More TCMA Stars of the 60s

One of the best things about the TCMA sets is that co-founder Mike Aronstein was able to tap into a big stash of pictures taken by free lance photographers. So many of the cards have unique photos. If you are tired of Topps' overuse of the same couple of Jackie Robinson pics you understand the attraction of these cards.

For example here we have Roberto Clemente. Have you ever seen this picture? Neither have I, until I found this set. I believe it was taken at the Polo Grounds but I'd listen to arguments.

Jim Bouton at Yankee Stadium. As a kid going to games there I was always interested in the flags that flew above the roof. They were displayed in the order of the current standings. Like stirrups they are a detail of the game that I miss.

Whenever a set has a card of Vic Power I'll scan and post it because I just like typing the name Vic Power.

Mooooose!

Sandy Koufax at the Polo Grounds. Again, a different pic than we usually see on cards.

Milt Pappas wearing my favorite Orioles jersey. In fact that whole early 60s uniform set for the Birds was sweet.

Speaking of sweet unis here is Eddie Kasko wearing the classic Colt 45s outfit in a photo that just reeks of Arizona spring training.

I'm a sucker for nice pics of players in Milwaukee Braves unis and for pics of players posing in the Polo Grounds. Denny Lemaster hits on both.

Tony Horton just looks too young to be a major leaguer in this shot. At first glance I was certain that Horton was posing in Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. The seating area certainly resembles the upper stands at the old place but the light standards are wrong. But in any case Horton is one of the most fascinating characters in the game's history. And he wasn't seen on a ton of cards.

I love this card of Bobby Richardson. He was one of my father's favorites and despite the fact that he played for the Yankees I always gave him a lot of respect. From all accounts he's a prince of a guy still.

Here is what may be the most TCMA-ish card in the set. Larry Jackson lounges against a brick wall.

Stu Miller won 23 games out of the bullpen for the Orioles in 1965/66. Over those two seasons he had an ERA of about 2.00 and a WHIP of under 1.0 and was 7th in MVP voting in '65. He won a Series ring in '66 and never even had to warm up.

Mudcat Grant. Do yourself a favor. Watch this video of him singing at the memorial service for Harmon Killebrew in 2011. He's accompanied on guitar by Tony Oliva's son.

You're welcome.

One of the more under appreciated players I saw as a kid was Vada Pinson. I casually collect his cards. I'm glad to have this one.

Johnny Podres at the Polo Grounds. Just a nice card.

Hoyt Wilhelm. Not a whole lot of pitchers make All Star teams 17 seasons apart.

'Hector's Pup' is what my father called Hector Lopez. I guess it came from the expression that went along the lines of "I haven't _____ since Hector was a pup!" meaning a long time ago. Why my father called him that I don't know. I never asked.

Don Larsen in another 1965 Astros spring training photo. We know it's '65 since that was the only year he spent the spring with Houston. He was 35 years old but seemed older than that.

Hank Aaron at Shea Stadium. The Braves, like the Orioles, didn't have their city on their road unis for quite some time.

And finally Chuck Hinton, my old Start-O-Matic hero, in his Cleveland garb at Yankee Stadium. He played six seasons for the Indians but stuck a season (1968) with the Angels right in the middle of them.

I had forgotten until I looked him up on Baseball Reference that he was originally signed by the Orioles who lost him to the Washington Senators in the 1960 expansion draft. He made the 1964 AL All Star team as a Senator and got to play a couple of innings in left field at Shea in relief of Harmon Killebrew.

Last night I won an auction for a nearly complete Series II piece of this set. It lacks nine cards which will give me something to chase. When I looked at the checklist I discovered that Series II contains the multi-player cards that were lacking in this 291 card Series I. It arrives next week. At that point I'm calling a hobby 'timeout' and will organize and page/binder the entire TCMA run of sets I've picked up.

Gonna be a good time.

'63 Fleer Don Drysdale and Ron Santo

I've just about wrapped up the '63 Fleer set. I won a cheap auction for a Yaz and I'm looking at adding one more player card, Roberto Clemente as well as the elusive checklist.

Meanwhile here are a couple of the 'stars' of the set, Hall of Famers Don Drysdale and Ron Santo. That horrific looking 'crease' across the middle of the Drysdale isn't anywhere near as visible when the card is in hand. That seems to be a recurring theme with these. I'm not sure of why it happens. I guess my scanner just doesn't mesh with this set.

Both of these are Polo Grounds photos. I like how on the Santo card you get a hint of the apartment buildings on Coogan's Bluff behind the stadium.

I scanned the backs side-by-side for some unknown reason but it does serve to show the wide variety of shades of green you can find on these things.

Santo's card points out how his average fell off in 1962 from the previous season. In fact he lost about sixty points from his average and it was the lowest of his career until his last season which he spent with the White Sox.

Drysdale, on the other hand was coming off a career year. He had 25 wins pitching 314 innings. Three hundred inning seasons are a thing of the past. The last pitcher to reach that was Steve Carlton in 1980. If you have a minute scroll down to the bottom of Drysdale's Baseball Reference page and check out how many times he ranked among the leaders in various pitching categories.

Memorial Day Reprise.... Eddie Grant (T-205 Gold Border)

NOTE: Today being Memorial Day I thought I would reprint the post I made in each of the previous couple of years showing Eddie Grant, the first major league player to die in combat in the service of the United States.

The first major league player to die in the service of his country was Eddie Grant. With a law degree from Harvard he was quite unlike most of his contemporaries. It was said that instead of the usual "I got it!" called out when a player has a bead on a pop-up, Grant would shout "I have it!"

A native of Franklin, Massachusetts, he played 9 seasons of baseball with four different clubs, most notably the Phillies for whom he held down the regular third base job for most of four seasons, 1907 through 1910. Although only a .249 career hitter Grant nonetheless was able to lead the NL in singles in 1909 and 1910 and in hits overall in '09. A better fielder than hitter he finished near the top of several defensive categories when he was a regular.

Grant appeared in the 1913 World Series with the New York Giants as a pinch hitter and pinch runner. He left the game after the 1915 season to open a law practice in Boston.

He enlisted when his country called as we entered World War I in 1917. Wikipedia summarizes his Army service and the details of his death on the battlefield in France in 1918:

Grant was one of the first men to enlist when the United States entered World War I in April 1917, and he served as a Captain in the 77th Infantry Division. During the fierce battle of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, all of Grant's superior officers were killed or wounded, and he took command of his troops on a four-day search for the "Lost Battalion." During the search, an exploding shell killed Grant on October 5, 1918. He was the first Major League Baseball player killed in action in World War I. He was buried at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in Lorraine, France.

This New York Times article (opens as a .pdf file) from October 22, 1918 relates the story in full.

I have the Eddie Grant T205 Gold Border (shown above) as well as his T206. The Gold Border cards are just a wonderful set and Grant's is a great portrait I think. Here are a few more pics and details from the life of Captain Eddie Grant found around the 'Net:

Here is the plaque that was installed in the Polo Grounds by the New York Giants to honor him.

It's position in the stadium is visible in this famous shot of Willie Mays' catch in the 1954 World Series. It's on the left under the 483 distance marker.

And finally, Eddie Grant's grave marker in Lorraine, France. R.I.P. and Thanks for making the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, Capt. Grant.

Memorial Day Reprise.... Eddie Grant

NOTE: Today being Memorial Day I thought I would reprint the post I made a year ago showing Eddie Grant, the first major league player to die in combat in the service of the United States. My usual 'Monday Morning Quarterback' post will run tomorrow.

The first major league player to die in the service of his country was Eddie Grant. With a law degree from Harvard he was quite unlike most of his contemporaries. It was said that instead of the usual "I got it!" called out when a player has a bead on a pop-up, Grant would shout "I have it!"

A native of Franklin, Massachusetts, he played 9 seasons of baseball with four different clubs, most notably the Phillies for whom he held down the regular third base job for most of four seasons, 1907 through 1910. Although only a .249 career hitter Grant nonetheless was able to lead the NL in singles in 1909 and 1910 and in hits overall in '09. A better fielder than hitter he finished near the top of several defensive categories when he was a regular.

Grant appeared in the 1913 World Series with the New York Giants as a pinch hitter and pinch runner. He left the game after the 1915 season to open a law practice in Boston.

He enlisted when his country called as we entered World War I in 1917. Wikipedia summarizes his Army service and the details of his death on the battlefield in France in 1918:

Grant was one of the first men to enlist when the United States entered World War I in April 1917, and he served as a Captain in the 77th Infantry Division. During the fierce battle of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, all of Grant's superior officers were killed or wounded, and he took command of his troops on a four-day search for the "Lost Battalion." During the search, an exploding shell killed Grant on October 5, 1918. He was the first Major League Baseball player killed in action in World War I. He was buried at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in Lorraine, France.

This New York Times article (opens as a .pdf file) from October 22, 1918 relates the story in full.

I have the Eddie Grant T205 Gold Border (shown above) as well as his T206. The Gold Border cards are just a wonderful set and Grant's is a great portrait I think. Here are a few more pics and details from the life of Captain Eddie Grant found around the 'Net:

Here is the plaque that was installed in the Polo Grounds by the New York Giants to honor him.

It's position in the stadium is visible in this famous shot of Willie Mays' catch in the 1954 World Series. It's on the left under the 483 distance marker.

And finally, Eddie Grant's grave marker in Lorraine, France. R.I.P. and Thanks for making the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, Capt. Grant.

Eddie Grant... He made the Ultimate Sacrifice

The first major league player to die in the service of his country was Eddie Grant. With a law degree from Harvard he was quite unlike most of his contemporaries. It was said that instead of the usual "I got it!" called out when a player has a bead on a pop-up, Grant would shout "I have it!"

A native of Franklin, Massachusetts, he played 9 seasons of baseball with four different clubs, most notably the Phillies for whom he held down the regular third base job for most of four seasons, 1907 through 1910. Although only a .249 career hitter Grant nonetheless was able to lead the NL in singles in 1909 and 1910 and in hits overall in '09. A better fielder than hitter he finished near the top of several defensive categories when he was a regular.

Grant appeared in the 1913 World Series with the New York Giants as a pinch hitter and pinch runner. He left the game after the 1915 season to open a law practice in Boston.

He enlisted when his country called as we entered World War I in 1917. Wikipedia summarizes his Army service and the details of his death on the battlefield in France in 1918:

Grant was one of the first men to enlist when the United States entered World War I in April 1917, and he served as a Captain in the 77th Infantry Division. During the fierce battle of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, all of Grant's superior officers were killed or wounded, and he took command of his troops on a four-day search for the "Lost Battalion." During the search, an exploding shell killed Grant on October 5, 1918. He was the first Major League Baseball player killed in action in World War I. He was buried at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in Lorraine, France.

This New York Times article (opens as a .pdf file) from October 22, 1918 relates the story in full.

I have the Eddie Grant T205 Gold Border (shown above) as well as his T206. The Gold Border cards are just a wonderful set and Grant's is a great portrait I think. Here are a few more pics and details from the life of Captain Eddie Grant found around the 'Net:

Here is the plaque that was installed in the Polo Grounds by the New York Giants to honor him.

It's position in the stadium is visible in this famous shot of Willie Mays' catch in the 1954 World Series. It's on the left under the 483 distance marker.

And finally, Eddie Grant's grave marker in Lorraine, France. R.I.P. and Thanks for making the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, Capt. Grant.

1969 Willie Mays

It's my original 1969 Topps Willie Mays card. And if you can look past the horrendous crease down the middle,the soft, frayed corners and the fact that it is seriously mis-cut, I think you'll agree it's a beautiful card.

Willie looks sooo Willie-like on this one. His patented smile (OK, he doesn't smile at signings much these days but he used to be known for it), the history laden Giants' home shirt, the way his glove, even though mostly out of the frame, it tilted towards the sky, ready for a Mays 'basket catch'. Topps obviously didn't have their design people spend months on the 1969 set. It's pretty ho-hum, and the color of the backs is pretty bad, but some cards are classic. I think this is one.

And the back, with it's 'wall of (amazing) stats', made for endless study for a stat maven like I was back in the day. The one text line heralds the fact that, at that moment in time, Willie was #2 to the Babe in career homers!

From third grade onward I was best friends with a Giant fan who came from a family of Giants' fans. So I saw Mays play at Shea on several occasions. I also saw the Giants play the Mets at the Polo Grounds in either '62 or '63. I don't recall a lot other than the place seemed huge (even to a kid who was used to the vast Yankee Stadium), and it seemed dark. But I saw Willie Mays play, in the place he made his most iconic catch. I know because I checked and he made every game in New York in those two seasons.