Shablotnik Sent Me Stuff

Well, this is discouraging. I had this post completed on my iPad with the Blogger Pro app and I come over here to post it and boom, it's gone except for most of the images. OK, I'll re-do it here since I don't trust that app anymore.


I was gifted with a package from Joe Shlabotnik last week, the second one he's sent in less than a month. The star this time was this 1971 Lou Brock. Perfect card? Nope. But it fits perfectly into my set build.

I can't think of Lou Brock without thinking of his semi-famous 'invention', the Brockabrella.

I actually wore one of those once thanks to my friend Sam whose Cardinals love runs very, very deep. I'm jealous of that ice cream Sundae that Lou is about to enjoy. I wonder if it came from Ted Drewes.

The Brockabrella appeared in the 1984 Fleer set. I've put that card at the bottom of this post. BTW...Joe also included another '71, Al Fitzmorris, but that image went 'poof' and I don't think I need to go dig it up from my files. Brock can rep the set without any help for sure.

This next card is a Heritage Hi# SP (or so I'm told). So it's as rare as Orioles wins in Minute Maid Park. But unlike watching the O's lose I can get some use out of this baby. It's going in my fantasy player binder.

As is his want, Joe sent along a stack of Orioles from sets gone by, mostly from the 90s and 2000s.

And a new-to-me Cal Jr.

Arthur Rhodes bulked up a bit as his career evolved. He looks almost slim here. Eric Davis had a short (two season) tenue in Birdland as he made his comeback from his cancer fight. Unfortunately for me, it came at a low ebb in my baseball fandom.

Andrew Cashner has had for bright (and not so bright) moment for the O's this year. He was beaten up on Opening Day when I saw him pitch at Yankee Stadium. He was much better Saturday night here in Houston against a depleted Astros team. 

Mancini had a lousy weekend against Astros pitching. But I'm glad to have this card. I don't fully understand what the purpose of  Topps' Opening Day set. Seems pointless.

1981 Fleer Eddie Murray.  I loved collecting this set.

I don't think I had this Drake's Murray. When I delivered the Newark Evening News in Nutley, NJ back in the day a package of Drake's Yankee Doodles and an RC Cola was the usual post-route treat.

Union Craft Brewing in B-more is producing a beer they call Steady Eddie. I'd love to give it a try, or at least grab a can to display.

Mike Mussina..welcome to the Hall of Fame! I hold no grudges.

Joe always tosses in a NY Ranger card or two and this time was no exception. I'm fired up about the return of John Davidson. With JD manning the tiller I think good things are ahead for my Blueshirts.

Here are a few more shots of Lou and his Brockabrella.

And the Fleer card of Jay Johnstone. I'm mildly surprised that the Bud logo made it thru the approval process at Fleer.

There were more cards but these are the ones I scanned. All are much appreciated. Thanks, Joe!!

Summer of '74

Matthew Prigge cranked up his blog, Summer of '74, in February. It's a consistently good read and Matt is also a prolific Twitter-er (? LOL) and has authored a bunch of other things worth checking out. He also recently sent me a package full of really neat and unexpected items. First up is the Gino Marchetti signed card shown above. Gino is a Baltimore legend, one of the toughest and most relentless defensive players you could ever hope to see. The story that tells his tale best is that he broke his leg in the famous '58 NFL Title game versus the Giants but refused to let the team trainers cart him off to the locker room. Instead he made them put the stretcher down so he could watch the game from the sidelines.  

Matthew also sent me some presidential buttons for my collection. I don't think that's happened before. These 3" LBJ and RFK pinbacks are fantastic additions. Lately I've been working on ways to display my pins and buttons. Office wall space is at a premium but it'll get done. 

My research says the LBJ isn't rare but it's brand new to me. I've never seen either of these before. 

Of course Bobby Kennedy died in June of 1968 while campaigning for the Democratic nomination. Turbulent times in America.

Matt also stuffed the package with a stack of Orioles cards. Most all of them came from a time I wasn't collecting so they are welcome additions to various binders. I'll show and comment on just some of them including all these Cal Ripken cards:

This may be my only 2000 Topps baseball card.

I bailed on collecting in 1990 so the '91 Upper Decks sprinkled thru the post are all new. I really was a big UD fan when they came on the collecting scene. It's ironic the their phony bologna Ben McDonald rookie 'error' is the card that ended my collecting back then.

This Paul Blair is one of those Topps reissues. I always loved this card and the design.

More '91 UDs and an '84 Topps Mike Flanagan.

'87 Donruss Fred Lynn. Do Red Sox fans blink when they see Lynn in orange and black? Is this Donruss' best design?

Giving all the card makers equal time here is Dave Schmidt on a Fleer card next to Brady Anderson.

Billy Ripken, '90 UD. No cuss words visible.

Finally the Oriole that Orioles fans love to hate, Mike Mussina. This was a nice simple design for Leaf. Boring? Maybe..but I liked it. I don't think I have many of them though.

Matt's blog title got me to thinking of what I was doing in the summer of 1974. I was working two jobs, one on campus at the University of Houston Rec/Athletics and the other at the Houston Post. I was also pondering life as a 'single' again after briefly not being so. I was probably drinking too much (those last two items are inter-related). And I was contemplating how I was going to explain to my folks why I still was facing an uphill climb to graduate.

Luckily all that was a long time ago. And I'm here to thank Matt for the generous package. It's much appreciated.