I've been trying to fill in a few inexpensive gaps in my player collections recently. I had found a TCMA Cardinals card on eBay but I hate buying something for a few nickels and spending twice as much on shipping. So I dug through the dealer's listings and came up with enough Staub items to make the buy worthwhile.
Nothing earth-shattering here. Just a few oddballs and a Topps that I already had but I may need to fill a set chase hole at some point.
By far my favorite piece is the team-issued, signed postcard above. The seller called it a J.D. McCarthy/team issue. It has a blank back which lends credence to the theory that it was team issued. Most of the McCarthys that he provided to players had a postcard back and a small name box on the front.
Next up is a 1978 Whiffle Ball disc. The MLBPA got a lot of mileage out of the license for this design. EDIT...looks very much like the WB disc photo is the same as the postcard.
1969 Milton Bradley game card. Not much to these. that photo of Rusty looks like something that was taken while he was in high school. Pull out the dice and lets play!
Here is a 1991 WIZ Entertainment Center card which was part of a Shea Stadium promotion that ran that year. Apparently, all 450 players who had been with the team up to that point were part of this. They were issued in perforated sheets of 10 cards each.
Finally, we have a 1968 Topps Staub. I had one already but there may come a time (way, waaaaaay down the road) that I turn my stack of '68s into a set. It's one of my least favorite Topps sets so I doubt it'll be any time soon. Dig Rusty's flaming red hair!
He was coming off one of his best seasons. The '67 club was the first Astros team I was familiar with and it remains my favorite. Looks like I need to take a closer look at my PCs and update the checklists. It's not like I don't have the time.
There used to be a Nobody Beats The Wiz store near me that was shaped like a ship. Apparently the building had once been a nightclub. And, yes, the official name of the chain wasn't "The Wiz", it was "Nobody Beats The Wiz".
ReplyDeleteI've got my own little Rusty Staub collection going, but the only one of these that I have is the 1968 Topps... and that's not a set I would be trying to complete either. Those WIZ cards are kind of appealing on an individual basis, but as a set they're very underwhelming... all those tiny black and white photos.
ReplyDeleteIn the late 1990's I bought a big-for-the-time TV for my Dad at the Wiz... I think that was the only thing I ever bought there, other than CD's and other small items.
I've got a small collection of his Expos cards going. Le Grande Orange is still big in Montreal.
ReplyDeleteI need to grab more of those Wiz cards. They're great for PC guys especially because they often capture players who never got proper cardboard with the Mets/Yankees. I just have a hard time spending more than $2 for them especially because the players I'm looking for are all nobodies.
ReplyDeleteI've got a saved search for one of those MSA Wiffle sets. I've been on a 70's MSA kick the past month or so. That Wiz promotion sounds really cool. The Dodgers and the Brewers have sets like that too where they created cards for every player in franchise history up to that point. I'd love it if the Oakland A's did something like that.
ReplyDeleteOrioles did one with Crown Oil sponsering. It got some ink because Hank Foiles sued over the use of his photo without a residual.
DeleteThere's also a Rangers set sponsored by Keebler. I wish more teams had done this.
DeleteRight now I'm hearing the "Nobody Beats the Wiz" jingle from back in the 1980s.
ReplyDelete