"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: DAVE KINGMAN

Time to go and add "Kong", Dave Kingman to my custom "Classic Baseball" set, due for a release somewhat soon in a multi-series format:

I was always enamored with the guy: his wiffle-ball like swings, his dour and somewhat aloof disposition, and of course his tape-measure homers.

Coming off of two seasons of serious home run production for the Mets in 1975 (36) and 1976 (37), he was about to top those numbers when he finally found himself in a Chicago Cubs uniform in 1978, slugging in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field after signing with them as a free agent.

Many Mets fans still hurt from the infamous "Midnight Massacre" house-cleaning in 1977 which saw the organization trade Kingman to the Padres, Tom Seaver to the Reds, and Mike Phillips to the Cardinals, all on June 15th.

In 1979 Kingman would have his finest season as a big leaguer when he lead the Majors in home runs with 48 round-trippers, a career high, along with 115 runs batted in and a very respectable .288.

He'd find himself back in Queens as a New York Met by 1981, after falling out of favor in Chi-Town, and would lead the National League again in home runs in 1982 when he hit 37, along with a dismal .204 average.

I got to see a lot of him due to his time with the Mets, and me growing up in New York City (though I was a Yankee fan), and I always though Kingman was that cool “loner” dude who did things his own way.
Then I really became fascinated by him when he retired after the 1986 season, just after posting his THIRD straight 30+ home run year with the Oakland A’s.
As a kid I could not understand how no one wanted to have a 30+ homer guy back then on their team, even IF he struck out a lot.
I was mesmerized and still am somewhat that the guy’s final year in the Majors produced 35 home runs and 94 RBI’s, only to walk away after being signed as a Free Agent by the San Francisco Giants that never led to anything after some Minor League action.
The enigma that is “Kong”.

 

1977 CENTENNIAL SPECIAL: DAVE KINGMAN

Adding to my fun 1977 Centennial sub-set today on the blog, we have New York Mets slugger Dave Kingman:

 

I was always enamored with the guy: his wiffle-ball like swings, his dour and somewhat aloof disposition, and of course his tape-measure homers.

Coming off of two seasons of serious home run production for the Mets in 1975 (36) and 1976 (37), he was about to top those numbers when he finally found himself in a Chicago Cubs uniform in 1978, slugging in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field after signing with them as a free agent.

Many Mets fans still hurt from the infamous "Midnight Massacre" house-cleaning in 1977 which saw the organization trade Kingman to the Padres, Tom Seaver to the Reds, and Mike Phillips to the Cardinals, all on June 15th.

In 1979 Kingman would have his finest season as a big leaguer when he lead the Majors in home runs with 48 round-trippers, a career high, along with 115 runs batted in and a very respectable .288.

He'd find himself back in Queens as a New York Met by 1981, after falling out of favor in Chi-Town, and would lead the National League again in home runs in 1982 when he hit 37, along with a dismal .204 average.

I got to see a lot of him due to his time with the Mets, and me growing up in New York City (though I was a Yankee fan), and I always though Kingman was that cool “loner” dude who did things his own way.
Then I really became fascinated by him when he retired after the 1986 season, just after posting his THIRD straight 30+ home run year with the Oakland A’s.
As a kid I could not understand how no one wanted to have a 30+ homer guy back then on their team, even IF he struck out a lot.
I was mesmerized and still am somewhat that the guy’s final year in the Majors produced 35 home runs and 94 RBI’s, only to walk away after being signed as a Free Agent by the San Francisco Giants that never led to anything after some Minor League action.
The enigma that is “Kong”.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1977 N.L. HOME RUNS

On the blog today, we have a 1977 “expanded league leader” card featuring the National League’s top three home run hitters of 1976, with two players you’d expect to see from the era, and a surprise third-place finisher:

 

Of course we begin with Hall of Fame slugger Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies, who smashed 38 homers, good for his third straight home run title, on his way to eight such titles before he was done.

It was a great season for the third baseman in 1976, as he would also take home the first of his eventual ten Gold Gloves, while finishing third in the MVP race at season’s end.

Just one home run behind him with 37 homers, none other than “Kong” Dave Kingman of the New York Mets, who topped his previous career-best by one homer while also making his first All-Star team.

Of course this led to one of my all-time favorite Topps cards, his 1977 slab with the beautiful blue “All-Star” banner running across the bottom. Just a perfect baseball card!

In third place with 32 home runs, which would have been good enough for a share of the A.L. title that season, Rick Monday of the Chicago Cubs, who easily bested his previous career-best of 26 homers from 1973.

Monday, the very first #1 overall pick in the history of the Amateur Draft in 1965, gave the Cubs a great season in 1976, hitting .272 with a career-high 107 runs scored in what turned out to be his last season in the “Windy City” before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Winter for Bill Buckner and Ivan DeJesus.

So there it is, the top three home run hitters of 1976 in the National League celebrated on an “expanded” league leader card in the 1977 set.

1978 FANTASY CARD- DAVE KINGMAN OF THE CALIFORNIA ANGELS

Today on the blog we have the fourth and final 1978 “fantasy” card of former slugger Dave Kingman, celebrating his whirlwind 1977 season when he played for four different teams, each one in a different league or division.
This one is the California Angels edition:

Kingman only appeared in ten games for the Angels before getting moved once again , this time to the eventual World Champion New York Yankees.
In his time with California, he hit two homers over 36 at-bats, driving in four and hitting .194 with seven hits, two of them doubles.
With all of that he still hit 26 homers that season, with 78 runs batted in and a “Dave Kingman-like” .221 batting average along with 143 strikeouts in 439 at-bats.
Of course he’d be “Kong” once again the following year with the Chicago Cubs, hitting 28 homers before leading Major League ball in 1979 with 48 bombs, a career-high, and another HR title in 1982 when he hit 37 for the New York Mets.
I was mesmerized and still am somewhat that the guy’s final year in the Majors produced 35 home runs and 94 RBI’s, only to walk away after being signed as a Free Agent by the San Francisco Giants that never led to anything after some Minor League action.
The enigma that is “Kong”.

1978 FANTASY CARD- DAVE KINGMAN WITH THE NEW YORK YANKEES

Up on the blog today is the second of what will be all four cards depicting Dave Kingman with the organizations he suited up for during his crazy 1977 season, this time his brief season-ending stint with the New York Yankees:

Kingman only appeared in eight games with the eventual World Champions, hitting .250 with four homers in only 24 official at-bats.
This was after playing 10 games for the California Angels, 56 games for the San Diego padres, and of course 58 games to start the year with the New York Mets.
With all of that he still hit 26 homers that season, with 78 runs batted in and a “Dave Kingman-like” .221 batting average along with 143 strikeouts in 439 at-bats.
I already found a nice image of him while with the Angels, so expect that card up here on the blog in the near future, along with a New York Mets version to close out the 1977 season for “Kong”.

1979 SPECIAL- "KING KONG" KINGMAN GETS A HOLD OF ONE

Today on the blog, we have a 1979 “Special” I created for all-or-nothing slugger Dave Kingman, “Kong”, since I came across this nice image of him at Wrigley in what I like to think was another of his prodigious blasts:

Kingman was in the middle of his best year as a Major Leaguer, leading all of baseball with 48 home runs while driving in 115 runs for the Cubs, also setting career-highs with a .288 batting average and 97 runs scored.
I was always enamored with the guy: his wiffle-ball like swings, his dour and somewhat aloof disposition, and of course his tape-measure homers.
I got to see a lot of him due to his time with the Mets, and me growing up in New York City (though I was a Yankee fan), and I always though Kingman was that cool “loner” dude who did things his own way.
Then I really became fascinated by him when he retired after the 1986 season, just after posting his THIRD straight 30+ home run year with the Oakland A’s.
As a kid I could not understand how no one wanted to have a 30+ homer guy back then on their team, even IF he struck out a lot.
I was mesmerized and still am somewhat that the guy’s final year in the Majors produced 35 home runs and 94 RBI’s, only to walk away after being signed as a Free Agent by the San Francisco Giants that never led to anything after some Minor League action.
The enigma that is “Kong”.

FANTASY 1978 CARD- DAVE KINGMAN AS A SAN DIEGO PADRE

Sure, we have seen custom fantasy cards created for Dave Kingman’s crazy 1977 season created before, even San Diego Padre editions.
But I had to create and add them to my own collection of customs, so here goes:

I plan on creating four different 1978’s for the former slugger, one for each of the teams he played for that 1977 Summer when he played for teams in each division of both leagues. Just nuts.
Kingman was coming off a 1976 season that saw him miss his first home run title by one when he slammed 37 homers for the New York Mets, just behind Philadelphia Phillies slugging titan Mike Schmidt.
Nevertheless, the Mets were about to clean house so to speak when they’d trade Kingman to the Padres, only to have the California Angels select Kingman off waivers some three months later, then to have the Angels trade Kingman to the New York Yankees nine days later for the September stretch run.
Throughout all of that, Kingman put in a decent year with all the havoc, hitting 26 homers and driving in 78 runs, hitting .221 over 132 games and 439 at-bats.
Of course, he’d find himself with the Chicago Cubs in 1978, on this way to hitting 48 homers in 1979 for his first home run title, then back to the Mets for three more seasons including his second homer title in 1982 with 37, before finishing up his career with three straight 30+ homer seasons with the Oakland A’s before retiring abruptly after a 35 homer campaign in 1986.
I was always fascinated with the three straight 30+ homer seasons followed by a sudden retirement, as I thought it was bad-ass of him to have done that when he clearly had some years left in his career, possibly en route to 500.
But as it was, he left the game with 442 homers, with the aforementioned two home run titles and a wacky 1977 season that made him the only player to ever play in all four divisions over the course of one year.

A LOOK AT THE 1978 HOSTESS DAVE KINGMAN PHOTO/CARD

Hey, I know I’m straying a bit here, but thought it’d be fun to look at the 1978 image that was used on the Dave Kingman Hostess card, showing the paint job executed to have him suited up as a Chicago Cub, his new team after an insane 1977 season that saw him suit up for four OTHER teams:

Actually not really a bad job I have to say. I like the lighting/shadowing done on the batting helmet! Great work there.
“Kong”, the enigma. After slugging for the Mets, Padres, Angels and Yankees in 1977 he found somewhat of a home on the North Side of Chicago where he’d play for three years before returning to Queens in 1981.
The poster child for “all or nothing”, he’d finish his career with 442 homers, including a whopping 35 in his final MLB season in 1986, along with 1816 strikeouts in only 6677 at-bats, which paired up with his .236 career average tells you where his game was at!
But I loved the guy. Really an odd bird as far as players are concerned, and I’m all for that!
Seems today’s game could use some “Dave Kingmans” sprinkled throughout the league.
I’ll be covering some other Hostess cards from the 1970’s, as they had some whoppers of paint-jobs on the images used. Just too good to pass up!

FAVORITE CARDS OF THE DECADE

The topic of “favorite cards” has been coming up a lot lately, and it’s amazing how many of us all have the same favorites considering the choices of that great decade of the 1970’s.

I never did post one solid “favorites” entry here in the three-plus years of “wthballs”, so here are my top-10 favorites in order:

#1 1976 Johnny Bench

My lord this is the perfect card in my eyes! It has NEVER lost any of it’s luster as far as baseball card perfection. The colors, the “all-star”, the photograph, the legend! 

I’m still in awe of it.

#2 1978 Reggie Jackson

“Mr. October” at his best! That swing immortalized on cardboard, with (of course) the all-star designation, in the hey-day of the “Bronx Zoo”. If it was’t for that ’76 Bench, this would be it!

#3 1977 Rusty Staub

Beautiful action shot of “Le Grand Orange” with the Tigers. Again, the colors, the action, and that “all-star” banner across the bottom. Awesome!

#4 1977 Dave Kingman

The colors along, and how the card design goes with the action shot of “Kong” makes it a classic. But you throw in that color-perfect N.L. All-Star banner at the bottom and it’s a keeper. Great card for the ages!

#5 1979 Rod Carew

I have always loved this card because it was Carew doing what he did best: HIT! Just a great, colorful in-game shot along with that always-present “all-star” banner!

#6 1979 George Brett

Same as with the Carew, this Brett card was a perfect compliment to the Carew in my eyes. I remember pulling this out of a pack for the first time back then and just stopping dead in my tracks. Beautiful card.

#7 1976 Lou Brock

Really, what needs to be said about THIS beauty!? Brock about to do what he did so well during his Hall of Fame career! Another steal coming right up for “The Franchise”!

#8 1971 Thurman Munson

It took me YEARS to finally get this card! I remember plunking $5 for this at a show way back when, and for a kid my age with limited cash, at a SHOW, I gulped a bit, but needed to finally own it. One of the all-time great action-cards, featuring a young Yankee captain. Classic!

#9 1976 Carl Yastrzemski

Just a majestic card of the Red Sox legend, presumedly watching one of his 400+ home runs leave the yard. The colors, the photo, only the second card besides the Munson to NOT be an all-star card.

#10 1977 Mark Fidrych

The only non-action card on this list. It is PURELY because of the time and place, and meaning in my life. I guess you can say my sentimental pick. 1977 was my first year of hard-core collecting, but 1976 was my first year following the game somewhat seriously. And to a seven-year old like me, “The Bird” was bigger than life. He was just awesome!

So when I pulled my first ’77 Fidrych from a cello pack (always remember) and saw that smile, that hair, and the AMAZING rookie trophy AND all-star banner, I was just freaking psyched beyond words!

I STILL get a smile on my face looking at this card!

Honorable mention:

1976 Al Oliver

1979 Larry Bowa

1971 Vada Pinson

1976 Fred Lynn

So what do I gather from all this?

Well, I love action photos on cards, I LOVE the 1976 set, and boy do I love the “all-star” designation on a player’s regular card (instead of a separate all-star sub-set.

I HATED when Topps went back to an all-star sub-set in 1982! Is it just me? Or do any of you out there prefer the 1975-1981 all-star ON the “regular” card?

NICKNAMES OF THE '70'S #10: "KONG" DAVE KINGMAN

Up next in my "Nicknames of the '70's" thread is one complicated player from the era, slugger Dave Kingman, aka "Kong".

Check out my card first:

I specifically picked this image of Kingman because it catches the essence of Kingman himself.

The man was "left of center" to say the least, and I always thought he was cool for that! And in this photo he looks a bit miffed, or just plain annoyed, so I thought "perfect!"

I chose the 1977 card design because of what that season meant to his career.

As we all know, Kingman would play for no less than FOUR teams that season (one in each division actually): the Mets, Padres, Angels and Yankees.

Coming off of two seasons of serious home run production for the Mets in 1975 (36) and 1976 (37), he was about to top those numbers when he finally found himself in a Chicago Cubs uniform in 1978, slugging in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field after signing with them as a free agent. 

Many Mets fans still hurt from the infamous "Midnight Massacre" house-cleaning in 1977 which saw the organization trade Kingman to the Padres, Tom Seaver to the Reds, and Mike Phillips to the Cardinals, all on June 15th.

In 1979 Kingman would have his finest season as a big leaguer when he lead the Majors in home runs with 48 round-trippers, a career high, along with 115 runs batted in and a very respectable .288.

He'd find himself back in Queens as a New York Met by 1981, after falling out of favor in Chi-Town, and would lead the National League again in home runs in 1982 when he hit 37, along with a dismal .204 average.

By the 1983 season there was change in the air around Shea, and the Mets acquired Keith Hernandez from the Cardinals on their way to revamping the team towards an eventual 1986 World Series championship.

After playing out the season on the bench in '83 Kingman signed with the Oakland A's, and quite honestly, was nothing short of a "monster" at the plate over his three years there.

All he did was hit 35 homers in 1984, 30 in 1985, and 35 in 1986. Pretty impressive totals!

Yet once again, Kingman's odd personality got the best of him, and after some incidents with the local media, found himself signing with the San Francisco Giants in 1987, but never suited up for the parent club, only seeing some action in their Minor League system before calling it a career.

His 35 home runs in his final Major League season are still a high-water mark in baseball history.

All told, Kingman played 16-years in the Majors, and slammed 442 homers with 1210 runs batted in, and a .236 lifetime average.

But for many of us here in New York growing up in the 70's and 80's, whether you were a Yankee fan, Met fan or whatever, Kingman just seemed like a seriously weird dude who could hit the ball a country-mile!

#500 FOR THE BLOG!

So I've reached my 500th post for the blog, and I thank you all for reading so far!

As I've done with 100, 200, 300 and 400, let's go ahead and look at each card numbered 500 throughout the 1970's, shall we?

1970: Hank Aaron

Ugh.

As I profiled (and redesigned) this card months ago, you all know how I feel about it.

What a boring photo of "Hammerin' hank"!

Uninspired and even oddly voyeuristic, like we caught him doing something he's not pleased about. Just odd.

But hey, it's Hank Aaron, and that alone keeps this a classic for the ages.

1971: Jim Perry

I like this card because it catches Perry at the height of his career, coming off a Cy Young Award win in 1970.

The Perry household must have been incredible around this time, with Jim taking home the hardware, and brother Gaylord finishing second over in the National League.

Mom and Dad must have been proud!

And man I do love those 1971 Topps cards. Just a beautiful set.

1972: Joe Torre

Another card catching a player at the peak of his career.

Recent Hall of Famer (and fellow Bensonhurst/Dyker Heights native) Joe Torre smiling up a storm after collecting an M.V.P. Award for his tremendous 1971 season in St. Louis.

Besides his solid playing career (somewhat underrated if you ask me), his LONG managerial career eventually got him to Cooperstown, and I'm sure that smile on his '72 Topps card would truly be ear-to-ear if he knew then where his baseball resume would get him come 2014.

1973: A's team card

Now, my first reaction was, "boring, a freaking team card!".

However, when you really take a look at the photo, it's just a perfect 1970's baseball time capsule!

The shaggy players, the technicolor sports coats, and the fact that it depicts the three-time World Champs with guys like Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, all now members of the Hall of Fame.

It really becomes clear quickly that this is indeed a special card! Love it!

1974: Lee May

Easy to forget how good a player May was throughout his career.

The man was downright thumping the baseball during a weak offensive era in the game's history.

The choice of photo Topps went with is a bit lame, but it does show the dude's quite "substantial" size as one of the games underrated sluggers.

2000 hits, 350+ homers, 1200+ runs batted in…not too shabby for the "Big Bopper"!

1975: Nolan Ryan

Well, what can you say?

Classic card set, classic player, nice photo.

I love this card.

The "Ryan Express" at the height of his career, tearing through line-ups and smashing records.

And who would even imagine that when this card came out, Ryan would STILL pitch for almost another 20 years!

Just incredible.

And every time I see a 1975 or 1976 baseball card, I can STILL get that little tingle of excitement, just like I did so many years before!

1976: Reggie Jackson

Just pure CLASSIC baseball card right there!

One of my all time favorite cards.

Here we have a beautiful card set design, with a fantastic photo of one of the game's most popular players, and that brilliant "All-Star" designation for all to see!

What a card, what a player, what a set!

1976 all the way for me my friends. Easily my favorite set of all time. 

Just perfect…

1977: Dave Kingman

Another one of my all-time favorite cards!

Great photo of "Kong" watching another of his famous blasts leaving the stadium, with all that blue throughout the card, and that "All-Star" banner running across the bottom.

I always thought those Mets cards from the 1976 and 1977 sets looked so good because of the blue color scheme. And you throw in a blue all-star banner along the bottom, and "bam!", just a great card!

1978: George Foster

I wish Topps would have had a better photo of Foster for this card.

The man does NOT look like a guy sitting on top of the baseball world here!

Fresh off his monster 1977 M.V.P. year, Foster should be positively BEAMING after slugging 52 home runs and nearly driving in 150 for the Reds.

It's a shame since the 1978 set is another of my favorite sets, but this card leaves a lot to be desired.

I may have to redesign this card in the near future.

1979: Ron Guidry

Funny story…I remember pulling my first 1979 Ron Guidry card out of a pack back then as a ten year old rabid Yankee fan, and was CRUSHED to see that he didn't have an All-Star banner running across the card!

This was before I learned that Topps didn't just go and pick all-stars based on their seasons, but based on who started the previous all-star game.

So I thought it was a terrible injustice to "Louisiana Lightning". I was already pissed that Guidry was ripped off an M.V.P. (sorry Jim Rice!), so seeing that "all-star" was missing bothered me to no end.

Well, I've calmed down a bit years later (but NOT about the Most Valuable Player Award!), and have come to appreciate the card for what it is.

Not the best action shot of the Yankee ace, but a nice photo nevertheless…

So there you have it...

All cards numbered 500 through that awesome decade of the 1970's!

Hopefully this blog will keep on rolling to all the cards numbered 600, as well as 700!

After that, we'll just get creative and see where we end up…

Thanks for the support so far!

ANOTHER CLASSIC: 1977 TOPPS DAVE KINGMAN #500

I remember the first time I ever laid eyes on a 1977 Topps Dave Kingman card (#500). I thought it was "majestic"! 

Seriously! I ripped open a wax pack back in 1977 at the age of eight, flipped through the cards looking for any Yankee players, and THIS beauty caught my eye.

Just look at it: Kingman following the flight of what seems to be one of his many BOMBS, with that awesome blue "N.L. All-Stars" banner running across the bottom.

What made it all work for me was the fact that the "Mets" name across the top, Kingman's uniform, and the All-Star banner all matched perfectly, making for an esthetically flawless card in my book.

Much like the 1977 Rusty Staub card, which I profiled on this blog some time ago, I am always a sucker for a card where the design AND photo are color coordinated! Some 1976 A's and Reds cards come to mind as well.

Take a look at Kingman's card:

"Kong" following one of his moon shots.

Kingman was such a freakin' enigma when he played. While he was bashing homers no matter where he went, he often came across as a bit "flighty" or "distant" to teammates and the press alike, leading him to be less than popular in his 16 year career.

On top of his personality, Kingman personified that "all or nothing" player, often hitting 30+ homers with less than favorable batting averages, piling up strikeouts like few others in the league.

Take his 1982 season as an example. Kingman lead the N.L. In homers with 37, yet managed to eke out a .204 batting average with a league leading 156 strikeouts.

Adding to the enigmatic legend, in 1986 Kingman hit 35 home runs for the Oakland A's, yet never returned to the Major Leagues, thus setting a record that still stands today for homers in a final season of a career.

As a matter of fact, in his three years playing for Oakland, the LAST three years of his career, Kingman smashed 35, 30 and 35 home runs. 100 home runs for a guy who hung them up soon afterwards without warning.

By the time he was done both frustrating and exciting fans, he belted a very respectable 442 homers for the Giants, Mets, Yankees, Angels, Padres, Cubs, and A's.

What's amazing about that home run number was that he hit those 442 homers in just 6677 at-bats! Consider that Hank Aaron had over 12000 at-bats and you get the sense of Kingman's homer "ratio" (a favorite Oscar Gamble quip). Amazing. But at the same time, in those 6677 at-bats he also whiffed 1816 times! 

Again, it was all-or-nothing with "Kong", but it was a fun ride watching him play.