More Laughlin Cartoons From Sports Collectors News - The Collectors

Here is the 2nd batch of cartoons that Dave from The Topps Archives sent from his research of old issues of Sports Collector's News from the mid 1970's:

Thanks again to Dave for sharing these.

Laughlin Cartoons From Sports Collectors News - The Collectors

I recently received a large amount of material from Dave (from the fantastic blog The Topps Archives and author of The Modern Hobby Guide to Topps Chewing Gum: 1938 - 1956) related to RG (Bob) Laughlin.

David has been going through old issues of Sports Collectors News from the mid 1970s, and has found a number of interesting items, including reviews of some of Laughlin's various card sets, ads for his cards and his newsletter "Inside Pitch", and a cartoon series that he did called "The Collectors."

I'd like to start off sharing some of the cartoons that David sent:

Back in the days when kids still flipped cards

This really brings back memories - How I used to enjoy going to the grocery store and checking out all the Hostess boxes for cards that I didn't have

A nice twist on the story of mom throwing out the baseball cards

I will be sharing more of the items that Dave sent over the next few posts.  I'd like to say Thanks! to Dave for passing along all these great scans.

1972 JC Penney Catalog with NFL Wrapper

I recently came across an interesting item on ebay that I had never seen before - a 1972 JC Penney Fall / Winter catalog with a wrapper featuring an offer for ordering NFL helmets:

 

According to what is written on the wrapper, it appears that this catalog was received on June 18, 1972:

 

It is interesting that the football that came with the helmet was red, white, and blue, as this would be more appropriate for an ABA basketball than an NFL football.

Here is a look at the catalog inside the wrapper:

As I covered in one of my earliest posts on this blog, the NFL did a much better job marketing to kids through merchandising than any of the other major sports, and this wrapper provides a great example.  Knowing that kids would be on the lookout for catalogs to see what kinds of things they could put on their Christmas wish list, including a NFL helmet offer on the wrapper for the catalog was one more way that the NFL was developing brand loyalty with their future customers.

1955 Post Sugar Crisp Cereal Commercial Featuring Ted Williams and Baseball Patches

I recently came across this great commercial for Post Sugar Crisp cereal from 1955 with spokesman Ted Williams talking about the the baseball team logo patches, and demonstrating how you can apply them:

For a detailed look at the 1955 Post Sugar Crisp cereal baseball patches including the never issued Kansas City A's patch, please take a look at my earlier post showing an uncut sheet of the patches.

A Very Busy Day for the Topps Photographer - May 28, 1972

A post on the great blog When Topps Had (Base) Balls! about the 1973 Gerry Moses card got me to thinking about the number of pictures in that set that show the Orioles playing at Memorial Stadium.  After looking through the set, I realized that there are a number of Orioles and Indians cards that appear to have been taken at the same game.  Doing some research on Baseball Reference.com, it looks like 11 different cards in the 1973 set came from a Sunday afternoon game played at Memorial Stadium on May 28, 1972. 

Two of the cards that clearly show this is a game between the Orioles and Indians involve Jack Brohamer.  In fact, I think both of these cards are from the same play:

In the top of the 3rd, Brohamer singled, and then was out on a double play on a ball hit to 2nd.  Jack's card shows him getting tagged out by 2nd baseman Bobby Grich.  I think the Mark Belanger card shows a photo of Brohamer at the conclusion of the play coming into 2nd, and Belanger jumping out of the way.

 

Brohamer did steal 2nd earlier in the game, but given that he isn't sliding, and Belanger isn't trying to make a tag, I don't think this card shows that steal.

In addition to the appearance on Brohamer's card, Grich's card also shows him at Memorial Stadium catching a infield popup.  Frank Duffy hit a popup to 2nd in the 2nd inning, and Tom McGraw popped up to 2nd in the 8th, so this card likely shows one of those 2 plays.

On the Gerry Moses card which started me on my search,  we can see an Oriole sliding in to home behind him.  The Oriole appears to be Mark Belanger, who wore # 7.  Gerry was traded along with Graig Nettles to the Yankees on November 27, 1972, which is why his cap has been airbrushed, and why his card lists him on the Yankees.

Belanger scored on a sac fly by Bobby Grich in the bottom of the 4th.  

Speaking of Graig Nettles, his picture was also taken at this game, and he received a rather poor airbrush job to show him as a Yankee:

These next 3 cards all show the same background as the Gerry Moses and Graig Nettles cards, so presumably they were all taken the same day as well:

 

 

We have one more card showing the Indians and the Orioles from this game.  Frank Duffy's card shows him making a play at 2nd with an unidentifiable Oriole sliding headfirst into the bag.  If I had to guess, I would say the Oriole is Don Baylor who was out at 2nd on a ground ball hit by Boog Powell to the 2nd baseman who threw to the shortstop to get the forceout.

Jim Palmer's 1973 card shows him pitching at Memorial Stadium.  While there is nothing to confirm that this was taken against the Indians, Jim did pitch a complete game against the Indians on May 28, and got the win 5 - 1.  Given all the other pictures that seem to be from this game, I would say the Palmer card is from that game as well.

And finally, we have Brooks Robinson.  While there is nothing in the photo to confirm that this great photo was taken during the same game, given that all of the other Orioles cards that show an action shot appear to be from this game, I think it is a safe bet to say this picture was taken the same day.

I'm not sure what the record might be for number of game used photos from a single game being used in 1 set, but having possibly 11 cards from the 1973 set coming from one game is pretty impressive!

Rare Padres Cap Pics from The Topps Vault

As I was checking out the latest negatives up for auction from The Topps Vault, I came across two new pictures showing the short-lived 1972 Padres wide-spanning yellow panel:

That is a whole lot of yellow!  The player in both pictures is Al Severinsen.

According to a story a few years back by Paul Lukas on his amazing Uni Watch site, these caps were only worn for Sunday home games during the 1972 season, which helps explain why there aren't that many pictures showing this unique cap.

Even though this was apparently only a "Sunday Special", the design does show up in a couple of other interesting places.  Here is a picture of the Padres Bullpen Buggy, and its got the wide-spanning panel on the cap:

 

And finally, here is a 7-11 Slurpee Cup featuring Leron Lee, who is shown sporting the wide-spanning panel cap:

What is Going On Here?

In looking over some negatives that The Topps Vault has up for auction, I came across this interesting shot of Willie McGee:

There are a number of rather strange things going on in this picture.

First, the mismatched uniform with the white home jersey and the blue road pants.   I've never seen the Cardinals wear this combination before.  I know its just Spring Training, but still this is a very strange look.  We can tell that this was just not a case of Willie being mixed up with what to wear since the other player in the picture also has the same combination.

Speaking of which - it looks like the other player is passed out or has been knocked unconscious!
 

What in the world happened to this guy?  Did he have a few too many the night before, or did Willie just take him out with his bat?


Finally, take a look at Willie's cap.  Lets take a closer look at what has been written:

It looks like Willie is keeping track of his stats on the underside of the brim of his cap, or perhaps those are his goals for the upcoming season.  It looks like he is shooting for 100 runs and 50 stolen bases.

Topps says the negative is from 1986.  If that is the case, then this picture would have made a much more fun choice than this:

UPDATE:

Thanks to madding from Cards on Cards for pointing out that Willie can also be seen wearing what appears to be this same cap on his 1985 Fleer card:

As this looks to be the same cap, it would appear that the picture that Topps indicated from 1986 is more likely from Spring Training 1984.

Thanks also to Paul Lukas from Uni Watch for providing the complete rundown of what is written on the cap.  According to Paul, "The stuff written on his underbrim is his uni number (51) plus his statistical goals for the year: a .320 batting average, 100 runs, 50 SBs, 15 HRs and 80 RBI." 

1968 Topps Test Cloth Football Patches Wax Box

Recently an item came up for auction that I thought I'd never see - a 1968 Topps Test Real Cloth Football  Patches wax box:

Up until now, the only picture of the box I had seen was the proof sheet that had been offered for sale by the Topps Vault, which I included in my review of the set back in 2010.

Given how scarce this test issue was, I didn't think I would ever see a wax box, so I was very pleased to see the seller posted a number of pictures of the box:

This is one of my favorite Topps test sets, with the colorful team patches and the oversized team cards,

but unfortunately it was done on such a limited basis that the cards and patches are very hard to find, and therefore very expensive.

To give collectors a chance to put together a modern version of this set, I think it would be a great idea for Topps to incorporate this set into next years Archives Football release.  Just as they did this year honoring the 1971 Topps Greatest Moments (my other favorite test set) in this year's Baseball Archives set,

they could make the team cards box toppers (as they are the same size as the Greatest Moments), and include the cloth team patches a an insert set.  Are you listenting Topps?

1988 Fleer NFL Team Action Football Sticker Red Strip Variations

Since my original post on the 1988 Fleer NFL Team Action Football Stickers a few years ago, a few more sticker variations from the set have been discovered. 

The 1988 stickers have the team name on the top which has a completely white background.  However, a few teams can be found where there is a red strip across the top.  While at first it may appear that this is just the result of a miscut sticker, if you take a closer look, you can see that the more common solid white top has a larger white space compared to the sticker with the red strip:

With the help of fellow Fleer collector Albert who has passed along information on some of the variations he has come across, it now appears that there are 12 stickers which can be found with the red strip at the top.

Both Colts variations (with the team name in small letters / large letters) have the red strip

and there are 2 different versions of the Seahawks sticker - one with the Peel arrows in black as normal, and another where the Peel arrows are almost while (as it appears the black did not print).   Here is a closer look at the Seahawks variations:

While this might just be a printing flaw, I am listing is as a variation as I've come across multiple versions of both stickers, which leads me to believe the Seahawks sticker with the red strip was likely double printed on the sheet, and one of the stickers had the normal Peel arrow, and the other sticker had the white variation.   I guess we'll have to wait until an uncut sheet surfaces to confirm.

If anyone is aware of any other stickers from this set having the red strip at the top, I'd appreciate hearing from you.

One Thing You WON'T See at Fenway Park for Game 6

With news that World Series Game 6 tickets are going for record amounts, it made me think of a picture I recently found showing fans sitting on top of a billboard behind Fenway Park during the 1967 World Series between the Red Sox and Cardinals:

 

These fans didn't have to worry about shelling out over $1,800 per ticket to see the RedSox, which is apparently what tickets are now selling for.  They just climbed up on to the billboard and watched for free!

Here is a closer look at those up on the billboard.  It seems someone brought a banner to hang up on the sign as well:

I would think it would be a bit dangerous hanging out on top of a billboard with a large group of people, especially for those on the top of the sign with a leg draped over the edge.

Times have certainly changed in the 46 years since the 1967 World Series, and Fenway Park has undergone a number of changes during that time as well.  However, there is still a billboard behind centerfield, but it now advertises Majestic instead of Old Grand-Dad as seen in the top right hand corner of the picture below:

Today, you would get arrested for climbing up on the billboard to watch the game.  Besides, even if you could find a way to get up there, your view would now be partially blocked by the Bank of America scoreboard:

Looking at the picture from 1967 with the bright blue sky, it makes me wish that they would play at least one game each Series during the day just so we could enjoy one game under the sun instead of under the lights.