Monday, September 10, 2012

1971 Topps Merv Rettenmund - From a Different Perspective

In looking at some ebay auctions for Orioles photos, I came across this shot of Merv Rettenmund that looked very familiar:



While I can't say definitively, it sure looks like the picture above was taken just a second or two before the picture that was used on Merv's 1971 Topps card from a slightly different angle:


The one thing in the photo that makes me think its the same play is the fact that the way Merv is wearing his stirrups appear to be identical.  On his right leg, part of the black stripe is showing in the front, but not in the back in both photos.  On the left leg, just a small part of the black stripe appears in both shots.  In both photos Yankees 3rd baseman Jerry Kenney has his sunglasses glasses flipped up.  Hardly conclusive evidence, but enough to make me think its the same play.

In trying to pinpoint the game where these photos were taken, I believe it would have been August 9, 1970 at Yankee Stadium.  In the 7th inning, Rettenmund led off the inning with a double, then went to 3rd on a ground ball hit by Andy Etchebarren, and later scored on a single by Mark Belanger.  In looking at the scoreboard behind Merv, you can see a 1 for the visiting team.  The Orioles did score 1 run in the first and the Yankees did not score until the 7th, so the scoreboard appears to confirm that this is the correct game.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

NEW FLEER DISCOVERY! - Fleer Stick-ees

I've recently come across a previously undocumented Fleer offering from the early 1970's - plastic team logo stickers that Fleer sold as Stick-ees:


Each pack contained 1 plastic logo sticker which appears to be about the same shape and size as the baseball team logo magnets


that were sold with magnetic standings boards:


Here is a shot of the back of the wrapper:


Its interesting to note that gum was not included in the pack.

The seller who had this item up for auction also had the box that they came in:



Based on the font used on the box, I am going to guess they were issued around 1974 as the all lowercase "baseball" on the box is identical to the 1974 Fleer Cloth Baseball Patches box and wrappers:





Since these aren't cards or stickers, but rather plastic logos, its not surprising that they don't show up listed in any price guides.  However, in all the years I've spent looking for Fleer items, this is the first time I've ever come across this item.

Perhaps it was a test issue that was only done in a few markets.  The only team the seller had was the Red Sox (for which he had 10 unopened packs), so its not clear if only certain teams were available, or if the person who originally had this liked the Red Sox and kept those and stuck or sold the rest.

If anyone has any information on these, or remembers buying these back in the 1970's, I'd like to hear from you.