REVISIT: 1978 "TURN BACK THE CLOCK" STAN MUSIAL

Up on the blog today, thought it'd be fun to revisit another 10-year-old post, this one my 1978 "Turn Back The Clock" card for all-time great Stan Musial, celebrating his 3000th hit from 20 years earlier:

He would go on to collect another 630 more hits to become the leading National League hit-maker before Hank Aaron would overtake him about 10 years later.
Throw in 725 doubles, 177 triples and 475 home runs and you have yourself one of THE best all-around hitters the game ever saw.
Three Most Valuable Player Awards, FOUR second-place finishes, including three in a row between 1949-1951, and twenty consecutive all-star appearances, Musial definitely is a member of that rarified stratosphere of baseball royalty along with the likes of Ruth, Cobb, Mays and Wagner, among others.

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: STAN MUSIAL

Today on the blog we have my 1960 "Stars of the Game" card for "The Man", Stan Musial, from my 2018 custom set packaged in gelatin WTHBALLS box with gelatin packet:

His MLB numbers are just absurd: seven batting titles, two R.B.I. titles, five triples titles and eight doubles titles, with career numbers of 475 home runs, 1951 runs batted in and a .331 career average.

Throw in his 725 doubles, 177 triples and 3630 hits along with 1949 runs scored and the numbers are staggering. 

And don't forget that Musial also lost a year to military duty, easily putting him over 500 homers, close to 3900 hits and around 2100 runs batted in if he played in 1945.

Along with the great Frank Robinson I always felt Stan Musial was often overlooked in the decades since his playing days ended.

When talk of "Greatest Living Player" came up it was always Williams, DiMaggio, Mays or even Aaron that would come up. But Stan Musial would always kind of be that after-thought.

Criminal.

Three Most Valuable Player Awards, FOUR second-place finishes, including three in a row between 1949-1951, and twenty consecutive all-star appearances, Musial definitely is a member of that rarified stratosphere of baseball royalty along with the likes of Ruth, Cobb, Mays and Wagner, among others.

 

THE "WHOLE NINE": MISSING IN ACTION 1957 STAN MUSIAL

Fun card to spotlight today on the blog, my"missing in action" 1957 card for "Stan the Man", Stan Musial, from my "Whole Nine" Series 2 set released a few months ago, with full stat-backs:

Who wouldn't want to flip this card around and scan the insane stats that Musial Put up during his stellar career!?

His MLB numbers are just absurd: seven batting titles, two R.B.I. titles, five triples titles and eight doubles titles, with career numbers of 475 home runs, 1951 runs batted in and a .331 career average. Throw in his 725 doubles, 177 triples and 3630 hits along with 1949 runs scored and the numbers are staggering. 

And don't forget that Musial also lost a year to military duty, easily putting him over 500 homers, close to 3900 hits and around 2100 runs batted in if he played in 1945.

Along with the great Frank Robinson I always felt Stan Musial was often overlooked in the decades since his playing days ended.

When talk of "Greatest Living Player" came up it was always Williams, DiMaggio, Mays or even Aaron that would come up. But Stan Musial would always kind of be that after-thought.

Criminal.

Three Most Valuable Player Awards, FOUR second-place finishes, including three in a row between 1949-1951, and twenty consecutive all-star appearances, Musial definitely is a member of that rarified stratosphere of baseball royalty along with the likes of Ruth, Cobb, Mays and Wagner, among others.

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: STAN MUSIAL

Up on the blog today, we add "Stan The Man" Musial to my custom "Classic Baseball" set, celebrating the great game that has brought me so much joy throughout my life for close to 50 years:

Just a fun, clean layout for this set, which I plan to release in five different series adding up to over 100 cards in what should be the largest set in the WTHBALLS card stable.

Regarding the great Stan Musial, his MLB numbers are just absurd: seven batting titles, two R.B.I. titles, five triples titles and eight doubles titles, with career numbers of 475 home runs, 1951 runs batted in and a .331 career average. Throw in his 725 doubles, 177 triples and 3630 hits along with 1949 runs scored and the numbers are staggering. 

And don't forget that Musial also lost a year to military duty, easily putting him over 500 homers, close to 3900 hits and around 2100 runs batted in if he played in 1945.

Along with the great Frank Robinson I always felt Stan Musial was often overlooked in the decades since his playing days ended.

When talk of "Greatest Living Player" came up it was always Williams, DiMaggio, Mays or even Aaron that would come up. But Stan Musial would always kind of be that after-thought.

Criminal.

Three Most Valuable Player Awards, FOUR second-place finishes, including three in a row between 1949-1951, and twenty consecutive all-star appearances, Musial definitely is a member of that rarified stratosphere of baseball royalty along with the likes of Ruth, Cobb, Mays and Wagner, among others.

MINOR LEAGUE DAYS: LEGENDS EDITION: STAN MUSIAL

Good day everyone!

On the blog today, we add the greatest overlooked player in the history of the game, Stan "The Man" Musial to my ongoing "Minor League Days: Legends Edition" set:

We see Musial here as a 20-year-old in 1941 when he put in 54 games with the Rochester Red Wings, his only time with the team before moving up to the Majors, where he'd dominate over the next 22 seasons, becoming one of the greatest players ever to take the field.

In his time with the Red Wings, Musial did what he would do at any level of pro ball, HIT, as evidenced by his .326 batting average, along with 43 runs, 10 doubles, four triples and three homers to go with 21 runs batted in.

By the end of the year he was in St. Louis, hitting a blistering .426 over 12 games, giving everyone an idea of what to expect.

His MLB numbers are just absurd: seven batting titles, two R.B.I. titles, five triples titles and eight doubles titles, with career numbers of 475 home runs, 1951 runs batted in and a .331 career average. Throw in his 725 doubles, 177 triples and 3630 hits along with 1949 runs scored and the numbers are staggering. 

And don't forget that Musial also lost a year to military duty, easily putting him over 500 homers, close to 3900 hits and around 2100 runs batted in if he played in 1945.

Along with the great Frank Robinson I always felt Stan Musial was often overlooked in the decades since his playing days ended.

When talk of "Greatest Living Player" came up it was always Williams, DiMaggio, Mays or even Aaron that would come up. But Stan Musial would always kind of be that after-thought.

Criminal.

Three Most Valuable Player Awards, FOUR second-place finishes, including three in a row between 1949-1951, and twenty consecutive all-star appearances, Musial definitely is a member of that rarified stratosphere of baseball royalty along with the likes of Ruth, Cobb, Mays and Wagner, among others.

1960's IN-ACTION SPECIAL: 1962 STAN MUSIAL

The next 1960's superstar to get an "In-Action" card in my recent custom set, the great, and one of the GREATEST, Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals:

Stan was close to wrapping up one of the greatest careers a player ever had in the sport by the time this card would have seen the light of day, eventually playing through the 1963 season before walking away.

His MLB numbers are just absurd: seven batting titles, two R.B.I. titles, five triples titles and eight doubles titles, with career numbers of 475 home runs, 1951 runs batted in and a .331 career average. Throw in his 725 doubles, 177 triples and 3630 hits along with 1949 runs scored and the numbers are staggering. 

And don't forget that Musial also lost a year to military duty, easily putting him over 500 homers, close to 3900 hits and around 2100 runs batted in if he played in 1945.

Along with the great Frank Robinson I always felt Stan Musial was often overlooked in the decades since his playing days ended.

When talk of "Greatest Living Player" came up it was always Williams, DiMaggio, Mays or even Aaron that would come up. But Stan Musial would always kind of be that after-thought.

Criminal.

Three Most Valuable Player Awards, FOUR second-place finishes, including three in a row between 1949-1951, and twenty consecutive all-star appearances, Musial definitely is a member of that rarified stratosphere of baseball royalty along with the likes of Ruth, Cobb, Mays and Wagner, among others.

 

1960'S CAREER-CAPPERS INSERTS: STAN MUSIAL

Today on the blog we spotlight my "1960s Career-Cappers" insert card for the great, arguably greatest, Stan Musial, about as forgotten or overlooked a great of the game as there is:

Musial's MLB numbers are just absurd: seven batting titles, two R.B.I. titles, five triples titles and eight doubles titles, with career numbers of 475 home runs, 1951 runs batted in and a .331 career average. Throw in his 725 doubles, 177 triples and 3630 hits along with 1949 runs scored and the numbers are staggering. 

And don't forget that Musial also lost a year to military duty, easily putting him over 500 homers, close to 3900 hits and around 2100 runs batted in if he played in 1945.

Along with the great Frank Robinson I always felt Stan Musial was often the most overlooked in the decades since his playing days ended.

When talk of "Greatest Living Player" came up it was always Williams, DiMaggio, Mays or even Aaron that would come up. But Stan Musial would always kind of be that after-thought.

Criminal.

Three Most Valuable Player Awards, FOUR second-place finishes, including three in a row between 1949-1951, and twenty consecutive all-star appearances, Musial definitely is a member of that rarified stratosphere of baseball royalty along with the likes of Ruth, Cobb, Mays and Wagner, among others.

VINTAGE CUSTOM SPOTLIGHT: 1950 DRAKE'S "EXTENDED" SET: STAN MUSIAL

On the blog today, we have my "missing" 1950 Stan Musial Drake's card, from my custom set released a couple of years ago in special packaging:

One of my favorite oddball sets of the vintage era, Drake's did in fact leave out some of the biggest names of the sport, including "Stan the Man".

As for the great Musial, his MLB numbers are just absurd: seven batting titles, two R.B.I. titles, five triples titles and eight doubles titles, with career numbers of 475 home runs, 1951 runs batted in and a .331 career average. Throw in his 725 doubles, 177 triples and 3630 hits along with 1949 runs scored and the numbers are staggering. 

And don't forget that Musial also lost a year to military duty, easily putting him over 500 homers, close to 3900 hits and around 2100 runs batted in if he played in 1945.

Along with the great Frank Robinson I always felt Stan Musial was often overlooked in the decades since his playing days ended.

When talk of "Greatest Living Player" came up it was always Williams, DiMaggio, Mays or even Aaron that would come up. But Stan Musial would always kind of be that after-thought.

Criminal.

Three Most Valuable Player Awards, FOUR second-place finishes, including three in a row between 1949-1951, and twenty consecutive all-star appearances, Musial definitely is a member of that rarified stratosphere of baseball royalty along with the likes of Ruth, Cobb, Mays and Wagner, among others.

VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS STAN MUSIAL

Good day everyone!

Happy to start a fun new thread today, one of which I hope to have printed up as a special custom set in the near future if I can find a printer capable enough to print them, a small set of "missing" 1954 Wilson Franks cards, adding to what can be one of my all-time favorite sets.

We begin with the great Stan Musial, who was left out of the set by the meat company way back when:

The main reason this card set would be tough to get printed up is the size and the fact that this set had incredibly thin white borders, something quality control at any commercial printer would have a hard time keeping well-cut.

It'll be tough, but I'm searching to see who can control it for print.

As for the great Musial, his MLB numbers are just absurd: seven batting titles, two R.B.I. titles, five triples titles and eight doubles titles, with career numbers of 475 home runs, 1951 runs batted in and a .331 career average. Throw in his 725 doubles, 177 triples and 3630 hits along with 1949 runs scored and the numbers are staggering. 

And don't forget that Musial also lost a year to military duty, easily putting him over 500 homers, close to 3900 hits and around 2100 runs batted in if he played in 1945.

Along with the great Frank Robinson I always felt Stan Musial was often overlooked in the decades since his playing days ended.

When talk of "Greatest Living Player" came up it was always Williams, DiMaggio, Mays or even Aaron that would come up. But Stan Musial would always kind of be that after-thought.

Criminal.

Three Most Valuable Player Awards, FOUR second-place finishes, including three in a row between 1949-1951, and twenty consecutive all-star appearances, Musial definitely is a member of that rarified stratosphere of baseball royalty along with the likes of Ruth, Cobb, Mays and Wagner, among others.

CAREER-CAPPER: 1964 STAN MUSIAL

Today's blog post has a 1964 "career-capper" for all-time great Stan Musial, from my "1960's Capper" pack released a couple years back:

For Musial, his MLB numbers are just absurd: seven batting titles, two R.B.I. titles, five triples titles and eight doubles titles, with career numbers of 475 home runs, 1951 runs batted in and a .331 career average. Throw in his 725 doubles, 177 triples and 3630 hits along with 1949 runs scored and the numbers are staggering. 

And don't forget that Musial also lost a year to military duty, easily putting him over 500 homers, close to 3900 hits and around 2100 runs batted in if he played in 1945.

Along with the great Frank Robinson I always felt Stan Musial was often overlooked in the decades since his playing days ended.

When talk of "Greatest Living Player" came up it was always Williams, DiMaggio, Mays or even Aaron that would come up. But Stan Musial would always kind of be that after-thought.

Criminal.

Three Most Valuable Player Awards, FOUR second-place finishes, including three in a row between 1949-1951, and twenty consecutive all-star appearances, Musial definitely is a member of that rarified stratosphere of baseball royalty along with the likes of Ruth, Cobb, Mays and Wagner, among others.

SPECIAL SPOTLIGHT: "LOST" 1963 FLEER SECOND SERIES: STAN MUSIAL

The next 1963 "Lost" Fleer card from my custom set released a few months back to get the spotlight is my card for perhaps the MOST underappreciated player the game has ever had, St. Louis Cardinal legend Stan Musial:

 

For Musial, his MLB numbers are just absurd: seven batting titles, two R.B.I. titles, five triples titles and eight doubles titles, with career numbers of 475 home runs, 1951 runs batted in and a .331 career average. Throw in his 725 doubles, 177 triples and 3630 hits along with 1949 runs scored and the numbers are staggering. 

And don't forget that Musial also lost a year to military duty, easily putting him over 500 homers, close to 3900 hits and around 2100 runs batted in if he played in 1945.

Along with the great Frank Robinson I always felt Stan Musial was often overlooked in the decades since his playing days ended.

When talk of "Greatest Living Player" came up it was always Williams, DiMaggio, Mays or even Aaron that would come up. But Stan Musial would always kind of be that after-thought.

Criminal.

Three Most Valuable Player Awards, FOUR second-place finishes, including three in a row between 1949-1951, and twenty consecutive all-star appearances, Musial definitely is a member of that rarified stratosphere of baseball royalty along with the likes of Ruth, Cobb, Mays and Wagner, among others.

CUSTOM SPOTLIGHT- "MISSING IN ACTION" 1958 STAN MUSIAL

Today's blog post has me beginning a thread over the next couple of months spotlighting cards from my "Whole Nine Yards" custom set released a few months back, focusing on cards from the 1950's through the 1980's that I normally wouldn't create for the blog, beginning with a 1958 Topps base card for St. Louis Cardinals legend Stan Musial:

 

Of course we all know the story by now as to Musial not having a Topps card through the 1950's (a tragedy for us collectors!), finally getting his first card in the 1958 set, but NOT a base card but rather an All-Star card, before getting that first base card the following year in 1959.

For Musial, his MLB numbers are just absurd: Seven batting titles, two R.B.I. titles, five triples titles and eight doubles titles, with career numbers of 475 home runs, 1951 runs batted in and a .331 career average. Throw in his 725 doubles, 177 triples and 3630 hits along with 1949 runs scored and the numbers are staggering. 

And don't forget that Musial also lost a year to military duty, easily putting him over 500 homers, close to 3900 hits and around 2100 runs batted in if he played in 1945.

Funny thing is I always felt Stan Musial was often overlooked in the decades since his playing days ended after the 1963 season.

When talk of "Greatest Living Player" came up it was always Williams, DiMaggio, Mays or even Aaron that would come up. But Stan Musial would always kind of be that after-thought.

Criminal.

TURN BACK THE CLOCK- STAN THE MAN COLLECTS HIS 3000TH HIT

Here’s a 1978 “Turn Back the Clock” card for one of my all-time favorite players: Stan Musial, and his 3000th hit, which he collected 20-years before in 1958:

He would go on to collect another 630 more hits to become the leading National League hit-maker before Hank Aaron would overtake him about 10 years later.
Throw in 725 doubles, 177 triples and 475 home runs and you have yourself one of THE best all-around hitters the game ever saw.
Three Most Valuable Player Awards, FOUR second-place finishes, including three in a row between 1949-1951, and twenty consecutive all-star appearances, Musial definitely is a member of that rarified stratosphere of baseball royalty along with the likes of Ruth, Cobb, Mays and Wagner, among others.

TURN BACK THE CLOCK 1954: STAN "THE MAN" MUSIAL SLAMS FIVE HOME RUNS IN DOUBLE-HEADER

Let’s go and give Stan Musial a “Turn Back the Clock” 20th anniversary card for his montrous day at the plate on May 2nd, 1954 against the New York Giants:

Stan was definitely “The Man” that day, going 4 for 4 in the first game, with three homers and six runs batted in, helping the Cardinals beat the Giants 10-6 at Busch Stadium.
Then, as if that wasn’t enough, Musial proceeds to go 2 for 4 in the second game, with two homers off of future Hall of Fame pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm.
It wasn’t enough to help the Cards beat the Giants though, as the New Yorkers win 9-7, but for Musial he went a combined 6 for 8 with five home runs and nine runs batted in and six runs scored!
Just one of the many accomplishments for Musial that still makes him one of the greatest hitters in baseball history.

TOPPS 1976 "ALL-TIME ALL-STARS"- AN EXPANDED VIEW #8: OUTFIELDERS (3rd SET OF THREE)

Time to take a look at the final outfield slot in my "All-Time All-Stars" expanded sub-set from the 1976 Topps set.

And while we revisit the Sporting News pick for the third outfield position, Ted Williams, we also take a look at who I picked to fill out the National League team, Cardinal great Stan Musial.

I thought it would be appropriate to have Williams and Musial together on my "team" since they were contemporaries during the "Golden Age" of baseball.

Take a look at the cards: the Williams card as issued by Topps in 1976 and my design for the Musial card…

"The Splendid Splinter"

"Stan the Man"

What is really needed to say here regarding these two guys?!

Ted Williams and Stan Musial: two of the greatest all-around hitters in Major League history.

Power, average, getting on base. There was nothing they didn't excel at!

All Ted Williams did was win six batting titles, four home run titles and four R.B.I. titles, ending up with 521 homers, 1839 ribbies and a .344 career average while MISSING about five prime years of his career to military duty! Seriously, we could be talking of Williams having 700 homers, 4000 hits and about 2300 runs batted in if it wasn't for his missed playing time.

And for Musial, the numbers are almost as absurd: Seven batting titles, two R.B.I. titles, five triples titles and eight doubles titles, with career numbers of 475 home runs, 1951 runs batted in and a .331 career average. Throw in his 725 doubles, 177 triples and 3630 hits along with 1949 runs scored and the numbers are staggering. 

And don't forget that Musial also lost a year to military duty, easily putting him over 500 homers, close to 3900 hits and around 2100 runs batted in if he played in 1945.

Combined we're looking at five Most Valuable Player Awards, eight second place finishes, and an astonishing 88 league titles in important offensive categories over their 41 combined Major League seasons.

What a tandem right here. Monsters of the game if there ever were any.

Funny thing is I always felt Stan Musial was often overlooked in the decades leading to his death last year.

When talk of "Greatest Living Player" came up it was always Williams, DiMaggio, Mays or even Aaron that would come up. But Stan Musial would always kind of be that after-thought. 

Go figure.

Anyway, next up we leave the outfield positions and move on to pitchers, starting off with the All-Time right-handers for both the National and American Leagues.

Stay tuned…