In the last two weeks I picked up all of the Cubs from Collector's Choice. So now I've got 5,827 Cubs cards from 21 different brands. A random number generator picked five of them. Here they are in the order selected.
Topps 1984 Dick Ruthven #736 - This might be a suprise, but Ruthven was the Cubs opening day starter in 1984, getting the win as the Cubs topped the Giants 5-3. Though the Cubs would go on and with the NL East that season, it wasn't because of Ruthven. He ended the year 6-10 and didn't appear in the NLCS.
Stadium Club 1993 #346 Frank Castillo - By 1993 Castillo had spent a year and a half in the majors and was 16-18. The Cubs were hoping that in 1993 the 24-year-old starter would have a break out season. Well, it was only a break season, actually a broken season. He was 5-8 with a 4.84 ERA
Topps 1972 #61 Cubs Rookies - As is the case with most rookie cards, only one of the players featured went on to a decent career. On this card it would be Burt Hooton. Hooton was drafted by the Cubs in the June 1971 draft and then went straight to the bigs. His signature pitch was the knucklecurve. He started three games and then was sent down to the minors. He made the team in 1972 and pitched a no hitter his first start of the season, on April 16, It was a sloppy no hitter, as he gave up seven walks. Even though it was a Sunday, only 9,500 people turned out at Wrigley Field on a cold, rainy day. He ended the season with a record of 11-14, but a decent 2.80 ERA
Gene Hiser played on and off with the Cubs for five seasons. He never amounted to much, with a career average of .202
Earl Stephenson was traded by the Cubs in the Jose Cardenal trade with the Brewers in early 1972. The rookie card was in the first series, so Topps had no time to change it, though Cardenal was included in the traded cards in the final series.
Topps 1961 #27 Jerry Kindall - Here is a sneak preview of what the 2010 Topps Heritage cards are going to look like. A bonus baby signing by the Cubs in 1956, Kindall was in his fifth season with the Cubs in 1961. He hit .242 in 96 games. But he Cubs gave up on him and he was traded to the Indians in November 1961. According to Wikipedia, since 1920, no player with at least 2000 career at bats has had a lower career average that Kindall's .213. He would later coach baseball at the University of Arizona for over twenty years and led the Wildcats to three NCAA championships.
Fleer 1991 #U83 Rick Wilkins - The random number generator really likes Rick Wilkins, because this is the third time one of his cards has been selected. As a rookie in 1991, Wilkins hit .222 in 86 games for the Cubs.
I've got complete Cubs team sets from all the years of 21 different brands. A recent project of mine has been to get the entire set of the first issue from each of the 21 brands. Some were pretty easy and cheap to get (like Score). Others, like Heritage 2001, took some time and money. One set, Topps 1951, I'm not even going to attempt unless I win the lottery!
Last week I picked up a classic set, the 1970 Kelloggs 3D set. I paid less than a dollar a card for the 75 card set. While the cards aren't all in mint condition, I'm happy with both the cards and the set.
I remember getting these as a kid, but never dreamed of completing the set. That would be an awful lot of cereal. I would have just been happy to pull a Cub, but it never seemed to work that way.
As I was looking through the set, I was amazed at the number of future Hall of Fame players it contained. There were 21 out of the 75 who would end up in Cooperstown, which works out to 28%. That seem like a pretty high percentage. Two arguable Hall of Famers were also in the set, Pete Rose and Ron Santo.
There were also several players active at the time who would be elected to the Hall of Fame but Kelloggs left them out. Among them are several big names such as Hank Aaron, Fergie Jenkins, Nolan Ryan, Orlando Cepeda, Phil Niekro, Bill Mazeroski, Jim Bunning, Steve Carlton, Carl Yastrzemski, Catfish Hunter, and Hoyt Wilhelm.
Many of the card I had never seen before and maybe you haven't seen them either. So enjoy the 21 superstars:
Tom Seaver
Willie McCovey
Don Sutton
WIllie Mays
Juan Marichal
Frank Robinson
Gaylord Perry
Brooks Robinson
Luis Aparicio
Roberto Clemente
Willie Stargell
Reggie Jackson
Billy Williams
Ernie Banks
Lou Brock
Rod Carew
Al Kaline
Johnny Bench
Harmon Killebrew
Bob Gibson
Joe Morgan
Well, I'm pretty sure this is the last one. Of course, a few weeks ago I thought I was finished, too! But then I saw this card, one of the short-print variations from the Updates and Highlights set.
Topps UH #71B Rogers Hornsby
After going 40+ years with no Rogers Hornsby cards, I now have my second one in a couple weeks. Topps get zero points for creativity because they used the same picture as on the Hornsby Turkey Red Card.
If I am in fact now finished with Topps, that would make a total of 46 Cubs cards for 2009. My breakdown includes...
...10 from Series One
...10 black Walmart Series One variation...10 from Series Two, which includes the Ryne Sandberg short print variation
...5 bonus cards from the Cubs factory set
...11 from the Updates and Highlights set
The only cards I would still consider chasing would be any black Walmart cards from Series Two. But they seem too tough to find and not worth the bother or the cost.
So I guess that's it.
And the 2010 cards are released in about two months.
Today, right off the bat, we get the crown jewel of the set!
#500 - Mickey Mantle Here it is...the most sought after card in the set. I was lucky enough to get this about 20 years ago when someone was cleaning out a closet and gave me a box of cards. I thumbed through the box, tried not to let my jaw drop too far, said thank you and took the box home. The card was is great shape, and it still is today. If I didn't have it, I don't think I would have tried to put the '69 set together. Though mine is the more common yellow letter version, it still runs around $100 for a decent card. I'm not sure I would be willing to spend that much, so I'm thankful I already had the card.
It's surprising that Topps included a card of Mantle in the set. Series five includes cards shot in spring training, and Mantle announced his retirement just as spring training was beginning. So Topps knew he wasn't playing anymore. But they went ahead and kept the card in the set. Maybe they couldn't slide anyone else in card #500's slot.
#501 - Tony Gonzalez We follow the eras most well know superstar with a hatless Padre. After hitting .339 for the Phillies in 1967, Gonzalez dropped to .264 the next season and the Padres grabbed him in the expansion draft. He was in San Diego until mid June and was sent to the Braves. He did OK with the Braves, hitting .294 and ended up finishing 15th in the NL MVP voting.
#502 - Minnie Rojas There are two players names Rojas in the set and they both ended up on the same page. Minnie broke into the big leagues as a 32 year old rookie for the Angels in 1966. In 1968 he was 4-3 but didn't pitch after July 24. I would guess he got hurt, because that July appearance was his last in the majors.
#503 - Larry Brown Larry sure looks happy! 1969 would be his last as the Indians starting shortstop. He hit only .239 for the Tribe and would spend the rest of his career in a backup role.
#504 - 6th Series Checklist Topps pulled an old picture of Brooks Robinson out of the files for this checklist. The Orioles last wore that style of hat in 1965. You would think they would have a more recent picture of a star like Robinson.
#505 - Bobby Bolin He was the Giants swingman, starting about 2/3 of his appearances and working out of the pen for the rest. In 1969 he pitched in 30 games, making 22 starts and posting a 7-7 record. After the season, he was traded to the Pilots and he pitched for the first Brewers team.
#506 - Paul Blair At least they had a recent photo of this Oriole. 1969 would be Blair's breakout season. He hit 26 HRs and had a .285 average. He was an All Star and won the Gold Glove, the second of eight he would win over his career. After hitting .400 in the ALCS, he hit an anemic .100 in the World Series.
#507 - Cookie Rojas Here is Rojas #2. I had no luck finding out how Cookie got his nickname. Anyone out there know? Cookie's numbers were really starting to drop off and 1969 would be his last in Philadelphia. After the season, he was a part of the big Phillies/ Cardinals Curt Flood trade. After retiring, Cookie spent some time in the late '70's as a coach with the Cubs
#508 - Moe Drabowsky This ex-Cub had a nice season for the Royals. He was 11-9 with a 2.94 ERA coming out of the pen. It's pretty good when an expansion team pitcher is above .500.
Overall Set Totals (player cards only)Hall of Famers - 34Hatless - 112Airbrush - 91Cubs (includes past, present, or future) - 69
#491 - Twins Rookies Another "one made it, one didn't" card. Jerry Crider didn't. As a 27 year old rookie for the Twins in 1969 he pitched in 21 games and had an ERA of 4.71. He spent 1970 with the White Sox and was out of the majors after that. Mitterwald played for 11 seasons including four with the Cubs in the mid '70's. He played in 69 games for the '69 Twins and hit .257.
#492 - Tony Cloninger 1969 was his first full season in Cincinnati, having been traded by the Braves in June of 1968. He didn't have a very good year, going 11-17 with an ERA over five. My apologies to Tony, but he was also a member of our All Star Ugly Team.
#493 - Wes Parker Parker was the Gold-glove first baseman for LA, having won the award six consecutive times from 1966 - 1972. He was 29 and at the peak of his game in 1969. He slugged a career high 13 homers and hit 20 points higher than this previous high. This card also gives a good look at what the Shea Stadium scoreboard looked like originally.
#494 - Ken Berry One of the two noted "Ken Berry" of the time. The other was this guy,
the actor from F Troop and Mayberry RFD. The baseball Ken Berry was the centerfielder for the White Sox, an All Star in 1967. It was his glove, not his bat, that he was known for. I have a fuzzy memory of him making a catch and falling over the outfield wall somewhere. I wonder if that really did happen?
#495 - Bert Campaneris Campy was coming off a nice '68 season, having led the league in plate appearances, at bats, hits, stolen bases (his fourth time in a row as AL leader) and times caught stealing. Despite leading the league with 177 hits, with all his at bats his average was only .277. He also made the All Star team for the first time in his career, something he would do five more times. He tailed off a bit in 1969, hitting only .260 but did steal 62 bases.
#496 - Larry Jaster When you go 9-13 for the NL champs, you are not protected in the expansion draft. The Expos grabbed him, hoping he could recapture the magic of his rookie season when he was 11-5. But he went 1-5 with a 5.49 ERA and was traded to the Braves after the season.
#497 - Julian Javier This is the player that taught me that J in Spanish can have an H sound. Hooolian Haaavier, not Julian Javier. He was an All Star for the Redbirds in 1968. 1969 was his last good year in the majors, as he hit .282 with 10 home runs.
#498 - Juan Pizarro This veteran was in the journeyman phase of his career. He spent '66 with the White Sox, '67 with Pittsburgh, and '68 was split between the Pirates and Red Sox. He had three stops in 1969, Boston, Cleveland, and Oakland, combining for a 4-5 record in 57 games. The next three seasons were spent with the Cubs before he ended his career with the Astros and back to the Pirates.
#499 - Astros Rookies You learn something new every day. I had never heard of Don Bryant, and it turns out he made his MLB debut with the Cubs in 1966, playing in 13 games. The Cubs later traded him to the Giants and the Astros drafted him from SF. He would play in 46 games over two seasons with Houston, but hit only .193. Shea was 4-4 in 30 games for the Astros in 1968, so I'm not sure why he was placed on a rookie card. The Astros sold him to the Expos just before the season began and he pitched in 10 games early in the season, but was sent back to AAA and never pitched in the majors again.
Overall Set Totals (player cards only)Hall of Famers - 33Hatless - 111Airbrush - 91Cubs (includes past, present, or future) - 68
Its time for the monthly update. Here is what I got off of Ebay on November 5. I take the first five completed sales listed and average their prices. The chart has the prices from the past three months and then an average of all five months since I started tracking set prices.
| Year | Nov. 5, 2009
| Oct. 9, 2009 | Sept. 7, 2009 | 5 Mo. AVG |
| 1969 | $695.00 | $1,143.89 | none sold
| $920.84 |
| 1970 | $732.50 | $694.01 | $949.00 | $795.66 |
| 1971 | $609.00 | $969.76 | $1,360.50 | $1,120.07 |
| 1972 | $667.07 | $619.80 | $839.00 | $920.98 |
| 1973 | $318.87 | $247.36 | $359.70 | $375.07 |
| 1974 | $162.01 | $202.02 | $238.87 | $204.50 |
| 1975 | $274.60 | $344.22 | $306.70 | $293.87 |
| 1976 | $145.41 | $149.50 | $176.66 | $167.79 |
| 1977 | $89.70 | $131.90 | $122.66 | $120.96 |
| 1978 | $76.12 | $81.81 | $83.70 | $84.91 |
| 1979 | $72.20 | $75.13 | $64.73 | $74.60 |
| 1980 | $58.40 | $53.40 | $46.81 | $56.43 |
| 1981 | $24.76 | $23.30 | $22.98 | $24.61 |
| 1982 | $37.34 | $33.05 | $33.51 | $37.30 |
| 1983 | $25.01 | $33.82 | $24.84 | $27.12 |
| 1984 | $17.52 | $15.30 | $14.13 | $17.02 |
| 1985 | $27.21 | $17.61 | $18.70 | $22.29 |
| 1986 | $9.80 | $11.05 | $16.57 | $11.90 |
| 1987 | $4.90 | $9.63 | $9.25 | $8.17 |
| 1988 | $9.49 | $5.05 | $10.64 | $9.29 |
| 1989 | $7.50 | $5.70 | $9.06 | $9.63 |
| 1990 | $7.11 | $5.78 | $9.46 | $9.39 |
| 1991 | $6.99 | $8.13 | $5.40 | $9.00 |
| 1992 | $6.09 | $8.61 | $10.57 | $9.37 |
| 1993 | $21.80 | $14.30 | $16.69 | $16.35 |
| 1994 | $25.00 | $11.25 | $20.36 | $21.51 |
| 1995 | $27.98 | $30.00 | $46.00 | $37.17 |
| 1996 | $16.48 | $15.30 | $11.10 | $14.71 |
| 1997 | $60.55 | $48.15 | $64.97 | $57.22 |
| 1998 | $42.05 | $28.37 | $43.15 | $43.46 |
| 1999 | $18.49 | $30.20 | $16.48 | $19.45 |
| 2000 | $20.01 | $9.50 | $16.99 | $16.94 |
| 2001 | $57.75 | $50.51 | $30.85 | $42.65 |
| 2002 | $28.85 | $26.45 | $14.50 | $24.58 |
| 2003 | $32.61 | $26.57 | $30.50 | $33.89 |
| 2004 | $14.69 | $16.41 | $25.07 | $18.09 |
| 2005 | $15.18 | $20.78 | $27.65 | $22.94 |
| 2006 | $18.80 | $15.25 | $19.35 | $16.14 |
| 2007 | $12.47 | $11.20 | $14.29 | $15.16 |
| 2008 | $20.38 | $20.33 | $21.90 | $25.95 |
| 2009 | $43.34 | $33.56 | $39.80 | $38.90 |
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