Welcome

Wait til Next Year . . . is making a come back.

I am going to mix a bit of the philosophy of my life into this blog as I continue to highlight some of my baseball card collection. (hoping the card collectors of this world welcome me back)

Its been a tough 18 months for me . . . the Chicago Cubs have had it rough as well.


This site will be devoted to all those who need to define what "wait til next year" means.
Showing posts with label washington senators. Show all posts
Showing posts with label washington senators. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Was Harry Bright?

It might sound like a strange question but Harry Bright had a rather quiet nine year major league career. Though originally drafted by the N Y Yankees prior to the 1946 campaign it would take him 12 years before he had his major league debut in 1958 for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Bright would also go on to play for the Senators in 1961 and 1962, appeared in one game only for the Reds in 1963, then being purchased by the Yankees in 1963 (appeared in four games in 1964) before signing on as a free agent for the Chicago Cubs in 1965.

His best and only year as a regular was in 1962, playing in 113 games and hitting 17 homeruns for the Senators. Bright also appeared twice as a Yankee, in the 1963 World Series, as a pinch hitter, striking out both times. In game one of the 1963 series, Bright was actually Sandy Koufax's 15th strikeout, a record strikeout at the time.


So this card, # 227 Topps 1960 stating his team as the Chicago Cubs was quite a mystery to me at first. When I was reviewing the team roster and stats for the 1959 (and 1960) Chicago Cubs, there was no mention of Harry Bight anywhere. So you may be asking yourself, how did Bright get on a 1960 Chicago Cub card if he never appeared as a Cub until 1965 ?

Simply put, the Cubs drafted him in November of 1959 in the "rule 5" draft and returned him to the Pirates in April of 1960. Obviously too late for correcting this Topps had his "right" team at the time, though his uniform is clearly that of a Pirate (note the banding around the collar and vest).

It was probably only a strange coincidence that Bright ended up in a Chicago Cub uniform in 1965, though he only appeared in 27 games with 25 at -bats getting seven hits and striking out eight times.

I think Harry must have been very Bright . . . having the ability to have a 1960 Chicago Cub card for my collection, though not playing for them until five years later.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Topps 1970: card # 14 Hank Allen

Harold Andrew Allen will be most remembered as Dick (Richie) Allen's older brother. Hank did play seven years in the big leagues; with the Washington Senators (1966-70), Milwaukee Brewers (1970) and the Chicago White Sox (1972-73).

Hank played third base, second base, first base, outfield and even appeared in one game as a catcher. His best year was in 1969 as a Senator, playing in 109 games and reaching career highs in batting average (.277), hits (75), runs (42) and RBI's (17).

Having hit six home runs in his career he ranks second in the family; behind Richie's 351 and youngest brother Ron who hit one. This trio of brothers ranks 11th in most home runs by a brother combination with 358; albeit Richie holds the torch.

I found a quote by Hank from the Baseball Almanac that I thought was right on. "I enjoyed it (being a major league ball player & Washington Senator) but remember . . . baseball is what I did. It is not who I am".

sidebar for an editorial comment: maybe more sports and or entertainment stars should think more like Hank and understand that is "what they do" not who they are. We should all be defined by who we are and not by what we do professionally. Thanks Hank for reminding me of that.

Hank Allen . . . card # 14 in 1970 . . . Richie's older brother.