I'm not going after all the inserts, but I do want to chase down all of the Cubs base cards. Among the legend variations, there was one Cubs player....
...this one here of Ernie Banks. Topps gives us a good look at Mr. Cub in 1969, taking a swing at Wrigley Field. It's a nice looking card; well done Topps.
Are there Platinum Diamond variations of the Legends? I don't think I've seen any, but it would be nice if there was. Otherwise, this is the only card that doesn't have a twin.
I don't know how much Topps has done this is the past, but the Banks card, #247, is a variation of Starlin Castro's card, also #247. I like the team (and position) symmetry. I looked at last year's cards, and only one of the three Cubs legends has the same number as an actual Cub: #US85 was both Castro and Andre Dawson; same team but not the same position.
I did a quick scan of the 2011 checklist and found a couple other symmetrical legends: #94: Paul Konerko and Frank Thomas #100 : Albert Pujols and Stan Musial #150: Miguel Cabrera and Hank Greenberg #293 Justin Morneau and Harmon Killebrew #315 David Ortiz and Jimmie Fox
I'd like Topps to make this rule: If you have a legends variation card, the card's number matches the number of the modern player of the same team and position as the legend.
One other thing about the Ernie Banks card: it is Ernie Banks card #99 in my collection. So I am on the lookout for a really nice card to get me into triple digits. If the price is right, I might go for an autographed card. Stay tuned.
About a month ago I was bemoaning the fact that so many of the Cubs pictures on 1970 cards were taken at Shea Stadium.
In 1971, it got worse. It got a lot worse!! The set has cards of 27 Cubs. Of those, 25 are from Shea! Ouch, that hurts!
Here are the only two non-Shea cards.
Hatless Hector Torres, who came to the Cubs during the offseason; hence the hatless card and no Shea.
and Ironman Billy Williams. Billy's card looks to be from Candlestick Park. I wonder why they missed him at Shea? It's not like he was ever injured or took a day off.
Here are all 25 of the Shea cards, starting with the "Show me your batting stance" pose.
These guys were told to put their bat on their shoulder (and Ernie Banks was told to try to catch some flies!)
The pitchers got to either begin their wind up.... ....finish the pitch... ...or just hold their glove. Somehow, these two were told to just stand there Leo is just standing there too, but his card is from a 1967 photo shoot
....and Hoyt Wilhelm was 47 years old and he got to do whatever the heck he wanted!
Like most of you, I like the Platinum Diamond Anniversary cards. As soon as cards started popping up on Ebay, I started scooping up the 11 Cubs. The last of the four arrived yesterday.
I thought it would look cool to show all of them as a group. Then you get to see all the sparkly sparkles all together.
This is an occasional series where I take a look at a Cubs player who had only one Topps card while with the Cubs. But today, I've also got some comments from the player featured, a Wrigley Wax first!
The picture on the card would have been taken July 8-9, 1969, his only trip to Shea during his time with the Cubs)
Today I'm featuring the one and done card of catcher Bill Heath. The Cubs purchased Heath's contract from the Dodgers prior to the 1969 season. Previously he had been with the Phillies, White Sox, Astros, Tigers, and Yankees organizations and had some big league time with the White Sox, Astros, and Tigers. Heath didn't make the team in spring training and spent the first month of the season in AAA before coming to the Cubs on May 10.
His role with the Cubs was back up catcher and occasional pinch hitter. Randy Hundley, the Cubs first string catcher, was someone who liked to play every day. In 1968 he set an MLB record by catching in 160 games. So Heath wasn't going to see much action. He did play in 27 games during the 1969 season. But it is his last game that was the most memorable.
On August 19 at Wrigley FIeld, Heath got the start behind the plate because Randy Hundley was nursing a bruised finger. Ken Holtzman was the Cubs starter and he was electric. Throwing mostly fastballs, through seven innings Holtzman had a no-hitter going against the powerful Atlanta Braves.
In the eighth inning, things got interesting. The Braves Gil Garrido hit a foul ball that nailed Heath on the index finger of his right hand. The finger was broken and Heath had to come out of the game. Imagine, a journeyman catcher behind the plate, catching the most memorable game of his career, and he has to come out of the game! The baseball gods were not smiling on Bill Heath that day. Third string catcher, Gene Oliver, who had been behind the plate only four games all season, would have to take over. The disruption didn't bother Holtzman, who kept firing away, and would record his no-hitter. This article from Baseball Digest tells the story for Holtzman's perspective.
In an even more ironic twist of fate, that game would also be Heath's final as a big leaguer. He didn't make the Cubs in 1970 and spent the season at AAA before hanging up his spikes.
After retiring from baseball, Heath entered the world of finance and that is where I found him today. Since I knew little about his playing career, I googled him and found the investment company he runs. There was a bio on him and an email address. I figured, what the heck, and sent him an email with some questions about his time with the Cubs.
A mere two days later, I got a response, a great response. He not only told me a little about his post-baseball career, but he answered, in detail, each of my questions. I was blown away by his generosity with his time.
Here are the contents of the email:
Hi Paul, Thanks for the query and I hope my answers below are insightful. For your information, after leaving baseball, I have had the good fortune of a very successful career in the financial advisory service business. During my baseball playing days, I received an accounting degree and worked off seasons for Haskins & Sells and Price Waterhouse public accounting firms. In 1972, I left the public accounting firms and started my own firm which is what run today. I will say that because of baseball, I have made infinitely more money than I did in baseball. I do owe a lot to professional baseball and try to give back today helping Major League Baseball Alumni. Please feel free to call me if you would like to visit. Have a Blessed Day, William C. Heath, CFP® Chairman & CEO Barrington Financial Advisors, nc.
Dear Mr. Heath, I hope it's alright to contact you via your professional email. My name is Paul Kosman and I write a blog on Cubs baseball cards called Wrigley Wax. I have an occasional feature called One And Done, where I write about players who had only one baseball card as a Cub. I'm writing a post on your Topps 1970 card and would love to hear anything you have to say about your time with the 1969 Cubs. What was Leo Durocher like as a manager?He gruff on the outside but was actually very soft inside. His grave management mistake in 1969 was to play the starters all season until in September when they were tired. He tried to use a bench that had not played all season and could not effectively contribute when the team needed to give the starters a rest.
You caught a Hall of Famer, Fergie Jenkins, and a no-hitter...how were those experiences? Yes, I caught Fergie and what a wonderful experience. He had the ability to put any pitch I called exactly where I wanted it. As to his ability to rise to the occasion, in San Diego after Randy Hundley hurt his had sliding into first base on a pickoff play, I was brought into the game to catch. We had San Diego shutout going into the late innings when they got the bases loaded with one out when I went to the mound and told Fergie that he was throwing a shutout but needed to really bear down to get the next outs. He certainly rose to the occasion. He struck out the next batter and popped up the third out preserving the shutout and the victory. (Here is the box score for that game)
The no-hitter that Ken Holtzman threw on August 19, 1969 was a master piece that I caught with Randy still hurt since it was against the Atlanta Braves and Phil Niekro. Atlanta was a powerful hitting offense with Hank Aaron and Ricko Carty. Billy Williams make a great catch against the wall in left on a ball Hank Aaron hit that was out of the park but the wind held it up and Billy made the catch against the Ivy wall. Also, Glenn Beckert made another great play at second stopping a possible hit keeping the no-hitter alive. The most unusual event occurred in the seventh inning when a foul tip hit my hand and broke my finger causing me to leave the game for the hospital to get the finger set in a cast. As you know, a no-hitter is an extremely psychological event and anything unusual could break the momentum. Changing catchers late in the game is one of those mental changes that can break the momentum. To Holtzman’s credit, he did not let it bother him as he completed the no-hitter game. The down side for me was it was the last game I played that year and in the big leagues. We questioned years later by the writer of “Cub Power” I commented that it was a time in my career that “Was the twilight of a mediocre career” The Cubs went into a downslide from that point to lose the National League race to the Mets and make the “Miracle Mets”. What a sad year for the Chicago Fans.
Any stories about the Cubs fans, especially the bleacher bums? My roommate, Dick Selma started the Bums from the bullpen when he would encourage them to yell which turned into the yellow work hats, etc. One night in St Louis after our win, he proceeded to march a band of Bleacher Bum Fans through our room when I was in bed. I had just had my hemorrhoids cut out that afternoon and was not feeling like celebrating. The next day Leo asked me to pinch hit against Nelson Briles and I hit a high hopper over his head and the second baseman fielded it in short center field and threw me out as I was struggling to run with my butt tapped up. Joe Torre, the first baseman asked Amalfitano the first base coach what was wrong with me. Joey told him and he almost fell down laughing. It would have been a sure hit as I could run very well for a catcher but with the luck of my career, what can I say. At the time I was hitting in the high 300’s and from there it went down. (Here is that game's box)
And if you don't answer any of the other questions, I'd really like to hear your answer to this: Were you with the team after you broke your finger, or were you sent home? If you were with the team, do you have an opinion as to what happened in late August and September? Yes, as I said above, it was Leo’s mismanagement of the bench. You may have noticed that managers since then use the whole bench all year.
Here's an interesting bit of trivia: The Cubs were 58-34 during your time on the active roster, and 15-25 when you were on the disabled list. Was your injury the reason for the team's collapse??!! I truly wish I could say that but I don’t think I had that kind of impact on the team. At that time in my career, I was one the few very smart catchers in the game and called very good games for my pitchers. I believe the record will show the no-hitter, shutouts and one-hitters produced during my very short time of playing as a Cub. From my rookie year in Houston with the Astros when I hit .301 it seemed I became a good catcher and a worse hitter. I think the hitting was a function of not getting to play more often. Batting practice is not enough to keep a big league hitter sharp. I wished we would have had batting cages.
I thank you for your time and look forward to hearing your responses. Sincerely, Paul Kosman Wrigley Wax
Thank you Bill Heath, for your time and responses!!
This card is the first autographed card I ever got. It was given to me several years ago by a teaching colleague of mine when she retired. For years, her husband and son went to Arizona to see spring training. They got Ryno to sign the card in Mesa. There is on card sticker here, but no authentication either. But I don't care; I know the signature is real.
Go to spring training is a dream vacation for me. Unfortunately, my school always takes the first week in April for spring break, which falls after spring training. And since I'm both principal and a part-time classroom teacher, I can't just take a week off in March to head to Mesa. So for now, Arizona is just a dream.
Have any of you attended spring training? Is it worth seeing, or should I just keep dreaming about it?
I knew that Topps reused his '67 picture for the '69 card. They did a lot of that with the '69 set.
But I never realized that Topps did it again in 1971 and 1972. I think the wild border and colors of the '72 set kept me from really looking close at the pictures on the cards. But not too long ago as I was paging through my 1970s binder, I saw the repeat. Topps did crop the '72 a little differently, so the repeat isn't as noticeable as the '67-'69 repeat. Plus, Topps did have an excuse: Hundley was injured for most of 1971. After missing most of April with a sprained knee, he came back in May, but ended up needing season-ending surgery. He played in only nine games, none in New York, so the Topps photographers missed him. Of course, you would think Topps would have had a few other photos of Randy laying around from other shoots that they could have used. But no, they took the easy way out and just reused the '71 picture.
After find the second repeat, I went through all of my Hundley cards to see if he was repeated any other times. Topps was off the hook...
...but the Pacific Legends set isn't. They used the same picture that Kelloggs used in 1970. The Kelloggs card is cropped much tighter, but if you look closely, you'll see that they are the same pictures.
This week's baseball flick is The Natural, the story of Roy Hobbs. Again I don't think I need to go into any depth in telling the story. Most baseball card collectors have probably seen the movie several times.
Set in 1939, the movie is about baseball phenom Roy Hobbs, who as a teenager was shot by a crazed woman as he was on his way to a major league tryout. Sixteen years later Hobbs returns to baseball for the last place New York Knights. His booming bat lead the Knights out of the cellar and on to the pennant.
Hobbs even got his own baseball card (though someone should tell the producers that they don't print sheets of single cards) Along the way, Hobbs reconnects with his true love, Iris, whom he left behind when he was shot. Hobbs hits a climactic, pennant winning home run in his last game, quitting because hit gunshot wound didn't completely heal.
The film makers did a nice job of capturing the feel of baseball in the 1930's. Buffalo's War Memorial Stadium was used as the Knights home park and it had a gritty, old-time look perfect for the movie. Redford was also very believable as a ballplayer, though he did look a bit old for the part; he was 46 when the movie was filmed.
The movie is fantasy, yet believable. And who doesn't love a happy ending? Actually, the author of the story the movie was based on doesn't; in the book, Roy strikes out instead of bashing a lights-blowing homer.
CUBS CONNECTIONS...
Wow, where to begin?? There are several of them....
**The story is loosely based on the shooting of major leaguer Eddie Waitkus. A Chicago girl named Ruth Ann Steinhagen developed a crush on the Cubs first baseman Eddie Waitkus. The crush turned into an obsession. When Waitkus was traded to the Phillies for the 1949 season, Ruth Ann couldn't deal with the fact that Eddie would be in Chicago for only 11 games. When he came to Chicago with the Phillies, Ruth Ann checked into the Phillies hotel. She got Waitkus to come to her room and she shot him. Though he nearly died, he recovered and played again the next season, instead of missing 16 years like Roy Hobbs. He was the NL Comeback Player of the Year in 1950.
**Young Roy Hobbs was shot in Chicago, there to try out for the Cubs.
**While on his way to Chicago, Roy meets up with "The Wammer," a character based on Babe Ruth. While batting against Hobbs, the Wammer calls his shot, ala Babe Ruth against the Cubs in the 1932 World Series.
**One of the climactic scenes in the movie takes place at Wrigley Field, as the Knights take on the Cubs and Roy again sees his old flame, Iris.
Clearly the scene was not filmed at Wrigley Field. A Buffalo high school stadium was used, with fake ivy planted on the wall to resemble Wrigley. And while the Cubs uniforms do look very old school, the producers got some of the details wrong.
You can see that the striping should have been blue, not red. The colors on the Cubs logo aren't correct. And the font on the numbers is not right, either. The Cubs use a unique font, and have used the same font since they first put numbers on their jerseys. It's a detail that many non-Cubs fans overlook, and for me, its the easiest way to determine how authentic a Cubs jersey is. Finally, the got the Cubs hat wrong. In 1939 the C on the Cubs hat was a wishbone C; they didn't start wearing a rounded C until 1957.
**The movie was released in 1984. That season was a magical year for the Cubs, who made the postseason for the first time since 1945. The best game of the season became known as "The Sandberg Game," which saw Ryno twice homer off of Bruce Sutter to tie the game. During the NBC broadcast, Bob Costas compared Sandberg to Roy Hobbs. After that game, Sandberg picked up the nickname "Kid Natural."
It was fun to spend a cold winter night watching some baseball fantasy, seeing the good guy triumph, and even seeing the Cubs.
