Thursday, November 1, 2012

The Tennessee Waltz

I'm no dancer, so I don't have a clue on how to do the Tennessee Waltz.

But I do know the tune because of....


....Jim Hickman.  A native of Henning, Tennessee, every time he stepped to the plate at Wrigley Field organist Frank Pellico would play a couple lines of the song.

Hickman was an unheralded  but important part of the Cubs teams of the early '70s.  He had the best years of his career with the Cubs and made the All Star team in 1970.  It was his hit that sent Pete Rose home with the winning run and famous collision with Ray Fosse.

As far as I know, this card is the only solo signature card of Jim Hickman.  I've been looking for one for a while but they don't show up very often.  There's been a BIN sitting on Ebay at $30 for quite a while, but at that price, it's going to sit there for a while longer.  My card showed up as a BIN at 1/3 the price of the other.  I waited a day or so and then pulled the trigger.

And now, enjoy Miss Patti Page, with the 1950 #1 hit, The Tennessee Waltz.  (Sony wouldn't let me embed the video, so you'll have to click the link.)

4 comments:

  1. I was glad to add that one to my 69 Cubs auto collection as well. Of all the every day players there's still one that has no certified autos. I bet you know who. There's also a pitcher.

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    1. I'd guess the position player is Don Young, though I haven't seen a Glenn Beckert certified (but I'm assuming there must be one of him, a four-time all star). The pitcher, would that be Bill Hands?

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    2. I was thinking of Ron Santo's roomie, Glenn Beckert who was a four time All-Star. There are no certified autos that I know of, though his DP partner Don Kessinger does have one in the All-Time Fan Favorites set. And yes, I was thinking of Bill Hands. He won 20 games in 1969. I do have non-certified autos of Beckert and Hands. The Beckert looks legit and who in the world would fake a Bill Hands autograph?

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  2. Jim Hickman was one of my favorite Cubs of that era. Nice to think about him again, now.

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