Random Vintage Being Random Pt 3

Last installment of card show vintage. I brought home about 35 cards but some are headed out in a PWE and others were not really worth scanning.

A couple more 71's here. I didn't realize I had nabbed as many as I did. Maybe something in my subconscious is urging me to collect it. I doubt that's going to happen though.

First up is Lindy McDaniel out there all by his lonesome on the Yankee Stadium mound. No way to prove it but I'd like to think this shot was taken on the same day as the photo for the '71 Vada Pinson card. I've determined that one was taken on a day I was in the stands. If so I might be pictured somewhere in that crowd beyond McDaniel over near the third base dugout. That's where I was seated that afternoon. 

This is not the most 'action-filled' of the on-field photos in the '71 set. But I like how it gives a sense of the solitude pitchers must feel out there on a big league mound with the game in their hand. 

I believe it is an impossibility to pass up a thirty three cent card showing Walt 'No Neck' Williams and those great 70's 'burns. The fact that Topps did such a lousy and obvious airbrush job on Walt's cap while ignoring his White Sox' uni is just gravy.

Tony Cloninger in that Braves cap. I have a mental block against the guy's correct name. I have always seen/spelled/said it as 'CloLinger'. Tony Clolinger. When I typed it right there it looks so obviously wrong but when I look at the card I see CloLinger. Next you'll tell me that the scan is crooked. Harumph.

John 'Blue Moon' Odom poses with a couple of water towers in the background. This is Spring Training but I'm reminded of the trips my wife and I took along Route 66 this summer through Illinois, Missouri and Kansas and over the winter in Arizona. Those small towns along the way all spout water towers although the old fashioned ones like the ones on this card are rare.

It also just struck me as to how many of the players on the cards I bought have memorable nicknames.....

...like Harry 'The Hat' Walker. Walker was fired as manager of the Pirates about the time I first arrived in Houston in the summer of 1967. He was hired by the Astros about the time we moved back to New Jersey the following June. He was still managing when I returned to attend college here in 1970. He was a major leaguer for 11 seasons but a regular for about half that. He spent two prime years in the service and survived a harrowing stint in WWII with Patton's Third Army in France and Germany.

I bought this card because it shows off the Astros' classic 'shooting star' jersey. They've worn this a few times as a throwback but I wish they had gone to it fulltime when they switched back to the orange and blue color scheme.

And finally there is this nice '61 Topps Jack Sanford. They reused this photo the next year (lightening the sky in the background) but I like the '61 a lot more. This was the best card I bought as far as condition is concerned. A bit off-center but the corners are nice. That, plus Jack Sanford was a badass. He's one of the guys who I've profiled three times over my three vintage Topps set blogs, 1958, 1959 and 1960. With guys like that I feel I 'know' them.

I was pretty happy with what I picked up at the show. I spent less than I usually do and still came away with these and cards to send off to another blogger. I can't wait for the next hotel show.

Card Show Vintage...Take Four

As I said before, when I pull cheap vintage out of dealers' boxes I'm usually just picking cards of players I liked or cards that catch my eye. Like these. I saw a lot of the Giants at Shea because my best friend and his father were fans. Since I was going to be there anyway and the 'big guns' had plenty of support I picked Jim Ray Hart as a guy to root for. Love the MacGregor glove with the 'crown' logo on the wrist strap.

I bought two Lindy McDaniel cards, his '67 and '66 Topps. I already had a '66 McDaniel card but I may decide at some point to chase this set so a second one, a very cheap one, may come in handy. I collect his cards and you can read about my McDaniel fixation right here.

Cool that he's a Rawlings guy. In fact that glove looks a LOT like my Rawlings Wally Bunker. That's the exact same webbing.

I think this '66 Pitching Leaders card was a dime. It's brutal but any card with Koufax, Drysdale and a guy wearing that amazing Braves' cap is certainly worth a dime.

I scanned the back, too. I used to read the names and numbers on these leaders cards constantly. Note that there were seven 20-game winners in the NL in 1965. Seven! The NL might not have that many in the next decade! I know it's now totally un-hip, almost blasphemy to even mention games won by a pitcher. But in my day W/L was a pitchers claim to fame.

The only thing cooler than these lists were the team cards that gave the pitchers records against every other team. Those were awesome.

Now get off my lawn, dammit!

Some love for Lindy

A recent COMC splurge added a boatload of cards to several of my PCs. These are part of my Lindy McDaniel collection.

I've read a lot of negative opinions about the '61 set recently. Maybe it's just the fact that I'm in the process of deciding on my next set project and I'm paying more attention. I dunno. But that '61 McDaniel up top looks pretty good to me. The photo was taken at Seals Stadium in San Francisco, red railings give it away. Take a look at the stands over McDaniel's back. Is that a group of fans wearing dǒulì hats, those bamboo conical hats worn all over SE Asia?

I already had a '59 but I needed one for my McDaniel PC. Actually this is a better one than my original in terms of centering and corners, so I will likely swap it into my '59 set binder.

The '73 has McDaniel wearing and undershirt with raggedy sleeves in a Spring Training shot.

This is the first of two McDaniel cards that Topps put out in 1974. He was part of the 'Traded Set' that year as well. Are those the same sleeves? Same photo shoot?

I hadn't ever thought much about that Traded set even though I have a few kicking around. Here is what Cardboard Connection says about them:

The distribution of the cards were two-fold. The entire set was included with the purchase of the first-ever Topps factory set, which was only available at the time through the JC Penny catalog. The cards were also randomly inserted as singles in later-runs of the regular season issue.

My 74T McDaniel isn't in my binder but I have it crossed off my list so I know it's someplace. Here is a 'net image of the card:

Typical airbrushing job by Topps. The regular '74 is so much nicer.

Card Show Cards

There's nothing quite like cheap vintage boxes at a card show. I visited the local hotel show on Saturday and while it's becoming harder to fill my 1960 needs list there I am always finding fresh inventory in the dollar and fifty cent boxes.

I nabbed about a dozen cards in addition to a pair of 1960 set needs and spent 10 dollars. I can't pass up a Don Mossi card even if it features a handmade 'update' scribbled in ink. I also picked up three Lindy McDaniel cards. The '66 is in pretty nice condition.

Topps used shots of McDaniel and Cardinal teammate Larry Jackson from the same photo shoot to create 'special' cards in consecutive years. The guys were yukking it up for the camera at the Polo Grounds and the shots turned in in the 1961 set......

...and a year later in 1962......

I've mentioned Willard Schmidt in the past. His great-nephew is a Civil War author and blogger and a friend. Willard didn't have many cards (four Topps cards and some regionals) but those that were issued were pretty nice. I really like this 1956.

After picking up a Sal Maglie card at the TriStar show earlier this month I've become more interested in him so I was happy to come across this '54 Bowman the other day in a bargain box. I don't think I'll really take a stab at a Maglie PC but I'll grab them if I find them cheap. There are worse habits to have, right?

I hadn't intended to put only the cards of pitchers into one post but now that it's worked out that way I'll let it ride. I'll put the other cards I dug up into my next entry. That is if this oncoming tropical depression/storm/disturbance doesn't float all of southeast Texas out into the Gulf.

From the TriStar show #1

Other plans got in the way of my trip to the TriStar show on Saturday but I was able to get over there on Sunday for a bit and did some damage to my memorabilia budget. Before looking at any cards I'll get this rant out of the way though. The facility, NRG Arena charges $12 to park. And the show charges $12 to get in. So right off the top you're down $24 before you even hit the first table. I see guys bringing a couple of kids and at $8 a pop those dads are out $40 to start.

That just seems like too much money to pay for the right to spend more money. At least when the shows are held downtown at the Convention Center you can score street parking if you don't mind walking a couple of blocks. Next time I think I'll park downtown and ride the Metro rail to NRG for $1. /rant

OK, on to the cards. My primary intent was to fill what I could of my Topps 1960 checklist. I managed to cross off about 25 of those. I managed to find a couple of dealers who had late 50s/early 60s Topps for a buck a pop or less. I got several really nice cards from a fifty cent box. They were so nice that I bought a few that I knew I already had just because the condition was likely to be an upgrade for me.

After and hour of finding those I thought I'd hit the tables of a dealer that had bargain boxes and was selling those at half off. These are all fifty cent purchases.

First up is the signed Jim Fregosi card at the top. It's from one of the Ted Williams sets. It may or may not be really signed by Fregosi but when I pick up something like this my first thought is 'why would someone go to the trouble to forge a Fregosi sig on a Ted Williams set card?'.... And based on that I figure it's probably legit.

fregosi of course was a first rate shortstop for the Angels for about a decade and also played for the Pirates, Rangers and Mets. He made a bunch of All Star teams and won a Gold Glove. here's something I didn't know...he was originally signed by the Red Sox before being taken in the 1960 AL Expansion Draft.

He managed for many years after his playing days. His 1993 Phillies reached the World Series and it was Jim Fregosi that sat in the opposing dugout and had to watch Joe Carter circle the bases after his Series winning Game Six home run. That Series was Fregosi's only postseason experience.

Next is a Al Ferrara 1969 Deckle Edge Topps insert. Here are three things you might not have known about 'The Bull':

• He was a classical pianist who played at Carnegie Hall by 16
• He appeared on episodes of Gilligan’s Island and Batman
• Ferrara graduated from Lafayette High School, the same school that produced Sandy Koufax, John Franco, Ken Aspromonte and Bob Aspromonte.

This Lindy McDaniel jumps right into my collection alongside the autographed card I got TTM from him earlier this year. And yes, the card is just as out-of-focus as it looks in the scan.

It's hard to pass up a fifty cent Sal Maglie card, even if the condition isn't good. 'The Barber' made his name as a pitcher for the New York Giants in the early 50s but he also pitched for the Indians, Dodgers, Cardinals and Yankees as his career wound down. 

He started the 1956 season in Cleveland but was dealt to Brooklyn in mid-May after having pitched only five innings over two appearances for the Tribe. He went on to go 13-5 for the Dodgers with a 2.87 ERA and three shutouts garnering second place in both MVP and Cy Young voting. He went 1-1 in the Series that year which the Dodgers lost to the Yanks.

Maglie was Italian, my grandfather was Portuguese. But they could have been brothers.

I'll save the rest of the little group of cards for another post.

Lindy McDaniel TTM

Lindy McDaniel was involved in two of the best games I've ever seen, one of which I blogged about a few weeks back. When I came across his website I decided to send him a card and ask him if he had any memories of these games.

I'd grabbed the waaaay miscut '72 Topps at a show last month. He's got a nice sig. I was happy that it came back signed, anything else I got was going to be gravy.

Here is the note I included and Lindy was nice enough to take the time to answer my questions. I noticed how 'long-winded' I was when I got the letter back. I hope he didn't fall asleep reading it!

He included two more signed items, the first is a custom photocard listing his teams and stats.

The other was a signed sheet listing his Hall of Fame teammates and other notable players he shared a field with. I loved this but my scanner didn't. LOL 

Lindy asks a $5 donation for items sent but in my case he went beyond what I was expecting. His website is online here. His reference to Pitching for the Master in his answer to my second question is a plug for his blog (I had first thought it was a book). It's a baseball/religion blog which may not be to everyone's taste but I'll leave it at that. 

All in all I'd count this as a rousing success. I'm not a TTM sig seeker. This, and one I have out to Billy Pierce, are the first I've sent off in many years. Getting the envelope back (it was waiting for me when I got back home from Florida) was a big kick. I'm thinking about doing a few more, 

Tony Horton, Vada Pinson, and The Best Ballpark Day Ever!

I've always been fascinated by Tony Horton's story. I could never understand how a guy with his talent could be so troubled. But over time I've come to learn more about depression and mental illness and his career is easier to put into perspective.

He never had a Topps card, just some regional and food issues and such. Bob Lemke, whose blog is one of my absolute must-reads, does custom cards and took on the task of filling in some missing Topps Horton cards. You can see them here on this post from a couple of weeks back. He did three and all are outstanding. I had a few other Lemke creations already eyeballed and the Horton addition caused me to pull the trigger. I chose the '1970' version because it shows him as I remember him, as an Indian in Yankee Stadium. My cards arrived this week and they are as nice as I expected.

The other Lemke cards are of Baltimore Colts and they make a nice 'supplement' to my Colts' Project. I'll blog them as part of my wrap-up to that deal. Meanwhile, check out the back of the Horton, quality stuff.

But back to Tony Horton himself. I may have written this story before but I don't see it in this blog's archive so it was probably a comment on someone else's. He plays a central role in what is my all-time favorite day at a ballpark.

Back in 1970 I'd just graduated from high school and was about to move to Houston and head off to college. I went with my best friend to what we thought was going to be a routine mid-week doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. The Indians were in town and since I'd inherited my father's love for two-for-one ballgames we headed to the Bronx.

Knocking around Manhattan, grabbing the #4 line uptown, visiting Manny's Baseball Land, and then that games themselves, well that was a great time every time. But June 24, 1970 was going to be extra special.

We always sat somewhere down near third base in the lower stands since we'd made 'friends' with an usher who usually got us a nice view for the price of our grandstand ticket and a small tip. And that day it was especially nice to have the view from behind the Indians' dugout.

Several things came together to make that day more than just a long day at the ballpark. In the first game, we got to watch Sam McDowell handle the Yankees pretty easily and that was neat because we were fans of the Indian's ace.

Watching McDowell work was fun, but what happened in the ninth made the game memorable. Yankee reliever Steve Hamilton had been playing around with a 'bloop' pitch he called the 'Folly Floater'. Facing Tony Horton to lead off the Indians' ninth he threw a floater that was fouled back. Horton asked for another one, Hamilton obliged and it was fouled off to the left and Thurman Munson made a nice play to snag it. Horton dropped to his knees as he approached his dugout and crawled the rest of the way to the steps. I'd never seen anything like that before.

Here is the 1969 Topps Hamilton I picked up at the card show two weeks ago. It uses the same photo as his '64 Topps card.

This video (sometimes I just love YouTube!) is of that very at-bat with Phil Rizzuto calling the action. My buddy and I are likely visible in that grainy crowd behind the dugout. No way to tell.

The second game of the doubleheader was nuttier than the first! Bobby Murcer, who had homered in the bottom of the ninth in the first game hit three more in the second one for what I believe was a record-tying four homers in four consecutive official at-bats. He managed to draw a walk in the middle of them.

And we witnessed the best baseball fight I've seen in person. In the top of the fifth with the Indians leading 2-1 and one man out Vada Pinson singles, goes to second on a ground out, and then, when Stan Bahnsen uncorks a wild pitch, tries to score all the way from second. Bahnsen, covering home tags Pinson out with his glove to the face and Pinson comes up swinging. Everyone piled out onto the field and lots of shoving and bear-hugging ensued. The haymaker from Pinson is one of the few really good punches I've ever seen land in a baseball fight. I remember that we were surprised Bahnsen was back on the mound for the sixth. Pinson, btw, got tossed.

Not long after that, some chump in the upper deck tossed a large firecracker, probably a 'cherry bomb', onto the field and it landed near home plate. I remember Ray Fosse jumping about as high as a catcher could jump when the thing exploded nearby. I've read since then that the thing burned him but I really don't remember that. I just remember the Yankee PA guy, Bob Sheppard warning the fans that the game would end if any more objects were thrown onto the field.

Two other notes on this game.....while digging for newspaper accounts of the game I discovered that the 1971 Vada Pinson card has a photo taken during Game One that day. It shows Pinson being tagged out at home by Munson when he tried to score on a flyout, ending the eighth inning. Oh, the irony.....

...And I recently came across a web page for long-time major league reliever Lindy McDaniel. He was a member of the Yankees in 1970 when these games and another great game, one played in Baltimore between the Yanks and Orioles occurred.  He signs through the mail so I sent him a card and asked him if he had some memories of that summer. I'll post that when he returns it.

EDIT...I had to reconstruct this post since the photos were deleted. The above are not the original pics.