A SET THAT NEVER WAS: 1971 ALL-STAR TICKET SET: BOBBY MURCER

Up on the blog today, we move into the outfield of the American League in my "set that never was", a 1971 All-Star game special custom set, featuring the players that actually started that classic Midsummer game:

Bobby Murcer actually started the game in place of the injured Tony Oliva, who was selected by fans.

Murcer really did have a very nice career, especially those seasons between 1969 and 1977 when he drove in over 80 runs eight times, while topping 90 five of those seasons.
He hit as high as .331 (1971) while hitting as many as 33 homers (1972), while also leading the league in runs scored with 102 in 1972, OBP with a .427 mark in 1971 and total bases with 314 again in 1972.
He made five straight All-Star teams from 1971 through 1975, and was in the top-10 in MVP voting three straight years: 1971-1973.
Much more importantly, the man was one of the nicest human beings on the planet, as I can attest to, meeting him on more than a few occasions.
He was just as “real” as it got.
Rest in Peace Bobby. You are truly missed.

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: JACKIE ROBINSON

On the blog today, we return to my custom WTHBALLS "Classic Baseball" card set and add the great Jackie Robinson:

To much hoopla, both good and sadly bad, Robinson was set to make his Major League debut as the first African-American player since the late 19th Century.

And so on Opening Day, April 15th, 1947, Jackie was penciled in at first base against the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field, and history was made, though I wish there was NO history that needed to be made in the first place.

Jackie went 0-for-3 at the plate with a run scored, as the Brooklyn Dodgers would go on to win the game 5-3.

I cannot even begin to imagine the difficulty in that alone, yet still managed to put in 10 great years as a Major League all-star second baseman, winning Rookie of the Year in 1947, league MVP in 1949, six all-star nods, and a batting title in 1949 when he hit .342.

Before he made baseball history in 1947, he suited up with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues in 1945 while he was still in college.

He played in only 47 games, but excelled, hitting .387 with 5 home runs and 13 stolen bases, even appearing in the East-West All Star Game.

At this point talking about statistics seems trivial in relation to the sheer impact he had to the sport and American culture.

It still crushes me when I remember that the man was still only 53 years of age when he passed away, imagining if he would have lived another 20, 30 years and gracing us into the 21st Century.

An American Legend.

REVISITING MY "MISSING" 1978 VIC BERNAL CARD

Good day all!

On the blog today, we revisit another 10-year-old post, this time it's my 1978 "missing in action" card for San Diego Padres pitcher Vic Bernal:

Bernal appeared in 15 games during the 1977 for the San Diego Padres, the only games he'd ever suit up for on the Major League level.

He pitched 20.1 innings and posted a 1-1 record with a 5.31 earned run average and six strikeouts, all in relief.

After his Major League career, he'd go on to coach high school ball for many years in his home state of California.

Sadly, he would pass away at the young age of 52 in September of 2006.

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: YOGI BERRA

Time to spotlight my custom "1960s Stars of the Game" card of Yogi Berra here on the blog, from my custom set released back in 2018 in WTHBALLS gelatin box with other goodies inside:

Let's see, the man was a three-time American League Most Valuable Player, a FIFTEEN-TIME all-star, and received Most Valuable Player votes every single year between 1947 and 1961. As a matter of fact, between 1950 and 1956 he never finished lower than fourth for the MVP, with three wins, and two second place finishes!

That's seven top-4 finishes in seven years! Just awesome.

Oh yeah, let's not forget the fact that he was a member of TEN world championship teams! Amazing!

Except for four scant games in 1965 with the New York Mets, Berra played the rest of his 19-year career with the Bronx Bombers, amassing 358 homers, 1430 runs batted in and a .285 average.

One other note about his amazing career: the man only struck out 414 times over 8359 at-bats!

YOGI!!! I loved that man!

A true baseball treasure…

 

1983 CAREER-CAPPER: WILLIE STARGELL

Super-fun card for me to create today: a 1983 "career-capper" for "Pops" Willie Stargell, as I start creating more cards for the 1980's, the decade I was collecting like a lunatic as I navigated my teen years:

The 1983 set is my absolute favorite set of the decade, with it's beautiful design with eye-popping colors.

So it would have been great to have a final Stargell card in that edition.

Over 21 seasons, Stargell would lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to two world championships, take home an MVP Award in 1979 (shared with the Cardinals Keith Hernandez), and get named to seven All-Star teams.

He would also have a great three-year run between 1971 and 1973 that saw him finish second, third and second respectively in MVP voting, winning two home run titles, an RBI title and even lead the league with 43 doubles (1973).

Luckily, I got to see him towards the end of his career in the late-70's/early-80s before he retired after the 1982 season.

His final numbers? Hall of Fame worthy as he'd finish with 475 home runs, 1540 RBIs, a surprisingly high .282 batting average and 2232 hits over 2360 games and 7927 at-bats.

Think about those numbers in UNDER 8000 at-bats!

Of course when eligible for the Hall of Fame, he was in, with 82.4% of the vote in 1988.

So sad that he would pass away at only 61 years of age in 2001.

One of baseball's beloved players, especially among his fan-base, he left such a lasting legacy that resonates to this day.

 

1963 FLEER EXTENSION SET: NORM CASH

Time to go and add former Detroit Tigers great Norm Cash to my "1963 Fleer Extension" set, adding the slugger to what may become my second series in the set:

Cash really did put together a solid 17-year career that stands out even more when you consider the modern "dead-ball" era he played in.

By the time he retired after the 1974 season he slammed 377 homers and drove in 1103 runs while collecting 1820 hits.

Not a bad compliment in the line-up to guys like Al Kaline and Willie Horton!

Of course, his monster season happened to be the same year of Mantle and Maris and their pursuit of Babe Ruth's home run record, 1961.

That year Cash tore it up, as he led the league in batting with a .361 average (the only time he batted .300 or better in a season oddly enough), while also slamming 41 home runs and driving in 132 runs.

Even with a league-leading .487 on-base-percentage and 193 hits, all it got him was a fourth place finish for MVP behind Maris, Mantle and Orioles slugger Jim Gentile.

Timing, as they say, is everything…

REVISITING A 10-YEAR-OLD POST: 1977 DOUG HOWARD MISSING IN ACTION

Revisiting a post from over 10 years ago here on the blog today, my "missing in action" 1977 card for infielder Doug Howard, who got quite a few "missing" cards from me here over the years:

The reason it's somewhat different than the others is because even though Howard was left out of the Topps set, he actually appeared in the 1977 OPC set, as an "original" Toronto Blue Jay.

Funny enough he never ended up playing a game for them on the Major League level, so I went and designed a card with him shown as a Cleveland Indian, for whom he suited up in 1976.

He appeared in 39 games for the Tribe, and batted .211 with 19 hits in 99 official at-bats.

It was the most time he saw in any of his five seasons in the big league, and his only season as an Indian. 

He came up with the California Angels in 1972 and played for them three years before moving on to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1975, but he never did appear in a Topps set, even with his 97 career games and 233 at-bats.

Would have been a nice hole filled in as far as the more obscure players from the decade, especially when you think of some guys that DID get a card in the 1977 set who saw far less action in '76 like Jim Holt, Larry Cox or Jack Kucek.