1963 FLEER EXTENSION SET: ROGER MARIS

A super fun card to add to my 1963 Fleer extension set, this one of two-time A.L. MVP Roger Maris, at the time owner of the all-time single-season home run record of 61, hit in 1961:

Of course his Yankee tenure resulted in that historic 1961 season that saw him hit "61 in '61", setting a new Major League record with 61 home runs, leading to what was his second straight MVP Award after a wonderful 1960 season that saw him 39 homers and a league-leading 112 RBIs.

By the time he hung them up in 1968, he hit 275 homers with 850 RBIs and 826 runs scored, hitting .260 over 1463 games between 1957 and 1968.

He spent the last two years of his career with the Cardinals after his historic tenure with the New York Yankees.

Talk about "right place at the right time", Maris came to the Cardinals just as they put together a World Championship in 1967, and a return to the World Series in 1968, though that resulted in a loss to the Detroit Tigers.

It's easy to forget that he retired very young, at only 33 years of age.

Would have been cool if he got to play into the mid-70's, just as I was getting into baseball...

 

MINOR LEAGUE DAYS: LEGENDS EDITION- PEE WEE REESE

Time to go and add Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese to my long-running "Minor League Days-Legends Edition" set, which I hope to actually have printed up in the near future:

Found a nice image of him suited up with the Louisville Colonels, his first professional organization, for whom he played in 1938 and 1939.

Over those two seasons he hit .278 with 58 stolen bases and 36 triples, giving everyone a small glimpse into what they'd see over his almost 20 years as a Big Leaguer.

Between 1940 and 1958, playing for only the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, Reese was a mainstay of a team that would continuously fight for the National League crown, reaching the World Series seven times, winning it all in 1955.

Though he'd miss three years to military service between 1943 and 1945, he would still finish his career with 2170 hits, 1338 runs scored and a .269 batting average, with 232 stolen bases and ten All-Star game nods.

Importantly, he was also a calming figure in the integration of baseball when teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson made his debut in 1947, showing his unwavering support as a Southern man, helping quench the racist attitudes thrown and Robinson his first few seasons.

Sadly it took quite some time for Cooperstown to come knocking, as he would wait until 1984 to finally get voted in by the Veteran's Committee.

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: WILLIE MAYS

The next custom card from my "1960s Stars of the Game" set released in 2018 and long sold-out, the great Willie Mays:

The set featured 40 postcard-sized cards with cut-out player cards to mimic the Jello sets of that era.

Fun set to produce, as it even contained a packet of gelatin to complete the set!

What needs to be said about perhaps the greatest player in history?
660 home runs, 3000+ hits, over 2000 runs scored and over 1900 runs batted in, with over 300 stolen bases and a .300+ batting average as well!
He took home the Rookie of the Year Award in 1951, then proceeded to win two Most Valuable Player Awards, the first in 1954 and the second eleven years later in 1965.
Let’s also not forget the 20 all-star nods and 12 Gold Gloves, leaving him in that rarified company of Ruth, Cobb, Aaron and Gehrig as far as accomplishments and legend.
Of course, Hall of Fame voting being what it is, he wasn’t a UNANIMOUS selection because of this silly unspoken rule of “no one gets 100% voting”, something I will NEVER understand.

 

A SET THAT NEVER WAS: 1971 ALL-STAR TICKET SET: BILL FREEHAN

On the blog today, the next American League starter in that classic 1971 All-Star game for my 1971 "Ticket" custom design, Detroit Tigers star and in my opinion, Hall of Fame catcher Bill Freehan:

 

It's safe to say that between Berra and Fisk, Freehan was easily the best catcher in the American League.
With all the superstars on the filed during the decade, it's easy to forget that Freehan was an eleven-time all-star, five-time Gold Glover, and finished in the top-ten in M.V.P. voting three times, with a second place finish in 1968 behind teammate Denny McLain.
1964, his first full year in the Majors, was arguably his finest season, as he hit .300 for the only time in his career along with 18 homers and 80 R.B.I.'s.
But for the rest of the decade Freehan put up comparable numbers year after year, while taking are 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.

A solid player through and through, he'd retire after the 1976 season with a .262 lifetime average, 200 homers and 758 runs batted in over 1774 games and 6073 at-bats.