Wrigley Roster Jenga's Most Wanted

This past Sunday, I had the pleasure of taking in a card show with one of the blogosphere's premier personalities, Dimebox Nick.  The opportunity to meet up with a fellow blogger, dig through some boxes together, and talk cards is always a treat.  There will be a full wrap up of my experience at this monthly suburban show at some point in the next few days (in case you were worried); but, speaking of talking cards, there was something about the conversation that Nick and I had which has stuck with me over the last few days.

At some point in our pasteboard discussions, our topic of conversation turned to Nick's recent acquisition of his ultimate white whale card - Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm's rookie card, from Topps first Flagship release.  Spearing such a prodigious catch would make even Captain Ahab blush!  That's when Nick asked me, "If you could have any card in the world, what would it be?"  My answer was a blank stare and a slight stutter.  In other words - I had no freakin' clue.

This seems like something I should know - after all, there's no shortage of baseball cards that I desire.  But, as far as my ultimate chase, I could not put a pin in it.  Since that time, I've been mulling that question over in my head, almost non-stop.  If I could have any card in the world, what would it be?...  In the end,  I did what I always do when trying to work out a tricky prompt:  I made a list.

And now, since I could use some blogging fodder, I'm going to share "Wrigley Roster Jenga's Most Wanted" list with the blogging world.  Heck, maybe I'll get lucky and someone reading this exercise will have an extra of one or more of these bad boys laying around.  But, first, some parameters:

I limited the list to ten and tried to keep is focused on more "modern" product.  By that, what I really mean is cards from the "Topps-era" onward.  Otherwise, this list would be nothing but me daydreaming about tobacco cards and obscure regional issues from the first half of the 20th century and that would get to be quite dull.  With that in mind, I figured that 1952 through today made for a more reasonably attainable time period.

So, without any further ado, I present to you "Wrigley Roster Jenga's Most Wanted:"

#10 - 2003 Topps T205, #151 Dave Shean

Well, after all of that hullabaloo, I lead off the countdown with a reprint of a tobacco card anyway.  Ain't I a stinker?

In 2003, Topps re-imagined the iconic T205 set with modern players, in much the same way they continue to reuse old designs today (Archives, Heritage, etc.).  Also included in the product were a few, select reprints of original cards, one of which happened to be Dave Shean, who briefly appeared with the Cubs in 1911.  This card represents a relatively easy and affordable card of an obscure and antique player that I could use for my CATRC.

#9 TIE - Any Team-Issued Cards of Taylor Davis & Felix Pena

Felix Pena is a middle reliever who made his MLB debut last year and Taylor Davis is a fourth-string catcher who earned a September call-up last year.  Both appear to be little more than roster-filler, at this time, and do not have histories as big prospects.  As such, neither has any Bowman or other mainstream pre-rookie cards to their names - just team-issued oddballs.   Seeing as they don't figure to become big enough to break into the major sets, I'm guessing Iowa Cubs issues will be as close as it gets.

I'm not looking for a particular year for either, but any singles from the 2015-17 sets will do.  This duo represents the only players absent from my collection from the 1980's on; thus, they are a major black hole in my collection.

#8 - 1990 Target Dodgers, #714 Dick Scott

In all honesty, there's a great many cards that I am chasing from this (please feel free to help) set which encompasses the entire all-time roster of the Dodgers, through 1990.  There's been a lot of crossover between the Cubs and Dodgers rosters in their lengthy histories; therefore, this checklist makes for a great chance to fill in some obscure slots in my CATRC from the early days of baseball.  However, the card that stood out most from the pack, in my eyes, was Mr. Scott here.  Can you spot why?

Spoiler alert - it's because the photo that was chosen for this perforated beauty features Dick in a Cubs uniform and it's not hidden very well.  In fact, you can even see the corner of Wrigley's historic scoreboard in the background.  In my opinion, that actually makes this Dodgers card a Cubs card instead!

#7 - 1979 Diamond Greats, #112 Vern Olsen

In 1979, a collector by the name of Jack Wallin put together his own, retrospective set of baseball players from the past.  The cards appear to focus on men who played in the 1930-50's, without any further rules for inclusion.  While there many stars featured in this collector-issued set, the 400-count checklist left opportunities for plenty of obscure guys, like Vern Olsen above, to sneak in.

Olsen was a lefty hurler who who appeared in 112 Major League games for the Cubs (1939–1942; 1946).  Despite that fact, Vern never did appear on a baseball card, at least until Jack Wallin stepped in.  Thus, I have my target set on this oddball so that Mr. Olsen can take his rightful place in my CATRC binder.  Also, I'm not seeking out an autographed copy (like the image I pilfered), but I certainly wouldn't say no to one!

#6 - 1976 TCMA Chicago Cubs ('38), #12 Bob Garbark

TCMA were the among kings of oddball baseball cards in the 1970's, with ads for their specialized, mail-in sets populating the baseball card publications of the times.  Among the numerous special sets that they put out in their time was a collation which payed tribute the 1938 Chicago Cubs.  That team won the National League pennant, but was ultimately bested by the Detroit Tigers in the World Series.  But, seeing as pennant winners are so rare in Chi-Town, an honorary set still feels quite appropriate.

As with most sets of their sets which shine the spotlight on specific teams, TCMA really went the distance with their research.  All of the players who got into so much as a single game appear in the checklist, as well as a few coaches.  Thanks to that, I have an affordable card of backup backstop, Bob Garbark, to chase down.

#5 TIE - One Year Winners #28 Jim Ellis & #61 John Flavin

Speaking of oddball kings of the 70's, that conversation isn't complete without mentioning Larry Fritsch.   While he was selling his hand-collated sets of Topps cards in the periodicals, he was also putting together his own special trading card releases.  One of those products was a set which paid tribute to players who only saw one year of action in the Big Leagues - it was called One Year Winners and it was put out in three different, continuous series, with three different designs.

Seeing as this is a set built around shining the spotlight on the obscure, I've had to chase several of these down.  The only two remaining on my want list are Jim Ellis (1979 design) and John Flavin (1983).  Quick nitpick though - Ellis actually appeared in two different seasons, one each for the Cards ('69) and Cubs ('67).  Also, while Flavin's career was limited to only one year, that came with the Cubs in 1967 - this picture dates from at least four years prior, when he was a member of the Reds org.

#4 - 1981 TCMA Go-Go White Sox, #5 Jim McAnany

And were back to TCMA and they're going to take us through the next couple of bullet points on the list.  As you can see, they have been and will continue to be a boon to my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection.

Like the 1938 Cubs, the company also put out a team-specific set for the Northsiders' crosstown rivals in 1981.  For the White Sox, TCMA chose to feature the 1959 pennant-winning "Go-Go White Sox" in a blue bordered, black & white photograph collation.  Jim McAnany was the club's de facto starting right fielder that year and stayed with the club through the 1961 season, after which he punctuated his MLB career with a Cubbie cameo in '62.  As far as I can tell, this is Jim's only baseball card and singles from this set don't turn up too often.  In fact, I've never even seen Jim's single in person and the only scan I could find on all of the internet was the signed copy above.  Anybody have any leads?

#3 - 1979 TCMA Syracuse Chiefs, #10 Mike Sember

While TCMA was paying tribute to Major League teams of the past, they were also showcasing minor league teams of the present - they were the first company to mass produce minor league sets.   Thank goodness they did because their Syracuse Chiefs team set includes one of only two baseball cards issued under Mike Sember's name.  This one, with it's full-color and standard dimensions, is much more desirable than the team-issued photocard that the team released that same year... at least in my opinion.

Mike's professional baseball career ended with the Toronto Blue Jays AAA affiliate that season, but not before he sipped a couple of cups of coffee with the Cubbies in 1977 and '78.  All told, his MLB stat line consists of just 12 games, two hits, and one walk; nevertheless, I want/need that glorious mustache in my binder!

#2 - 1978 SSPC, #251 Mike Gordon

The people behind SSPC were the same minds behind TCMA, Tom Collier and Mike Aronstein.  While their TCMA-branded products focused on the days of yore, SSPC challenged Topps by shifting to the present and providing a rare alternative to the leading gum company's industry standard product.  Their no frills design, quality photography, and backs written by Keith Olbermann prove popular to this day.  But, did you know that SSPC had a second wave, released in 1978?

Released in "All Star Gallery" booklets, which focused on particular teams, SSPC had a second wind with pretty much the same product, but with an updated checklist.   Each booklet contained "27 full color photo fact cards" for the respective franchise.  For example, here's what the Cubs booklet looked like:

Of those 27 "photo fact cards," one featured a little-known, back-up catcher by the name of Mike Gordon.  No - not the guy from Phish.  This Mike Gordon was a teammate of Mike Sember on the Cubs of 1977-78; like his fellow Mike, Gordon only saw brief snippets of game action (12 games total).  Despite that small amount of MLB time, he was still able to sneak in SSPC's swan song, gazing off into the distance during batting practice.  Like so many in this countdown, this is his only baseball card on the market.

Now we've reached the moment of truth.  I've finally determined the answer to that question which Nick asked me three days ago -  "if I could have any card in the world, what would it be?"

Drum roll, please:

via GIPHY

Well... that's not exactly what I meant... but, I guess we'll roll with it.

via GIPHY

Okay - terrible puns aside, the number one card on my to-get list, right now, is:

#1 - 1967 Topps, #576 Ramon Hernandez/Norm Gigon

Ahhhhh... the dreaded high numbers of 1967.... the scourge of many a vintage set collector.

The third and final series of 1967 Topps pushed the final checklist for Flagship up to a then-record number of 609 cards.  Unfortunately, that same third series was short-printed, quite drastically enough to the point that even common cards sell for a premium today.  For example, the cheapest copy rookie card above, which features a journeyman reliever and barely-there "whosit" currently on Ebay is a whopping $70 BIN.  To follow up, the cheapest (and only) copy on COMC right now is priced at $210.  Needless to say, collecting a full set of 67's could lead to a mortgage.

Why is it I want this scarce single so badly - again, while both men eventually ended up playing for the Cubbies, this marks Norm Gigon's one and only appearance on a baseball card, whatsoever... and it had to be on a '67 high number. ☹

via GIPHY

My reaction if and when I ever track down a copy.

Gigon appeared in 34 contests with that 1967 Windy City ball club, batting an absolutely anemic .171 in 70 at bats.  Yet, his only baseball card will likely run me near triple digits - that's just not fair!  I just have my fingers crossed that I'll eventually come across one with a fatal flaw - creases, paper loss, tears, tape holding it together, what have you - that will lower Norm into my modest price range.  Until then, card #576 will remain the main objective in my great baseball card hunt.

Now, when fellow bloggers ask me at future card shows, I'll be prepared with a proper answer to the question.  Thank you, Nick, for making my brain do a little bit of work and for providing me with the jumping off point for a new blog post.  Here's where I challenge  you, the reader, to answer the same question and post what you come up with - "if I could have any card in the world, what would it be?"  You don't have to limit yourself in the way that I did or even do a full list.  Perhaps we could make this into a sort of blog bat-around, eh?  Personally, I'm curious to see what white whales are out there, just waiting to be speared.

Oh and if anyone has a lead on any of the cards that you see above, I know a guy who's interested!