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!!

Three Years Ago Yesterday...

....one of my favorite players passed away. The great Mike Cuellar. I once sat next to him at a game in the Astrodome. I related that story over on my '59 Topps blog.
That 1968 Topps Cuellar is one of the cards that survived multiple moves and 're-organizations' of my collection over time. One of my favorites, too. That of course is Shea Stadium and Mike is grinning as if he knows the best years of his career are about to unfold.
Those were the days when Topps used the 'Houston' designation of cards featuring Astros. Several theories on this. Probably some sort of licensing dispute.
More of my Cuellar goodness...
Orioles team issued postcard, circa 1974

1973 Topps

Picture I took of Mike playing long-toss at Arlington Stadium in 1975, chronicled here.

1960 Topps

Go Orioles!!

O's open their 2013 season in Tampa Bay today. If I counted correctly this is only the fifth time since 1981 that they have opened on the road. They began the 2010 and 2011 seasons in Tampa as well.
To celebrate I'm pulling out a few cards of my go-to guy here on these pages, Eddie Murray, The King of Cool. Top to bottom, 1980 Topps, 1982 Donruss and the 1979 Topps. Enjoy.

It's Opening Day...

.... and my fantasy team is still in the running!

Is Nothing Sacred??

So, the Astros and Rangers are 'opening' the season tonite over at Minute Maid Park. My son will be there with his girlfriend to enjoy the game and festivities. But I'd like to see the majors go back to the tradition of having the Reds open the season on a Monday afternoon. It'll never happen, I understand that. But I'm a little tired of TV dictating everything in sports.
So here is my '81 Topps Johnny Bench. Great portrait of a Hall of Fame catcher who saw his share of Opening Day games in Crosley Field (1969 and 1970) and Riverfront Stadium (1971 thru 1981, with a year off due to a slight injury in 1977).
I hope your team makes you happy this year.