Brad Havens #382

An awesome looking spring training before or during game posed photo. Under his left arm pit there appears to be 3 players running onto the field as it could possible be an inning change. This card comes right at you with a bright photo showing the powder blue of the twins uniforms.

Tony Scott #522

When I think of Tony Scott, I just think of a base stealers. Though I think I get him confused with a better base stealer Rodney Scott. Tony who is about 30 on this card looks a lot older and worn and grizzled. He is also sporty some late 70s hair.

Rick Mahler #349

A pitchers posed shot on a very cloudy day. This is definitely a spring training photo.

Back Facts: Had a fine rookie season in '81, switching back and forth from Braves' bullpen to the starting rotation (Born in 1953).

Joe Pittman #218

Joe looks very happy around the batting cage. The back of his card explains why he was happy. After toiling six years in the minor leagues, finally got his chance last year when Astros used him frequently at second base.

Kiko Garcia #470

Here is a look at white uniform. I don’t remember the star on the front being that big. Hey this photo was taken a Wrigley Field.  

Alfredo Griffin #101

Inter league in 1981. What is going on. That is them Expos in the dugouts featured on this card. This is obviously a spring training shot. This is a really nice shot as it almost fits his whole body in the picture.

The Wrath of Kane

When I see this card, I think of 40 years of collecting and seeing that uniform really turns me on to collecting. The logo looks exactly as it did 40 years ago. I guess you don’t mess with perfection.

Toews

As you can see the Black Hawk uniform has not changed much in 40 years. I think the throw back uniforms for the Black Hawks would be from the 30s or 40s.

Dennis Hull (MPH Line)

Probably the most famous member of the  MPH line. The Black Hawks won 3 consecutive Western Division Titles in the early 1970s. Though, I think the white jersey look better on these cards and on TV, the jersey to own would be the Red Black Hawk Jersey.

I had planned about a week ago to do these posts this week and by sure chance Puck Junk posted this photo on his blog just before I started. I had to reuse it.

Jim Pappin (MPH Line)

Pappin is probably the least know of this famous line. In the yearly 1970s, the Top Hockey lines had great nicknames. The Sabres French Connection was probably the most famous name. In the early 1970s, The Black Hawks ruled the Western Division and was the only team that could compete with Eastern Division

Pit Martin (MPH Line)

While the 1972-73 Topps set is the first Hockey set I collected, the 1971-72 set is probably my favorite because of the Black Hawk  cards that just look so good here. Actually the design maybe my favorite of all time for any card set. Pit was the M part of the famed MPH Line.

My Favorite Logo

 Yes, I know it is politically incorrect to have this as your logo but this has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. There is something about this logo that invokes some sort of sentimental feeling from me. In some ways I don’t really see it as a person representing the logo. The think it is the color of the feathers that catch my eye the most.

Mick Kelleher #601 (A Night Owl Card)

What the hell is Mick Kelleher looking at. His expression is part fear and part amazement. His eyes are totally wide open. Is he about to get hit by a (Rob) Deer. I think this photo was taken at KC staduim. I think I just figured out why his eyes are so wide open in this photo  because this was taken at NIGHT or at least dusk, in fact in the very upper left hand corner of picture you can see the staduim lights on.

Back Facts: Has a Politcal Science degree from the U. of Pugut Sound.

Kevin Hickey #631

This is a decent action shot but a really blurry picture. One of the few cards ever made that shows you the players spikes underneath his cleats.

Craig Swan #589

He does not look like a Swan pitchered here in a Met uniform. I think he won an ERA title one year. On the back of his card it says it all.  "Is in the third year of a $3.5 million contract". This guy was making over a million a year in 1982. Wow.

As I mentioned before I think the 1982 Donruss set was the first to really mention contracts and dollar amounts of the players. I think that was the result of free agency and the 1981 strike. 

Dave Revering #234

What was this guy doing on the Yankees. He had a copy of good seasons with the A's from 1978-1980. Back Facts: Sat on bench much of the second half of season while Yanks decided to go with Bob Watson against all pitching.

Lenn Sakata #644

With Hawaii being a popular vacation spot this time of year. I present you Lenn Sakata who was born in Hawaii. Besides wearing a nice pair of glasses and batting glove, I think Lenn (with 2 n's) was on the 1983 Orioles championship team. Here he is just haning around the cage.

Jerry Koosman a baseball card mystery.

The first mystery is personal. I used to collect cards by the pack in the late 1970s. I was never able to put together a complete set but I was always close. I remember I never got a 1977 Topps Dave Parker and finally saw his card for the first time when in the late 1980s, I began buying mint complete sets to replace the collections I had. For a while there I did not think Topps was making Jerry Koosman cards. I know for a fact I never got his card in the 1978 set or the 1980 set (through buying packs) and maybe even the 1979 set -even though I had probably had those sets complete to about 98% when they first came out. I did not see these cards until years later when I upgraded my sets.

But one thing I never noticed was how similar his 1978 and 1979 cards looked. However, after much examination of the two cards, I think I can be safe to assume they are not from the same game. The fans in the stands are different and the positioning of the rule tarp is different. Plus his blue under shirt sleeve seems to be longer on the 1978 card.

His Donruss 1982 card was a classic head shot. Jerry had some incredible swings in W-L record in his career.

1968 19-12
1969 17-9
1976 20-10
1977 8-20
1978 3-15
1979 20-13
1981 4-13

Ken Dayley #501

I think this was taken at Surprise Field (based on a prior post and comment from Uncle Moe), These are the type of Spring Training cards that I like. Lots of trees in the background. This is a pure rookie card as the back states No Major League Record under the statistics.

Frank Tanana #326, Bob Ojeda #540, John Tudor #260

I was struck by the simplicity of these three cards and it made me think they were all taken by the same photographer on the same day. I have no proof except for the uniform and the simple easy flowing shots of all three pitchers. All three are smiling for the camera though Frank seems to be having a tough time. Frank and John photos were taken in front of red seats.

Tanana Back Facts: Was once one of the most awesome pitchers in the AL, but encountered shoulder trouble in '79 and has been the same since

Tudor Back Facts: Has been bothered by tendinitis in his arm.

The Insert Card of The Year

I always thought that the 1975 Topps set was an honor to the 3 time winning Oakland A's with their color coordinated set. I am not a big fan of inserts but Topps did it right with the 75 mini's in Lineage. Using the classic design with the mini concept with this picture perfect swing of Reggie makes this card THE INSERT CARD OF THE YEAR.

Dale Berra #250, Paul Moskau #355

We have a couple more cards wear the photo was taken at Wrigley Field. Another great thing about these cards the photo was taken almost in the same location. See the building outside of Wrigley Field in both pictures.

Berra is wearing the old Black Pirates uniform. Berra was the Pirates first choice in the 1975 Amatuer Draft and Paul Moskau was the number 3 overall choice.  

Ray Burris #414

A Super action shot of Ray in full windup wearing the classic red white and BLUE Expos uniform. This card just screams action. What else is great about this card is that the photo was taken at Wrigley Field. Back Facts Expos signed him as a free agent 2/18//81 after he played out his option with the Mets.

Sal Butera #532

A Big head card. Sal's head look extra long on this card and it does not help him as he has a big wad of chew in his mouth. I don't think Sal picked this photo. Back Facts: waited 8 years to reach the big leagues.

Orlando Sanchez #636

OK that is not Orlando's Donruss card. I never heard of this guy. In fact the only cards he ever had was from the 1982 sets including Fleer. In his Donruss card, it is a side head shot with him holding his bat on his left shoulder. He is wearing a blue jersey and the red cardinal cap. The Topps card looks fantastic because red brick box seat stands in the back ground of this photo. It is probably one of the top five photos from the 1982 Topps set

Dwayne Murphy #239

Except for a great shot of the A's uniform which worked well with the Donruss 1982 design, this is kind of a boring photo. The whole background of the card is a blur. I don't like that. I want to see some background on a card.

Bob Shirley #120

DON'T CALL ME SHIRLEY. I kind of like cards that have the player wearing warmup jackets and I really like them if they are bright red and having the large Cardinal Logo on it. Spotted trees in the background Bob is looking very serious here like someone just called him Shirley.

Back Facts: Retired first 25 batters of a game 4/23/77 vs. Houston

Steve McCatty #35

Steve appearing in the classic baseball pitcher pose with the falling away on one leg pose on the mound. The A's uniform is in its glory of Green and Yellow. He lost the 1981 AL ERA title by one point. His home is listed as Troy, Michigan.

Mike Caldwell #330

Now that we ended the boring Pitcher cards, here is one interesting pitcher card. This card really catches Mike bearing down with an intense facial expression. This is really nice action shot catching Mike's right leg high in the air. It is neat to see that his cleats show blue and yellow. 

Ken Forsch #393

Part 4 of Boring looking Pitcher cards. Ken looks like a very youthful 35 year old in this photo. There is a strange purplish background. Back Facts: comprises the only brother combo ever to pitch no-hitters in the majors.

Reggie Cleveland #456

Part 3 of boring Pitcher cards. Reggie with one of the all time great names shows us a good shot of the Brewers logo on his cap and some cool glasses.  Back Facts: Pitched in 3 World Series games for Red Sox in '75.

Rick Langford #161

Continuing Boring Pitcher Picture cards is Rick Langford, though Rick does give us a look at the great looking A's uniform. He also has a post 70s mustache.

Back Facts: Had a streak of 22 straight complete games from May 23-Sept 12 in '80

Rick Waits #33

A very boring card, with the strange blue background, which is probably in some dugout. Back Facts: Beat Yankees on final day of ’78 season to force them into a playoff with Boston for the AL East title.

Glenn Hubbard #436

Mother Hubbard what’s in your Cubbard. Not Snakes. This card is unusual as it is clear but features a bit of a blur of him swinging the bat. His 1984 Fleer card is probably one of the most famous cards of all time.

Matt Keough #71

Matt's middle name is Lon. This is a great shot because it captures part of the A's logo on the outfield wall. This is also a sock up photo as you get a good look at the green and yellow A's socks. He was 2-17 in 1979 and then 16-13 with 20 complete games in 1980.

Julio (let me take you on a see) Cruz #50

This may have been Cris Berman's first nickname of a player back in 1981 or 1982 on Sports Center. We have another blurry Seattle Mariner Shot. But a great thing about this card are the YANKEES in the Dugout. Yes this photo was taken at YANKEE STADUIM.

Back Facts: Is one of the best base stealers in the Business

Fred Stanley #449

Fred is definitely looking the wrong way on the field. You need to look the other way Fred. He is obviously having a discussion with the Umpire. On this bright sunny day, that A's uniform really stands out in this set. Back Facts: Nicked Named Chicken.

Larry Anderson #428

Another one of the 352ers. As I mentioned in a recent post, there were a few cards from this set that were shot from this angle that catches the 352 sign and right field foul pole from old Memorial Staduim in Baltimore.

Mike Norris #197

This shows the Oakland A's uniform in all its glory. Beginning in the early 1970s they A''s had some great teams and great uniforms. I believe Mike Norris had some drug problems throughout his career and life. A quick look at his face in this photo and I would not be surprised he was on drugs when this was taken.

Back Facts: Lost out in Cy Young balloting to Steve Stone, partly because three writers left him off their ballots.

He was 22-9, 2.54 ERA in 1980

Mark Brouhard #154 (x-rated)

One of the more boring shots in the set though this is an x-rated photo as something seems to be protruding from Mark's crotch area. I just think it  is the camera angle. That reminds me of the 1990 Pro Set card (I Can't remember who but it was a WR)  that showed a players belt loose and protruding out of his crotch area. Pro Set actually had a corrected. A quick search of ebay brought up the card. It was actually Fred Marions card and it looks like the player was Jerry Rice, if you look closely (don't look too close), you can see the Belt. Pro Set made a variation of the card eliminating the belt. 

Tommy Boggs #249

Ok that is not Tommy Boggs 1982 Donruss card. That is Branden Boggs. I really like this card and really like the design of the 2008 Topps set. I forgot to post this picture on a recent blog I had that mentioned Brandon became property of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Ok, here is Tommy in this spring training shot. He appears to be a hefty guy from this pitcure and he is listed at 6'2 and 200lbs. Was the second pick in the nation in June '74 when Rangers selected him out of AUstin (Tex.) H.S.