JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT: 1966 SATCHEL PAIGE

Today on the blog, just for the fun of it, we have a "not so missing" 1966 card for the great Satchel Paige, a card that was featured in my last custom set the "Whole Nine":

 

On September 25th of 1965, as a publicity stunt by the publicity-loving Charlie Finley, owner of the Kansas City Athletics, the 58-year-old Paige was "signed" to pitch a Major League game.

Twelve years removed from his last Big League game, the incredible ageless one did not disappoint, as he pitched three innings of scoreless ball against the Boston Red Sox, allowing only one hit while striking out a batter.

Just phenomenal, and adding to the legend that was Satchel Paige!

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.

This card was one of 16 produced for my "Whole Nine" set, which also had full statistic backs in my October, 2021 set.

Featuring other fun cards "that never were" like 1959 Ted Williams, 1933 Delong Babe Ruth, 1966 Steve Carlton, it was available for a short time through yours truly.

1972 ALL-STAR SUB-SET: DOCK ELLIS

Really fun card to add to the blog AND my on-going 1972 All-Star "missing" sub-set today, a card for the National League's starting pitcher in the 1971 Midsummer Classic, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis:

 

Ellis was on his way to his best year as a Big League pitcher in 1971, and with that was given the honor of starting what turned out to be one of the historic All-Star game in baseball history, featuring somewhat of a transition of the "old" classic baseball of the 1950's and 1960's with stars like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente, while also showcasing young up and coming superstars of the new age like Johnny Bench, Reggie Jackson and Rod Carew.

By the time 1971 ended Ellis finished with a very nice 19-9 record for the eventual World Champions, sporting an earned run average of 3.06 over 31 starts, with 11 complete games and two shutouts, tossing a career-best 226.2 innings.

Those numbers would get him a fourth place finish in the Cy Young Award race in November, with Chicago Cubs great Fergie Jenkins winning it based on his league-leading 24 wins.

Of course, we would be terribly negligent here without also mentioning that Ellis was the pitcher who served up the classic bomb hit by Reggie Jackson in the All-Star game that almost cleared the ballpark, a moment that marked somewhat of the arrival of the man who would go on to be nicknamed "Mr. October" and become a household name across the country by decade's end.

Nevertheless, Ellis would go on to pitch 12 years in the Majors, finishing up after the 1979 season, posting a final record of 138-119 over 345 games, 317 of them as a starter, tossing 14 shutouts and striking out 1136.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1974 N.L. WINS

On the blog today, we have a 1974 "expanded league leaders" card celebrating the three top winners in the National League for 1973:

 

Leading off is one of those great anomalies in the annals of "league leaders", San Francisco Giants pitcher Ron Bryant, who won 24 of his career 57 games in 1973 alone.

Bryant was coming off of a 1972 season that saw him post a record of 14-7, not bad, before he steamrolled to 24 wins in 1973.

However it wasn't necessarily a dominating year for the lefty, as he'd also post an earned run average of 3.53 over 270 innings, with 143 strikeouts and zero shutouts.

The following season he would plummet to a record of 3-15 with a 5.61 ERA over the same 41 appearances, tossing only 126.2 innings before having one last year in the Big Leagues in 1975, going 0-1 in only 10 appearances with a bloated 16.62 ERA over 8.2 innings.

The definition of "career year" if there ever was one!

Right behind him with 19 wins was the National League's Cy Young winner, the great Tom Seaver, who put in a "typical" Seaver year with a league-leading 2.08 ERA and 251 strikeouts, as well as 18 complete games with three shutouts over 36 games and 290 innings of work, helping the New York Mets make the World Series before an eventual loss to the three-peat Oakland A's.

Before he was done Seaver would win one more Cy, two years later, and get ripped of another in 1981 (in my humble opinion), on his way to "All-Time Great" status.

Tied with Seaver with those 19 wins was the Cincinnati Reds pitcher who really gets lost in the shuffle of the mid-70's, Jack Billingham, who had the first of his two straight 19-win seasons for the burgeoning "Big Red Machine" Reds teams.

For a juggernaut of a team those Reds were, they did not have that star "ace" that we can find with other dynasties.

Those Reds teams had guys like Don Gullett, Fred Norman, and Billingham, who were solid pitchers but were also helped a great deal by lineups that included dudes like Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench and George Foster.

For Billingham, in addition to the 19 wins he posted an ERA of 3.04 with a league-leading seven shutouts and 293.1 innings pitched, striking out 155 batters, finishing fourth at year's end in the Cy Young race, making his only All-Star team as well.

A bit of an odd year as far as "league leaders" in wins go for that period, but great nevertheless!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1977 ORLANDO ALVAREZ

Today's blog post has a "not so missing" career-capper for former outfielder Orlando Alvarez, he of a 25-games Major League career spread out over four Big League seasons:

 

After three years as a Los Angeles Dodger where he only appeared in 10 total games, Alvarez remained "local" and played in 15 games with the California Angels in 1976.

Over those two-dozen+ games he hit .167 with seven hits in 42 at-bats, scoring four runs while driving in eight with two homers and a double.

He would spend 1977 and 1978 bouncing around the Minors for four different organizations before calling at a career, finishing up with a Big League resume that included 25 games, with eight hits over 51 at-bats, good for a .157 batting average, with four runs scored and eight RBI's.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1979 LARRY JOHNSON

On the blog this fine day, we have a career-capping 1979 card for former catcher Larry Johnson, who appeared in three scant games for the Chicago White Sox during the 1978 season:

 

After a full season in the Minor Leagues in 1977 Johnson made it back to the Majors in 1978, albeit for those three games, collecting a single and a walk over nine plate appearances.

It would be the last action for him as a Major League catcher, playing parts of five seasons with the Cleveland Indians, Montreal Expos and White Sox.

However over those five seasons he only played in 12 games total, appearing in one game each of 1972, 1974 and 1975, six for the Expos in 1976 and the three games in 1978.

Over those dozen games, he collected five hits in 26 at-bats, "good" for a .192 batting average with a run scored and an RBI.

This is the third card I've created for him for the blog over the years, with a 1973 and then a 1975 coming before today's custom.

Gotta respect those "cup-o-coffee" Big Leaguers!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1975 MIKE CORKINS

Up on the blog today, we have a career-capping 1975 card for former San Diego Padres pitcher Mike Corkins, who played the last of his Big League games during the 1974 season:

 

Corkins appeared in 25 games for San Diego in 1974, with two of those being starts, going 2-2 with an earned run average of 4.79 in 56.1 innings of work.

As with so many other pitchers stuck in San Diego in the early 70's, he wasn't going to get much support, though the 1972 season was perhaps his best in the Majors.
He went 6-9 with a 3.53 E.R.A. with one shutout in 9 starts, while also picking up 6 saves among his other 38 appearances.
However, by 1974 he was out of the Majors, pitching another two years in the Minors for both the Padres and the Angels.
His career tally: 19-28 with a 4.39 E.R.A. in 157 total games, all for the Padres between 1969 and 1974.

GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1972 KEN BRETT

On the blog today, we have a do-over for Ken Brett and his 1972 card, which originally showed him as a member of his upcoming team, the Milwaukee Brewers, in one of those "cheeky" up-shots Topps was prone to using back then:

 

Here's the original as-issued card for those that need a refresher:

 

After parts of four seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Brett found himself as part of a blockbuster 10-player trade that had key players George Scott headed to Milwaukee while Tommy Harper come to Beantown.

Still only 23 as the season opened in 1972, he'd play for the Brewers one season before getting traded again at season's end.

In his one year in Milwaukee Brett would go 7-12 with a 4.53 earned run average over 26 appearances, 22 of them starts, with two complete games and a shutout in 133 innings of work.

He would go on to play 14 years in the Big Leagues, pretty much as both a starter and middle reliever between 1970 and 1981, his final year.
He’d finish with a record of 83-85, with an ERA at 3.93 over 349 appearances, 184 of them starts, with eight shutouts and 11 saves.
Of course, he’d have a younger brother named George who’d come up in the mid-70’s and end up making quite a name for himself, straight to the Hall of Fame!
I’ve always wondered where exactly the Brett family lived in Brooklyn, where Ken was born, since I too hail from there, more specifically Bensonhurst.
If anyone has any idea I would greatly appreciate the info, as I suspect they lived in Bay Ridge, but I really have no proof of that.
Anyone know?