2020 Cubs Convention Schedule

My Cubs schedule had a hole that took nine months to fill.  I had the schedule given out at the end of the 2019 season along with the official team schedule issued in March.  Missing was the Cubs Convention version, given out an the January event.

 

I didn't think I'd get one but finally saw one on eBay.  The same front was used on the regular version, with Darvish, Baez, and Rizzo... and no Bryant.

They Cubs never put out a copy of the 60-game schedule.  So for 2020, this is it.

It took a while to finish the 2020 collection and the 2021 collection is not off to a good start, either.  Even though the 2021 games and dates have been released, no 2021 schedule has been printed yet.  It's also very possible that there will be no Cubs Convention in January, so that would eliminate another schedule.  Stupid pandemic!

A Few More for the Billy Williams Allen and Ginter Rainbow

 Billy's Ginter rainbow has grown by three.

We start with the silver version of the base card, which are found in Hot Boxes.

 

I've got to show the backs of these two, since the fronts are identical to the base mini.  On the left is the A&G back card and on the right is the no number version of the A&G back.  The no number has a print run of 50, though it is not stamped.

I Fixed the Back

Thursday I showed how the back of Ernie's Archives card was messed up.  The autograph wasn't an autograph and his hometown was wrong.  I was a bit too busy to fix the card when I wrote the post, but got some time yesterday.

The autograph is a PSA certified signature of Ernie.  The hometown is now Chicago, which is where he was living when he died and where he will lie in perpetuity.  

Five Random Cubs Cards

 I've got 18,467 Cubs cards from 257 different brands listed on a spreadsheet. A random number generator picked five cards, one each from the past several decades.

1900s - 1970s: 1974 Topps #452 Gene Hiser  Hiser had the most playing time of his four-year career in 1974, playing in 100 games.  It did not go well, as he hit an anemic .174 with just one home run and six RBIs.

1980s: 1985 Topps #163 Dennis Eckersley That is a very weird looking angle!

1990s: 1995 Fleer Ultra #358 Shawon Dunston He looks ready to pounce on the next pitch and then fire a 100 mph fastball over to first base.

2000s: 2004 Bowman #27 Corey Patterson We had such high hopes for him!

2010s: 2010 Finest #98 Kosuke Fukudome  See the Patterson comment!

2020 Turn Back The Clock Ernie Banks August 4

 

Mr. Cub was the featured player in Topps'  Turn Back the Clock on August 4.  It was the second time Ernie was included in the set.  The card had a print run of 571, which was 106 cards behind the run of his other card.

And what did Ernie do on August 4?  He hit three home runs on that date in 1955, driving in seven runs, as the Cubs won a slugfest with the Pirates 11-10.  Do you suppose that the wind was blowing out?

Look Who Is In the Living Set

 Alec Mills threw a no-hitter before he had a Topps card showing him with the Cubs.  I doubt there are many other no-hit pitchers from the Topps era that can say they didn't have a card showing them with their team.

Topps made a Topps Now card for him the day after the no-no.  That was a no-brainer. 

He's got another Cubs card.

Topps put him in this weeks Living Set.  That is more of a head-scratcher move.  I thought the Living Set was for the big names.  Some hyped rookies have been included.  Mills is neither a big name or hyped rookie.  Maybe this is Topps way of making up for the lack of Mills cards in any of the other sets.

He Doesn't Live In Dallas

 I posted earlier about the disappointing signature font used on the backs of this year's 1974 Archives cards.

But if you look closely, you'll find another problem.

Check out what Topps has listed as Ernie's home.  He does not live in Dallas, Texas.  In fact, he hasn't made his home in Dallas since the mid-1950s.

If Topps was going for accuracy, his home town would be listed as Chicago.

Or more specifically, Graceland Cemetery in Chicago.