Second of a series looking at all of the Hostess Cubs cards
The 1976 Hostess set has six Cubs. Of the six, four players were repeats from the '75 set and two players were new. I'll start with the new guys:
Ray Burris had just completed his first full season in the majors in 1975 and put up decent numbers, going 15-10 as a member of the starting rotation. In '76 he won the same 15 games, while dropping 13. He also lowered his ERA a full run, dropping to 3.11 from 4.12. Three more losses while giving up a run less per game; go figure.
Jerry Morales was the 1976 Cubs starting right fielder. An ankle injury in the middle season cost him a few weeks on the roster and also caused his numbers to drop. After leading the team in RBIs for two season, he knocked in only 67 in 1976.
The rest of the cards are of the repeats from '75
Jose Cardenal, still with the big fro, had a leg injury that ended his season in mid-September. He was hitting above .300 until the last two games he played in and ended up at .299.
Bill Madlock won his second consecutive batting title in 1976 in an exciting way. He came into the final game of the season trailing leader Ken Griffey by five points. Griffey was kept out of the lineup to protect his average. Madlock, however, had four hits and raised his average one point above Griffey. When word of that got to the Reds, Griffey was put into the game, but he went 0-2, dropping his average two points. Madlock ended up winning the title at .339, with Griffey second at .336. That exciting game was also Madlock's last as a Cub. His demands for a big raise fell on deaf ears and the Cubs traded him to the Giants the next spring.
Rick Monday...and yes, this is the real card! The highlight of Rick Monday's season was on April 25 in Los Angeles when he saved an American flag. This season was his last with the Cubs too, as he was traded to the Dodgers over the winter, with Bill Buckner coming to the Cubs.
Rick Reuschel; not Rickey anymore. Reuschel was a fixture in the 1976 Cubs rotation, and he posted a 14-12 record. His best game was on May 2, when he went 10 shut-out innings against the Giants at Wrigley, allowing only three hits. All that got him though, was a no-decision since the Cubs didn't score either. They did finally get a run in the 11th to win the game on Steve Swisher's two out single that knocked in Jerry Morales with the game's lone score.
If you'd like to see more from the 1976 Hostess set, MattR's Project Baseball 1976 blog has been working through the set.
Today's post is the first in a series of five. We'll be taking a look at some recent pickups--the Cubs from each of the Hostess issues from 1975 - 1979.
As a kid I never collected these. There were two reasons. First, in my mind Topps cards were the only ones. The Hostess cards were wannabees on the bottom of a Twinkee box, not worth my time. Secondly, we never, or rarely had Hostess products. Little Debbies were cheaper, so we had Little Debbies.
They came back on my radar about six months ago when I realized that the cards were produced by Topps. But they were still on the back burner until a couple weeks ago when a seller had lots of Cubs from each of the five years for auction. Among the five lots were 20 of the 30 Hostess Cubs. I figured if I could win all five, and get the shipping combined, then I would be in the Hostess Cubs business.
You can figure that if I've got these posts coming up, then I won the auctions. The best source for the other ten was Beckett Marketplace. I found nine of the ten (I'll have more about the missing card later) and placed an order. A week later, I was the proud owner of 29 Hostess Cubs.
There were six cards from each of the five years. Since the set had the stars of the team, among the 30 cards, there are only 13 different players. That's ok since they are of many of my favorites for the era.
Today I'll start with the six from 1975. The Cubs were a bad team that year, going 75-87 and tied for last place.
Don Kessinger was the last of the '69 Cubs to leave, and 1975 was his final with the team.
Bill Madlock had a great season in 1975, winning the NL batting title with a .354 average. Not bad for a guy Hostess labeled as a pitcher
Jose Cardenal's afro was at its peak. Look at it sticking out of his hat! Jose hit .317 and knocked in 68 runs in 1975
His given name is Rickey Eugene Reuschel, but no one except for the guy who made the card called him Rickey. Big Daddy had the worst season in his young career in 1975, going 11-17. But he looks pretty skinny on this card...I guess he wasn't Big Daddy yet.
Not only was his first name spelled wrong--Bert instead of Burt, but his last name is wrong too - Hooten instead of Hooton. Happy went 0-2 in three starts, getting rocked for a 8.18 ERA before the Cubs shipped him to the Dodgers. He turned things around in LA in a big way, winning 18 and losing only 7 with a low ERA of 2.82
Rick Monday was the Cubs center fielder. He was the Cubs center fielder and leadoff man. His 17 homers was more that you would expect from the top of the order.
Now a little about the Monday card; its a creation of mine, not Hostess. The 1975 Rick Monday card is the one that I'm missing. All my usual spots didn't have it....Ebay, Beckett, Checkoutmycards, Dean's Cards and Sportlots. I have no idea what the real card looks like. But I kinda like mine, with Monday signing for fans.
If anyone has a lead on where I can find this card, let me know. Otherwise, I'll keep checking the usuals every week until one finally pops up.
Back in the day, double headers were scheduled for holidays like the Fourth of July and Labor Day. And these were day time affairs, with two games for the price of one. Its a tradition that is long past. I wondered how long its been since the last Cubs Labor Day double header, so I checked my Cubs schedules.
The last time the Cubs played two on Labor Day was in 1972. They was on the road against the Mets at Shea. The Cubs were in their seventh week with new skipper Whitey Lockman, who took over on July 24 following the firing of Leo Durocher. The team was playing better, posting a 23-15 record. But it was too little, too late. Entering play on Labor Day, 1972, September 4, they were in second place, 12 games back of the Pirates. The Mets were in third place, two games back of the Cubs. The two teams would be playing for second place.
So how did the double header turn out?
Fergie Jenkins shut out the Mets in the first game 2-0. Home runs by Carmen Fanzone and Ron Santo were the only offense, as Jon Matlack pitched nearly as well as Fergie. The Cubs ace went the distance and struck out four as he picked up his 19th win of the season.
The Cubs failed to sweep, as the Mets took the nightcap 7-2. Veteran starter Juan Pizarro took the mound for the Cubs and he kept game was close through six, with the Mets clinging to a slim 2-1 lead. But Cubs reliever Jack Aker imploded in the 7th, giving up four, and the Mets tacked on another in the 8th. Gary Gentry went 8 for the Mets and Tug McGraw picked up a save. The save rule was different in 1972, and McGraw only needed to hold the lead to get a save. Under today's rules he wouldn't have earned one, since the tying run was never in the on deck circle.
When all was said and done, neither team put any distance between one another, and because the Pirates swept a double header against the Phillies, both teams dropped a game in the standings.
Here is my monthly look at complete set prices, taken from the first five completed sales listings on Ebay on September 1.
- There were a bunch of vintage sets sold, and their prices held pretty steady
- No one was buying recent sets. 2005 - three sets sold, 2004 - three sets sold, 2005 - one set sold, 2006 - two sets sold, 2007 - two sets sold
- Prices for the 2011 set took a dive, down to an average of $26.31 for the set. I knew I should have waited a month!
If you want to buy one of each, it will set you back $6,297.48, which was $400 more than last month.
| YEAR | Sept. 1 | Aug. 1 | July 1 | 12 Mo. Avg. |
| 1969 | $1,166.67 | $916.67 | $1,380.25 | $1,090.95 |
| 1970 | $1,177.51 | $869.50 | $767.67 | $934.04 |
| 1971 | $834.63 | $839.77 | $632.28 | $818.71 |
| 1972 | $990.50 | $941.30 | $918.06 | $938.42 |
| 1973 | $311.12 | $476.00 | $317.05 | $374.19 |
| 1974 | $227.53 | $199.08 | $233.87 | $240.48 |
| 1975 | $258.48 | $308.97 | $184.84 | $294.32 |
| 1976 | $181.44 | $159.30 | $139.47 | $172.08 |
| 1977 | $145.88 | $114.00 | $117.20 | $130.77 |
| 1978 | $103.25 | $92.53 | $103.79 | $97.39 |
| 1979 | $72.13 | $85.39 | $72.97 | $85.71 |
| 1980 | $66.64 | $63.81 | $50.06 | $65.40 |
| 1981 | $22.44 | $24.37 | $28.79 | $28.44 |
| 1982 | $33.65 | $43.30 | $30.66 | $32.69 |
| 1983 | $35.83 | $34.27 | $30.37 | $32.92 |
| 1984 | $20.02 | $20.45 | $26.99 | $23.56 |
| 1985 | $23.01 | $18.90 | $21.06 | $23.78 |
| 1986 | $14.95 | $13.61 | $8.66 | $14.10 |
| 1987 | $10.69 | $8.81 | $10.30 | $8.52 |
| 1988 | $6.31 | $9.30 | $8.37 | $8.23 |
| 1989 | $5.10 | $5.90 | $5.42 | $8.15 |
| 1990 | $7.14 | $9.49 | $11.09 | $8.91 |
| 1991 | $9.77 | $10.18 | $7.80 | $8.50 |
| 1992 | $10.75 | $10.49 | $9.45 | $9.98 |
| 1993 | $15.59 | $17.92 | $27.20 | $20.75 |
| 1994 | $23.68 | $20.51 | $27.11 | $23.02 |
| 1995 | $32.70 | $75.41 | $23.75 | $41.29 |
| 1996 | $18.56 | $12.91 | $29.98 | $20.94 |
| 1997 | $56.30 | $44.70 | $23.83 | $42.65 |
| 1998 | $47.71 | $30.25 | $46.99 | $42.08 |
| 1999 | $22.97 | $15.99 | $24.42 | $22.77 |
| 2000 | $18.71 | $27.33 | $16.80 | $17.80 |
| 2001 | $42.38 | $41.69 | $49.42 | $50.32 |
| 2002 | $20.21 | $53.69 | $33.53 | $38.25 |
| 2003 | $36.31 | $33.83 | $22.93 | $33.22 |
| 2004 | $32.48 | $24.49 | $27.19 | $25.03 |
| 2005 | $32.00 | $21.16 | $32.53 | $24.37 |
| 2006 | $20.00 | $19.62 | $31.51 | $20.70 |
| 2007 | $25.50 | $18.80 | $10.99 | $15.27 |
| 2008 | $25.25 | $21.00 | $42.01 | $23.08 |
| 2009 | $36.60 | $33.47 | $28.00 | $36.16 |
| 2010 | $28.80 | $26.80 | $33.78 | $36.16 |
| 2011 | $26.31 | $37.94 | $33.70 | $30.95
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Cubs closer Carlos Marmol has had his share of blown saves this year. He is currently leading the National League with eight (EDITED at 5:50 p.m.... Crap...I knew I should have posted this on a day the Cubs didn't play....Marmol just gave up a grand slam to Derrek Lee, for blown save #9). That's the bad news. The good news is that with even that many, he is a long way off of the major league record for blown saves, which is 14, held by four pitchers. Now comes the really interesting part. Two of the four record holders are in the Hall of Fame! Do you think you can name them?
First, here are the two non-Hall guys
Ron Davis, who blew 14 for the Twins in 1984 while saving 29
Bob Stanley, blew 14 for the 1983 Red Sox, to go along with 33 saves
And now the Hall of Famers....did you come up with your guess?
Rollie Fingers, with 14 blown saves and 20 saves for the A's in 1976. Fingers also posted a 13-11 record. That's a lot of decisions for a reliever.
The other Hall of Fame save blower is....
I thought I'd show a non-Topps card, the 1978 SSPC Bruce Sutter
....the Cubs own Bruce Sutter, who let the lead slip 14 time in 1978 to go along with 27 saves. And Sutter was on the All Star team in 1978 and picked up the win.
Did you guess right?
Shame on me! Its been three months since I last took a look at the T206 Cubs.
Outfielder Jimmy Sheckard has two cards in the set, the glove and no-glove versions. A 17-year veteran, Sheckard was with the Cubs from 1906-1912. His claim to fame is that he was the first player to lead the league in both stolen bases and home runs. Of course, doing it in 1903 meant that 9 homers led the league, and I wonder how many of those were inside the park, due to his speed?
Harry Steinfeldt is the answer to the trivia question, "Who was the other infielder for the Tinker-Evers-Chance Cubs?" Harry played third base, and in 1906, when the Cubs won 116 games, it was Steinfeldt who led the team and the league in hits and RBIs. He was a good fielder, but Steinfeldt to Evers to Chance just doesn't have the same ring to it!
Both Lineage and Gypsy Queen have a retro theme and both sets are full of players from the past. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the checklists of both sets to see exactly which retired players were included and how many ended up in both sets.
By my count there are a total of 108 different old-timer cards between the two sets. They represent 61 different players, which means several had cards in both sets, and some had multiple cards in the set.
Lineage only (14): Roberto Alomar, Luis Aparicio, Albert Belle, Bert Blyleven, Carlton Fisk, Whitey Ford, Monte Irvin, Fergie Jenkins, Willie McCovey, Joe Morgan, Eddie Murray, Tony Perez, Mike Schmidt, and John Smoltz
Gypsy Queen only (14): Gary Carter, Rollie Fingers, Tony Gwynn, Rogers Hornsby, Barry Larkin, Roger Maris, Christy Mattewson, Dale Murphy, Pee Wee Reese, Red Schoendienst, Bernie Williams, Dave Winfield, Cary Yastrzemski, and Robin Yount
In Both Sets (33): Hank Aaron, Johnny Bench, Roy Campanella, Ty Cobb, Andre Dawson, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, Bob Gibson, Reggie Jackson, Walter Johnson, Al Kaline, Sandy Koufax, Mickey Mantle, Johnny Mize, Thurman Munson, Stan Musial, Mel Ott, Jim Palmer, Cal Ripken, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Nolan Ryan, Ryne Sandberg, Tom Seaver, George Sisler, Ozzie Smith, Duke Snider, Tris Speaker, Frank Thomas, Honus Wagner, and Cy Young.
Out of the 61 players, only six are not in the Hall of Fame: Albert Belle, Barry Larkin, Roger Maris, Thurman Munson, Dale Murphy, and Bernie Williams.
Finally, the question needs to be asked: How often did Topps use the same picture of a player in both sets? Surprisingly, you have to give Topps some credit here. They only repeated pictures twice.
This one I can understand. After all, there probably isn't a large photo library of pictures of Johnny Mize with the Giants.
But these? Come on, Topps. I'll give you that these aren't the exact same....they are only about a quarter of a second off of each other. Surely you could have come up with another picture of Frank Thomas taking a swing. Just do a Google image search like the rest of us do when we make cards!
