Playing with cards

Back in the day of buying baseball cards to "play with" I remember many an afternoon or early evening (always before the dinner bell rang) playing the traditional games of flipping, tossing or even colors (variation of war) until the parents would break "us kids" up and hop on my bicycle to ride home. Invariably the cards I "won" were strategically placed in my bike spots to "show off" to anyone who noticed.

As we got older, early teens, the game of poker came into our lives and many of us "invented" other games to play with our baseball cards and then the real playing cards came out. One of the first poker games we played with these new cards (of the 52 suited card) was indeed a game called "baseball". A variation of seven card stud with all cards face down had three's (outs) and nine's (innings) wild and if you get a four (walks) you have the option of getting a additional card.

Baseball cards were now stored away in the traditional shoe box of the day, rubber banded for security and shoved in the closet . . . poker and "real" card games took over our lives.

Today "playing with cards" involves sorting, placing in plastic (pages or holders), logging them into a catalog (or want list spreadsheet) and storing them carefully among many other rituals of collecting.

Interesting to note is that Topps began in 1951 issuing two 52 card sets, red and blue backs as they were called; simulating a deck of playing cards. The connection between baseball cards and playing cards has a long history.

For me, as some of you may know, I "play" with both. I still collect and now store properly the baseball cards of my youth (and now some "modern" cards) but I also am a blackjack and texas hold'em "dealer".

Every once in a while I get nostalgic and think of those days when both hobby's were taken less serious and "playing with cards" meant something very different.

Squat, Watch and Wave

In my typical Sunday afternoon attempt to organize and put some cards away these three words were the best I could come up with to describe the following:

SQUAT: 1958 Topps Chuck Tanner

WATCH: 2009 Topps Geovanny Soto

WAVE: 2009 Topps Kosuke Fukudome

Did I mention these three cards were part of the great package of CUBS cards, spanning 51 years, I received last week from Night Owl ? Well now I did - Thanks Night Owl for this squat, watch and wave !

Topps 1970 set preview

For those of you who read my blog regularly (or semi-regularly) you probably know the following (or not):
a) my favorite team are the Chicago Cubs
b) my favorite baseball year is 1969 (from my youth of course, which makes me "old"er than most)
c) am working (using the slow and low budget method) on completing the 1970 Topps basic set (currently at 667 / 720 or 92.6 %)
d) the centerpiece of my collection are the 1970 cards (of the 1969 Cubs) framed alongside the pennant that never came true (please note my very first post in December of 2008)
e) am constantly in awe of the "modern" collectors and the number of sets, subsets, variations, short prints, manufacturers, parallels, abbreviations, redemption's, autographs, reprints, black, gold, chrome, platinum and etc etc
f) prefer the simple days of yester-year and collecting being a "fun" hobby and not discussions of value or the "investment"

Having said all of this, I do love this new forum termed the blogsophere and learning (and sharing) so much about a game and hobby I do enjoy.

So in another attempt at stealing an idea, I will be highlighting the Topps 1970 set, card by card (in order). This will give me more of a focus on my "vintage" posts and hopefully persoanl motivation to complete this set.

A few comments about the 1970 set. I like it ! It will not be known as the favorite set design of all-time but the large photo outlined with a white border (yes mostly posed and portrait style, which was the norm from that day) to the gray border is appealing. The team name is bold, capitalized and clean looking, the players name in script (adds a touch of class) with their position spelled out. Nothing fancy, nothing unique, nothing spectacular - just nice, clean and grey.

The backs are the very "day baseball" colors of the sky and sun; bright yellow and blue. Day baseball as in outdoor baseball. Most cards also feature a cartoon / comic about the player, the basic nine statistics of the game and the players entire career (sometimes even with minor league and gaps described). I will scan several backs (of selected players) to give you a good sample of these as well.

The set also boasts Rookie Cards of Vida Blue/Gene Tenace (#21), Thurman Munson (#189), Bill Buckner (#286), Larry Bowa (#539), and Darrel Evans (#621) with HOF's galore in the League Leader and All-Star cards.

So this is my preview of a new "irregular special feature" of mine, highlighting card by card the "grey flannel" set of 1970.

Cubs Leaders from 1986 ?

An unexpected benefit of collecting baseball cards and this new world of blogging, one gets the opportunity to look back and report on history. Though most of my collection is "stuck in the sixties and seventies" I have recently discovered a new appreciation for the "modern" cards as well.

So I was looking at my Cubs cards from that overproduced wood grain border set of 1987 (I know that set does not constitute "vintage" or "modern" but nonetheless it is "history").

One card popped out like a sore thumb to me: the Cubs Leaders card # 581. For the record the Cubs were lousy in 1986, posting a 70-90 record and coming in fifth in the NL East.

While this card displays the back of Ron Cey and Steve Trout (two nice guys), makes me stop ad wonder what they were actually talking about but in either case neither of them were team leaders in any major category. The back of this card lists all the leaders in various categories and no mention of Cey or Trout anywhere.

In doing some extra research I did find this:

Cey led the team in games played at third base with 77

Trout led the team in "intentional base on balls" with 13

So that's it . . . two players who contributed nicely for the 1984 NL East Division Championship team; with Cey leading the team in HR's and RBI's and Trout going 13-7 (yes that 1984 team)but team leaders from 1986 . . . not !

Getting closer !

This probably will be my last post in regards to my card show purchases this past weekend . . . highlighting the Topps 1970 set I am getting closer to complete. I am currently at 667 out of 720 or 92.6 % and have the feeling that the Nolan Ryan will be my final acquisition.

Nonetheless, I picked up 17 more cards for my set on Saturday and here are a few:

"No-Neck" Williams trying to knock the photographers head off.a solid hitting catcher (Freehan) , a work horse for the White Sox (Wood) and a catcher with no eyes (Tischinski) . . .

and Juan Marichal; a "perennial" 20 game winner with 243 career wins (with six 20 win seasons) and a strikeout to walk ratio of better than 3 to 1.

Overall, I got closer to completing the set . . .I still have a ways to go but getting closer is good . . .

What was Topps thinking ?

In the past six weeks, since starting this blog, I have read hundreds of posts and have learned so much about card collecting that my personal collection has taken on a new life of its own. I am now looking at my cards differently (with a more tuned mind and closer eye) yet with the same interest and passion I have aways had for the game of baseball and the cards of yesterday.

Many of you have taught me to look at cards with this question: what were they thinking ?

So in my thumbing through my 1973 cards I noticed two that stand out.

What was Topps thinking . . .

This is a Steve Garvey card yet his face is completely in the shadows and Wes Parker stands taller and closer. Yes Garvey probably just hit a homerun (he only hit nine in 1972) and as he approaches home plate is being congratulated but Steve Garvey deserves better. Ok, he did not really come into his own until 1974, winning the NL MVP and 8 straight gold gloves at first base from 1974-1981 but still . . . couldn't Topps come up with a better picture ?

and then there is Jim Kaat

. . . a twenty-five year major league career as a left handed pitcher, winning 283 games and earning 16 (yes sixteen) consecutive gold glove awards from 1962 - 1977. Here is Jim Kaat . . . hitting ? Probably watching one of his 2 HR's he hit in 1972. Kaat was a "great" hitting pitcher and did hit 16 career round-trippers so I guess in 1973 Topps decided it was time to showcase his "power" not his pitching or fielding.

Just my question of the day: What was Topps thinking ?

Bobby Bonds - "Dancing" in 1973

Much has been written about Bobby Bonds over the years, most notable being the Father of Barry, yet so many forget how great a baseball player he really was. The combination of power and speed had not been seen since Willie Mays; Bobby Bonds was actually the second player to hit 300 homeruns and steal 300 bases (Mays being the first).

Bonds played fourteen seasons, seven of which were in San Francisco to begin his career (1968-1974) and interestingly enough he ended his career with the Chicago Cubs in 1981, hitting six home runs in 45 games. Bonds ended his career with 332 career homeruns, 461 stolen bases and had a grand slam as his first major league hit.

The card I am highlighting is his 1973, Topps # 145. I like this “action” shot of Bonds trying to return to first base avoiding the pick off (it looks like a “young” HOF Willie Stargell or is it Bob Robertson ?). In either case Bonds looks like he will be safe as usual.

The back of the card is even more interesting, noting that “Bobby’s Hobby is Dancing”. I think he might be able to win “Dancing with the Stars” if he was able to compete today.

And another one of Topps genius’ messed up on his statistics for 1968 and 1969, his first two years in the majors. Yes they are inaccurate.

From all reliable sources I can find, including his 1969 RC and 1970 second year card, as well the Baseball Almanac, he hit .254 with 9 Hr and 35 RBI in 1968 and batted .259 with 32 HR and 90 RBI in 1969. His 1973 card is all messed up yet his major league totals are indeed correct.

I do not have any later year cards of Bobby Bonds to see if and when his stats were corrected. Can anyone help me on this one ?

Bobby Bonds “danced” . . . on the bases and with his bat.

Billy Williams - 1962 All Star Rookie

The year is 1969 and it is my first year playing “organized” baseball. I remember my father taking me to the sporting goods store and wanting to buy me my first real baseball glove. I picked out a Rawlings Fastback with Billy Williams name stamped right there in the palm. I still have this tattered, worn, shaped perfectly yet “old” glove. I remember shaping this glove by placing a ball in it, tying it with string and storing it under my mattress at night. This glove is a constant reminder to me of my childhood, playing ball (both 12” and little league as it was called back in the day in suburban Chicago). This glove fits perfectly alongside my collection of baseball cards.

Billy Williams, one of the all time greatest Chicago Cubs, a classy professional. Billy Williams played or coached for the Chicago Cubs for 31 years. Billy Williams, the iron man of his time, played in more than 150 games for twelve consecutive seasons. Billy Williams # 26 was retired by the Chicago Cubs in August 1987. Billy Williams, second in MVP voting twice losing out to Johnny Bench – both times his offensive numbers were better yet was snubbed by voters for the Big Red Machine’s leader behind the plate. Billy Williams, Rookie of the Year, 1961. Billy Williams Hall of Famer.

The card I am featuring is Williams’ 1962 Rookie card #288, highlighted by his Topps All Star Rookie trophy. The Topps ’62 cards have a somewhat bland look to them, brown border, rather small print area for the team and player name yet has a cute touch to it by have the corner look like the page is flipping over.

The back of the cards have the nine basic stats yet only show the current year, labeled simply as “year” and career totals labeled as “life”. An interesting (at least to me) tidbit is that Billy Williams is the only position player who played on the 1969 Chicago Cubs team that ever played a game in the post season, with the Oakland Athletics in 1975.

Thank you Billy Williams for playing for the Cubs, living Cubbie Blue and being such a vital part of my childhood (as Jimmy Buffet says in a song: “I may be growing old but not up”). I think for tonight I will put this card in my glove, put a string around it and put it under my mattress.

Yastrzemski - 1968 - The Triple Crown

Carl Yastrzemski, nicknamed “Yaz”, although a more appropriate nickname should be Mr Red Sox. Similar to “Mr. Cub”, Ernie Banks, Yaz spent his entire career with one team – the Boston Red Sox, twenty three years to be exact. Only one other player has spent as many years with one team, that being Brooks Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles.

Yaz was a 18 time all-star, member of the 3000 hit club, is the RedSox leader in almost every hitting category including games played, hits and RBI’s. He is second all time with 452 homeruns in a Red Sox uniform (only behind Ted Williams). Yaz’s uniform # 8 was retired by the Red Sox in 1989.

The 1968 Topps card # 250, pictured here is unique. The wood grain framing on all 1968 Topps cards were a bit unusual, many variations of this border exist and most are not very appealing to my eye. The picture on the front is a posed serious look and does nothing to enhance Yaz’s credentials.

Once again the back of the card is the most interesting. The statistics of the 1967 season . . . a triple crown winning season. Yaz is the last player to achieve this feat; leading the league in batting average, homeruns and RBI’s. 44 round trippers, 121 RBI’s and a .326 batting average in 1967.

Yaz was also recognized as the AL MVP and Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year for 1967.

What a year . . . except that the Red Sox lost the World Series to the St Louis Cardinals in seven games.

The question and answer story panel on the back is a nice feature of the 1968 cards and this card asks who was baseballs last triple crown winner before Yastrzemski ? Answer: Baltimore Oriole Frank Robinson in 1966.

Another interesting item about Yaz; he is one of the only power hitters of that era whose career numbers indicate he hit more doubles than homeruns (646 to 452). When and who do you think will win the next triple crown ? Will it ever happen again ?

Randy Hundley - 1966 All Star Rookie

Randy Hundley is credited with bringing the skill of being a one-handed backstop to the major leagues. The actual credit should be given to Hundleys’ father, who actually taught (or forced Randy to learn) this technique. As of today, every catcher uses the Hundley one-handed method.

Hundley’s major league career actually started with the San Francisco Giants, receiving an $ 110,000 signing bonus right out of high school in 1960. In a trade during the off season in 1965 would give the Cubs a dependable catcher for the next several years, including the “magical” year of 1969.

For the first four years as a Cub (1966 thru the 1969 campaigns), Hundley caught more than 600 games and was one of the most reliable defensive gems behind the plate.

Overworked and injury-plagued Hundley played in only 450 games for the next 8 seasons. Hundley career offensive numbers are weak; so weak that his name is recorded in the baseball archives for having one of the ten lowest career batting averages, .236 (with at least 2500 at bats). Yet for four years, Hundley was the heart and soul of the Cubs behind the plate.

The 1967 card of Hundley, showcasing his election to the Topps 1966 All Star Rookie team and trophy is a good picture of Hundley in “action”. The back of the card is interesting with just completing his first full year in the majors, first full year with the Cubbies and boasting 19 homers along with his .236 batting average. Quite coincidentally that is also Hundleys career batting average after 14 seasons; .236

After his playing days, Hundley “worked” for the Cubs organization as an assistant coach and scout for a few years and then started his Baseball Fantasy Camps in Arizona. Hundley was the first again to start a camp for “wealthy executives” to play side by side with major leaguers. His camps are now copied by many and once again Hundley is credited with changing baseball.

From one-handed catching to developing baseball camps Hundley has impacted the sport greatly.

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”.

How I got started

My baseball card collection started in the early sixties as most of us kids back then did. Unfortunately, the gum was as important in those days as the cards and most of those cards were long ago lost, thrown away, destroyed or forgotten about in family moves.

In the early 80’s (prior to marriage I must add) I began to re-“invest” in the cardboard of yester-year and began to acquire cards of players I enjoyed watching as a youth; mostly players of the 60’s and 70’s and the Chicago Cubs. My collection is not large (under 10,000), mostly in very good or excellent condition and each tell a story.

I dabbled into buying sets but lost the interest quickly when, for me, the “fun” is being able to look at the faces, uniforms and the action depicted as well as the backs of each card. I always like the backs of cards; the statistics, the brief stories of players, tidbit trivia, miniature drawings, comics, stories of players and comparing year to year accomplishments. Sounds “nerdy” but the back of the card is where we actually can learn something about each player and uncover surprises (1964 Topps had rub off area) . I have since sold all of those factory sets and cartons and that certainly did help pay for my family to move to Sarasota Florida in the summer of 2002.

As a Chicago Cub fan my whole life (yes since birth as many of you will agree, it is in our blood), one of my first goals was to acquire as many Cub cards as possible. A friend gave me the idea to look for and complete team sets for the Cubs of the years we loved and I was able to do this with little trouble. My collection grew slowly (budget constraints) but I always kept them in plastic holders or page protectors.

In the summer of 1990, another hometown friend of mine and I were rummaging through “garbage” in his attic and came across a gem. An original cloth banner from 1969 stating: Chicago Cubs Eastern Division Champs 1969. As many in my generation and before know the Cubs did not win the pennant that year, more aptly put, they broke our hearts that year. As Rick Tally states in his book titled “The Cubs of ’69”; the Cubs were “The team that should have been”.

That pennant and my cards of the 1969 Cubs (the cards are 1970) is the pillar and motivation behind my collection and memories.

The Cubs of 1969 . . . my favorite team . . . my favorite players . . . my favorite year . . .


So this site is now dedicated to all those Cub fans who cheered in 1969, who remember more from that baseball year than any other year, and to all of us in our late 40’s who collected cards, lost or destroyed them and still reflect back.


I will talk about the cards and players; superstars, HOF’s and the not so popular players of yesterday (mostly from the 60’s and 70’s), share some baseball memories and talk about what is on the back of cards. I may even regress further into childhood and share a story or two not related to baseball cards. I am not a serious collector, nor am I a true hobbyist but what I am is a Cubs Fan and a kid at heart. I hope you enjoy my trip back in time.
Wait ‘til next year . . .