When 500 HR meant something

Today in baseball history two HOF'ers hit their 500th home run. Two of the greatest players of any era; Willie Mays and Frank Robinson.

Mays hit his 500th in 1965 while Robinson hit his in 1971. Back in the day when hitting 500 home runs was a commodity for a select few both Mays and Robinson were tops in their class.
September 13th certainly does mark a special day in baseball lore.

Willie Mays Topps 1970, # 600: the eyes awaiting a home run pitch
(I know it is a photo from spring training but I still love those intense "eyes")

Frank Robinson Topps 1967 #100: another shot of the "home run" eyes

Ranking 4th (Mays with 660) and 7th (Robinson with 586) in career round trippers, I salute Mays and Robinson for reaching that 500 HR club on the same day, albeit six years apart.

Action cards from 1971

Back in the "old" days, action cards were rare. Most photographs of players were posed or portrait style (aside from the few playoff game or world series cards that were featured in many sets).

So, in looking at my 1971 cards (inspired by a fellow blogger Dinged Corners and their "best text found on cards" post), I present the following "action cards from 1971.

There is the solo action card: B. Robinson commits Robbery! # 331

There are two player action cards: Chris Short # 511 (yes that is Pete Rose leading off at second base) and Cookie Rojas # 118 (with Yankee Ron Wood sliding into 2nd too late) and Lee May # 40 guarding first base with an unknown Phillie leading of.

Then there is a three person card: F Robinson shows Muscle #329 (congratulated by an unknown Oriole and the Umpire making sure he steps on home plate.

And a four person action card: Tommie Agee # 310 (looks like he is being called out at second) with two players and an umpire all "in action".

Now with the five person action card: Bud Harrelson # 355; tagging out a runner at second with the close eye of the umpire looking close and Nolan Ryan seems to be signaling him out.

And then the famous group shot of a "celebration" that really is not an "action shot.

So there you have it . . . a few action shots from 1971 . . .

Twice a Rookie Star then a ROY

Yes that is exactly what happened to Stan Bahnsen. In this 1967 card Bahnsen is featured as a "Rookie Star" along side Bobby Murcer (who deserves his own post another day) though Bahnsen played in only four games going 1 - 1 in 1966.

Somehow that was a "jinx" since Bahnsen saw no action in the major leagues in '67 so the genius' at Topps decided to give him one more chance and allowed him to appear as a "Rookie Star" on his 1968 card as well. That seemed to be the kick start Bahnsen needed as his 1968 campaign earned him that gold trophy as a Topps All-Star Rookie and more importantly AL Rookie of the Year honors in 1968. He went 17-12 in '68, throwing 10 complete games, had a career high of 162 strikeouts and the second most innings pitched of his career with 267 1/3.

(a card I do not own but it is on my "will find soon" list; thanks to google images for this pic)

Bahnsen was eventually traded from the Yankees to the White Sox in 1971, where he and Wilbur Wood shared the majority of the mound work for three years on the southside of Chicago. Bahnsen did win 21 and 18 games in 1972 and '73 respectively and ended his career as a Philadelphia Phillie in 1982 with a 146-149 record.

Topps was persistent with Bahnsen giving him "Rookie Star" status for two years in a row before he got the message and lived up to that "fame". Somehow I still think it was more of a "curse" than a blessing but Topps eventually got it right, at least one year.

Cubs Baseball Schedule; Pocket size

The 2009 Cubs Baseball Schedule is out and I just received a copy.

This years schedule highlights a celebration photo with McGehee(27), Harden(40) and Dempster(46) the last to arrive in the group. I wonder why this picture was chosen ? Harden and Dempster hopefully will achieve success again in 2009 but McGehee you ask ? McGehee appeared in only 9 games, had 4 hits in 2008 (all after the division was clinched) and wont even be in a Cubs uniform in 2009. He will however be visible forever on many desks, walls and back pockets all year long.

April 6th in Houston can not come soon enough . . . April 13th at Wrigley makes me want to cheer even louder . . . I just might keep it open and not pay much attention to the front.

A "celebration" is better than nothing . . . as in the 1971 version . . .

. . . I never did actually collect these pocket schedules though I do have this one from 1971 that had been saved, for some odd reason.

Nicknames that stick

Baseball is famous for nicknames; from players to teams, to years and decades baseball has to boast the most nicknames of any sport. We could all have a conversation using only nicknames and never miss a beat. No other sport can identify so many players, teams and years with nicknames - Babeball wins hands down for this !

We all should know Hall of Famers like; "Hammerin Hank" to "Mr. Cub" to "The Lip" to "Salty"; "Iron Man", "Ryno" and "The Kid" and hundreds more . . .

Current players like "The Big Man", "Dirtbag" and "Godzilla" to "The Man", "The Dirty Byrd" and "Werewolf". There is also "A-Rod", "K-Rod" and "I-Rod". (for those interested in the somewhat complete list just check out wikipedia)

Teams even have names like "The Loveable Losers", "The Big Red Machine", "The Boys of Summer" and "The Brew Crew". We also have the "year of the pitcher" and "the decade of steroids".

And some nicknames just stick with players as if they are their "real" name; like Albert Walker "Sparky" Lyle. Was there ever a card with his "real" name on it ?

I personnaly like players who start out their career with their "real" name and have their nickname take over their persona like . . . John Wesley "Boog" Powell. Note in 1962 he is John Powell . . .somewhere along the years John was "forgotten".
I like this 1971 card where his "autograph" actually depicts both: John "Boog" Powell.
Who is your favorite player / nickname ? Sometimes nicknames just stick . . .

Don Kessinger - durable and dependable

Here’s the pitch, a two hopper towards the hole between short and third, Kessinger glides to his right, gloves the ball, leaps and throws to first – umpire yells “out”.

That was a common scenario for the Cubs with the dependable and durable Don Kessinger playing shortstop for eleven consecutive years (from 1965 to 1975), averaging more than 150 games for ten straight years.

Kessinger earned two gold gloves and appeared in six all star games . His career batting average of .252 and 14 career homeruns does not tell the true value of Kessinger, whose offensive numbers were adequate for the era he played in, his defensive skills and gamesmanship made him one of the most popular Cubs of all time.


In 1969 Kessinger actually set a record (now since broken) of 54 errorless games to start the year. June 17th, 1971 might be considered one of his best offensive productive days, going 6 for 6 in an extra inning win (my research says he is the last Cub to have six hits in a game). My research also dug up this; in 1973 Kessinger was walked intentionally 18 times, yet did not hit a home run all year. This probably remains the record for most intentional walks by someone who did not hit a homerun.

His Rookie Card from 1996 shows Kessinger in the typical “ready” stance, just waiting for that ground ball that will challenge him to the right.

Kessinger will always be remembered for being that tall (6’1”), long armed, good hands and solid range defensive gem for the Cubs during those years of so much promise. Similar to Ron Santo, Kessingers last playing years were spent on the southside of Chicago with the White Sox (1977-1979).

The most durable and dependable shortstops the Cubs have ever had.

Ernie Banks - 1971 - "Let's play two"

“Mr. Cub” as he is called. Nineteen years in a major league uniform, all with the Chicago Cubs. Career home runs 512, first uniform (#14) by the Chicago Cubs to be retired, back to back National League MVP’s (1958, and 1959) and 11 time all star. Countless number of records held by a Cubbie including games played (2528), at bats (9421) and total bases (4706). Banks was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977 in his first year of eligibility. Banks, one of the greatest baseball players of all time, he is “Mr. Cub”.

The 1971 Topps (#525) is one of my favorite Banks cards for many reasons. The black border card and signature make for a nice framed shot of Ernest Banks. His last official Topps card he looks as anxious to swing the bat as ever. His mouth is open as if talking to us and sharing what he is most famous for saying: “It’s a beautiful day for a ballgame . . . Let’s play two”. He loved the game so much, loved Wrigley Field and just wanted to play baseball every day.

The back of this card has another photo of Banks smiling – the players today should love the game as much as Banks did (sorry about that editorial concerning today’s players). The eleven stats include total bases and stolen bases and this card shares Banks career totals of 509 homeruns (he played briefly in 1971 playing in only 39 games and hitting 3 HR’s).

The year was 1969, opening day and Banks was beginning his seventeenth year as a Chicago Cub. The Cubs had high hopes for this year as did Banks. His first two at bats were homeruns and this season was to be special . . . . the highs and lows to come made 1969 a year most will never forget.

Banks hit his 500th home run on May 12, 1970 – just four days before my 10th birthday. Four summers later began my summer work at the Glencoe Golf Course and I remember shaking his hand, cleaning his golf clubs and watching him . . . always smiling, always happy, always “Mr. Cub”.