ON-CARD ALL-STAR: A SPECIAL 1974 RICK WISE

On the blog today, a special edition of my on-going "On-Card All-Star" cards, where I slap a bold and beautiful "All-Star" banner across a players' base Topps card, which was always my favorite way to go instead of a separate All-Star sub Set.

In this case, I had to create a "correct" card for the National League's 1973 All-Star game starter, Rick Wise, who was sent packing to the Boston Red Sox in the off-season, leading to Topps airbrushing him into a BoSox uni for their 1974 offering:

 

Makes for a very nice unique addition to all our 1974 sets!

It's easy to forget that the guy put together a really solid Major League career, finishing with a 188-181 record to go along with a 3.69 earned run average, 30 shutouts and 1647 strikeouts over 506 games (455 starts) between 1964 and 1982.
Yes he'll always be remembered for being the "wrong" side of the Steve Carlton trade (ironically enough during the off-season after his no-hit year), but if not for an injury-plagued season in 1974 while with the Red Sox, he could have been a 200-game winner.
Go figure...

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 JOHNNY BENCH

Next up in my on-going "On Card All-Star" thread where I slap a big beautiful All-Star banner on a player's base card instead of the dreaded separate All-Star card Topps created in none other than the greatest backstop there ever was, Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds:

 

Bench was coming off his sixth straight All-Star nod in six full seasons in the Big Leagues, as well as taking home his sixth straight Gold Glove.

Bench already had two MVP’s under his belt by the time this card would have hit the market, and was just about to become a two-time world champion with two straight World Series wins in 1975 and 1976 against the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees respectively.
He would put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 CESAR CEDENO

On the blog today, on to the next 1974 All-Star "fix", this time for the electric Cesar Cedeno, who at the time was an up and coming superstar for the Houston Astros:

 

I just cannot say enough about how awesome Cedeno was in the beginning of his career, as a young player who was a threat with the long ball, stealing a base, or hitting for average.

Cedeno was coming off his second straight season of hitting .320, along with a league-leading 39 doubles.

He also took home his second straight Gold Glove while finishing eleventh in the N.L. MVP race.

For 1974 it was more of the same as he'd drive home a career-best 102 runs with 26 homers, also a career-high, while stealing 57 bases and scoring 95 runs.

The man could do it all!

I would love to know the numbers he could have put up had he not played in the cavernous Astrodome for the first 12 years of his career!
By the time he was done after the 1986 season, he retired with 199 homers and 550 stolen bases, along with a very nice .285 batting average and 2087 hits.
An excellent player who was easily overshadowed by contemporaries of the era.

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 PETE ROSE

Time to go an add the great Pete Rose to my "On-card All-Star" thread, where I slap a bug beautiful All-Star banner on a player's base Topps card in the years Topps decided to have a separate All-Star card in their set:

 

For Rose it was business as usual, no matter what position he was playing, as he would get the All-Star nod throughout the first 20 years of his incredible career, whether it was at second base, the outfield, or first.

In 1973 he took home his only MVP Award after winning his third batting title while collecting a career-high 230 hits, scoring 115 runs for the potent Cincinnati Reds team that would soon win two straight championships in 1975 and 1976.

In the ten years spanning 1970-1979, he was on two world champion teams, four pennant winners, had six 200-hit seasons, and led his league in no less than 13 offensive categories!
And that's not all: in NINE of those years he received Most Valuable Player consideration, taking home the award as I stated earlier in 1973.
As a player, the man was incredible.

A Hall of Famer. The all-time hit leader in Major League baseball’s 150+ year history.

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 BILLY WILLIAMS

Up on the blog today we have the next National League player to get the "on-base-card" All-Star treatment, Hall of Fame outfielder Billy Williams, aka "Sweet Swingin' Billy from Whistler":

 

It is amazing when you consider all the great ballplayers that came out of Alabama.

Just yesterday I profiled Oscar Gamble, also from the same state, as well as thumpers like Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Hank Aaron, Lee May, George Foster, Rudy York, Mule Suttles, Heinie Manush and Monte Irvin to name just a FEW!

Anyway, for Williams, it was to be the last All-Star nod of his great 18-year career, the sixth overall honor in his age-35 season.

By the time he retired, he finished with 2711 hits, 1410 runs scored, 426 home runs, 1475 runs batted in and a .290 batting average over 2488 games.
Along with his Rookie of the Year in 1961, he was a two-time runner-up to the MVP Award (thanks to Johnny Bench each time) in 1970 and 1972 and a six-time All-Star.
What a career he put together, yet always in the shadows of giants like teammate Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente.
Nevertheless, though it took him six years of eligibility to make it, he was elected for a rightful place in Cooperstown in 1987 when he received 85.7% of the vote.
Just a great player all around.

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 RON SANTO

Moving right along in my long-running "On-Card All-Star" thread where I slap a big beautiful "All-Star" banner on a player's base Topps card, we have the National League's starting third baseman in 1973, Ron Santo:

 

Now, as I did with Carlton Fisk, I needed to recreate Santo's base 1974 Topps card since his original was a landscape layout, so I came up with this one, which presents well I believe.

Santo was named to his ninth, and final All-Star team in 1973, as he entrenched himself as THE National League third sacker during the era, just like Brooks Robinson did over in the American League.

Santo was winding down a wonderful 15 year career by then, one that would see him finish with five Gold Gloves, 342 homers, 2254 hits, 1331 runs batted in and the aforementioned All-Star nods.

Sadly however, Cooperstown dropped the ball and finally selected him for Hall of Fame enshrinement two years after his passing in 2012.

Really is a shame he wasn't given that honor beforehand, which he deserved.

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 CHRIS SPEIER

On the blog today we go and give San Francisco Giants shortstop Chris Speier a blazing "All-Star" banner on his 1974 base card, as part of my on-going "On-Card All-Star" thread:

 

Speier really started his career in fine form, making the All-Star team three of his first four seasons, even getting some MVP consideration in 1972 after hitting 15 homers with 72 runs batted in with 151 hits at the age of 22.

Though he couldn't keep up the production of his early years in the league, he did eventually put in 19 seasons in the Big Leagues, retiring after the 1989 season with 1759 hits, a .246 batting average and 770 runs scored.

Will always remember that he was a staple of my childhood baseball card packs growing up in the late-70's/early-80's, pulling what seemed to be DOZENS of Chris Speier cards out of packs in 1981 when he was a member of the Montreal Expos.

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 JOE MORGAN

On the blog today, we move on to the great Joe Morgan and add him to my on-going "On-Card All-Star" thread where I slap a big beautiful "All-Star" banner on the base cards of starting players in years Topps had separate All-Star cards:

 

To refresh everyone's memories, I was never a fan of separate All-Star cards as a kid. I loved when Topps had the All-Star designation on the players base card, giving it that extra iconic element that made them instant classics.

Between 1975 and 1981 Topps did just that, and I was absolutely heartbroken when I ripped open my first packs of 1982 cards, and came upon a Reggie Jackson card, then noticing it was a dedicated All-Star card.

Anyway, as for Mr. Morgan, the man was just beginning a run that would send him straight to the Hall of Fame, while helping build a juggernaut of a team forever known as the "Big Red Machine".

They'd win two straight Wold Series in 1975 and 1976, and field teams with the likes of Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, George Foster and Ken Griffey Sr.

Morgan was the National League's starting second baseman in the 1973 Midsummer Classic, and would go on to finish the year with a .290average, with 116 runs scored, 35 doubles, 26 homers and 67 stolen bases, good enough for a fourth place finish in the MVP race, while also taking home the first of his five Gold Gloves.

Just a juggernaut himself!

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 HANK AARON

On the blog today, we move on to the National League in my on-going "On-Card All-Star" thread where I slap a nice All-Star banner on a player's base Topps card from a particular year, and we begin with the great Hank Aaron at first base for the N.L.:

 

Of course I went and used my own Hank Aaron custom that I introduced on the blog a few months back, sticking with the base Topps design instead of the "special" that was originally used.

Just a great picture of the legend smiling, enjoying life, on his way to baseball history.

Of course all baseball talk was about Aaron at this time, with his overtaking Babe Ruth as the all-time Home Run champion as the 1974 season opened up, and rightly so!

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"!

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 JIM "CATFISH" HUNTER

Today we reach the final American League player to get the "on-base-card" All-Star banner for 1974, Hall of Fame pitcher Jim "Catfish" Hunter:

 

Hunter had himself quite a year in 1973, topping 20 wins for the third straight season with 21, going 21-5 with a 3.34 earned run average and 124 strikeouts over 36 appearances.

Along the way he tossed three shutouts while completing 11 games, pitching a total of 256.1 innings.

Of course more importantly he also helped the Oakland A's win their second straight World Series, and they weren't done yet as they'd march to their third straight championship in 1974, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Of course we all know Hunter would become one of the early big-time Free Agents, signing with the New York Yankees in time for the 1975 season, and he'd go on to enjoy another two championships, helping the "Bronx Zoo" Yanks win it all in both 1977 and 1978.

Sadly, though still only 33 years of age in 1979, he called it a career after injuries took their toll, finishing up with a record of 224 and 166, with an ERA of 3.26 with 42 shutouts and 2012 strikeouts over 500 games, 476 of those starts, completing 181.

In 1987 he'd be voted into the Hall of Fame, and sadly just 12 years later he would pass away at the age of only 53 due to ALS.

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 AMOS OTIS

On the blog today, we add vastly underrated Kansas City Royals outfielder Amos Otis to the "on-card All-Star" thread I've been working on for some time:

Otis, who really is so overlooked, made his fourth All-Star team in 1973, finishing third in the American League MVP race after hitting an even .300 with a career-best 26 home runs while driving in 93.

Two years prior, in 1971, he led the A.L. in stolen bases with 52, while also taking home the first of his three Gold Gloves.

He was nothing but steady through the entire decade, and was the American League's top run scorer with 861. driving in 90+ three times while stealing 30+ bases five times.

By the time he retired after the 1984 season after one year with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he ended up with 193 homers, 341 stolen bases, 1092 runs scored and 2020 hits along with a batting average of .277 and 1007 runs batted in.
Considering the “dead ball” era of the early-70’s in the American League, his numbers are up there with the best of them, and it’s sad he gets lost among his contemporaries when looking back at that time in Major League baseball.

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 BOBBY MURCER

Up on the blog today we are adding Bobby Murcer to my on-going "On-Card All-Star" project, slapping a big beautiful "All-Star" banner on the base card of starting All-Stars, as Topps did between 1975 and 1981:

 

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.

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 REGGIE JACKSON

On the blog today, a new addition to my ongoing "On Card All-Star" series, where I imagine if Topps always had the "All-Star" designation on a player's base card through the 1970's, and today it is the great Reggie Jackson:

 

Sure, his 1974 card is a classic no-matter-what, but how awesome would it have been to have THIS coming out of a pack back then?!

The man was in his prime come 1974, coming off an MVP season where he helped the Oakland A's win their second straight World Championship, defeating the New York Mets.

And he wasn't nearly done yet!

The 1974 season would see him lead the A's to a third straight championship, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers, before he would eventually help the New York Yankees win two straight in 1977 & 1978, where the legend of "Mr. October" was born, and I was GLAD to be growing up in NYC as a kid at that time to see it all!

The man made 14 All-Star teams, and was certainly an icon of the sport, AND of the era!

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 CARLTON FISK

On the blog today, a fun "On-Card All-Star" card to add to my on-going 1974 project, a totally redone card for Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk:

Being that Fisks' card in 1974 was of the landscape variety, it did not fit with the blazing bold "All-Star" banner I created for this thread, so I figured, why not just create a new portrait-oriented version?

Carlton Fisk immediately made his impact on the game, unanimously winning the 1972 Rookie of the Year Award by hitting .293 and leading the league with nine triples along with 22 homers and 61 runs batted in.
Of course, we all know he’d go on to star for both the Red Sox and then the Chicago White Sox over the next 21 seasosn, 24 overall, becoming one of the greatest catchers in the history of the game.
He'd be named to eleven all-star games, collect 2356 Major League hits, and slam 376 home runs with 1330 runs batted in and 1276 runs scored.
Of course, he’d also give us one of baseball’s all-time moments, hitting the game-winning home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series versus the “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati Reds, the image of him waving the ball fair a part of Major League history.
After eleven years in Boston, he would go on to play 13 more with the White Sox, playing until the age of 45! A tank of a man, and continue to put in solid season after season.
In 1985 at the age of 37, he set career highs in home runs (37) and Runs batted in (107), while tying his career high in stolen bases (17) while catching 130 games. Just amazing.
After missing out on a Hall of Fame selection in 1999 (how the Hell did that happen?), he made it in the following year when he was named on 79.6% of ballots, joining other all-time catchers like Campanella, Berra and Bench in baseball immortality.

 

ON-CARD ALL-STARS: 1974 BROOKS ROBINSON

Next up in my on-going "on-card all-stars" thread for 1974 is the great Brooks Robinson, who of course was the starting third baseman for the American League in the 1973 All-Star game:

It was the man's 14th straight All-Star nod at third base for the Junior Circuit, and it would also be his 14th straight Gold Glove, on his way to 16 before he was through.

In 1958 he’d play his first full season in the Big Leagues, and it was all cruise control from there, as the great third baseman would go on to grab those 16 Gold Gloves, an MVP Award in 1964, appear in 15 All-Star games, and help guide the Baltimore Orioles to two Championships and four A.L. Pennants.
By the time he hung up that golden glove after the 1977 season, he finished with 2848 hits, 1357 runs batted in, 268 home runs and 1232 runs scored in 2896 games.
Needless to say, by the time Cooperstown came calling, he was voted in on his first try, receiving 92% support in 1983.

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 BERT CAMPANERIS

Up on the blog today we have my "updated" 1974 Bert Capaneris card, with an added All-Star banner blazing across the front, just the way I would have liked as a kid way back when:

I was, and always will be a fan of base-card all-star designations, and always wished Topps stayed the course past the 1981 set.

For "Campy", it was his second straight All-Star nod, third overall, and he would have three more before he was done.

He was a consistent spark plug for the Athletics organization since he came up in 1964 and making quite a splash by hitting two home runs in his Big League debut off Minnesota Twins pitcher Jim Kaat.
He’d go on to lead the American League in stolen bases six times, while getting named to six All-Star teams along the way.
Of course, he would also be an important member of the three-time World Champion Oakland A’s of the mid-70s along with Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi and Catfish Hunter just to name a few.
He would end up playing 19 Major League seasons, all the way to 1983, finishing up with 2249 hits, 1181 runs scored and 649 stolen bases over 2328 games.

I fondly remember his time with the New York Yankees in 1983, this last action before retiring. Just seemed like a fun veteran to have around giving tips to youngsters like Don Mattingly.

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 ROD CAREW

Continuing with my new "on-card" All-Star project, the 1974 set, we move on to the starting second baseman for the American League in the 1973 Midsummer classic, Hall of Famer Rod Carew:

  

Again, trying to mimic what Topps did with their All-Star designation in other sports, "bold and beautiful"!

Carew of course 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.

Of course 1969 would be significant in that Carew would take home the first of what would be seven batting titles, hitting .332 for the Minnesota Twins, a 29-point increase from the year before.

It also helped the Twins take first place in the newly formed West division races, with the Baltimore Orioles taking first in the East.

What really needs to be said about the greatest hitter of his generation?

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.

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 DICK ALLEN

OK! 

After my 1970 "On-Card All-Star" project, where I added all-star banners on the actual base card of starters for the previous year's All-Star game, I've decided to move along to the 1974 set, trying to best mimic what Topps did with the All-Star cards from other sports that year.

Let's begging with the American League, and first base, which was Chicago White Sox great Dick Allen:

 

 

If you look at what Topps did with their hockey, basketball and football sets around that year, they went with a bold, in-your-face all-star field on cards.

I always liked the way the 1974 all-star cards looked in the other sports, especially football with their dedicated black templates which was totally different from "regular cards".

But for this, I leaned more toward the hockey and basketball card all-star designs, so here you have it.

For Dick Allen, it was his sixth All-Star nod, with one more to follow in 1974 in a career that is Hall-worthy in my opinion when taken in context of the era.

The man was a beast at the plate, putting up numbers that were consistently up in the league-leaders year after year.

Needless to say, he took home the Rookie of the Year in 1964, and in 1972 would take home the MVP trophy while with the White Sox when he paced the American League with 37 homers and 113 RBI's, while just missing out on the Triple Crown, batting .308, just ten points off the league-leading mark by perennial winner Rod Carew.

By the time he left the game at the age of 35, Allen hit over 350 homers, batted .292 and scored 1099 runs with 1119 RBI's.

The seven-time all-star also led his league in triples once, walks once, on-base-percentage twice and slugging three times.

I'm not saying the man is a lock-tight Hall of Fame candidate, but I do think in light of some of the guys already in, HE should also be in there.

The fact that the most support he got was an 18.9% showing in 1996 seems like a joke to me.

What do you all think?

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1970 MEL STOTTLEMYRE

I misspoke last week when I stated that my 1970 Reggie Jackson "On-Card All-Star" was the final starter to be "fixed" here on the blog.

I forgot about the American League starting pitcher for the 1969 Midsummer Classic, New York Yankees ace Mel Stottlemyre:

Stottlemyre was on his way to his third and final 20-win season in 1969, finishing up with a record of 20-14 with a 2.82 ERA over 39 appearances, all starts, throwing a league-leading 24 complete games.

With a half-season in 1964 (his first year), and 1974 (his last), he put up nine full seasons in between, and all but one (1966) rock solid for some poor Yankee teams.

In nine full years on the mound, he posted three 20-win seasons (all while pitching during the Bronx "lean years"), five sub-3.00 ERA years, seven 15+ win seasons, nine 250+ innings seasons, and six years of four or more shutouts, topping out with seven in both 1971 and 1972.

How solid is THAT!?

A five-time all-star, I can't even imagine what his win totals could have been had he stayed healthy and pitched into the late-1970's/early-80's, or even if he wasn't starring for those bad Yankee teams post-dynasty between 1965-on.

Consider his numbers in the small amount of time he was a Major League pitcher: a 164-139 record, with a nice 2.97 ERA, 40 shutouts and 1257 K's in only 356 starts!

Those are really some seriously great numbers.

Sadly because of a rotator-cuff injury in 1974, he had to retire at the young age of only 32, leaving us to wonder "what could have been".

Of course we know that he later went on to become one of the most respected pitching coaches in the Majors from the 1980-s with the Mets on through to the "new" Yankee dynasty in the late-90's/early-00's, before retiring for good after the 2008 season.

 

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1970 REGGIE JACKSON

Today we come to the last player to get the "All-Star Fix" on their 1970 Topps card, Hall of Fame slugger Reggie Jackson, who made a splash during the 1969 season, meeting all expectations after being drafted #2 overall in 1966:

  

Jackson had it all going on in 1969, finishing the year with a career-best 47 home runs along with a league-leading 123 runs scored, paired up with 118 runs batted in and a .275 average for the Oakland A's.

Those numbers got him a fifth-place finish in the MVP race at season's end, and we all know he was FAR from finished.

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!