe, baseball's first Cy Young Award winner, from my recent custom set "The Whole Nine: Series 2":
Saturday, October 12, 2024
WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" JOHN CLARKSON
Today on the blog we take a look at my custom card for Hall of Fame pitcher John Clarkson, from my 2018 "1890 Base Ball Champions" set:
Friday, October 11, 2024
NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1972 RICK STELMASZEK
On the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1972 card for former catcher Rick Stelmaszek, who made his MLB debut in 1971 with a handful of games with the Washington Senators in their last season of play before relocating to Texas as the Rangers:
He’d appear in 22 games for California, one of the MANY catchers the Angels seemed to have at that time, batting .154 for them and a combined .143 between the two organizations.
It was a short-lived tenure with his new team, and he would find himself playing for his hometown Chicago Cubs by the time the 1974 season opened up, playing in 25 games and batting .227 with 10 hits over 56 at-bats while filling in behind the plate.
Those would actually be the last Big League games for Stelmaszek, though he would toil in the Minors for another four years, each year for a different organization, retiring as a player after the 1978 season.
All told, he finished with a .170 batting average, with 15 hits over 88 at-bats in 60 lifetime games, driving in 10 runs while scoring four himself.
Thursday, October 10, 2024
"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: J.R. RICHARD
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 GEORGE SCOTT
Time to put the spotlight on George Scott and his 1977 image variation between his Topps and OPC cards, a classic photo with an airbrush-touch in only the way the 1970s could have given us:
Sadly for the Red Sox, Scott’s production would drop-off, to the point he found himself in Kansas City in 1979, whereas Cecil Cooper went on to a borderline Hall of Fame career with the Brewers through the 1980’s.
Nevertheless, Scott put together an excellent 14-year career that saw him collect just under 2000 hits, 271 home runs and 1051 RBI’s along with eight Gold Gloves for his fielding at first base.
Not bad at all...
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
A RE-DO OF ONE OF MY OWN! 1973 RICK REICHARDT
Time to finally correct a mistake I made way back when with my "missing in action" 1973 card for former Bonus Baby Rick Reichardt, when I mistakenly used an image of Pete Varney.
That is serious playing time to be omitted from the Topps set, so I’m wondering if he just didn’t want to be on a card ala Mike Marshall or Tony Horton around the same time.
Of course, Reichardt is well remembered as a spectacular two-sport superstar at the University of Wisconsin, so much so that a bidding war began by Major League clubs for his services, eventually having him sign a then unheard of $200,000 signing bonus with the (then) Los Angeles Angels of the American League.
This necessitated the development of the Amateur Draft, which began the very next year in hopes of curtailing such a wild scenario as the Reichardt affair.
Sadly for Reichardt, a serious kidney ailment cut short an excellent 1966 season which saw him have a kidney removed, and though he put up some decent numbers from time to time through the rest of his career, he was never the same again, eventually retiring after a single at-bat with the Kansas City Royals in 1974.
His last Topps card was in the 1971 set, which is odd since he really should have had a card from 1972 to 1974.
I actually already created a 1972 “missing” card for him a while back, and once I can find a decent shot of him with the Royals, I plan on doing the same for both 1974 and 1975.
Anyone have good images of him with KC?
Monday, October 7, 2024
REVISITING A POST FROM 2015: MISSING IN ACTION 1974 JOHN STROHMAYER
Good day all!
Sunday, October 6, 2024
THE WHOLE NINE: SERIES 2- 1960 BILLY WILLIAMS
Up on the blog today, from my recent custom "Whole Nine: Series 2" set released a few months back, my 1960 "not really missing" card for the great and underappreciated Billy Williams, "Sweet Swingin' Billy from Whistler":
By the time he retired, he finished with 2711 hits, 1410 runs scored, 426 home runs, 1475 runs batted in and a .290 batting average over 2488 games.
He was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1961, two-time runner-up to the MVP Award (thanks to Johnny Bench each time) in 1970 and 1972 and a six-time All-Star.
What a career he put together, yet always in the shadows of giants like teammate Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente.
Nevertheless, though it took him six years of eligibility to make it, he was elected for a rightful place in Cooperstown in 1987 when he received 85.7% of the vote.
Just a great player all around.
Saturday, October 5, 2024
WTHBALLS "BASEBALL ICONS" SPECIAL SET: AL KALINE
An easy Hall of Fame pick, he was inducted in his first year of eligibility in 1980 with 88.3% of the ballots cast.
“Mr. Tiger” indeed!