Mea Culpa

Things get a bit goofy when school cranks back up and I've been pretty busy. Into the cracks has fallen the post I intended to publish acknowledging the packages sent to me by Ana La and Fugi almost two weeks ago. I'll take care of that oversight right now. And now that I'm looking through the stack of scanned cards that came in these two packages it occurs to me that every card actually fits somewhere into my newly organised binders.

Of course Ana's gifts come from Portugal (which also gifted the world with my grandfather) and are quite a welcome sight.  Here are the highlights:

I think these are the first cards from the '95 UD Collector's Choice set that I own. The '94 baseball strike carried over into '95 and I had quit following the game at that point and certainly didn't collect any cards. 

Mussina, Ripken and Palmeiro all have pages in my Orioles binders. Cal had a lot, Mussina a couple and Palmeiro one or two. I don't hold grudges anymore.

I also keep a big 'Star Player' binder. Into that one will go these two cards of Griffey Jr. I always thought the first time I saw him play was the 1986 All Star Game in Houston. But I went to check and I saw that he didn't make his debut until 1989. So he's come and gone, putting up Hall of Fame numbers, after a game I saw that seems like yesterday to me. I'm really feeling old.

From Fuji out in San Jose came some of this, and some of that.

Several new to me Adam Jones cards. AJ homered last night. He's awesome. And very funny on the post game interviews he does with the O's TV crew.

A Terry Kennedy Stand-up. Off the wall stuff like this has a place in my binders.

A new Brian Roberts card. Like I said, I don't hold grudges. How can anyone be upset with Brian Roberts anyway. He was the only guy worth watching on the Orioles for many years.

I don't collect Beddard but I do collect swatch cards of Orioles.

There were also some Ripkens and some Orioles signed cards. All welcome additions.

Thanks to both Ana and Fuji. This is a great hobby, isn't it? Lot's of good people out there!

Bruno Sammartino card (He's Italian, that's why)

A week or so ago when I posted the bits and pieces of my Italian-born player collection Mark Hoyle suggested I pick up a card of Bruno Sammartino. (Mark and I are likely among the few old enough to recall him). Sammartino was a huge name in 'rasslin' back in the early 60's. And my grandfather in Brooklyn loved almost nothing more than watching Saturday night wrestling shows. Well, maybe the Friday Night Fights (boxing) and Mitch Miller were close). Sammartino was the biggest name in wrestling in the 1960s.

I figured I'd track down a Bruno Sammartino if I didn't have one already. I couldn't find one among my meager assortment of Goodwins and Donruss Americana cards which is where I figured one would be if I had one. After striking out off to eBay I went.

There are a lot of 'signed' Sammartino cards and this one was the cheapest. It's a sticker autograph but it was only a few bucks more than a single from some goofy WWE card so I bought it.

And now I have a Bruno Sammartino card. How good can life get?

Sertoma Stars...another odd little set

Here's another obscure little group of cards that I have pulled out of storage recently.  The 'Sertoma Stars' set is one of two related sets that were apparently issued in conjunction with card shows in the Indianapolis area in 1977 and possibly 1978.  This sepia toned set consists of 24 players active in '77 or who had some sort of connection to Indy. Possibly some were show guests but that's just speculation on my part. The checklist is below. There were also a few variations including blank backs, etc.

I have the five Orioles that appear in the set. The reverse of these contain player name and the Sertoma logo.  Each card also has an ad or business card that occupies the lower half of the reverse. The pictures used have been seen in many other places previously. They are used on Dexter Press postcards for example. And I saw references to the set with a 1978 date.

BTW... Sertoma is an organization based in Kansas City the works to provide hearing impaired children with hearing aids and other equipment that they might not otherwise be able to afford. The organization has clubs nationwide and is still active.

1977 (1978?) Sertoma stars checklist:

• HANK AARON
• BOB ALLISON
• CLETE BOYER
• DON BUFORD
• ROD CAREW
• RICO CARTY
• ROBERTO CLEMENTE
• JIM RAY HART
• DAVE JOHNSON
• HARMON KILLEBREW
• MICKEY MANTLE
• JUAN MARICHAL
• BILL MAZEROSKI
• JOE MORGAN
• PHIL NIEKRO
• TONY OLIVA
• GAYLORD PERRY
• BOOG POWELL
• BROOKS ROBINSON
• FRANK ROBINSON
• JOHN ROSEBORO
• RUSTY STAUB
• JOE TORRE
• JIM WYNN

In researching this set I came across a related issue that is called Sertoma Stars "Puzzle backs" set. AKA 'Sertoma Stars Round Picture Set'. An old SCD catalog provided this info:

"This Collectors set was issued in conjunction with the Indianapolis Sports Collectors Convention in 1977. The set was sold for $3.00 with proceeds benefiting the local Sertoma Club's charity work." 

There are players from many different eras in this 25 card set, almost 1/2 the set has players from 1910-1930s. Most of the players seem to have some ties to Indiana whether they were born there, played there or maybe just passed through. I can't find a direct Satchel Paige-Indiana link for example although I'm sure his many baseball travels took him through the state many times. Same goes for Willie Mays. I can't find a connection although I'm sure he flew over Indiana air space from time to time. Those guys, like Babe Ruth are probably in the set because they simply are Paige, Mays and Ruth.

Others, like Bernie Allen, Don Buford and Chico Ruiz played for Indianapolis as minor leaguers or are natives of the state. Harmon Killebrew is a star who was born in Indiana so he was a lock for this set!

The backs make up a puzzle of a team picture.

1977 Sertoma Stars "Puzzle backs"

• Bernie Allen
• Bob Logan
• Buck Weaver
• Chico Ruiz
• Dick Kenworthy
• Dom Dallessandro
• Don Buford
• Early Wynn
• Edd Roush
• George Sisler
• Harmon Killebrew
• Home Run Baker
• Len Johnston
• Lou Gehrig
• Satchell Paige
• Ted Beard
• Willie Mays

Monday Morning Quarterback #25 Trent Green 1999 Leaf Certified

In this ongoing series of posts I am going to feature cards from my fantasy football player collection, specifically the 117 quarterbacks I've had on my team's roster since 1980. I have one selected card for each player in my All-Time Flyers binder. Through the years I've tried to use as many different card varieties as possible while holding on to my preference which is: a card issued in a year I owned the player showing him in the proper team uni in a vertical format. Card availability and my whims have had a big impact on that standard as we will see. 

NFL Info: Trent Green was drafted by the Chargers in 1993 out of Indiana but never played for them. After a year as a backup he played in Canada and then returned to play for the Redskins and won the starting job there in 1998. But the following season he moved to the Rams and was slated to start for them until he was hurt in the preseason and the job went to the then unheralded Kurt Warner who took them to the Super Bowl. In 2000 Green returned the favor and played well during a long stretch as a sub for the injured Warner.

He was traded to the chiefs and from 2001 through 2005 he started every game for them. A series of concussions hampered Green throughout the next three years as he played for the Dolphins and Rams (again) before retiring. He has worked as a color analyst for several networks in recent years and is currently employed by NBC.

Fantasy Impact: I had Green on my roster only once, as a back-up to Kurt Warner in 2000. He filling in very nicely when I used him for the month and a half that Warner sat out. He actually outscored Warner on a per game basis for me that season. I took my division but was KO'd in the playoffs with Warner back as my qb.

The Card: This is a pretty hum-drum card with the sort of chromy front that makes it look really crappy when scanned. In fact I'm picking up a replacement card when I get the energy to scour eBay for something better. Meanwhile this will do. The back of the card has Green's game-by-game stats for the 1998 season. I'd always prefer career stats. Another reason to replace it.

Fun 99 cent purchase

I had found the 1979 Eddie Murray comic that I posted last week while scrounging through boxes of stuff that I've been cleaning out/organizing lately. It was something I had forgotten all about and it sent me to the net for more info and maybe a chance to chase the set. It seemed like a pretty inexpensive yet fun project.

One of the first items that appeared when i searched was a handful of the individual unopened Bazooka gum pieces that had the comics inserted under the label. The lot had 5 pieces and the asking price was 99 cents. I bid, and I won for the minimum. And they arrived on Friday:

Here is a closer look at the 'front' and 'back' of one of the pieces.

The comic is visible under the wrapper. I'm pretty sure that if anyone cared to they could figure out which comic was inside each piece with a minimum of research.

Removing the wrappers carefully (with age they have become somewhat fragile). But they came off without a problem and the gum and insert looked like so:

If you are thinking "that gum.... no way" then you are thinking just like I did. It's 35 years old. LOL But truth be told it wasn't as rock hard as I had expected it to be. I was able to bend a piece some. I had to, I was sure it would shatter like glass but it didn't. But that's as far as I went. I wasn't about to actually try it. For one thing I don't chew gum now and I never really liked baseball card gum back then anyway. 

Unwrapping the first piece and opening the comic yielded this:

Then came another Hisle, a  John Mayberry.....

 yet another Hisle and finally a Rod Carew comic.....

Total haul for 99 cents. 3 Hisles, Mayberry and Carew. Kind of a neat 'adventure' without much cost. The cost would have come with the dental bills I'd have incurred had I tried the 35-year-old blocks of Bazooka. And the answer to your first question (it was my first question as well).... yes, that old familiar scent of Bazooka gum is there, but just barely.

Getting three Hisles had me suspicious that whoever was selling these probably pulled the stars out but for  less than a buck I guess it doesn't matter much. Plus the Rod Carew is pretty cool. I had some money in my account at COMC so I've grabbed up an additional handful of these. They were very cheap due to low demand but they are a colorful insert that'll be a cool little project to track down.

Ann Dvorak Cigarette cards

My latest Hollywood 'crush' is Ann Dvorak. TMC has been playing some really fun Paul Muni films from the 30s and she regularly turns up in them. I have two cards of her. The one above is a 1934 Golden Grain T84 American Tobacco Card. It shows her best/most unique feature, those eyes. It doesn't show off her dancer's legs. Hubba Hubba

The next one has a better picture. It's a 1936 Godfrey Phillips Stars of the Screen Tobacco Cards. The back has glue damage and is pretty much ruined, but I'll take the front, thank you.

I've tried to pick up some additional cards from a dealer online but his store is acting stupid. Maybe later.

Meanwhile here is a publicity pic and more info about the actress I've seen referred to as Ann, Ana and Anna/

Oddball Orioles, Milton Bradley Game Cards and Dell Stamps

These first two 'cards' are from what was the Dell Stamp albums issued in 1971. I don't know much about them other than the fact that each team had an 'album and these 'stamps' or cards were what made up the pages of the albums, 12 to a page. There was also an All Star Album and from what I understand these two Orioles were part of the AL All Star album. The team name under the player name of the reverse is the distinguishing factor in determining that these were All Star album stamps.

It's hard to tell in the individual scans but these two are laminated. That seems to be very common but why they were laminated or who did that is unknown to me. The lamination is easy to see in the picture down the page that I took with my camera. You can see in that shot that the lamination surrounding the Robinson has rounded shoulders while Powell is inside square plastic. Again, I'm clueless as to why. 

I found some photos of a page from the Orioles album as well as the cover. Including the All Stars the checklist for this set runs 600 pieces!

Next up we have some Milton Bradley game cards. From the 1969 game I have Moe Drabowsky and Steve Barber. Of course by 1969 Barber had left the Orioles and was pitching for the Seattle Pilots but hey, Once an Oriole....  The truth is I probably just saw it was Barber and bought it without thinking of the time line.

I never owned the Milton Bradley game but a look at the card backs tells me that a pair of dice were rolled to get game results.

Here is a pic of the game box (supposedly the 1970 version) from eBay where the asking price is about $60.

I also have a 1970 Boog Powell MB card. It's similar to the 1969s but not quite the same. The size is closer to a standard playing card. Here is the '69 next to a regular Topps card. The 1970 Powell is as tall as the Topps card but about a quarter inch narrower.

EDIT: I meant to include the scan of the 1970 Powell but for some reason it didn't stick. Here it is:

I searched and found some pics on the net of the game. The game looks very familiar now that I see these but I don't think I owned it. By 1970 I had been a devoted Strat-O-Matic fanatic for quite a few years.