VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS WHITEY FORD

Today on the blog, we spotlight my "missing" 1954 Wilson's Franks card for the great Whitey Ford, part of my recent custom set released a few months ago:

What needs to be said about quite possibly the greatest Yankee pitcher of them 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.

 

VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS RICHIE ASHBURN

Today on the blog we have another of my "missing" 1954 Wilson's Franks cards, this one of Philadelphia Phillies legend Richie Ashburn, which was part of my recent custom set released late last year:

The former anchor of the Philadelphia Phillies, he won two batting titles over his career (1955 & 1958), while leading the league in hits three times, triples twice, stolen bases once, walks four times and on-base-percentage four times between 1948 and 1962.

By the time he hung up the cleats, he finished with 2574 hits, a .308 batting average, 1322 runs scored, 109 triples and 234 stolen bases in 2189 games.

Often overshadowed by contemporaries, the man was about as solid as they came, rarely missing a game during his prime and giving the Phillies a defensive whiz out in centerfield, leading the league in putouts every season between 1949 and 1958 except for 1955, while pacing the league in assists three times and "range factor" (for you new-stat guys) 10 times.

It's amazing to me that he was never selected for the Hall of Fame by the BWAA, and had to wait until 1995 to be selected by the Veteran's Committee for his rightful place in Cooperstown.

VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS EDDIE MATHEWS

Today on the blog, from one of my recent custom sets, a "missing" 1954 Wilson's Franks card for Hall of Fame third baseman Eddie Mathews:

 

Mathews was a beast at the plate, hitting 30 or more homers in a season ten times during his career, with four of those seasons totaling over 40.
He’d also drive in over 100 runs five times and score over 100 eight times while topping a .300 batting average on three occasions while leading the National League in walks four times, homers twice, and getting named to nine all-star teams.
Twice a runner-up in Most Valuable Player voting, he played for the Braves from Boston, to Milwaukee and their inaugural season in Atlanta in 1966, the only player to do so.
By the time he finished his stellar career Mathews collected 512 homers, 1453 runs batted in, 1509 runs scored and a .271 average along 1444 walks and a .509 slugging average.
Until a guy by the name of Mike Schmidt came along, he was THE power-hitting third baseman in the game's long history.

Incredibly overlooked these days!

 

VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS AL ROSEN

Up on the blog today, we have my "missing" 1954 Wilson's Franks card for Al Rosen, from my recent custom set released in acetate packaging a couple months back:

This was the first of five additional cards created for the set to the original 10 I posted here on the blog many months ago. Look for the following four in the next four successive weeks!

Rosen had somewhat of a meteoric Major League career, with superstar seasons between 1950 and 1955 before a pedestrian 1956 season, then retirement. Just like that.

One of the heavy hitters of the Indian teams blessed with uber-pitching (Feller, Garcia, Lemon, Wynn), Rosen had his peak season in 1953 when he just missed a Triple Crown, though taking home the American League MVP Award when he led the league with 43 homers and 145 RBIs to go along with 201 hits and a .336 batting average.

His rookie season of 1950 would have normally gotten someone the Rookie of the Year Award, when he led the league with 37 homers, while driving in 116 runs and scoring 100.

But it happened to fall in the same season as Walt Dropo, who put in one of the greatest rookie seasons of all-time, easily taking home the award over the Cleveland third baseman.

Sadly for him, though still only 32 years of age by 1956, he retired from baseball due to back and leg injuries, thus ending an amazing Big League career just like that, to which he then moved into the world of stock brokerage, which he held for the next two decades before returning to baseball as a Front Office figure.

As a Front Office man, Rosen also saw success, guiding the New York Yankees during their return to greatness during the "Bronx Zoo" days before moving on to the Houston Astros and then the San Francisco Giants through the 1980's.

The man was as tough as they came, and because of his Jewish ancestry, would challenge those who hurled ethnic slurs at him throughout his career, usually with the person backing down.

A very interesting personality in baseball's rich history!

Nevertheless, over his shortened 10 year career, of which there were only seven full seasons, Rosen retired with a .285 average, with 192 homers and 717 RBIs, making four All-Star teams and taking home the aforementioned MVP in 1953.

Not too shabby!

 

VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS JACKIE ROBINSON

Good day all!

On the blog today, I created a "missing" 1954 Wilson Franks card for the great Jackie Robinson, a card I truly look forward to printing up when I tackle this "extension" set I'm slowly rolling out here on the blog:

Once I can find a printer out there that handles larger trading cards, I'll eagerly have this ten-card set printed and ready to share with you all!

As for the man himself, what needs to be stated at this point regarding his Hall of Fame career?

He broke the color-line, which 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.

VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS SATCHEL PAIGE

Super fun card to create and add to the WTHBALLS stable, a "missing" 1954 Wilson Franks Satchel Paige edition, celebrating the legend during his stint with the St. Louis Browns:

Now THIS would have been an awesome card to exist, though most likely painful for collectors to chase these days in pursuit of perhaps the greatest baseball odd-ball set of the era.

Paige just wrapped up his third and final season with the Browns in 1953, appearing in 57 games at the age of 46, posting a record of 3-9 with a 3.53 earned run average over 117.1 innings, saving 11 games and making his second straight All-Star team.

From his start as a 20-year old playing for the Birmingham Black Barons in 1927 to his final Major League appearance as a 58-year old for the Kansas City Athletics, Paige became an American icon not only for his on-field play but for his infectious personality.
Though his career Negro League record is listed as 100-50 over 18-seasons, he won countless other games along the way, as was the usual for the Negro Leagues as they played exhibition and non-league games during gaps in their schedule.
His stories are legend, enough so that by the time the Baseball Hall of Fame got off their ass and finally began electing Negro League all-time greats to Cooperstown, Paige was the very 1st to be so honored.
A 5x time Negro League all-star, 2x American League all-star, Negro League champ in 1942 with the Homestead Grays, and Major League World Champion with the 1948 Cleveland Indians, Paige left a baseball legacy that few could come close to.

 

VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS MINNIE MINOSO

On the blog this fine day, we add the great and FINALLY member of the Hall of Fame, Minnie Minoso, to me 1954 Wilson Franks "extension set", adding some of the greats of the game at that time who were not included in what turned out to be one of the great oddball sets of the period:

I'm so happy that Minoso is finally a Hall of Famer, and I always felt the stunts in 1976 and 1980 may have even hurt his chances of getting into Cooperstown.
From 1951 to 1961 he had a wonderful Major League career, leading the league in stolen bases three times, triples three times, and hits and doubles once each, while also driving in over 100 runs four times and topping 20 homers four times.
Eight times in that span he would top a .300 batting average, and in 1951 many consider him the true American League Rookie of the Year when he hit .326 split between the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox, while topping the league in triples with 14 and stolen bases with 31.
Along the way he was named to seven All-Star games, winning three Gold Gloves as well, funny enough finishing fourth in the A.L. MVP race four times.
Of course, 12 years after his last playing days, in 1976, he ended up going 1-for-8 at the plate as a 50 year-old, then coming back in 1980 at the age of 54 and going hitless in two at-bats.
Nevertheless, Minoso finished his career with a .298 average, with 1963 hits over 6579 at-bats, along with 186 homers and 205 stolen bases while also topping 1000 runs scored and RBIs, 1136 & 1023 respectively.

If only he didn't have to wait until his age 27 season to show the ENTIRE country what he could do on a ballfield.

VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS MICKEY MANTLE

Good day everyone!

Up on the blog this fine day, a "missing" card that would bring in a FORTUNE today had he been included in this set, a 1954 Wilson Franks Mickey Mantle card:

This would have been phenomenal had it been part of the original rare and highly sought-after oddball set.

The "Commerce Comet" is THE vintage card draw and combined with a set where commons are even high-priced tickets, this would be a gem of the 1950s.

Mantle is one of those guys I really don't think we need to get into as far as his accomplishments on the baseball diamond. It'd be kind of like a joke to start writing about his career since it would take up a book's worth.

But alas, 500+ homers, a bushel of World Championships, three Most Valuable Player Awards, and the hearts of more fans than we can even imagine to this day.

"The Mick" in all his glory, enshrined in his rightful place in Cooperstown, along with his longtime buddy Whitey Ford in the same HOF class, made for the cherry on top of a career that anyone would wish for.

One of the all-time greatest to ever play the game.

 

VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS WILLIE MAYS

On the blog today, we add the great(est), Willie Mays to my "missing" 1954 Wilson's Franks set, perhaps the greatest oddball set of the 1950s:

While I do hope to print this set in the future to add to the WTHBALLS stable, I may have some issues because of the super thin white borders on the original set.

My printer may not be able to handle this in the automated cutting process. We shall see!

As for Mays, what needs to be said about perhaps the greatest player in history?
660 home runs, 3000+ hits, over 2000 runs scored and over 1900 runs batted in, with over 300 stolen bases and a .300+ batting average as well!
He took home the Rookie of the Year Award in 1951, then proceeded to win two Most Valuable Player Awards, the first in 1954 and the second eleven years later in 1965.
Let’s also not forget the 20 all-star nods and 12 Gold Gloves, leaving him in that rarified company of Ruth, Cobb, Aaron and Gehrig as far as accomplishments and legend.
Of course, Hall of Fame voting being what it is, he wasn’t a UNANIMOUS selection because of this silly unspoken rule of “no one gets 100% voting”, something I will NEVER understand.

 

VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS YOGI BERRA

Continuing with my fun vintage special thread of "missing" 1954 Wilson Franks cards, we add the great Yogi Berra, New York Yankees legend and American Icon:

Berra was coming off a second place-MVP finish in 1953, and it would only get better, as he would reel off two straight MVP seasons in 1954 and 1955, making it three such awards in five years, instantly putting him in all-time conversation by the time he was 30 years of age.

Besides being a three-time American League Most Valuable Player, he was 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.

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…

 

VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS ROBIN ROBERTS

On the blog today, we add Philadelphia Phillies great Robin Roberts to my fun "missing" 1954 Wilson Franks baseball sets, one of my all-time favorite baseball card sets:

Such a beautiful set that has always garnered heavy interest from serious collectors, and rightly so!

Roberts was a machine during the 1950’s pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies, posting six 20-win seasons with  a 19 and 17 win season thrown in as well.
He led the league in wins four times with a high of 28 in 1952, while also leading the National league in strikeouts twice, complete games five times, innings pitched five times and shutouts once.
By the time he retired after the 1966 season, he finished with 286 wins and a 3.41 earned run average, with 45 shutouts and 2357 strikeouts over 676 games and 4688.2 innings pitched.
Between 1950 and 1956 he was named to the all-star team each year, while also garnering MVP attention every season.
To be honest how he didn’t win the MVP in 1952 is beyond me, as the award went to Chicago Cubs slugger Hank Sauer.
Granted the Phillies finished in fourth place with an 87-67 record, 9.5 games behind the Dodgers.
But the Cubs finished in fifth place, with a 77-77 record.
So what went on there is something worth looking into considering all Roberts did was go 28-7 with a 2.59 ERA, three shutouts, 148 strikeouts and 30 complete games out of his 37 starts!

VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS EARLY WYNN

On the blog this fine day, a "missing" 1954 Wilson's Franks card for the great Early Wynn, adding to my all-time favorite "odd-ball" set over the next few months:

The set is extremely popular for vintage collectors, and rightly so, sporting such a great design against solid color backgrounds, perfectly representing the era.

Oddly, the set had both superstars and middle-of-the-road players in it's limited 20-card set, ranging from uber-stars like ted Williams to White Sox outfielder Johnny Groth, so I figured I'd add the biggest stars of the game that are missing for fun.

Wynn's Major League romp towards 300 career wins didn't really pick up steam until he was 30-years old and a member of the Cleveland Indians in 1950, as he posted an 18-8 record with a league-leading 3.20 earned run average.

From then on he was hovering around 20-wins every year for the next ten years, topping the mark five times.

In 1959, now a member of the "Go-Go" Chicago White Sox, Wynn anchored the staff that led the team to a World Series appearance against the eventual champs, the Los Angeles Dodgers, by posting a 22-10 record, leading the league in wins and copping a Cy Young Award at the age of 39.

However, the struggle to get that elusive 300th win is now well-documented, as he hung on for the next four years until he got that final victory in 1963 at the age of 43, thus joining the exclusive club and pretty much sealing his Cooperstown induction in his fourth year of eligibility, getting 76% of the BBWA vote.

All told, Wynn finished his 23-year career with a 300-244 record, with a 3.54 E.R.A., 49 shutouts and 2334 strikeouts in 691 games, 611 of which were starts, and was named to seven all-star teams.

VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS WARREN SPAHN

Hello everyone!

Today on the blog I post up my second "missing" superstar from one of the best sets of the 1950's, the 1954 Wilson Franks baseball set, with the legend Warren Spahn:

Spahn was coming off yet another fantastic season for the Braves in 1953, their first in the city of Milwaukee after the franchise moved from Boston.

For the year, Spahn led the league with 23 wins and a 2.10 earned run average, while tossing five shutouts and striking out 148 batters.

The man was amazing, flat out, and by the time he retired in 1965 he posted a 363-245 record, with a 3.09 ERA, 63 shutouts, 28 saves and 2583 strikeouts over 750 appearances, 665 of which were starts.

Oh yeah, he also hit 35 career home runs along with 189 runs batted in with (coincidentally) 363 hits!

And remember he didn’t win his first game until he was 25 years of age, as he served in the military from 1943 to 1945.

His first 20-game season was 1947 (at the age of 26), and he kept right on rolling until his final 20-game season in 1963!

In between, he ended up posting 13 such campaigns, leading the league eight times (with five of those coming consecutively from 1957 to 1961).

Just an incredible talent! Was there anything he couldn’t do?
Once in a lifetime right there...

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.