Warning: Futbol Post

This is Figo. He is the retired Portuguese  star of international and European soccer. He is arguably the biggest star to come out of Portugal (Rolando might argue that..Ana, what say you?). He is was favorite player and the reason I followed World Cup so closely back when he was active. I have a Portugal/Figo shirt and I love it when someone recognizes the meaning and strikes up a conversation.
He also played for both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona which is like playing for the Yanks and Red Sox multiplied by 1000. Those two clubs were on a collision course in the Champions League but both suffered one-sided losses to the strong German sides and now it appears unlikely that Portugal will have to deal with an title game, fueled by a deep rivalry, that would be..well... interesting. We will know after the semis on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Here is the pertinent data from Figo's Wikipedia page:

Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo, OIH, (born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former international footballer. He played as a midfielder for Sporting CP, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and  Internazionale. He retired from football on 31 May 2009. He won 127 caps for the Portuguese national football team, making him the most capped Portuguese player in history. Figo was the 2000 European Footballer of the Year, the 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year, and was named amongst (sic) the FIFA 100.

Here is my favorite line from that page:

When he was born he was a baby and the only son of parents Antonio Caeiro Figo and Maria Joana,

Wikipedia can be a wacky place when you start crossing language barriers.

But as much as I followed Figo and am glad to own a couple of his cards, the real reason to make this entry was to have an excuse to post this picture of Figo's wife, Swedish model Helen Svedin.

You're welcome.

4-n-1 Japanese Bromide

At it's simplest the difference between Bromides and Menkos is that Bromides are photos printed on photo paper while Menkos are cruder, usually hand-drawn cards that are much more colorful. That's a very broad generalization but accurate to a point. The featured card is a '4 in 1' Bromide card which is from the set classified as JBR3 1960 Doyusha Black and White. There is a corresponding Color set. Doyusha appears to be a hobby company which currently markets scale model planes, tanks, science toys, etc. The reverse has playing card elements.

This Bromide features four Japanese players who are, clockwise from upper right:

Kiyoshi Oishi... he started and relieved for nearly two decades for Hiroshima. In 1962 he led all pitchers in losses, walks and homers allowed. Ouch.

Morimichi Iwashita... he played for three teams from the early 50s through the early 60s. Not much on the 'net about him.

Wally Yonamine... a fascinating figure who played in the AAFL for the 49ers as well as Japanese baseball. He was a Japanese American born in Hawaii and became known as the 'Jackie Robinson' of Japanese baseball due to the resistance he received as an American. I have Robert Fitts' acclaimed book queued up in my reading rotation. He's a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame having had a sterling career as outfielder and manager until his 1988 retirement. Lots more on this website.

Tatsuro Hirooka... another Hall of Famer he played as a shortstop and managed before becoming GM of the Chiba Lotte Marines and was well known for firing wildly popular manager Bobby Valentine in 1995.

I've scanned the card next to a current Topps card for size comparison purposes.

R.I.P. Possum

He Stopped Loving Her Today

Written by R. V. Braddock and C. Putman, Jr. 

He said I'll love you 'til I die
She told him you'll forget in time
As the years went slowly by 
She still preyed upon his mind

He kept her picture on his wall
Went half crazy now and then 
He still loved her through it all
Hoping she'd come back again

Kept some letters by his bed
Dated 1962
He had underlined in red
Every single I love you

I went to see him just today
Oh but I didn't see no tears
All dressed up to go away
First time I'd seen him smile in years

(Chorus)
He stopped loving her today
They placed a wreath upon his door
And soon they'll carry him away
He stopped loving her today

(Spoken)
You know she came to see him one last time
Oh and we all wondered if she would
And it kept running through my mind
This time he's over her for good

(Repeat Chorus)

--GEORGE JONES

Legendary country music star George Jones died today at the age of 81. He was (and always will be) my absolute favorite musical artist. He had no peers in his field. His voice was unmistakable. I can't count the number of times I saw him perform since the first time I attended one of his shows in 1973. It was at a big ol' dance hall/bar in northside Houston on bad-ass Airline Drive called the Cedar Lounge. It's still there.

After that show I saw him all over Texas, sometimes a friend and I would travel to take in a couple of shows around southeast Texas on consecutive nights. And even when he was a bit 'off his game' he was a treasure to listen to. From bars to dance halls to concert halls I never regretted going to a George Jones show. Even when he was less than sober he could make chills run down your spine and bring the women in the place to tears. My friend, who was also my boss back then, had grown up near Saratoga, Texas around the time Jones was starting out. That's how I was lucky enough to meet him a time or two.

I don't have much music memorabilia. Just a few cards (which I posted here), some ticket stubs, and a few pictures like the one above. But all of it is George Jones memorabilia.

"If we all could sound like we wanted to, we'd all sound like George Jones."- Waylon Jennings

Dos tarjetas de directivos del béisbol

OK, according to Babelfish the title of this post is a translation of  "Two Cards of Baseball Managers". My wife, a Spanish speaker said "No, it's not, really". Well, it's a stupid idea for a post title but I thought it up because I had two cards of managers who were bilingual. Al Lopez, son of Spanish natives whose family immigrated here by way of Cuba spoke fluent Spanish. Casey Stengel, a native of Kansas City, spoke fluent... hell, I don't know. But whatever it was was usually pretty entertaining.

Here is something remarkable about Al Lopez as a manager. Between 1951 and 1965 his clubs, first the Indians, then the White Sox, only finished lower than second in the American League three times. That's 12 second place finishes in 15 seasons with the outliers being a third, a fourth and a fifth coming in consecutive seasons, '60 thru '62. That's only one season finishing in the second division*.

He won a pennant with each of the franchises he managed and was a pretty darn good ballplayer during his playing days as well. In 19 seasons as a catcher he made a couple of All Star squads.

He looks particularly managerial on the 1960 Topps card, doesn't he?

Casey Stengel was really one-of-a-kind. His record as manager of the Yankees speaks for itself. In 13 seasons with the Dodgers, Braves and Mets he never finished higher than 5th. Make of that what you will.
Casey, who had aspired to the field of dentistry growing up (think about that for a minute), was a good outfielder with several NL clubs and, as the card notes, he hit well in his three World Series appearances.

Here is my odd Casey fact...  "The Old Perfessor" coached the 1914 Ole Miss baseball team while just in his third year as a major league player. Read a lot more about Casey here or here or here.

Both Al Lopez and Casey Stengel at members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

*="2nd Division" is how each league's bottom half finishers were refered to back when each league had eight or ten teams. You remember those days, don'tcha?

Portugal, and my Grandfather

Being 25% Portuguese I couldn't resist nabbing this card from the T59 Flags of All Nations set issued around 1910. It features the flag of Portugal and set me back 49 cents. Pretty hard to pass that up. 

The card above is from the N24 1889 Allen & Ginter Types of all Nations set. I got it cheap as well. I bought it because there is a chance that the woman pictured is my great-grandmother. Only a slight chance I grant you, but a chance. OK, there is no chance but hear me out.

My fraternal grandfather was born in the Azores in 1902, the Azores being a group of islands in the North Atlantic that were a Portuguese colony and are still an autonomous region of Portugal. His father was a native of those islands while his mother came from Portugal itself. While still an infant his family emigrated to the United States, passing through Ellis Island where the family name was changed from Andrade(?) to  Andrews, and settling in the large Portuguese community in New Bedford, Mass. When his father died about ten years later my grandfather and his siblings (we really don't know much of them) returned with their mother to the Azores. 

Having seen the U.S. my grandfather wanted no part of living on what is essentially a volcanic island and decided to head back to the States. So, at the age of 13, he stowed away on a ship bound for the U.S. and soon found himself in Key West. He worked at various waterfront jobs as he made his way up the East Coast and eventually was back in New Bedford. 

Now about 15, with his adopted country entering WWI, he 'lied' his way into the Army and found himself as a infantryman in the U.S. 2nd Division in Europe, fighting in France as a 16 year old. Along the way he suffered the effects of German poison gas attacks and various other wounds. His helmet, which, I have here at home, shows a dent he told me came from a German bullet. 

After the war he was sent as part of the occupying forces to Germany and was assigned to a German farm house near Heidelberg which was home to a farm family. My grandmother was a part of that family and despite a language barrier the two fell in love. My grandfather returned to the States, eventually sent for my grandmother (and her mother), and they were married. 

He spent his life as a boilermaker in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a tough job for sure. As a preschooler I and my parents lived with my grandparents in Brooklyn and I can recall my grandfather returning from work, with grime and soot from had to toe and walking me to the corner store on Kings Highway for a treat before he bathed and we all had dinner. Later on he taught me how to curse in Portuguese, how to sharpen knives and how to wear a hat among other useful lessons. He died in 1970. Hell of a guy.

So, since this card was designed in the mid 1890s, and someone had to pose for it, I'd like to think it was my great-grandmother.

And here, displaying the results of being forced to dress up for Christmas by my Grandmother, is Pops. Circa 1955.

1960 Topps Managers, Eddie Sawyer and Paul Richards

A few more from this cool subset of 1960 managers. 

The scholarly Eddie Sawyer held a Masters degree from Cornell, was a college instructor and played minor league ball in the Yankee organization. He served as a player/manager until his friend Herb Pennock brought him into the Phillies chain in 1944 and made him manager of the Phils in 1948.

He managed the team to the NL pennant in 1950 in a hard fought race against the Dodgers. That was easily his most successful year as a manager. He was replaced in 1952 and remained out of baseball until he was hired back in 1958 for a second term as Phils manager. He managed through the 1959 season and then resigned one game into the '60 campaign. 

Would that be an Awesome Night card? We'll have to ask Night Owl. 

Paul Richards managed the Orioles from 1955 to 1961. Before that he was a catcher with the Dodgers (1932), Giants (1933–35), Philadelphia A's (1935) and Detroit Tigers (1943–46). He managed the White Sox before and after he was at the helm in Baltimore. He also served as the General Manager for the Orioles, the Houston Colt .45s and the Atlanta Braves.

In Baltimore he was credited with developing many of the players that brought the Birds out of obscurity to a second place finish in 1960 including Brooks Robinson and several pitchers including Steve Barber, Milt Pappas and Jack Fisher who made up their young staff.

He also developed the over-sized catchers mitt that Gus Triandos and others used to handle Hoyt Wilhelm's knuckler. Although the Texan never won a pennant he managed 16 players who went on the manage in the big leagues.

His card provides the rare look at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium on a card from this era. My favorite stadium of all. 

My First 'White Whale'

Back in the late 70s or early 80s I decided to pursue a hobby adventure and track down every Oriole card issued since the franchise moved to Baltimore in 1954. It was a fun project and it kept me busy for about five years. I had the 1967 Brooks Robinson (like the Mark Belanger/Bill Dillman shown above it is a high number) so the only other expensive card was going to be the Brooks rookie from 1957.

The Robinson card I needed proved to be much easier to acquire than the Mark Belanger Rookie. Lots of '57 Robinsons were around. It was just a matter of finding one I could live with and afford. It was one of the two last cards I needed. I ended up just swallowing hard and buying one at a show in Beaumont, Texas. I'd gone to that show hoping to some different dealers and maybe finding the Belanger. I went with a friend and remember staring at the B Robby rookie the whole way home. So the 1967 Mark Belanger/Bill Dillman rookie card was the last card I needed to finish that project.

Back then it was a tedious job to find one card, especially a high number Topps card. I scoured all the publications I could find without any luck. I frequented a couple of LCSs and it never appeared in their stock. Card shows were much more prevalent back then. There was a medium to large sized show in the Houston area every few months and there were many 'hotel meeting-room' shows that were set up biweekly. I drove to a big San Antonio show that one of the more prominent area promoters put on.

But that Belanger took a long time to appear. I found it (finally) at a show in the Astroworld Hotel and Convention Center. It was in a binder with at least one other one and I bought two copies. One went into my collection binder and one went up on display in a frame. I had never heard of the term 'White Whale' used in terms of sought after collectibles. But this Belanger/Dillman card from 1967 was mine, even if I never knew that.

BTW... I'm still chasing my football version. I think that one is hopeless.

1969 Willie Mays

It's my original 1969 Topps Willie Mays card. And if you can look past the horrendous crease down the middle,the soft, frayed corners and the fact that it is seriously mis-cut, I think you'll agree it's a beautiful card.

Willie looks sooo Willie-like on this one. His patented smile (OK, he doesn't smile at signings much these days but he used to be known for it), the history laden Giants' home shirt, the way his glove, even though mostly out of the frame, it tilted towards the sky, ready for a Mays 'basket catch'. Topps obviously didn't have their design people spend months on the 1969 set. It's pretty ho-hum, and the color of the backs is pretty bad, but some cards are classic. I think this is one.

And the back, with it's 'wall of (amazing) stats', made for endless study for a stat maven like I was back in the day. The one text line heralds the fact that, at that moment in time, Willie was #2 to the Babe in career homers!

From third grade onward I was best friends with a Giant fan who came from a family of Giants' fans. So I saw Mays play at Shea on several occasions. I also saw the Giants play the Mets at the Polo Grounds in either '62 or '63. I don't recall a lot other than the place seemed huge (even to a kid who was used to the vast Yankee Stadium), and it seemed dark. But I saw Willie Mays play, in the place he made his most iconic catch. I know because I checked and he made every game in New York in those two seasons.

1960 Topps Managers, Billy Jurges and Bob Elliot

I'm edging ever closer to finishing my 1960 Topps manager subset. These are really fun cards from a set that is the first that I ever really collected and have vivid memories of. I really like the gold/mustard color used on the backs. 

Billy Jurges only managed 122 games for the Red Sox in 1959/1960. He had a record of 59-63. But he did get to pose in Fenway Park leaning on the batting cage in dapper style with a glove on his hand for a Topps card. That has to count for something. But he was a three time All Star for the Cubs and Giants during a solid 17 year playing career.

Bob Elliott only managed one season, 1960 for the Athletics, and his club finished eighth, but he had a long and successful playing career. He was seven time All Star third baseman while playing primarily for the Pirates and Boston Braves. He was the NL MVP in 1947 with a stat line of 22/113/.317 and he garnered top ten MVP placement twice more. Plus, he looks like my Uncle Gerald.

I'm down to needing five of the 16 managers cards out of the '60 Topps set. I may also try and nab the coaches cards. I remember how big of a kick me and my friends got out of the 'old guys' floating heads on that subset.

I'm just afraid I might be tempted to complete the whole Topps set. Hey, I love projects, but I'm not up to another full vintage set at the moment.

It's Masters Sunday

I play golf, though not very well. And hitting a bucket of balls at the range is a nice way to relax, at least for me. I even build and repair golf clubs. All of the clubs I play are ones I've built.

And I watch golf, sometimes. I'm out at the Shell Houston Open every year (my sister-in-law is a Shell exec) and I watch on TV if it's the final round of the Masters. And that's today. Normally I'd block out a couple of hours to watch the last of the tournament, especially since my cable provider has a crazy good Masters set-up where we can choose which hole or group we want to concentrate our attention on.

But sadly none of my favorites, none of the guys I'd be interested in watching, are in contention. Fred Couples and K. J. Choi shot themselves into also-ran status on Saturday. And Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els made the cut but were never threats.

So I can do my taxes without much interruption. Oh happy day.

Yesterday I was at Target and went to the card aisle, of course. I thought I might buy a pack of something other than 2013 Topps (I already bought one of those) but they didn't have anything that interested me other than a box of Upper Deck SP Golf. I hadn't bought any golf cards since the hey-day (if it could be called that) of the Pro Set golf sets back in the early 90s.

I picked up a pack and opened it this morning. Nothing at all to get excited about. Just four cards including one of an LPGA player. I hadn't even registered the fact that the pack was marked '2012' although it wouldn't have mattered much, they are golf cards after all.

The cards themselves are pretty nice. Thicker than normal cardboard with clear pics and a pleasing design. I did get one of a Masters winner, Zack Johnson. He hasn't been to Houston since his 11th place finish in 2004. So I have no love for him.

Johnathan Byrd missed the cut in the last couple of Houston Opens but he did finish 14th about four years ago.

John Mallinger also missed the cut this year here in Houston but he has a 6th place finish to his credit. I didn't scan the front of his card because I wanted to show one card back without having to make two scanner 'runs'. My stupid scanner only will do four images at a time.

Brian Cole

I read about Mets' prospect Brian Cole a few years ago. I didn't recall his story when I read about him. His death in 2001 came during a time that I was not following the game at all. His history, and his tragic loss prompted me to find a card of the guy. This is a shiny, sparkly Fleer something-or-other from 2001.

If you are not familiar with the Brian Cole story I encourage you to find the Baseball Preview issue of Sports Illustrated or glance at one of these articles from the New York Times or the Sarasota Herald.

Albert Pujols speaks of Cole as one would speak of a baseball all time great. It's a touching story. I hope you get a chance to read it.

1948 Japanese Menko cards... Two Hall of Fame pitchers

The Menko card above (from a set known as JRM 20) is of Tadashi Wakabayashi, two time Japanese League MVP and a Hall of Fame pitcher who was a second generation Japanese-American born in Hawaii. It dates from 1948, late in his career when he was serving as a player manager of the Osaka Tigers. What looks like a serious crease across the bottom of the card is a surface wrinkle that my scanner chose to highlight (as well as slice off the sides).

Neat little 13 second video of 'Bozo' Wakabayashi 's pitching form found on YouTube and the linked site:

This next Menko card also comes from 1948 and a semi-related set cataloged as JRM 26. The similarities are pretty obvious. There are several similar sets issued the same year and all vary just a bit in the background. The pictured player is Hideo Fujimoto. He is also a Japanese League Hall of Famer. He holds the career record for lowest ERA and lowest one season ERA. Like Bozo he also managed late in his career. Fujimoto was born in Korea, moving to Japan when he was eight.

Topps Marquee Brooks Robinson

I frequent a collectors forum, Trading Card Zone. Most of the cards I own are older than most of the members over there but that's OK. I don't mind being the 'old fart' who waxes nostalgic about vintage while they oooh and aaah over the latest and greatest sparkly/shiny autographed relic hits. They are nice guys.

Anyway one of the mods asked a question... "Would you pay a premium for a 'numbered' card that has the number which matches the player's uniform?" I bring that up because I had on my desk, in my ever growing pile of 'stuff', this 2011 Topps Marquee featuring Brooksie that is numbered #5 of 199.

I have no idea where I got it, and I'm sure I never paid attention to the number. I will tell you that I probably picked it up because I like the nice glossy picture they used and the fact that while Brooks in in a familiar pose this is NOT a picture that I've seen over and over like some of the recent cards of him that I come across.

There is also the chance that someone out there sent me this card. I think I would remember if that was the case because I don't get a lot of packages. But if it came from you, gracias. It's a sweet card, no matter what it is #'d.

These belonged to my sons, I swear

When my sons moved out to go to college I cleared out a lot of 'stuff' they left behind. I promised them I wouldn't toss out any of their favorite or 'valuable' cards. That wasn't difficult because most of what the had was junk, mostly a collection of crappy '80s wax baseball, plus stuff like Classic minor league cards, Pro Set hockey, stadium issued Astros Mother's Cookies cards, a bunch of those thick Action Packed football cards, loads of Pokemon foolishness and Power Ranger cards.

I dumped most of it, except for a few Power Rangers cards. My sons always thought I loved watching the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers with them for the action and stories.

Nope

Autographed Postcards

I don't consider myself an autograph guy. I have some, and I think they make cards and such more meaningful in most cases. Especially when obtained straight from the subject. And that's why I value these two Oriole-issued postcards. 

 

The Palmer postcard was signed by him for one of my sons, Brooks, when he was just a few months old. There is a matching one somewhere around here that Palmer signed for my other son, James, who was named for him. My wife and I had taken the boys to a Palmer appearance at a downtown Houston department store for Jockey underwear in 1989.

It was a cool day as Palmer (the original one) posed with the four of us and took time to chat after the signing session. The personalized autographed postcard brings back memories of that day.

Way back I used to never miss a Sunday Houston Chronicle feature that listed bookstore appearances in the Houston area. I was sort of a book nut back then (before my kids started to grow and my house suddenly seemed really small). That's how I learned about Cal Ripken coming to Houston to promote some book or another. Nowadays a lot of signings will limit fans to getting the author's books signed and prohibit 'outside' items. But that day Cal was signing everything and he took the time to personalized this card for me and he shook hands and spoke with my boys who were wearing Oriole gear.

That was another nice memory that comes back with this autograph.

It's a Pink Card in 2013!

Yes, as I have mentioned I like cards that feature the color pink. And I'm secure enough in my manhood to admit it.

So I decided to kill two birds with one stone and pick up a card that 1) featured a guy I needed for my fantasy baseball collection and 2) was pink. I went online and the cheapest one I could find was this Jeff Keppinger from this year's Topps set.

A couple of questions I've asked myself....

...why did I have Jeff Keppinger on my team? It must have been during my middle infielder crisis last season.

...why has Keppinger played for 7 different clubs in 9 years? I mean he has a .286 lifetime average which isn't bad for a shortstop, right?

...why did I spend $5 plus shipping for a stupid card that just happens to be pink? This one I can't answer I'm afraid.

Oh, and if you read any of my posts from last year in which I state that I would never ever get involved with fantasy baseball again, well, I was strong armed into giving it one more shot. Sadly it's a 'big money' league. Next year I'm going to just go downtown and pass out the $$$ to the needy. It'll be much more satisfying.

Sadaharu Oh 1960 Menko

I have an interest in Japanese baseball cards, particularly Menko cards. (Menko are the cards that were originally used in children's card games.) I have a small but growing collection of this type of card. I know very little myself but I rely on Gary Engel's great reference book in addition to a couple of well done online resources.

The uncut sheet above I found on a vendor's table at an antique mall some years ago and the proprietor knew almost nothing about it. He sold it to me for a couple of bucks as I recall. I put it away in my storage box with other Japanese cards and didn't think much about it. The other day I was pulling stuff from that box and when I looked again at this strip of 'cards' I spied what I realized was a familiar face on the 'card' at the bottom left corner of the strip. The player in the yellow circle appeared to me to be Sadaharu Oh, legendary slugger of Japanese baseball fame! I've wanted to find an original, playing era issued Oh card for a reasonable price for a long time. Had I had one all along? If so why hadn't I recognized this sooner?

I wasn't sure but the cap appeared to be a Tokyo Giants one and the pose looked like that of a left handed batter. What threw me off was that fact that the card also featured a player that was obviously a right-handed pitcher. I had always assumed that they were the same player and I had never examined it much further.

Pulling Engle's book off the shelf I quickly discovered that what I had was most certainly an original Oh Menko card. This is one half of a complete set in uncut form from 1960. Engle dates the set based on uniforms of the ball players and the television shows represented by the cards on the right. He lists the card in question as Sadaharu Of/Pitcher. It does indeed show two different players, one being O!. The dude with the glasses, second card from the top left, is Japanese Hall of Famer Tadashi Sugiura.

Engle lists the set value at $45 but there is this exact uncut sheet avaulable right now on eBay for $10.

Here is the back. I'm really excited that I discovered the Oh card. One more thing knocked off my collectibles 'bucket list'!!

Guy V. Lewis, Basketball Hall of Famer!!!!!!!

It was an emotional moment this afternoon when news broke here in Houston that Guy V. Lewis, the long-time and much loved basketball coach at the University of Houston had finally been elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame! I've posted about Guy before and how special he has been to me and my family.

Guy V with Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney circa 1967

It's been a long hard fight involving letters, petitions, postcard campaigns and media pleas and finally, after more than a decade of disappointment, Guy V. will receive what he has richly deserved for a long time. No more bitterness on my part, no more disgust at the Hall electing Bulgarian Women's team coaches, it's all good now.

Guy being honored at a Houston basketball game a few years back.

Thank the Lord that Guy is still around to hear the news. He is in very fragile health these days and those of us who wanted this day to come are very grateful that he and his family can savor the moment.

I took this pic of Guy and his wife in April of 2011 at an Alumni function held in his honor and attended by many of his former players.

Today is a great day indeed!!