"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: DON NEWCOMBE

Today we go and add the very first recipient of the Cy Young Award, Brooklyn Dodgers ace Don Newcombe, to my custom "Classic Baseball" set:

Just a beautiful photo of the original Black Ace, the first African-American 20-game winner in either the American or National Leagues, when he first turned in 20 wins in 1951.

The N.L. Rookie of the Year in 1949 when he posted 17 wins for the Dodgers, he followed that up with 19 wins in 1950 before the first of his three 20-win seasons the following year.

Sadly for him, he would spend the next two years in the military, losing two peak seasons to serving his country before coming back in 1954 when he would go 9-8 over 29 games.

In 1955 he'd be in the 20-win circle once again, helping the Dodgers win the World Series as he would go 20-5 and finishing seventh in the MVP race, the last year without an Award dedicated to pitchers.

And then came 1956...

For Don Newcombe, 1956 was a magical year. He was a monster on the mound, going 27-7 with a 3.06 earned run average and five shutouts and leading the Dodgers to another face-off with the New York Yankees in the World Series.

Not only did that get him the very first Cy Young Award, but it also bagged him a Most Valuable Player Award, thus making him the answer to a clever trivia question: who was the only pitcher to win a Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and M.V.P.? (He would be joined in this by Detroit Tiger pitcher Justin Verlander in 2011).

Sadly for him however, it would be the peak, followed by a quick decline at only 31 years of age, winning 11 games in 1957 before managing just 26 wins over the last three years of his career, which came to a close in 1960 after a split year between the Cincinnati reds and Cleveland Indians.

All told, the man won the aforementioned awards while posting 153 wins against just 96 losses, good for a very nice .614 winning percentage, with a 3.57 earned run average and 24 shutouts over 360 games.

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 DON GULLETT

Good day my friends!

On the blog today, we take a gander at the image variation between OPC and Topps 1977 cards for pitcher Don Gullett:

OPC version

Topps version

Different takes on the same theme here to be honest.

Both companies worked quickly to get the ace pitcher into a New York Yankees uniform, for whom he was about to suit up for in 1977 after being an integral part of the "Big Red Machine" Cincinnati Reds, bringing home two straight World Championships in 1975 and 1976.

Though hampered by injuries, Gullet would then be a member of another back-to-back championship squad, the "Bronx Zoo" Yankees who won it all in both 1977 and 1978.

The man was a champion four straight seasons between 1975 and 1978!

Sadly, arm troubles cut his career short by the age of 27, though he ended up with an incredible .686 winning percentage, going 109-50 over nine seasons, with an ERA of 3.11 over 266 appearances, 186 of those starts, with 14 shutouts.

Of his nine MLB seasons, he was part of SIX World Series teams!

Would have been something to see him pitch into the 1980's if not for health issues...

1960S "IN-ACTION": 1960 WHITEY FORD

Up on the blog today, another of my "1960s In-Action" cards from my Series 2 custom set just released, this one a 1960 card of New York Yankees legend Whitey Ford:

Just a fun card to create and print up for the "Chairman of the Board", showing him most likely on his way to another victory based off his stellar .690 lifetime winning percentage.

What else needs to be said about quite possibly the greatest Yankee pitcher of all?

Cy Young winner in 1961, winner of 236 games against only 106 losses (a nifty .690 winning percentage), a 2.75 career earned run average, and a member of six world championship clubs.

He led the league in wins three times, winning percentage three times, ERA twice, shutouts twice, and was named to eight all-star teams during his 16-year career.

His 10 World Series wins (along with his eight losses) are Major League high marks to this day, and who knows how much more he could have padded all of his numbers had he not lost two seasons to the military in 1951 and 1952!

When the Hall of Fame came calling he was inducted on his first try, getting named to 284 of 365 ballots in 1974.

Obviously there's so much more to get into with Whitey, but I could end up writing a book here if I did, so I'll leave it up to the Wikipedia's out there to fill anyone in who wants to learn more.

I only wish Ford didn't try to hang on those last couple of years in 1966 and 1967, when he went a combined 4-9, thus eliminating the chance of him being only the second pitcher to this day to retire with 200+ wins and LESS than 100 losses (the other being 19th-century pitcher Bob Caruthers, who finished at 218-99 between 1884-1893).

Oh well, I know I'm nitpicking here…It's the nerd in me I guess.

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.

1960S ALL-DECADE TEAM: A.L. SHORTSTOP LUIS APARICIO

Time for our next player to be named to my 1960s All-Decade All-Star team, with today's entry the American League shortstop of the 1960s, and I chose Luis Aparicio:

Now, this pick was NOT as easy as many would think, as I was seriously considering Loa Angeles Angels shortstop Jim Fregosi for the honor.

But when it came down to it, I went with "Little Louie".

Aparicio had a fine decade in the 1960s, pacing the American League in stolen bases with five crowns from 1960-1964, winning a World Series with the Orioles in 1966, being named to five all-star teams, and winning six Gold Gloves.

All in all I just feel he was a lot more solid overall than Fregosi, who had a nice run of offensive seasons from the mid-60's to 1969.

Aparicio even had six years during the decade where he got some M.V.P. attention, with a peak finish of ninth in that championship 1966 season at Baltimore.

Not too shabby for a man who would go on to be selected for the Hall of Fame, an honor worthy of the perennial All-Star.

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: NELLIE FOX

The next baseball legend to get a card in my future custom "Classic Baseball" set is Hall of Fame second baseman Nellie Fox, shown here at the end of his career when he was a member of the Houston Astros (or Colt .45's):

Fox put together a brilliant Major League career, first as a Hall of Fame second baseman mainly for the Chicago White Sox, then as a coach later on, a true baseball life before sadly passing away at the young age of 47 in 1975.
He led the AL in hits four times in the 1950’s, and of course would lead the Chicago White Sox to the 1959 World Series, taking home the league’s MVP Award for his efforts.
By the time he retired as a player after two years with the Houston Astros in 1964-65, he finished with 2663 hits and a .288 batting average, with twelve all-star nods and three Gold Gloves.
Defensively, it’s incredible to see he led the American League in putouts every single season between 1952 and 1961, while leading the league’s second basemen in fielding percentage six times, double-plays five times and assists six times.
In 1997, the Veteran’s Committee selected Fox for the Hall of Fame, joining former teammates Luis Aparicio and Early Wynn from that 1959 pennant winning team.

 

1960s "IN-ACTION" SERIES 2 AVAILABLE NOW!

Hello Everyone!

I am happy to announce the next WTHBALLS custom set: 1960s In-Action Stars: Series 2"" set, an 11-card set featuring 1960s cards with action photography, imagining if Topps would have issued such action gems before the 1971 set, following on the heels of my Series 1 set from a few months back:

As with the first series in this sub-set, this set has one Topps In-Action card from each year of the 1960s, plus a bonus 1963 Fleer In-Action card, this time featuring Hall of Famer Robin Roberts.

This set is packed with superstars: Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Carl Yastrzemski and more!

Sets are $12 each plus a one-time $4.50 shipping charge, no matter how many sets you purchase.

Usual Paypal address: slogun23@gmail.com

Again, thank you all so much for the interest and support!