WTHBALLS CUSTOM NEGRO LEAGUE SET: JOSH GIBSON

The next Negro Leagues great spotlighted from my "Negro League Legends" custom set released last Summer is perhaps the greatest of them all, catcher Josh Gibson:

 

Really, what needs to be said about one of the all-time baseball (of ANY league) legends anyone has ever seen?
I remember when I was a kid in the late-70’s/early-80’s, before the internet and information at the tips of your fingers, I would see that image of Gibson in the Guiness Book of World Records, along with their statement that he clubbed over 800 home runs during his playing career, as well as over 70 in a season, and just marvel and wonder about the “what if’s”.
What a treat it would have been to have fully documented numbers and achievements by Gibson against all players. Luckily what we do have are his numbers against his fellow Negro National League players, and they were just as amazing!
By the time Gibson retired at the young age of 34 in 1946, he put up a career average of .350, with 107 home runs in 1825 at-bats. Mind you, this doesn’t take into account all the home runs he blasted in other games such as the Dominican, Mexican, and Cuban (Winter League) games!
Informally, Gibson is credited with a .359 career average with 962 homers, hitting as many as 69 in 1934 and 55 the year before, including barnstorming games.
There’s so much I could write here, but for those who haven’t already, just read up on ANYTHING you can regarding Gibson’s career, it’ll blow your mind, including some of the anecdotes, and you’ll see why he’s considered not only one of the greatest catchers of all-time (in any league), but one of the greatest players, period.
Sadly, he passed away at only 35 years of age, never really seeing all the accolades that would come his way after he was no longer with us.
Such a shame. 

1970 IN-GAME ACTION: BOB GIBSON

The next player that gets a 1970 "In-Game Action" card in my ongoing series (and soon to be released custom set!), St. Louis Cardinals legend Bob Gibson:

 

"Gibby" was on his way to his second Cy Young Award in 1970, finishing the season with a brilliant 23-7 record, along with a 3.12 ERA and a career-best 274 strikeouts over 34 starts and 294 innings.

He also brought home his sixth of what would end up being nine Gold Gloves, while making his seventh All-Star team.

The 23 wins in 1970 marked his fifth 20-win season in six years, eventually settling for 251 wins as a Big League ace, along with 3117 strikeouts (only the second pitcher ever to reach that mark at the time), 56 shutouts and a brilliant 2.91 E.R.A.

A legend of the game, he was a “gimmie” for the Hall of Fame once eligible in 1981, getting named on 337 of 401 ballots cast.
Stories of Gibson’s fierce competitive streak are legendary, and I love each and every one of them!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1972 BERNIE SMITH

On the blog today, a "not so missing" 1972 card for former Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Bernie Smith, who played the last of his Big League games in 1971:

 

Smith put in parts of two seasons in the Major Leagues, finishing up with 15 games in 1971, hitting .139 with five hits over 36 at-bats, with a run scored and three RBIs.

His debut was a season earlier when he played in 44 games over the 1970 season, the first for the Brewers organization after relocating from Seattle.

He would spend all of 1972 with Evansville in Double-A ball, but never make it back to the Big Leagues, retiring soon after.

All told, Smith would finish with a .232 batting average, collecting 26 hits in 112 at-bats over 59 games.

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.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 LARRY MURRAY

Today's blog post has yet another "not so missing card" for former outfielder Larry Murray, who appeared in a scant six games for the New York Yankees during the 1975 season:

 

Murray, who made his Big League debut in 1974 also with six games, went 0-1 at the plate over his brief playing time for the Yanks in '75, scoring a run.

He appeared in eight games for the Bronx Bombers during the Bicentennial year after those first two seasons of six games apiece in 1974 and 1975.

In those eight games he collected one hit in ten at-bats, the first hit of his career, along with two runs scored and a run batted in.

The next year would find him as a member of the Oakland A's, where he would hit .179 with 29 hits over 162 at-bats after coming over as part of the deal that got them Mike Torrez.
He also scored 19 runs while stealing 12 bases while getting the first real taste of significant play after never getting any playing time with New York in the previous three years.
However, in 1978 he’d only play in eleven games, hitting .083 with a single hit over twelve at-bats, while coming back in 1979 and get the most playing time he’d see over a season when he appeared in 105 games, hitting .186 with 42 hits over 226 at-bats.
That action would get him his first Topps card in the 1980 set, only to never appear in a Major League game again.
After only 13 games in the Minor Leagues during the 1980 season, he’d be finished with pro ball, only 27 years of age.
Go figure.

GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1972 JIM MALONEY

On the blog today, wanted to give former flame-thrower Jim maloney a do-over on his 1972 card, reflecting his time with the California Angels in 1971, the last season of his very nice 12-year career:

 

Maloney appeared in 13 games for the Angels in 1971, going 0-3 with a 5.04 earned run average over 30.1 innings of work.

He tends to get overlooked as far as pitching stars of the 1960’s go.
Granted when you’re up against guys like Koufax, Marichal, Drysdale and Gibson, it’s easy to see why.
Nevertheless, in Maloney’s seven full seasons of Major League ball, he posted five seasons of sub-3.00 ERA, four 200+ strikeout years, and six 15+ win seasons, with two of them topping 20.
The guy was a machine! 29 of his 30 lifetime shutouts were in those seven years, with four seasons of five or more.
And consider this: until Major League officials changed the rules of what a no-hitter was years later, Maloney was considered as one of the few to throw THREE or more such gems.
In 1965 Maloney not only threw a 10-inning no-hitter against the Chicago Cubs on August 19th, in which he became the first pitcher to go more than nine-innings and complete a no-hitter, he also, earlier in the season on June 14th against the New York Mets, LOST a no-hitter in the 10th inning when Mets player Johnny Lewis led off the 11th with a homer, thus handing Maloney a loss after going ten innings with a no-no.
Then, as if all of that wasn’t enough, Maloney went and threw a no-hitter on April 30th of 1969 against the Houston Astros, this time mercifully given a huge lead, eventually winning the game 10-0.
So while credited with two “official” no-hitters for his career, he came ever so close to three.
1963 can arguably be considered his best year on a big league mound, when he posted a 23-7 record with a 2.77 ERA and 265 K’s to go along with six shutouts over 33 starts and 250.1 innings pitched.
Sadly for him there was a guy named Koufax dominating the world of baseball that year, easily taking home not only a Cy Young Award but an MVP Award as well.
By the time Maloney wrapped up his career after the 1971 season because of injuries at the young age of 31, he finished with a very nice 134-84 record, with a 3.19 ERA and 1605 strikeouts over 302 games and 1849 innings pitched, and a reputation as one of the hardest throwing pitchers in the game during the 1960’s.eryone down.

He twice won 20+ games, with a high of 23 in 1965 when he posted a record of 23-7 with a 2.77 ERA and 265 strikeouts over 33 starts and 250.1 innings pitched.
Two seasons later, he pitched one “official” and one “unofficial” no-hitter, going 20-9 with an ERA of 2.54 (his career best), with 244 strikeouts over 33 appearances and 255.1 innings of work.

SPECIAL REQUEST- 1979 DEDICATED ROOKIE MIKE COLBERN

Today's blog post has a special request custom created for my buddy Max, who wanted a 1979 "dedicated rookie" for former Chicago White Sox catcher Mike Colbern:

 

Happy to oblige!

Colbern really could have had a dedicated card in the 1979 set instead of a slot in one of those horrid black and white multi-player rookie cards based on his 48 games during the 1978 season, his Big League debut.

Over those 48 games, he hit a very nice .270 with 38 hits over 141 at-bats, driving in 20 while scoring 11 runs himself.

In 1979 he'd be back, but only appearing in 32 games for the White Sox, hitting .241 with 20 hits in 83 at-bats, spending the bulk of the year with Iowa in Double-A ball.

Sadly for him, he'd never make it back to the Majors, playing the next three years in the Minors for both Chicago (A.L.) and the Atlanta Braves before calling it a career after 1982.

All told, he finished up his MLB tenure with a .259 batting average, collecting 58 hits over 224 at-bats in 80 games, driving in 20 and scoring 16.