1963 Sport Hobbyist Famous Cards #5, Jack Barry

In the mid-60s, the bi-monthly Sport Hobbyist did what Old Cardboard, Net54 Baseball, and others do now. Significant collectors contributed articles on their own research projects, described unusual finds, and tried to fill wantlists. With Topps readily available at corner stores, I assume tobacco, candy, and promotional issues dominated the magazine content.

With copy machines in their infancy and no Internet to lean on, the Hobbyist made what might be the first collector-targeted set, calling it their "Famous Card Series." Its checklist includes the famous T206 Wagner, several E-series candy cards, and other early century rarities. Though today's card back is clearly dated 1963, estimated printing dates stretch into the early 70s, so apparently came out in phases annually.


Possibly to avoid confusion with an authentic example, the Hobbyist printed Jack Barry's picture with no frame or text. Most "Famous Cards" measure larger than the originals; compare the first scan with Jack Barry as M101-5 #11.


This blog recently profiled M101-4/5s and its #5 featured Leon Ames. The back correctly states its set size as 200, but M101-4 and -5s vary in player content and numbering. Old Cardboard's checklist details the differences.

Just for fun, I searched Google Maps for 12795 Wade St in Detroit, but didn't find anything more inspiring than a locksmith. Anyone out there know more about the Sport Hobbyist's fate?

1977 Fritsch One-Year Winners #5, Bob Thorpe

Many 1970s oddball sets seem like a Google Image Search for "old baseball photos." The sheer quantity of player images out there, even for obscurities like Robert Joseph Thorpe, would fill out a ton of issues, if actually organized and printed.


Collector and businessman Larry Fritsch pulled together a bunch of otherwise hard-to-find fellows as One-Year Winners. 1977 was the first of 3 "OYW" series and its 18 card checklist includes Eddie Gaedel and Chuck "The Rifleman" Connors.

Many OYW stories could also be called "one-game wonders," such as pitchers who made a single impressive appearance or batters who went 3-for-3 and never played again. Bob Thorpe didn't blow anyone away for the Cubs, but he did go 69-44 in the minors.


Against all odds, there's at least one autographed OYW card out there. Mr. Fritsch still offers complete series on his web site and individual cards on eBay, where #5 (and other "commons") cost $2 or $3.

1976 ISCA Hoosier Hot-Stove All-Stars #5, Amos Rusie

Today' guest made a home state debut in 1889, winning 12 games for the Indianapolis Hoosiers as a fresh-faced 17 year-old. He started 22 games and finished 11 as a reliever, hurling 225 innings total and striking out 109 batters. That's a full season by today's pitching standards, but barely hinted at Amos' next decade as a moundsman, when he'd average over 400 innings and total 245 victories.


The Indiana Sports Collectors Association published this bicentennial-themed 26-card set in 1976 to honor local players and teams who contributed to baseball's considerable history. The checklist contains plenty of name-worthy guys; Don Larsen and Gil Hodges are 2 of the non-HOFers. I assume sets went out to ISCA members, making them hard to come by today.


Two things stand out on Rusie's card, "strong candidate for [the] Hall of Fame" and "brief 10 year career." Indeed, the Veterans Committee voted Amos onto a plaque for 1977, validating the ISCA's editorial acumen. Fellow Hoosier (and card #14) Hodges nearly joined him the same year by receiving 58% of the BBWWAA vote.

So is it better to burn out than to fade away? Like previous #5 guest Dizzy Dean, Rusie's career included a block of dominant performance followed by a quick fade. 3 appearances for Cincinnati in 1901 count as a "season," which snuck him past the HOF's 10-year career minimum. It's not clear if anyone remained alive to lobby on Amos's behalf--as former Gashouse Gang members benefited from Frankie Frisch--so his selection's probably deserving, if plucked from a different epoch.

1974 Topps and O-Pee-Chee #5, Hank Aaron Special

At the end of 1973, Hank Aaron stood on the cusp of breaking Ruth's signature record of 714 homers. Though still 1 behind, it seemed a certainty the Hammer would pass Babe early in 1974. Following a tradition of leading their set with a major achievement, 1974 Topps #1 proclaimed him The New All-Time Home Run King. Aaron confirmed this minor act of prognostication with homer 715 on April 8.


Topps #2 - 6 reprint all Aaron cards from 1954 to 1973 and the backs recount his considerable career achievements in 10-year chunks. The front of #5 covers 1966 - 1969 and its back features a summary sentence for each year from 1954 to 1963.


The 1974 O-Pee-Chee (OPC) set matched Topps in count (660) and basic design, but rearranged the first 9 cards somewhat. Pursuant to Canadian law, card backs included both English and French. Two languages meant less room for commentary, so they chopped the specials down to 2 front images and backs listed bilingual 5-year highlights.

Both sets cover the same ground at different "speeds," so OPC #5 gets Topps 1962 and 1963 on the front and 1954 to 1958 highlights on the back.

Topps covered the Hammer's 20 years of service in five cards and then switched to other players, so the first 9 cards include 3 other guys. (Checklists courtesy of OldBaseball.com.)

1 Hank Aaron Home Run King
2 Aaron Special 54-57
3 Aaron Special 58-61
4 Aaron Special 62-65
5 Aaron Special 66-69
6 Aaron Special 70-73
7 Jim Hunter
8 George Theodore
9 Mickey Lolich

OPC's 2-images-per-card approach took 9 cards to cover fully, displacing Hunter, Theodore, and Lolich to later numbers in the set. Including those players, in turn, bumped other cards from the set entirely.

1 Hank Aaron Home Run King
2 Hank Aaron Special 54-57
3 Hank Aaron Special 58-59
4 Hank Aaron Special 60-61
5 Hank Aaron Special 62-63
6 Hank Aaron Special 64-65
7 Hank Aaron Special 66-67
8 Hank Aaron Special 68-69
9 Hank Aaron Special 70-73
99 George Theodore (Topps 99 is Brewers Coaches)
166 Mickey Lolich (Topps 166 is Royals Coaches)
196 Jim Hunter (Topps 196 is Jim Fregosi)

Short story, the loser in this game of musical chairs is Jim Fregosi, bumped from OPC in favor of HOFer Catfish Hunter. Blame the awesomeness of Hank Aaron, Jim! Even better, blame Canada!

1936 Rabbit Maranville (R344) #5, How To Run Bases

Massachusetts-based National Chicle Gum published their 192-card Batter-Up set across 3 years, 1934 to 1936. The high series (#81-192) contained today's promotional bonus, a 20-booklet insert of "How To" pamphlets. At 3" x 4", they're larger than the actual cards, so came folded in quarters. Collectors refolded it vertically to make it look like a tiny book. Check the scan's vertical "guide," with back page to the left and title on the right. The second scan shows the "inside" pages.

National Chicle attributed the series to HOFer Rabbit Maranville, who played 23 seasons of energetic middle infield and chipped in 1 partial season as Cubs player-manager. While not a superior player, his firecracker personality and showmanship made Rabbit widely known. (In the 30s, that was about enough to get you in the Hall.)

These 20 booklets (Old Cardboard gallery here) cover basic playing skills, but include interesting esoterica like "how to pitch the out-shoot," "in-shoot," and "drop." (In modern parlance, those are the slider, screwball, and sinker.) "How to Run Bases" covers the main points for any level of player: run everything out, move with the pitch, and watch your coaches.

Base running remains a major issue for teams, fans, and baseball writers. Recent Angels teams get credit for superior station-to-station play, the Royals apparently suck at it, and Boston and New York run more than they used to. Today's era of more powerful lineups mean that managers worry less about scratching out single bases, but team performance definitely suffers if they neglect the basics. (In the spirit of a better game, I will consider offers from the KC front office for Rabbit's helpful guide.)

1916 Sporting News M101-4 #5, Leon Ames

Venerable magazine The Sporting News (aka TSN) distributed a pair of 200-card sets in 1915 and 1916 as promos for their weekly publication. The 1.5" x 3" cards feature players from their photo catalog, printed on thick stock with heavy front gloss. Fortunately for modern collectors, this combo's also durable and a large number survived into the 21st century.


Most "competing" sets from that era used hand-tinted images or awkward drawings, making TSN's photography superior by default. The set suffers from time-lag, however, as Cardinal-in-a-Giants-uniform Leon "Red" Ames amply demonstrates. Let's track the time line!

• Pre-1913: TSN takes photo for today's card of Ames as Giant
  
• May 1913: Giants trade Ames to Reds
• May 1913 - July 1915: Ames goes 28-40 for Reds
• July 1915: Ames sold to Cardinals
  
• Post-1915: TSN produces Ames card as "St. Louis"
  

While we call TSN's 1915 and 1916 issues "sets" and catalog them as 1916 M101-4 and 1915 M101-5, I have a feeling the magazine itself wasn't that organized. OldCardboard.com's excellent combined checklist details the numerous differences, including swapped players, pose changes, and editorial corrections. (Their card back gallery is also impressive.) M101-4/5 seems like a rolling release, updated sporadically over at least 2 years, that we--90 years later--are reassembling like a puzzle, in search of a coherent image.

My card's trimmed down to the photo and player name, so cost me only $15. Full cards with a complete, white border cost significantly more.

• Beckett Marketplace search for M101 (4/5 implied)
  
• eBay search for 1915/1916 M101 (4/5 implied)
  
• Google Shopping search for 1916 M101 (4/5 implied)
  

1927 American Caramel (E126) #5, E.T. Cox

Between the tobacco era and Goudey's landmark 1933 set, candy and toy companies made most of America's baseball cards. Pennsylvania's own American Caramel Company produced a bunch of these sets and today's guest is #5 in their 1927 60-card issue, which the American Card Catalog designated E126.


Outside of this set, I'd never heard of Chicago right-hander E. T. Cox. Of course, lots of fellows pass through the game without leaving a mark or even getting a card with their picture on it. So what's this guy's story?

Ernest Thompson Cox pitched a single MLB game for the 1922 White Sox. He faced 6 batters, walked 2 of them, gave up a hit, allowed 2 runs, and...that's it. E. T. never appeared in another big league game and, according to available minor league stats, didn't play there either.

How and why did Cox pitch this 1 inning? I compared rosters for that year's AL teams and Chicago shuttled a lot of pitchers through their 1922 staff. The 1st place Yankees used a total of 8 pitchers for all 144 games. Cellar-dwelling Boston used 10. The White Sox, on the other hand, used 18 and most made less than 5 appearances. Were Bill Veeck at the controls, they might've been giving innings away in boxes of Cracker Jack.


The card back says E126 contains "60 of the most prominent baseball players in the country." Since Mr. Cox hadn't played in 5 years--and just 1 game at that--we suspect they're exaggerating. More accurately, American Caramel re-used player photos from previous 1921 and 1922 sets as a "new" issue. (See the sweet OldCardboard.com gallery for scans of their earlier stuff and the Virtual Card Collection's visual checklist for every 1927 card.)

All snarking aside, 1927 American Caramel cards don't come along very often. Legendary Auctions sold a graded set for $15,000 in 2007 and low-grade commons go for around $50. This fair-good Cox card cost about $40 on eBay.

• eBay search for 1927 E126s
  
• Google Shopping search for 1927 E126s
  

1978 Post Cereal Steve Garvey #5, Fielding a Pop-Up

I manned first base in little league and my dad's a huge Dodger fan, so Steve Garvey made a natural favorite player for many years. In the mid-70s, Garvey seemed almost more "traditionally American" than hot dogs and John Wayne. (Sport Magazine even featured him on a 1976 cover eating apple pie, don'cha know.) A star for several years, Steve fell just short of the HOF, though some think otherwise.

His personal foibles aside, Steve could hit the ball, won 4 straight Gold Gloves, and helped the Dodgers reach the playoffs several times, so Post Cereal saluted him with a 12-panel set in 1978. Each cut-away card includes Garvey's mug, several sentences about a particular skill, and baseball-stitch edging. They came on the outside of cereal boxes, so are blank-backed.


Notice the upper-left corner, where Steve's head overlaps the top of this "card." Doesn't that invite well-meaning kids to simply chop off the top of his head? It's a fairly subtle curved cut around the cap. Think of the children!

Speaking of kids, check out the opening paragraph.

One of the easiest looking and potentially most embarrassing plays is the pop-up. It must be practiced continuously and an emphasis must be placed on proper body positioning.

The 1989 movie Parenthood included several baseball scenes, focusing on Steve Martin practicing pop-ups with his son, a key skill for middle infielders. The extra work eventually saves a game, as his son catches a pop fumbled by another (obnoxious) player, redeeming their time spent together. Baseball, apple pie, American families.

Single panels don't turn up often, so I purchased the entire set for $12 to obtain this #5. Don't see any Post panels in the market right now, but will include some search links, just in case.

• eBay search for 1978 Post Garvey
• Google Shopping search for 1978 Post Garvey
  

1979 Burger King Yankees #5, Jay Johnstone

Back in mid-1978, Philadelphia traded veteran outfielder Jay Johnstone to New York, perhaps as depth for their run to October. He pinch-hit, played some OF, and DHed five times and the Bombers went on to beat the Royals in the ALCS and LA in a 6-game World Series.

After a slow start in 1979, more trade winds took Jay to San Diego, and he eventually landed in LA for the 1981 rematch series, won by the Dodgers. That raises an interesting question--how many players captured titles with both the Yankee and Dodger franchises?

Like the 1979 Burger King Phillies, the Yankees set differs from Topps' normal offering in renumbered players and a separate checklist card. Off-season acquisition Tommy John also got his own Yankee card (#9), instead of Topps #255 (as a Dodger).

Though loaded with stars like Reggie Jackson, Thurmon Munson, Ron Guidry, and Catfish Hunter, you can find complete Yankee sets for under $10 and single cards for ~$1.

• eBay search for 1979 Burger King Yankees
• Google Shopping search for 1979 Burger King Yankees

1980 Burger King Phillies #5, Manny Trillo

As of Nov 3, 2009, the Phils need a pair of wins on hostile turf to defend their 2008 championship. From the other dugout, the Yanks can do what Steve Carlton and Tug McGraw did to KC in 1980 by finishing the series at home in 6 games.

Manny Trillo won the first two Silver Sluggers for NL shortstops in 1980 and 1981, batting around .290 (with over 100 OPS+) each year. While he didn't burn up the base paths or hit for much power, 3 Gold Gloves and 4 All-Star appearances say something about his overall contributions to the team.


Like the 1979 Burger King Phillies set, 1980's version licensed Topps' own design, front and back. They added a BK logo, used different poses for a few players, and created a new card for manager Dallas Green, but otherwise let the layout speak for itself. (Capewood Cards did a nice profile of the whole set in 2008.)


Manny's the 1st player to start the All-Star game for different leagues in consecutive years. He represented Philly in 1982, but went to Cleveland for 1983 in the widely disparaged 5-for-1 Von Hayes trade. 88 games and 1 AL All-Star start later, the Tribe sent Trillo to Montreal for a minor leaguer and cash. He finished the season with Les Expos, became a free agent, and signed with San Fran prior to 1984. After a mediocre couple of years in the bay, he played productively for Chicago from 1986 to 1988 and retired after a handful of games with Cincy in 1989.