Someones "junk" is someone elses treasure

Several months ago a most generous blogger John of Pursuit of 80's offered up a set he "did not like as much as he thought" and I because my thoughts are far less deep or poignant I asked and received this most unexpected treasure.

John had acquired the 1995 CardToons set of cards (copy written date of 1993 though not released until 1995).

For those not familiar with this set, it was a parody,simple as that. The base set of 95 cards spotlighted almost every star of the day in a caricature rendition with humor and sarcasm flowing freely. There were also several subsets printed including one aptly named Big Bang Bucks (showcasing the 20 highest salaried players on card currency) and Politics in Baseball ( an eleven card set focusing on the problems of baseball at the time).

My personal favorite subset is the Field of Greed (a nine card set) which describes the history of baseball (at the time) labor problems. The most interesting thing about this subset is that when completed and aligned (or put in a nine-pocket page) they make a complete Field of Greed picture.

The complete set has a comical approach to our national pastime and its players; fronts and back are very cleverly stated (or at least in my opinion) and gives me a chuckle every time I look at these cards.

A couple of my favorites are naturally the "Scrubs" (ie Chicago Cubs) cards:

Shawon (Tungsten Steel) Dunston

Ernie (Mr. Club) Banks

and if some remember this superstars' brief stint in baseball, Michael (Just Air) Jordan (sorry if the timing is perfect as he was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame (yesterday) as the GOAT (greatest of all-time) for a sport I rarely follow.

This 1995 Cardtoon set is fun, simple as that. Collecting baseball cards should be fun, simple as that. This set is now my "treasure". Thank you John !

They said this !

I was going to title this post "who said this" and make a contest of sorts but I don't have any cards or really anything worthy of a winner so . . . the title stays as "they said this".

Recently I stumbled upon this website Brainy Quote filled with interesting and sometimes humorous quotes and there is a whole category of sports quotes.

Some of my baseball favorites:

1) Other sports play once a week but this sport is with us every day. Peter Ueberroth

2) The only way to prove you are a good sport is to lose. Ernie Banks

3) The triple is the most exciting play in baseball. Home runs win a lot of games, but I never understood why fans are so obsessed with them. Hank Aaron

4) Baseball players are smarter than football players. How often do you see a baseball team penalized for too many men on the field? Jim Bouton

5) One thing you learned as a Cubs fan; when you bought your ticket, you could bank on seeing the bottom of the ninth. Joe Garagiola (note needed here: between Yogi Berra and Joe Garagiola quotes, an entire blog could evolve)

6) Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing. Warren Spahn

7) I went through baseball as a "player to be named later". Joe Garagiola

8) The trouble with jogging is that the ice falls out your glass. Martin Mull (I just had to share this one with everyone)

Check the site out Brainy Quote you might get a laugh or two. Maybe one day there will be a site of the greatest quotes by bloggers ?

Today in Baseball History: the first black manager

most of you are thinking that Frank Robinson was the first black manager in major league baseball but technically speaking it is actually Ernie Banks.

Coach Banks had to act as manager for one day, today May 8, 1973, when then manager Whitey Lockman was ejected in the 11th inning against the San Diego Padres.



No other coach was available on the bench so "Mr Cub" Ernie Banks stepped in for the final two innings as the Cubs outlasted the Padres 3 -2 in 12 innings. Banks never again "played" manager and left coaching a few years later with a 1 - 0 won/loss record.

It would be two years later that Robinson would become the first full-time manager in 1975 for Cleveland. The Sporting News Official Baseball Guide for 1974 states that on May 8, 1973 "Ernie Banks became the major leagues first black manager, yet only for a day".

"The Original" Frank Thomas

for those of you to new to baseball to know, there was indeed a Frank Thomas who hit homeruns before the Frank Thomas you are thinking of. This Frank Thomas burst on the scene full time in Pittsburgh, in 1953, blasting 30 round trippers with 102 rbi's while finishing in the top twenty in MVP voting.

A solid power hitter, this Frank Thomas took over the reigns from HOF'er and legendary Ralph Kiner in 1953 and played the next six years with the Pirates, hitting 163 homeruns. 1958 was Thomas' best year blasting 35 HR's and driving in 109 (both ranked 2nd in the NL behind Cub great and HOF'er Ernie Banks) and finishing fourth in MVP voting. For his efforts, Thomas actually appeared on the cover of sports illustrated on July 28, 1958.

This Frank Thomas was a Chicago Cub in 1960 (coming over from the Cincinnati Reds in 1959, note his uniform) and part of 1961. One of the nicest guys in baseball, always smiling (note his slight smile in this 1960 Topps card # 95) and one of the most feared power hitters of his day.

His career spanned sixteen years, with seven teams ending up in Chicago once again in 1966 before calling it quits. His fianl numbers of 1671 hits a .266 BA to go along with his 286 HR's and 962 RBI's are not too shabby. If you are interested in learning more about this "original" Frank Thomas I highly recommend you check this out: the Original Frank Thomas .

Thomas did play for the "original" New York Mets in 1962 leading the team in HR's (34) and RBI's (94). This Frank Thomas was the "original" . . . . twice !

"It's a beautiful day for a ball game . . .

. . . lets play two". That is only one of so many "happy" quotes from Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks.

Today is April 1st (no pranks planned) and marks the 101st day of my blog. I do know 101 days is nothing to "shout about" in the world of the blogsophere but 101 is an important number (this year) for Cub-dome.

So I thought I would revert back to the reasons why I started this blog and do a post on a Chicago Cub of my youth, the one and only Ernie Banks.

This 1964 card, # 55 has several things I like about it. First, the 1964 set is appealing to me; the traditional white border and large team name offset by the usual portrait (or posed) photo of the day. This thoughtful head shot of Banks makes me think "what is he thinking about" ? Could it be that he is staring out to the horizon as he just completed his tenth year in the majors and saying to himself "awards mean a lot, but they don't say it all. The people in baseball mean more to me than statistics" (yes another quote from Banks himself).

The back of this card is that unusual orange (this scan does not do it justice, sorry) with a clever rub off question / answer panel. This card asks "Who was the last AL man to pinch hit 2 consecutive HR's ?" A rather odd question for the two-time NL MVP (1958, 59) and "super star" but . . . the answer is Johnny Blanchard of the Yankees in 1961 (as an aside, Blanchard recently passed away on March 25th, 2009 at the age of 76).
I also like the back of this 1964 card of Banks for this reason; he just completed his tenth full year in the majors and the stats are easy to calculate his career year-to-year averages (just divide by ten or drop the last number, you can do the math): 1500 games, 1617 hits, 250 doubles, 353 HR' and 1026 RBI's. Not too bad for the first ten years of his career.

While Banks would keep this pace up until age and injuries hit him during the 1970 and 1971 campaigns, his career numbers are pretty impressive; 2528 games, 2583 hits, 407 doubles, 512 HR's and 1636 RBI's.

Banks ranks fourth all-time for most homeruns hit for one team and playing for one team only. Only Mike Schmidt (548), Mickey Mantle (536) and Ted Williams (521) who spent their entire careers with only one team and hit more homeruns.

It is only natural to end this post with another quote from Banks himself: "Work ? I never worked a day in my life. I always loved what I was doing, had a passion for it."

Oh what a year it was . . .

. . . in 1959 for Chicago baseball.

While this year was most celebrated on the southside with the White Sox winning the American League pennant and facing the Los Angels Dodgers in the World Series (eventually losing to the Dodgers 4 games to 2), Chicago baseball can boast one thing !

Each team had their league MVP ! Nellie Fox led the White Sox and Ernie Banks won his 2nd consecutive MVP for the bottom dweller Chicago Cubs. 1959 was the year Chicago bragged about having two MVP's (as an aside, Early Wynn from the Sox won the Cy Young as well).

The same city MVP's had happened quite often in the 40's and 50's with the Yankees and Dodgers dominating the award (Brooklyn at the time) but for Chicago, 1959 was the year. The closest since 1959 was in 2000; Jeff Kent of the San Fransisco Giants (NL) and Jason Giambi of the Oakland Athletics (AL). So the Bay area fans can brag about that if they want to.

1959 is also the year that future Chicago Cub MVP and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg was born.

Oh what a year it was . . .

I collect cards because . . .

. . . . I enjoy baseball (watching, talking about, playing, reading, learning and now blogging about) and baseball cards are the small piece of history that can turn memories into stories, generation after generation.

Where else can a 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" piece of cardboard span over 50 years and tell so many tales. I love the fact that any one single player can appear on a card for so many years after one plays the game and still provide fans of the game of baseball a glimpse into their careers once forgotten.

For me "Mr. Cub" brings back many memories . . . Ernie Banks Topps 1957; my oldest card of "Mr Cub"Ernie Banks Donruss Threads 2008; my most recent card of "Mr Cub"

Hobby vs Investment ?

It seems that in some recent posts I have recently read two questions keep coming up.

First for some it is "what should I collect" ? So many of us are re-entering this hobby from many years of being absent and the shear number of mfg's, factory sets, sub-sets, boxes, packages, special inserts, autographed cards, limited editions, gold, chrome, silver, platinum, etc has made this "hobby" rather over-whelming. The best "advise" I have heard (thank you fellow bloggers)and do believe in myself is to collect what one likes. Whether it be a player or players, team or teams, a year or a decade, sets or singles . . . one should have a collection that you like. This is still a hobby (for most) and one should enjoy what one does for a hobby.

Which bring me to question number two; "which cards will be more valuable in five, ten or fifteen years" ? My thought (for most of you) is "it should not matter". As long as you have cards that are of interest to you or were of interest to you at some time in your life, then it should not matter. Cards offer such a historical setting and provide answers to "what happened when" that the value of such is so non-monetary. There are some of you (not me by the way) who treat baseball cards or memorabilia as a "business" and that is great ! They are the ones that buy-sell-trade-buy-sell-trade to make money. And that is like any other business; one works hard, becomes knowledgeable, and tries to make the best business decisions one can make. For the other 99% of us . . . we should just enjoy !

at least for me . . .this is a hobby.

I do have a few simple steps anyone could follow:

a) collect what you like

b) stick to your personal budget, remember this is still a hobby and not an essential of "life"

c) purchase (and trade) from fair and reputable sources

d) store your cards properly so you can still enjoy them in 5, 10 or 15 years

e) when in doubt refer to number one

The card I am "enjoying" most today is . . . . the Ernie Bank 1960 All-Star card. What is not to like about having one of your favorite players, having an All-Star card in the year you were born (yes I am "old" and born in 1960) and having a big 60 as the backdrop.

I also like the back of this card with the cartoon of his powerful swing. For those still reading, the card number is 560 (I was born in May 1960). When I am sixty I will still like this card . . . regardless of its value . . .

A Cubs Poem . . .

Pitchers and Catchers are reporting soon,
Dreams of a pennant and singing that championship tune.
Coaches and managers will attempt to find the best,
off to the minors for the rest.
Opening Day is drawing near,
our national pastime is once again is here.

While there is nothing better than a Sunday at the park,
or the long majestic journey of the home run arc.
Whether April or October, blinding sun or clouds,
there will be an over pouring of joy of being one of the crowd.
Us (Cubs) fans who have waited decades, hoping this year we will be blessed,
with our team that hoists the trophy, signifying “we are the best”.

The summer of ’69 as I recall,
was when I first realized that the game was more than just a bat and a ball.
It overtook my senses with the power to excite,
a double play of Kessinger, Beckert to Banks and a fly out to right.
Santo’s heel click, Williams’ sweet swing, our faith that never ceases
was this be the year that futility finally decreases ?


It has now been over 100 years since the Cubs have won it all,
a century of curses, chokes and most of all that ball.
A little ball of twine and seams that truly have amazing powers,
to captivate and devastate a person in three hours.
Cub fans are famous for our faith, there is never a reprieve
For we all know there’s always this year, so we might as well believe.



Current 21 year old Adam Mamawala, originally wrote this poem and submitted it to his high school literature class - the subject being ones "true love". With his permission I have expanded and revised it slightly (note the third stanza) yet maintained his classic theme. He has accurately captured the feelings of baseball as a Chicago Cub fan (at least this fan). I greatly appreciate Adam for allowing me to modify it and re-print for all of you to enjoy . . . as this weekend brings the "unofficial" start of the baseball season.

and 40 years ago the hobby was . . .

. . . much much simpler, to put in mildly. I live by the Winnie-the-Pooh philosophy of "simple brain, simple things"and today's hobby literally overwhelms me.


As so many of the baseball card collecting world is focused on the "new" cards of 2009 (and as I understand the over 300 different sets and subsets to collect), I am resisting all temptation to "get with the times" and am saving my money (as little as that might be these days) to supplement my "vintage" collection.

40 years ago, collecting cards was "pure" . . . little investment required, tremendous joy in finding stars and non-stars and the games we played with these cards. There were no Walmarts or Targets to rush to, no card shops to hound, just the local five and dime to head to after school on our bicycles. The joy we found in opening up packs of cards back then is the same joy felt today by so many . . . however . . .

We played the popular flipping games, competed in "how many cards can we fit in our bicycle spokes" and calculated trades with friends. My best friend back in those days was a White Sox fan and we spent hours trying to make trades that were "fair". We compared batting averages, homeruns, doubles, and triples; era's, strikeout to walk ratios and wins vs losses record. We made trades "fair" based on production on the field not monetary value. Such a idyllic thing to do.

Those were the days . . . here are my favorite Cubs from 1969 . . . just to help me remember the "good ol' days" . . . .

So in fairness, I still "play" with my cards, though "play" now includes, page protectors, top loaders, and blogging.

Above are the three Chicago Cub Hall of Famers (from "those days"), the three backbones of the Cubs from the late sixties and early seventies, the three Cubs who stood tall amongst the rest.

I am still testing my resistance levels . . . 40 years ago life (baseball and card collecting) was so different . . .

Happy Birthday Ernie Banks

Ernie Banks, born on January 31, 1931, is celebrating his 78th birthday today and I wanted to be one of the first to wish him a “beautiful day”. “Mr. Cub” deserves everyday to be a “beautiful day” !

So much has been written about Ernie Banks; two time MVP (1958, 59), 512 career HR’s, 1636 RBI’s, 11 time All-Star, 2583 career hits, HOF first time ballot inductee, uniform #14 retired by the Cubs, nineteen years with one team – Chicago Cubs I could not possible due justice. Ernie Banks is also known to have coined to rather famous sayings: “It’s a beautiful day for baseball . . .lets play two” and “The Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field”.

So on his birthday I present his 1960 card which highlights his stats from his MVP year of 1959; 45 HR’s, 143 RBI’s and .304 batting average. Oh what a year he had in 1959 as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of his MVP year.

And on a personal note, as a teenager I worked at the Glencoe Golf Course in Glencoe Illinois (a northern suburb of Chicago). My “job” was to remove players golf clubs from their cart, after they played, wash their clubs and return their clubs to their car or the racks in our club storage shed (usually receiving a tip of $ .25 for “doing a good job”). Ernie Banks played at this course many times and I recall a warm April day in 1975 that “Mr. Cub” actually followed me into the club storage shed and he signed the small wooden desk my brothers and I shared (he also was a generous tipper). This desk had much of our teenage graffiti etched in it along with some signatures of the celebrities of the day. This desk is long gone from the shed, no teenagers are washing golf clubs anymore and celebrity encounters are less random. Those were the days . . .

One numerical coincidence to leave you with: Ernie Banks hit his last homerun (#512) on May 12th, 1970 (512 on 5-12).
Happy Birthday “Mr. Cub” !

Who will wear # 9 in 2009 ?

I have been on a uniform number “kick” in a couple of previous posts so I thought I would continue my discussion and ask this question. Who will wear uniform # 9 in 2009 ? To begin with I must confess I have no cards of “proof” for what I am going to tell you though my official source of very reliable information is Cubs by the Numbers

The answer for the 2009 Chicago Cubs will be Reed Johnson, who will proudly wear uniform # 9 in 2009.

From the historical perspective, the Cubs did not have uniform numbers until the 1932 campaign and over the last 77 years only 22 players or coaches ( 29%) have worn the uniform number of the year on the calendar.

So here goes in uniform number order:
Uniform # 1: Augie Ojeda year 2001
Uniform # 2: Sandy Alomar Sr. (coach) year 2002
Uniform #3: Wendall Kim (coach) year 2003
Uniform # 4: Jason DuBois year 2004
Uniform # 5: Nomar Garciaparra year 2005
Uniform # 6: Sonny Jackson (coach) year 2006
Uniform # 7: Mark DeRosa year 2007
Uniform # 8: Mike Quade (coach) year 2008
Uniform # 9: Reed Johnson year 2009
Uniform # 34: Stan Hack year 1934
Uniform # 39: Bob Garback year 1939
Uniform # 41: Vance Page year 1941
Uniform # 43: Bill Nicholson year 1943
Uniform # 44: Phil Cavarretta year 1944
Uniform # 45: Ed Saver year 1945
Uniform # 46: Dom Dallessandro year 1946
Uniform # 47: Peanuts Lowery year 1947
Uniform # 48: Andy Pafko year 1948
Uniform # 53: Johnny Schmitz year 1953
Uniform # 55: El Tappe year 1955
Uniform # 57: Vito Valentinetti year 1957
Uniform # 64: Joe Macko (coach) year 1964

Not a star-studded collection, though any list with Cavarretta and Pafko is not half bad. Even though the 1940’s dominated this list, it is interesting (at least to me) that as of the turn of this century almost every team should have a player wearing the number of the calendar year (aside for those clubs that have retired numbers and of course no one will wear # 42 in the year 1942 or ever).

For those of you and curious about next year already, 2010, no Cubbie will wear uniform #10, it is proudly retired by the Cubs in honor of Ron Santo, along with Banks #14, Sandberg #23 and Williams #26. Maybe in the next few years we will see 1931 (Greg Maddux’s and as I was corrected Ferguson Jenkins uniform #31) eliminated from contention also.

So who will wear uniform # 9 in 2009 for your favorite team ?

Brian the Mailman made my day

Today I received an envelope from Brian at 30-year old cardboard and I greatly appreciate all that he sent. All Cubs cards . . . here is a sample of what he sent me . . .

Manager Zimmer and his "stuffed" cheeksJoe Girardi and a cloud of dust "he's out" !

future Hall of Famer Lee Smith winding up to "save the day"

stars of the present day Fukudome and Soto . . . what will their futures hold . . .

and "Mr. Cub" himself in a classic pose

Thank you Brian, for these cards and all the other Cubs . . . you made an otherwise "boring" Tuesday exciting.

Cubs Convention is over - Spring training is near

A friend of mine in Chicago just called me (as I now live in Sarasota and wintertime is not a usual time to call us who live in "paradise") but nonetheless he called.

While he has recently discovered my renewed interest with baseball cards and now in the world of blogging he was mostly calling to share with me that the Chicago Cubs just concluded their 24th annual convention, which unofficially is the kick-off to Spring Training and the upcoming season.

Twenty years ago we went to the Cubs Convention and remember shaking hands with all of our childhood stars and eating ball park food (though it tastes much better at Wrigley than in a hotel).

The memories are still there and I just reviewed the list of stars at this years convention which still include all my "heros" from the sixties and seventies; Banks, Williams, Beckert, Jenkins, Santo; stars from the eighties, nineties and current players galore.

The best thing about the Cubs Convention this year is that I am in Florida enjoying our "chilly" weather and that Spring Training is near. Cubs Home Opener at Wrigley is April 13, only 86 days from today. The Cubs will (ok might) shine in two thousand and nine.

The Ernie Banks Story - in comic book form

Sunday was always a day for reading the comics, playing baseball and professional football. Today is Sunday and I thought I would give you a comic about baseball (football is on but . . . no Bears . . . ok enough said).

In 1970, a series of 24 baseball story books were released and I remember buying this complete set in 1985 for only $ 10.00. (I have no idea what todays value would be if anything).

These stories tell a factual yet sometimes humorous tale of each of twenty-four players, including Reggie Jackson, Pete Rose and Wllie Mays.

I like the fact that the Banks booklet was numbered 14 (his retired uniform number that he wore for his entire career in Chicago).

This storybook tells of his amazing power for a shortstop, hitting five grand slams in 1955 and hitting 47 roundtrippers in 1958.

Page five shows a "moving truck" pushing into first base designating Banks' switch of positions in 1961 and on page seven, Banks is holding a rifle "shooting for a bakers dozen" after being elected to 12 All Star games.

For those interested, I do have four duplicates and open to trade: Mike Cuellar #1, Walt Williams # 4, Bill Freehan # 6 and Tony Olivia # 8.

Cubs three Hall of Famers from 1969

Back in the early days of my collecting I picked up these three cards. Back in the day when I collected cards of the stars I cheered for, back in the day when baseball was played for the shear enjoyment of the game.

Jenkins, Williams and Banks: three names in Chicago Cub history that is synonymous with the potential the Cubs had throughout the sixites. Three players, who are among the greatest players of all time to never, play in a World Series game.

Six years separate each in their major league experience as the 1969 season began. After playing together in 1967 and 1968 the hopes to make it all come together in 1969 were as strong as ever.

Jenkins, coming into his fifth year as a big leaguer, back from two consecutive 20 win seasons (he would end up with six consecutive 20 win seasons pitching in Wrigley field with the Cubs).

Williams the consistent powerful offensive production coming back from his 1968 numbers 30 HR, 98 RBI and a .288 batting average and then there was Banks.

Banks, entering his seventeenth year as a Cub coming off of hitting 32 round trippers in 1968, the most he had had in six previous seasons.

The front of the 1969 cards of these three; the intensity of Jenkins eyes, the power in Williams’ swing and the playful smile on Banks make for the high hopes entering 1969 even more thrilling. The full card photo and white frame with a thin black outline make for a real clean looking card. The orange circle with the players name and position is a nice touch.

Banks’ card has this orange circle right over his shoulder, looking like the sun, setting in the background at Wrigley and for his career.

The backs are no less interesting. Jenkins’ has a drawing of a skinny umpire saying “he wears me out” in recognizing Jenkins’ 260 club record strikeouts in 1968 (he would go on to break his own record in 1969 and then again in 1970) and Williams’ card showcases his Rookie of the Year trophy earned in 1961.


And then there is Bank’s card – no drawing just sixteen years of statistics, all with Chicago N.L. as his team.

Banks, Jenkins and Williams: the heart of the Cubs past, present and future (from 1969 of course); three great players who never played in a World Series; three Chicago Cub Hall of Famers.

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”.