"MISSING" 1969 DECKLE REGGIE JACKSON

Up on the blog today, my "missing" 1969 Deckle Edge card for "Mr. October", Reggie Jackson, from my custom 1969 "Gimmie A Do-Over" set released a few months back:

Really a fun insert to create for that set, as I had to manually hand-cut the deckle edging for each and every one of these to insert into my packs.

Truly one of the eternal icons of the game, the man was just destined for baseball greatness since his days at Cheltenham High School in Pennsylvania.
Recruited by pro teams and colleges alike, he went on to Arizona State where he was actually on a football scholarship.
Of course we all know the story of the 1966 amateur draft, where the New York Mets held the #1 pick, and opted for high school catcher Steve Chilcott instead of who many considered the true #1 overall amateur, Jackson.
With the second pick, the Kansas City Athletics (later Oakland) picked the slugger and the rest is history, as he would eventually lead the organization to three straight championships between 1972-1974 before being traded in a blockbuster to the Baltimore Orioles where he’d play for one season in 1976.
As a highly coveted free agent before the 1977 season, Jackson signed with the New York Yankees, and with Reggie in NYC, the legend exploded as he helped the Yankees to two championships in 1977-78.
With his larger than life persona, New York ate it up and before you knew it, he was known around the world, even getting his own candy-bar by the end of the decade.
For a kid like me growing up in Brooklyn in the ‘70’s, Reggie was like a God, larger than life, and before he finished up his career in 1987, putting in 21 seasons, he would put together a Hall of Fame career with 563 homers, 1702 runs batted in, an MVP Award in 1973, and five championships.
Add to that 14 all-star nods, four home run titles, a legendary homer in the 1971 All-Star Game against Dock Ellis, his 1977 World Series performance, and you can see why he goes down as one of the most well-known baseball personalities the game has ever seen!

1969 "DO-OVER" CUSTOM SET: JIM KAAT

Good day all!

On the blog today, my do-over for Hall of Famer Jim Kaat and his 1969 card, from my custom "1969 Gimmie A Do-Over" set released towards the end of last year:

While Topps reused an image for Kaat on their 1969 card, I went ahead and found another one to give it a bit of a refresh.

Kaat came up to the Majors as a 20-year-old in 1959 with the Washington Senators, developing into an All-Star starter when the organization moved to Minnesota and became the Twins.
If there were a Cy Young winner for both leagues in place for the 1965 season, he most likely would have taken home the trophy when he posted a league-leading 25 wins to go along with a 2.75 ERA and 205 strikeouts for the American League champs.
After being selected off waivers by the Chicago White Sox in 1973, he’d go on to post two straight 20-win seasons in 1974 and 1975, before moving on to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1976.
In 1979, at the age of 40, he’d transition to the bullpen, where he would carve out a niche for himself as a reliable reliever, pitching another five seasons, finishing up with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1983, fresh off a World Championship in 1982.
One of the greatest fielding pitchers the game has ever seen, Kaat took home 16 straight Gold Glove Awards between 1962 and 1977. Incredible.
By the time he retired as a player, he appeared in 898 games, posted a record of 283-237 along with a 3.45 ERA and 2461 strikeouts, as well as 31 shutouts and 17 saves.
The man is a walking baseball resource who still shares his knowledge of the game. His time as a New York Yankees announcer was one of my favorites alongside other former players like Ken Singleton and Bill White.

969 "DO-OVER" SET: KEN HARRELSON

Today's blog post spotlights my 1969 do-over for Ken Harrelson, from my recent custom set, replacing the comically old image used by Topps on his original card:

If you remember the original, Harrelson was clearly still in a Kansas City A's uniform, a team he hadn't played for since 1967.

The rescuing of images was common for Topps during this era, as they were embroiled in a licensing squabble with the MLBPA at the time.

Harrelson was coming off his finest season in the Majors when this card would have seen the light of day, leading the American League with 109 runs batted in while slugging 35 homers for the Boston Red Sox, good for a third place finish in the MVP race when all was said and done.

He finished his nine-year MLB career with 131 homers, 421 RBIs and 374 runs scored over 900 games and only 2941 at-bats.
Of course, Harrelson is truly remembered by all fans as a broadcaster, something he has done for over 40 years with a General Manager break in the mid-80’s with the Chicago White Sox.
A true baseball character, the out-spoken Harrelson has had quite the interesting career in baseball, as a player and broadcaster, leading to some funny and sometimes controversial moments.
Worth a quick read-up if you have a minute and are not familiar.

1969 "DO-OVER" SET: JOE MORGAN

Good day everyone!

On the blog today, we spotlight my 1969 "redo" for the great Joe Morgan, from my recent "1969 Gimmie a Do-Over" set from a few months back:

Just a nice image of the great second baseman that wasn't a reused image like Topps had out there way back when!

For Mr. Morgan, the man was just beginning a run that would send him straight to the Hall of Fame, still with his original team before eventually helping to build a juggernaut of a team forever known as the "Big Red Machine" when he was dealt to the Cincinnati Reds before the 1972 season in a blockbuster trade.

Those Reds teams would win two straight World Series in 1975 and 1976, and field teams with the likes of Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, George Foster and Ken Griffey Sr.

By the time he retired after the 1984 season at the age of 40, he finished with two MVP Awards, 10 All-Star nods, five Gold Gloves, 2517 hits, 1650 runs scored, 268 homers and a cool 689 stolen bases with 1865 walks.
One of the all-timers right there at second base!

1969 "DO-OVER" SET: JIM BUNNING

Today on the blog, we spotlight my "do-over" for Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning and his 1969 card, from my custom 1969 "Gimmie-A-Do Over" set released a few months ago:

Really happy to finally "fix" a bunch of the cards from my birth-year set that saw Topps reuse images from previous years, or use an image that was terribly outdated due to a licensing issue with the MLBPA.

As a baseball player he put in 17-years of all-star play, winning 20 games once, but putting together four 19-win seasons along with three 17-win seasons, while leading his league in strikeouts three times and shutouts twice.
The seven-time all-star threw a no-hitter in each league, with his National League no-no a perfect game against the New York Mets in 1964.
He also won 100-games in each league, becoming the first to do so since the great Cy Young at the beginning of the 20th Century.
In 1996, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining contemporaries such as Juan Marichal, Sandy Koufax and Whitey Ford.
By then he was already a Representative of Kentucky’s 4th District  for nine years before becoming a State Senator in 1999, a position he would hold until January 2011.
A great life to say the least. Though I like to think of it as incredible actually. To do any ONE of these things he accomplished is a life’s great achievement, and Bunning did them all.
Amazing man.

1969 "DO-OVER" SET: AURELIO RODRIGUEZ

Today on the blog, another card from my recently released "1969 Gimmie-A-Do Over" set, finally correcting the famous "bat-boy" image error Topps made way back when on the Aurelio Rodriguez card where they actually had the California Angels bat boy Leonard Garcia depicted:

Fixed

As released showing bat boy Leonard Garcia

I found a nice image of the Gold Glove infielder from that period and replaced it here, giving us a long overdue "fix" to an admittedly classic Topps error that was never corrected by them.

Rodriguez put in a nice 17-year Major league career beginning in 1967 as a nineteen-year-old, famously becoming the first third baseman NOT named Brooks Robinson taking home a Gold Glove in 17 years when he did just that in 1976 as a member of the Detroit Tigers.

By the time he retired after the 1983 season, he finished with a career .237 batting average, with 1570 hits in 6611 at-bats, with 124 homers and 648 runs batted in over 2017 games, playing for seven teams.

1969 "DO-OVER" SET: LUIS APARICIO

Up on the blog today, we take a look at my "redo" for Luis Aparicio and his 1969 card, fixing the reuse of images Topps had originally put out there due to their spat with the MLBPA:

Part of my recent custom set released a few months back, I went and corrected images for a dozen players who suffered the image duplication that kids were bummed to see as they ripped open wax way back when.

Even as a young collector by the late-70s/early-80s when I was beginning to buy vintage cards, I was disappointed at seeing superstars like Willie Mays, hank Aaron and Rod Carew with cards that repeated images from previous years.

From the moment he made it to the Majors in 1956 with the Chicago White Sox, Aparicio was a star.

He took home the A.L. Rookie of the Year that season, and proceeded to be an all-star player for most of his 18-year career.

Between 1956 and 1964, nine consecutive years, he led the American League in stolen bases every single season!

As a member of the "Go-Go" 1959 Chicago White Sox he finished second to teammate Nellie Fox for Most Valuable Player, and he'd go on to win nine Gold Glove Awards before hanging up the spikes.

All told he suited up for the White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and Boston Red Sox for the final three years of his illustrious career.

By the time he retired the numbers were solid: 2677 hits, 1335 runs scored, 506 stolen bases and over 10000 at-bats!

It took a few years on the ballot, but he was finally inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984.

1969 "DO-OVER" SET: ERNIE BANKS

Good day everyone!

On the blog today, we post up my 1969 do-over for the great Ernie Banks, part of my recent custom set correcting the recycling of images Topps was forced to do in the midst of their battle with the MLBPA in the late-60's, resulting in a bunch of cards using the same images, such an Banks' '69 edition:

 

As for "Mr. Cub", what needs to be said about quite possibly the most well-liked baseball legend there ever was?
Easily a first ballot inductee, Banks was named to 83.8% of the ballots after posting a career that saw him win two Most Valuable Player Awards (1958 and 1959), slam over 500 home runs while knocking in 1636 Cubbies during his illustrious 19-year career.
The man IS what the word “legend” is all about, getting named to eleven all-star teams hitting 30+ homers seven times during his career, with five of those seasons topping 40.
Sadly he’d never taste the sweet taste of a World Series, but that certainly did not take away from all of his successes.
“Mr. Cub” gets his due in 1977, and rightly so!

1969 "DO-OVER" SET: CARL YASTRZEMSKI

Today on the blog, we spotlight my 1969 do-over for Carl Yastrzemski, from my recent custom set released a few months ago "fixing" the issue of repeated images Topps used in that set:

Just a nice portrait shot of the man just a year or so removed from his MVP Triple Crown season of 1967, when he took the team on his shoulders and marched straight to the World Series, cementing his legendary status in New England.

The man was at his height of his game at the time this photo was taken, already a three-time batting champion, Triple Crown winner in 1967, and five-time Gold Glove winner.

As someone who grew up in New York City during the second half of his career, it's really easy to forget that Yastrzemski was a Long Island, New York boy before he went on to become a New England legend.

And how could he NOT become a legend, what with 23 years of Major League ball, all with the Red Sox, turning in three batting titles, a Triple Crown in 1967 along with an MVP Award, seven Gold Gloves, 18 all-star nods, and 25 league-leads in primary offensive categories.

By the time he did the retirement tour in 1983, he scored 1816 runs, collected 3419 hits, 646 doubles, 452 homers, 1844 runs batted in along with a .285 batting average.

He was just plain awesome…

 

1969 "DO-OVER" SET: ROD CAREW

The next card from my recent "1969 Gimmie A Do-Over" custom set to get the spotlight, my Rod Carew card, giving his 1969 slab a refresh with an image other than the one already used in 1968:

For Carew, having his first TWO dedicated cards of his career have the same image sucks (like Tom Seaver), and it always irked me, so giving his 1969 card a new photo was long overdue in my eyes.

The man was a player for the ages, as he would go on to play in 18 All-Star games, missing only his final season in the Majors in 1985. Just incredible.

The first nine seasons of his career were as an All-Star second baseman, while the last nine were as a first baseman.

The man topped .300 15 years in a row, with a high of .388 in 1977 on his way to a Most Valuable Player Award and capturing the public’s attention with his .400 chase late in the season.
A clear-cut Hall of Fame player, he was inducted on his first year of eligibility in 1991 when he garnered 90.5% of the vote, which leaves me with the question: who the hell are the 9.5% who DIDN’T vote for him!!!???

3053 hits, a .328 career average, 353 stolen bases and 15 straight seasons of .300+ batting.

The man was a hitting machine, and I'm so glad I got to see him play during his magnificent career!

1969 "DO-OVER" SET: WILLIE MAYS

The next card from my custom "1969 Gimmie A Do-Over" set released last year, one for the great, if not the greatest, Willie Mays:

Originally having his 1966 card image reused by Topps in 1969, I used a nice close-up of that "Million-Dollar Smile" for my re-do, giving us another unique card for the "Say Hey Kid".

As we all know by now, Topps was in the middle of a licensing problem with the MLBPA at the time, leading to some questionable image use in the late-60's/early-70's.

Over half a century later, I'm more than happy to fix some of this!

As for Mays, 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.

1969 "DO-OVER" SET: TOM SEAVER

Next up in my spotlights of cards from my recent custom "1969 Gimmie A Do-Over" set, Tom Seaver, perhaps my favorite pitcher of all-time, "Tom Terrific", three-time Cy Young winner, New York Mets legend, Hall of Famer:

Topps originally reused the image they had on his 1968 card, I'm sure much to the annoyance of young collectors pulling cards from packs way back when.

Here I used a nice posed shot, showing the young pitching ace smiling as he would soon guide the young Mets franchise to the most unlikely of World Championships later that year.

What needs to be said about the greatest New York Met to ever suit up?

The man would end up with a 311-205 record along with 61 shutouts and 3640 strikeouts to go with a brilliant 2.86 ERA over 20-seasons and 656 appearances, 647 of which were starts.

He was in prime form in the mid-70’s, putting together nine straight 200 strikeouts seasons while getting tabbed to ten all-star teams in his first eleven seasons.

God I loved Tom Seaver when I was a kid. More than any other pitcher of that era I was in awe of this man. He just seemed like a "super-hero" to me.

Just look at all my other posts dedicated to the man here on this blog. He was other-worldly to me growing up in New York City as a kid in the 1970's.

Even if he WAS a Met, to this young Yankee fan he was unquestionably the best pitcher in the game at that time.

Rest in Peace "Tom Terrific"!

GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1969 SPECIAL: HANK AARON

Today on the blog we begin to spotlight one of my recent custom printed sets, the 1969 "Do-Over" I released a few months ago:

As we all know, at the time the 1969 set was released, Topps was in a bit of a battle with the MLBPA over player image licensing, so they decided to recycle as many images as possible, some from the previous year's set, or some from a few years before.

This led to many recycled images for players like Willie Mays, Carl Yastrzemski, Joe Morgan, and today's player, the great Hank Aaron:

Originally Aaron's 1969 card used the same image as his 1968 card, so I felt a re-do was in order, using this wonderful portrait image showing Aaron's million-dollar smile.

Just a fun set to create giving my birth-year set a bit of a "refresh"!

As for Aaron the player?

The man was simply out of this world...

Let his numbers do all the talking: 2174 runs scored, 3771 hits, 624 doubles, 98 triples, 755 home runs, 2297 runs batted in, a .305 batting average no less than 21 all-star selections!
Just tremendous!
He also had eight top-5 finishes for MVP, including taking home the award in 1957, as well as three Gold Gloves won consecutively between 1958-1960.
It's incredible to look at his 15 years of topping 100 or more runs scored, 11 seasons of 100 or more runs batted in, five more seasons of 90+ RBI's, and TWENTY STRAIGHT years of 20 or more home runs.

Rest in Peace to one of the absolute greats of the game, Mr. Henry Aaron...aka "Hammerin' Hank"!

Look for the other players given a refresh in this set spotlighted in the coming weeks!