WTHBALLS GUM PACK CUSTOM SET: JIM "CATFISH" HUNTER

Today on the blog, my "Catfish Hunter" mini special from my custom "Gum Pack" set released a few months back just for the fun of it:

Love creating ad issuing off-sized oddball cards, and this set fit the bill perfectly in deluxe gum-pack packaging.

Over his 15-year career, which wrapped up in 1979 due to arm troubles, Hunter racked up 224 wins, a 3.26 earned run average, 42 shutouts and 2012 strikeouts.

He took home the Cy Young Award in 1974 in his last season with the A's, came in second for the award the following year in his first year as a landmark Free-Agent with the Yankees, and threw a perfect game back in 1968 at the young age of 22.

A big-game pitcher, Hunter was a member of no less than five World Champion teams: 1972-74 Oakland A's, and the "Bronx Zoo" Yankee teams of 1977-78.

Did you know that Hunter is the last pitcher in the Major Leagues to complete 30 or more games in a season? 

In 1975 he completed 30 of his 39 starts, on his way to a 23-14 record with seven shutouts and a 2.58 E.R.A.

Between 1971 and 1975 he won 20 or more games each year, a great five year run which saw him win 111 games.

As a matter of fact, Hunter was the first pitcher since the all-time great Walter Johnson to win 200 games before the age of 31! And the only other guys at that time to also do it? Christy Mathewson and Cy Young. Incredible.

Sadly arm troubles and diabetes started to affect his career, forcing him to retire in 1979 at the age of only 33.

The final feather in his baseball cap would be a Hall of Fame induction in 1987 along with Chicago Cubs great Billy Williams, giving him a solid place in baseball history, if he didn't have one already...

MISSING ALL-STAR MANAGER: 1972 EARL WEAVER

On the blog today we once again go and give former Baltimore Orioles skipper Earl Weaver the "All-Star" treatment with a "missing" all-star card, this time a 1972 edition celebrating his 1971 position as the manager for the A.L. in the now legendary Midsummer Classic:

Weaver's road to skipper in the 1971 All-Star game was all thanks to his incredible 1970 season when he guided the juggernaut Baltimore Orioles to what ended up being his only title over his Hall of Famer managerial career, seeing the Birds beat the up-and-coming Cincinnati Reds after steam-rolling through the regular season to the tune of a 108-54 record, this after a monster 1969 season that saw the team win 109 games. Incredible.

I loved Earl Weaver as a kid, who paired up nicely with my favorite manager, Billy Martin: fiery, combative, and always ready to stick his neck out for his team.

By the time he retired after the 1986 season, Weaver finished with a record of 1480 wins against 1060 losses, for a very nice .583 winning percentage, with four Pennants and a World Championship in 1970, posting a winning season every year of his tenure except his very last, when he finished 73-89.

In 1996 he was voted into the Hall of Fame as a manager, celebrating one of the most colorful managers of the era, and rightly so!

1960S ALL-DECADE TEAM: A.L. OUTFIELDER MICKEY MANTLE

Today on the blog, my second American league outfielder on my 1960's All-Decade team, and it was an easy pick with Mickey Mantle, even if he put time in at first base as well towards the end of his legendary career:

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, a Triple Crown season in 1956 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.

Though his true glory days were during the 1950s, Mantle would still take home one of his MVP trophies in the 1960s (1962), with three runner-up seasons, his only Gold Glove (1962), eight All-Star nods, and a home run title (1962).

The man became an American icon, idol for millions, and easily one of the most recognizable celebrities over the past 100 years before sadly leaving us way too soon at the age of 63 in 1995.

Not too bad a Hollywood script...

OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 JACKIE BROWN

Up on the blog today we take a closer look at the image variations between former pitcher Jackie Brown's 1977 OPC and Topps cards:

OPC version

Topps version

After two seasons with the Cleveland Indians, Brown found himself North of the border with the Montreal Expos, and the fine folks at OPC tried their best to show him with his new team, giving us the airbrushed beauty you see here.

As for Topps, since they hit the presses earlier than OPC, we're given the nice posed shot of the righty in all that maroon Cleveland glory, which is fine by me!

Brown pitched for seven years in the Majors, originally coming up in 1970 with the Washington Senators, for whom he'd pitch the first four and a half years of his career.

As mentioned earlier he'd put in two years with the Indians before one season in Montreal, where he'd go 9-12 over 42 appearances, tossing 185.2 innings with six complete games and a couple of shutouts, finishing with an ERA of 4.51.

For his playing career he would go 47-53 over 214 games, with a 4.18 ERA in 892.2 innings of work, with eight shutouts and three saves along the way.

After his playing days he would go into coaching, where he would put in time with the Texas Rangers (1979-82), Chicago White Sox (1992-95), and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2002), while also holding the title of Minor League Pitching Coordinator for various organizations before passing away at the age of 73 in 2017.

A baseball lifer through and through.

 

REVISITING A POST FROM 2014: 1970 VAN KELLY MISSING IN ACTION

Fun card and post to revisit today on the blog, my 1970 "missing in action" card for former infielder Van Kelly, who got the spotlight here on April 5th of 2014 as one of the earlier "missing in action" creations by yours truly:

Here's the original write-up for the blog post way back when:

Kelly really should have had a card in the 1970 Topps set after playing almost half of San Diego's inaugural season the previous year, manning both third and second base.

Kelly didn't leave much of a mark in the Majors, playing in 73 games in 1969 and only 38 games the next.

But I'd like to think that 222 plate appearances in '69 would be enough to warrant a card, especially for a 23 year old who seemed to be on the verge of a "career", no?

All told, Kelly would play in 111 games in his career, finishing with a .221 batting average, 66 hits, four homers, 25 runs scored and 24 runs batted in during his short career.

But thanks to the world of baseball card geeks like me, his name lives on!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1975 JOHN DONALDSON

Today on the blog, a rarity these days, a "not so missing" card, this time for infielder John Donaldson, who played the last games of his six-year career in 1974, now with the Oakland A's:

Donaldson appeared in ten games for the eventual three-peat world champs in 1974 after spending the 1971-1973 seasons in the Minors.

Over those ten games he hit .133 with two hits over 15 at-bats, scoring a run while also putting some time in at second and third base.

Previous to this his last action on a Big League diamond was 1970 when he appeared in 41 games for the A's. for whom he played the entirety of his career outside of 95 games as a Seattle Pilot in 1969.

All told, Donaldson's career lasted 6-years, playing in 405 games, with a .238 lifetime batting average, 96 runs scored, 292 hits and 86 RBI's over 1225 at-bats and 1380 plate appearances.

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: "MR. CUB" ERNIE BANKS

Up on the blog today we add the great Ernie banks to my custom "Classic Baseball" set, which is due for production later this year in multiple series:

This will be a really fun set to issue, celebrating the sport I have loved so much for the past 50 years or so.

What needs to be said about the man?

The most beloved baseball player in the North Side of Chicago, two-time Most Valuable Player (1958 and 1959), 500+ home runs, 2500+ hits, 11-time all-star and all-around great guy.

Oh, I may as well throw in the 1300+ runs scored, 1600+ runs batted in, 400+ doubles and 90 triples he chipped in as well, setting him on a straight path to the Baseball Hall of Fame with his 1977 induction, a no-brainer in anyone's book!

"Mr. Cub", wish there were more like him!