MISSING ALL-STAR MANAGER: 1973 EARL WEAVER

Just as I had done years ago with the starting line-ups of the 1972 All-Star game, today I add American League manager for that game Earl Weaver to my "missing" All-Star cards, in this case completely creating a new card for the Hall of Fame skipper to get it done:

With the Baltimore Orioles pennant winning season of 1971 with Weaver at the helm, the 1972 Midsummer Classic saw the diminutive yet fiery manager lead the Junior Circuit to a chance to defend their 1971 All-Star game win against the N.L.

Well sadly, it was not to be, as the National League got back to "business as usual" with another win 4-3, something they would keep on doing all the way through to the 1983 game, much to THIS young A.L. fan through his elementary and Junior High School days!

I loved Earl Weaver as a kid, who paired up nicely with my favorite manager, Billy Martin: fiery, combative, and always ready to stick his neck out for his team.

By the time he retired after the 1986 season, Weaver finished with a record of 1480 wins against 1060 losses, for a very nice .583 winning percentage, with four Pennants and a World Championship in 1970, posting a winning season every year of his tenure except his very last, when he finished 73-89.

In 1996 he was voted into the Hall of Fame as a manager, celebrating one of the most colorful managers of the era, and rightly so!

MISSING ALL-STAR MANAGER: 1972 EARL WEAVER

On the blog today we once again go and give former Baltimore Orioles skipper Earl Weaver the "All-Star" treatment with a "missing" all-star card, this time a 1972 edition celebrating his 1971 position as the manager for the A.L. in the now legendary Midsummer Classic:

Weaver's road to skipper in the 1971 All-Star game was all thanks to his incredible 1970 season when he guided the juggernaut Baltimore Orioles to what ended up being his only title over his Hall of Famer managerial career, seeing the Birds beat the up-and-coming Cincinnati Reds after steam-rolling through the regular season to the tune of a 108-54 record, this after a monster 1969 season that saw the team win 109 games. Incredible.

I loved Earl Weaver as a kid, who paired up nicely with my favorite manager, Billy Martin: fiery, combative, and always ready to stick his neck out for his team.

By the time he retired after the 1986 season, Weaver finished with a record of 1480 wins against 1060 losses, for a very nice .583 winning percentage, with four Pennants and a World Championship in 1970, posting a winning season every year of his tenure except his very last, when he finished 73-89.

In 1996 he was voted into the Hall of Fame as a manager, celebrating one of the most colorful managers of the era, and rightly so!

MISSING ALL-STAR MANAGER: 1971 EARL WEAVER

On the blog today, a fun little "tweak" to Earl Weaver's 1971 card, this an All-Star designation as the American League's skipper in the 1970 Midsummer Classic, something I did with the starting nine for both leagues almost ten years ago:

Weaver had the honors of leading the A.L. in the 1970 All-Star game based off his pennant winning season of 1969, when the Orioles were stunned in the World Series by the "Miracle Mets".

It was Weaver's first full season as a Major League manager, taking over at mid-season the year before for Baltimore and leading them to a second place finish before his run of three first place finishes between 1969 and 1971.

I loved Earl Weaver as a kid, who paired up nicely with my favorite manager, Billy Martin: fiery, combative, and always ready to stick his neck out for his team.

By the time he retired after the 1986 season, Weaver finished with a record of 1480 wins against 1060 losses, for a very nice .583 winning percentage, with four Pennants and a World Championship in 1970, posting a winning season every year of his tenure except his very last, when he finished 73-89.

In 1996 he was voted into the Hall of Fame as a manager, celebrating one of the most colorful managers of the era, and rightly so!

 

DEDICATED MANAGER CARD: 1979 EARL WEAVER

On the blog today, thought it’d be fun to create a 1979 “Dedicated” manager card for Baltimore Orioles skipper Earl Weaver, who put together a Hall of Fame managerial career that lasted 17 seasons between 1968 and 1986:

 

 

Weaver was on his way to a wonderful 1979 campaign, leading the Orioles to an American League championship before falling to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series.

It was his fourth trip to the Fall Classic, winning it all back in 1970 along with A.L. Pennants in 1969 and 1971.

His 1979 team finished the year with 102 wins against 57 losses, led offensively by Ken Singleton and Eddie Murray, while having a pitching core that included the Cy Young Award winner in Mike Flanagan, who won 23 games, as well as future Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, “El Presidente” Dennis Martinez, Steve Stone and Scott McGregor.

Of course, their bullpen was also stacked deep with the likes of Sammy Stewart, Tippy Martinez, Don Stanhouse and Tim Stoddard, who combined for 28 saves and 28 wins between them.

I loved Earl Weaver as a kid, who paired up nicely with my favorite manager, Billy Martin: fiery, combative, and always ready to stick his neck out for his team.

By the time he retired after the 1986 season, Weaver finished with a record of 1480 wins against 1060 losses, for a very nice .583 winning percentage, with four Pennants and a World Championship, posting a winning season every year of his tenure except his very last, when he finished 73-89.

In 1996 he was voted into the Hall of Fame as a manager, celebrating one of the most colorful managers of the era, and rightly so!

MANAGING A MANAGER SUB-SET THE RIGHT WAY...1978

I always thought Topps nailed it when it came to their manager cards in the 1978 set. The horizontal orientation, the dual images of both player and manager, and the full playing statistics that, at the time, were not readily accessible in the pre-internet world we lived in.

Up until that point, and sadly, ever since, manager cards were usually run of the mill "throw-ins" that really didn't add much to the set, and you were left wondering if the slots wouldn't have been better served with some players that were left out, or some other sub-set that could garner more interest. 

But for this set, all teams but the Brewers had their managers represented with nicely designed and well thought out cards. 

***Milwaukee hadn't yet named their manager for the upcoming season when cards went to press. However I created a George Bamberger card below to finally "complete" the sub-set.

All told, no less than six of the managers are Hall-of-Famers (either as managers or players): Earl Weaver, Whitey Herzog, Bob Lemon, Dick Williams, Tommy Lasorda and Sparky Anderson. And that number will most assuredly go up by two once Joe Torre and Bobby Cox are inducted as well. Some can even make a case for Billy Martin to eventually get in as well, possibly bringing us to NINE members of the Hall. Not too shabby for a sub-set.

Of these managers, the most accomplished as players were Bob Lemon and Joe Torre. Lemon fashioned a Hall of Fame career as a pitcher for the famed Indians staffs of the '40's and '50s, while Torre was a one-time MVP with the Cardinals in 1971, after a solid career as a power hitting catcher for the Braves in the '60's as a power hitting catcher with the Braves.

However, Alvin Dark and Bill Virdon were no slouches either, with both winning Rookie of the Year awards, in 1948 and 1955 respectively.

Sure, there were some guys that really didn't leave much of a mark in baseball history, but overall, this sub-set was one of the better executed sub-sets of the decade in my eyes. It's a shame that Topps decided to abandon this format for their Manager cards after this set.

Anyway, now onto the cards themselves. Enjoy!

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

***This card was never issued. I've created here to complete the sub-set***

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST 

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST 

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST