Throwin' It Back

For those of you who are active on other forms social media, you might know that today is #ThrowbackThursday.  For those who do not engage on Twitter, Facebook, or the like, Thursday is the chosen day upon which people traditionally post old pictures of themselves, friends, places, etc. in a show of widespread nostalgia.  Why is this done on Thursdays?  Probably just because the alliterative #ThrowbackThursday makes for a perfectly hashtaggable and marketable saying to affix to said posts.  There's usually not a lot of depth to social media discourse, after all.

In honor of the weekly "holiday," today, I've decided to throw it back a bit on Wrigley Roster Jenga.  In fact, I'm going to throw it back about as far as is possible when it comes to Chicago Cubs baseball cards.  As evidenced by my earlier post about the curious case of Bug Holliday, I've been on an 18th century baseball kick.  With that in mind, let's take a look at the proverbial "baby pictures' of the Chicago Cubs franchise by examining the cards of the very first team to fill out a National League lineup, shall we?

Although the history of Major League Baseball and the Chicago franchise does extend beyond the founding of the NL in 1876, it was upon the league's start-up that baseball, as we know it today, began in earnest.  In fact, it was the Chicago owner, William Hulbert, who founded the league after the old National Association proved to be disorganized and susceptible to gambling.  Of course, Hulbert's Chicago White Stockings, as the Cubs were then known, were among the original eight teams to take the field.  The entry was managed by one Al Spalding:

You might know his name best for the sporting goods company he founded in Chicago that same year.  But, before he became a shrewd and successful businessman, Spalding was an inaugural Hall of Fame hurler for the old Boston Red Stockings and the White Stockings.

In addition to calling the shots, Spalding was the main man to step into the pitcher's box for the Chicagoans during the 1876 season, leading the circuit with 47 wins to go along with a 1.75 ERA in 528.2 innings pitched.... obviously, it was a different time!  Additionally, Spalding tossed the first shutout in National League history, against Louisville on 4/25.  Al is represented in my CATRC binder by this SSPC Baseball Immortals single (the set was continuously produced from 1980-87).

Spalding was not the only Hall of Fame, baseball pioneer on the roster that season - one of Albert's charges included...

Adrian "Cap" Anson manned third base for the first National League edition of the Chicago White Stockings.  Anson is often cited as one of baseball's first true superstars, becoming the first member of the 3,000 hit club.  He would eventually take over the reigns as a player-manager and held that duel role through the 1897 - his influence on the team being so great that they were rebranded as the Orphans after his retirement.  Anson is repped by this Old Style-sponsored team-issue from 1992.

Anyway, before all of that, Anson debuted with the Chicago team by batting .356, good for second best on the team, while also driving in 59 runs (tied for the team lead), and smashing two homers (again, tied for the team lead).  All in all, it was a great start to a beautiful, long-term relationship.

Filling out the rest of the infield were...

Ross Barnes at second base, Cal McVey at first base, and John Peters at shortstop.  Unfortunately, Peters does not appear to have a single baseball card to his name.  On the bright side, Barnes and McVey are not so unlucky and show up in my CATRC, courtesy of 2011 TriStar Obak and the over-sized 1976 Bob Parker More Baseball Cartoons. 

Both of these cards contain some fascinating trivia.  For example,, as the front of the Obak single notates, Barnes was the very first person to crack a home run in National League history.  This came in the Stockings' second game of the season (5/2), at Cincinnati, and was of the inside-the-park variety.  Ross was an offensive juggernaut in that first season, leading the league in batting average (.429), hits, extra base hits, and runs.  Sadly, Barnes would take ill in 1877 and would never again match that offensive production.

Artist Bob Parker's cartoonization of Cal McVey includes quite a bit of information on the front.  The versatile player would appear all over the diamond in his career, but stuck mostly to first in '76.  McVey was also good with the bat and would twice knock 18 hits in a four-game stretch that year.

John Peters had been the regular shortstop for Chicago since 1874, during their days in the old National Association.  Like most of the 1876 Cubs, be swung a potent stick, batting .351 in 66 games.  Unfortunately, like I mentioned earlier, his 11 year Major League Baseball career (5 spent with the White Stockings) was never commemorated on cardboard and his lot will remain vacant in my CATRC binder for the time being - such is the peril of building an all-time roster collection around such an ancient franchise.

However, most of the Chicago starting outfield were much more fortunate than Mr. Peters, at least in that regard:

We've already seen TriStar Obak represented in this #Throwback - which, this time, showcases Bob Addy, who is credited with having introduced the slide to our national pastime.  Back in 1866, while playing with the amateur Rockford Forest City Baseball Club, Addy evaded a tag by sliding and a key element of the game was born.  Ten years later, the Civil War veteran was still playing, this time as half of a right field platoon for another Illinois-based nine, the Chicago White Stockings.  The innovator posted a .282 batting average in 32 contests, which seems fair; but, in that high-scoring, poorly-defended era, Bob brought up the rear on the Chicago club.  After one more season of National League play (with Cincinatti), Addy would call it a career.

Splitting time in right with Addy that year was another veteran of both baseball and war, Oscar Bielaski.  Oscar learned the game from his time spent serving with the Union Army and he would eventually become the first Polish-American to record his name in baseball's record books.  However, by the time he brought his talents to Chicago in 1875, Oscar's playing career was nearly over.  During his final year of 1876, Oscar batted a paltry .209 while splitting time in right with Addy, before returning home to Washington, D.C., where a stable career as a clerk in the auditor's office at the Navy Yard awaited him.  Fun fact - his son, A. Bruce Bielaski, would go on to become the head of the FBI.

To my knowledge, the Polish sports hero has never been properly honored with a mainstream trading card; thankfully, Gary Cieradkowski - published author and proprietor of the Infinite Baseball Card Set - has filled the gap.  If you haven't acquired any of Gary's work or followed his blog, I highly recommend you do so - the cards are of high quality and I've learned quite a bit about the sport from his writing.

This is the first time that the Origins of Baseball boxset, produced by American Archives in 1994, has made an appearance in this post.  The antiquated-looking cards showcased baseball's pioneers and key moments in the development of the national game.  Luckily for me, Paul Hines - the regular centerfielder in the Windy City - made the checklist.

Hines had been in town since the '74 season, the club's first since re-organizing after the Great Chicago Fire.  The 21-year old batted .331 in that first NL season, tying with Anson for the team lead in homers (with two) and driving in 59 runs in 64 games.  During the first five NL seasons, from 1876 through 1880, Hines had more base hits than any other player.  He also believed that protective equipment signaled the end of the game, once stopping on the base paths to smash the opposing catcher's mask; he was a colorful character.

Missing from the outfield equation is John Glenn... no, not the guy that went to the moon and there is no relation.  The White Stockings' everyday left fielder, like the aforementioned John Peters, has never appeared on a baseball card... at least to Beckett's knowledge.  'Tis a shame.  Maybe I should just get a card of the astronaut and call it close enough?

For his part, Glenn contributed a .304 batting average and 12 walks (second on the club) - not "out of this world," but helpful.  He played in the Second City from 1874-77.

Finally, we've covered the pitcher's box, the infield, and the outfield... what about behind the dish?  The man who served as the catcher for the Stockings of White had a very appropriate name:

Deacon WHITE of the WHITE Stockings on a WHITE-bordered Old Judge reprint - that's just too perfect.

White was actually contracted to join the Cubs for the very first season, in 1870, but got cold feet and jumped before play began.  He eventually rectified this psych-out by coming back for the 1876 season, in what would be his only year in Chicago.  All he did was lead the circuit in RBI, with an eye-popping 60 throughout the 66-game schedule, before jumping to the Boston Red Stockings, who are better known today as the Atlanta Braves.

Finally, utility-man Fred Andrus cameo-ed in eight games with the team, as a catch-all.  Bizarrely, Andrus would only appear in two MLB seasons (both with the Stockings) - 1876 and 1884 - with almost no other pro baseball experience.  Seeing as Fred was employed by the Spalding Sporting Goods Co., it's thought that it was this connection that brought him to the diamond.

While I don't have a card of him, strangely enough, Andrus does have a baseball card to his name, despite the odd circumstances surrounding his career, while Peters and Glenn do not.  Of course, it's an incredibly rare CDV from the 1870's, of which only one is known to exist; so, I suppose that's essentially the same as not having one.  However, he does also make an appearance in the checklist of Ars Longa's Mort's Reserve series; so, there is one attainable option out there.  I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for it's next release.

With that, we've reviewed the entirety of the line-up for the 1876 Chicago White Stockings - the very first edition of the club to take the field in National League play.  This powerhouse of a team would go on to post a dominating 52-14 record and take the inaugural pennant flag by six games over second place Hartford.  That's right - Hartford, Connecticut once had a Major League Baseball team.  This kicked off a dynastic period for the Chicago team, as they would win six of the first eleven league championships - far off from the "Lovable Loser" image that would later be attached to the club.  Perhaps they should have stuck with the White Stockings name?

Of the 11 men who appeared on the diamond for the team, I have cards featuring eight of them - not bad, considering the team in question is 141 years old, as of this writing. 

I've long been fascinated by the early days of our national pastime and my favorite baseball team; thus, this is a post I've long been meaning to draft.  In the future, I would love to bang out a post or two about the team's pre-NL days; however, my cardboard stocks are pretty dry for that era of team history.  Maybe someday...  For now, this is as far as I can throw it back for #ThrowbackThursday.  At any rate, I hope you found at least some of this vanity project to be a tad bit interesting.

It's got to be a least somewhat more intriguing than your friend's old pictures from high school parties or your aunt's baby pictures, right?  Less embarrassing, anyway.

#ThrowbackThursday - Little Big Leaguers

For the past few weeks, I've been using the popular social media phenomenon known as #ThrowbackThursday as an excuse to post a series of retrospectives on Cubs players' younger days.  Yes - I have way too much time on my hands.

We kicked this series off by looking at their minor league cards, followed by a look back at cards from their time in in the collegiate ranks and, most recently, digging up some cards from their varsity blues days in high school.  Thus, the natural progression leads us back even further, to a time when they were just beginning to learn how to play America's pastime; I, of course, am speaking about Little League.

Yes, believe it or not, I was actually able to track down some cards that go this far back into their family archives.  Is it creepy for a grown man to posses mass-produced pictures from a celebrity's era of innocence?  Maybe... but, that's not the point.

Can you guess who this "little hotshot" is?  I'll give you some hints:

1.  He's one in a long-line of above-average Cubs first-basemen.
2.  Currently, he is serving on the coaching staff of the AZ D'Backs.
3.  He lead all of Major League Baseball in hits in the decade of the 90's.

The answer, of course, is:

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

....Mark Grace.  Look at him, already bringing home the big hardware at such a young age.  I found this Triple Play single at a garage sale held at Wrigley Field, shortly after the original bleacher restoration project.  It was quite the productive trip, netting me a brick from the bleacher structure, the card you see above and a whole bunch of team issued oddballs, including a set that I don't think was ever actually issued (you can see an example, courtesy of Gary Matthews, Jr., here).

Anyway, I'm going off on a tangent; back to the subject at hand:

Here is a much less prominent player in baseball/Cubs history.  I'm sure Jason was a star on his Little League club; but, in the Major Leagues, he was just one of several arms brought in to soak up innings during the darkest days of Theo's rebuild.

After being claimed on waivers in September of 2012, Berken made 4 starts, going 0-3 with a 4.82 ERA in 18.2 innings.  For his entire career, his marks are 10-20 with a 5.36 ERA; yikes.  

Look at that youthful enthusiasm, before he knew he'd be used to eat up garbage innings as a profession.

Here we have a much more prominent player/manager in the sport's history, way back when he was just a scraggly haired, little rascal.  It's hard to imagine the haggard and cantankerous former manager of the Cubs as such a young lad - it does not compute.

However, thanks to the best subset in one of the blogosphere's all-time favorite sets (every time I see a '72, I immediately think of the Night Owl), we know that "Sweet Lou" wasn't born a cranky, elder-statesman.  

You learn something new every day, huh?

Anyway, I have one more card to showcase before I close this thing out:

Who's this superstar from 1995?  Wait a minute....  I recognize that toothless grin...

That's the proprietor of this very blog, me, during my days of playing T-Ball with the Midlothian Tigers.  Seeing as how I spent most of those days picking dandelions in the outfield and practicing my cartwheels, it's pretty amazing that they got me to stare straight at the camera long enough to get a usable shot.

With that, I've exhausted my stash of Little League of baseball cards.

Additionally, unless I discover a set of cards that use famous baseball players baby pictures, I think I've reached the end of the line with this weekly feature.  I hope it was at least mildly entertaining to see prominent athletes at much earlier stages of their development.  I know I find such cards to be fairly fascinating.

I'll have to come up with a new concept for #ThrowbackThursday for next week - the social media gods demand it.

Later, kiddos!

#ThrowbackThursday - High School Never Ends

For the past few weeks, I've been using the popular social media phenomenon known as #ThrowbackThursday as an excuse to post a series of retrospectives on Cubs players younger days.  We kicked the series off by looking at their minor league cards, followed by a look back at cards from their time in in the collegiate ranks.  Thus, the natural progression leads us back even further, to the time many a burnout would declare their "glory days"

I, of course, am talking about their time spent in high school - the days of honors biology, awkward parties and attempting to bribe creepy old men to purchase alcohol for them.  Ahhhh, good times, good times.

That said, I'm sure none of these guys know anything about that... nothing at all...  Anyway, here are some cards that feature future Cubs in the uniform of their varsity nine:

I'm just going to go ahead and acknowledge the elephant in the room and state that Classic Four Sport is a brand that's going to make up a majority of this post.  After all, this sort of thing was kind of their specialty.

Here we have one in a long line of good Cubs first basemen in Derrek Lee, way back when he was swinging the stick for the El Camino Fundamental HS Eagles in California.  Nothing screams high school athletics quite like a chain link fence, some mulling about in windbreakers and a parking lot in the background.

You can see the powerstroke in that swing, even then.

Next up, we have a guy whose Cubs tenure was much shorter than D-Lee in Ben Grieve, who had a couple of brief stints in 2004-05.  Well before that, he was swinging a heavy stick with the James W. Martin HS Warriors in Texas.

That's quite the crowd for a high school baseball game.  Although, since he was drafted second overall in the 1994 draft by the Oakland Athletics, he must have been worth the price of admission for local sports fans.

I actually prefer the image used on the back of this card though:

It's a much clearer view of his jersey - a quality that I find very important in my pre-rookie baseball cards.

Moving on:

Pitcher at the plate alert!

The former Serra HS Padre (Cali, again) was drafted in the first round of the 1992 draft by the Twins for his abilities on the mound, rather than his skills at the dish.  He never did fulfill that potential, bouncing around the league in brief spurts (with Cubs in 1999) until 2007, with a few stints in Japan and Mexico mixed in.  He must have played out of sheer love of the game though - he was still active in independent/foreign league as late as 2013.  

However, all I can think of when I see this card is "wow, that looks like a Seattle Pilots uniform."

Additionally, check out that very 90's serial number; one of 9,000+? Soooooo limited!

Here's the last high school image I was able to dig up and what a one to close out with; Tarrik Brock's glamour shot is a real winner, especially thanks to that lovely button-up!

I'm sure this image also graced his Hawthorne HS (Cali x3) yearbook, surely with some "clever" inspirational quote underneath.  Couldn't Topps have, at least, used a picture of his playing baseball with the Cougars?  For that matter, all of these SC cards would have looked much better with actual baseball photos.

Tarrik (no relation to Lou) played in the minors for many years (1991-2003), getting one cuppacoffee with the Cubbies for the opening of the 2000 season.  As such, he got to play in the first MLB game played in Japan, since Chicago opened their season against the Mets at the Tokyo Dome.

Opening ceremonies for the 2000 season opener

And that is the extent of my Cubs high school cards; unsurprisingly, I didn't have all that many to choose from, seeing as they went on to bigger and better things.

Maybe next week we'll take this concept back even further and see if I have any cards that depict Cubbies as little leaguers.  I know a few sets have been produced with that concept in mind; I may have a few of them too.

Thanks for throwin' it back, high school style, with me this week.  Although, I suspect most of us spent more time "throwin' 'em back" during those four years than building prospect status.

#ThrowbackThursday - College Daze

Last week on #ThrowbackThursday, we got all nostalgic and took a look through my cards featuring future Cubs, back when they were just lowly minor leaguers.  I thought about maybe showing off some more such cards; but, in the end, I decided to up the ante (or rather back up) a little bit more.

My little sister just signed her letter of intent to join the cheer-leading squad at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, IL - my alma mater.  As such, I'm feeling just a touch nostalgic for my days spent as a scholarshipped athlete on the cross country and track programs for the Fightin' Saints.

Thus, let's jump into our way-back machine and take a look at some cardboard depicting future Northsiders during their wild and crazy college days.  Don't worry, these pictures are limited to their time on the field - no keg-stands, dorm parties or late night munchies runs will be shown.  This blog is family friendly, after all.

Wooo college!:

Here's former Cubs reliever Scott Maine in a slightly over-sized set produced to honor the University of Miami's entry into the College World Series, of which, Maine was the ace.  They sure did catch him at a flattering moment, didn't they?

Here's a collegiate ace that actually panned out in the Majors.  College is a time of experimentation and curiosity for young people and "the Shark" sure did his share of that.  Don't worry, I'm not talking about anything "Animal House"-esque; by that, I mean that spent his time at Notre Dame trying to figure out which sport he wanted to pursue - baseball or football.

Well, we all know how that turned out, don't we?

Kevin Orie was one in a long line of "the next big things" to try and succeed Ron Santo as the Cubs franchise third baseman.  Before he flamed out there, he was just a college boy out of Indiana University, where he was a standout for the Hoosiers baseball team.

Then, he was drafted in the first-round by the Cubs in 1993 and the rest is history.

Oh hey, another third base flameout.  Mike Olt showed big power at the hot corner when he starred on the University of Connecticut baseball squad.  Of course, some head/eye injuries have kept him from fully-developing that power on the Major League level.

Here's hoping that something finally clicks for Mike this year, even though he's currently under contract with that OTHER baseball team in Chicago.

Darwin Barney, the very definition of an all-glove, no bat middle infielder.  During his time in Chicago, he set the franchise and NL record for errorless chances at second base, came just a few innings from setting the MLB record, won a Gold Glove in 2012, but just could not hit enough to maintain his value.

Meanwhile, during his time spent at Oregon State University, Barney was actually the Beavers' shortstop; he wouldn't switch to second until his call-up to the Majors, making his defensive prowess all the more impressive.

Michael Tucker was another first-round draft selection, coming out of the Longwood University Lancers nine.  Fun fact, Tucker is the only Lancer to have ever made the Major Leagues from the NCAA program - guess they made their one showing count with a first-rounder, eh?

Oh hey, here's a pretty big name.  This may officially be a minor league baseball card; but, I'm including it here because he's pictured in an air-brushed Texas Christian University uniform.  I know this for two reasons:

1.  A quick Google image search confirms the match
2. When this set was released, Jake the Snake had yet to make his pro debut, hence the generic MiLB logo where the normal bush league team affiliation would be.

Thus, it's a college card in my mind's eye; my blog, my rules!  Also, I must note that their team nickname at TCU is the Horned Frogs - how awesome is that?

I showed this card off on the blog once already; but, this post would seem incomplete without it in my mind.  Can you believe I scored this pre-rookie John Hancock of long-time Big League reliever Bobby Howry at a local card show for the low, low price of 50 cents?

This isn't some nobody from McNeese State University afterall, this Cowboy went on to pitch in the Majors for 13 years, including time spent on both sides of Chicago and as a key bullpen arm for the 2007-08 NL Central champion Cubs.  You'd think it'd at least run a slight hometown markup, right?

Meanwhile, here's another pitcher who's alma mater is a big-time Texas University; Brooks Raley is shown here sporting the uniform of the Texas A&M University Aggies.  Raley's brief Major League career has thus far amounted to nothing more than some injury-replacement innings for the 2012-13 Cubs - so, I really don't have much else to say about him,

On the other hand, some college athletes were so notable, they were invited to represent their country on Team USA:

Oklahoma State University Cowboys

Georgia Institute of Technology Yellow Jackets

Louisiana State University Tigers

University of Southern California Trojans

California State University Fresno Bulldogs

California State University Fullerton Titans

All of these players eventually found their way to the Cubs with varying degrees of stardom.  Since they all played for Team USA's Collegiate National Team, these cards are grouped along with the rest of my collegiate cardboard, even if they're not shown in their school colors.

There you have it, the extent of my "collegiate collection."  As you know, I love minor league cards for their influx of unrecognized teams and baby-faced future stars.  So, cards that feature players still trying to figure out their major are even cooler in my book.

That'll do it for this week's edition of #ThrowbackThursday.  Tune in again next week for a peek back even further into the past, to the days of proms, Friday night football games and emo music.  That's the natural progression of this feature, after all.

Alright - time to start securing little league cards for after that.

#ThrowbackThursday - Back to the Minors

How appropriate it is that on #ThrowbackThursday that the Cubs made a roster move straight out of 2006 - it was announced today that the Northsiders have inked Matt Murton to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training.

Before going over to Japan, Murton had been a Cub from mid-2005 until mid-2008.  Acquired in the Nomar blockbuster, Murty became a useful spare outfielder who could knock out singles with the best of them, but lacked any real power.

This tragic lack of extra-base ability for a corner outfielder is what lead to his eventual displacement by Cliff Floyd, his trade to Oakland in the Rich Harden deal and his eventual immigration.  While in the land of the rising sun, Murton broke their single-season record for hits in 2010 (held by Ichiro) and became a star.  Back here in America, he'll jostle for the fifth outfielder job on the Cubs bench.

Whenever I think of the ginger-haired outfielder, my mind always goes back to the card you see above.  See, when Murton initially came up to the Bigs, he went on quite a tear, leading prospectors to start hoarding his cards.  Wide-eyed, teenage Tony bought into this and immediately bought a graded copy of his West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx (what a team name!) team issue.

Minor league card of a future star?  $$$$$$$

Well, that luster quickly wore off and I eventually wound up freeing the card from it's plastic prison.  However, several years later, I'm still glad I made the gullible purchase since I glean minor league cards of Major Leaguers.  Specifically - those who played for the Cubs

Thus, in honor of #ThrowbackThursday, Matt Murton and MiLB baseball cards, I'm going to show off a few more of my favorite such pieces, with minimal commentary:

Here's a couple of my oldest (and most favorite) bush league issues; perfect for a throwback theme.

The guy who came to the Windy City with Matty and the guy who took his job.

Some teammates of the red head during his time spent in Chicago.

Another guy who's signing this off-season caused to me to question what year it was and if someone stole my blueprints for a working TARDIS.

Another pair of pre-rookies that I thought were going to make me a pretty penny down the road.  I mean, it turns out I was right after all though - they're literally worth a penny.

 Another round of Murton teammates.

 

A pre-rookie card of a guy whose Cubs tenure just missed overlapping with #19 and of the oldest man in the Major Leagues last season.  It's kind of a a "miracle" that he lasted that long, wouldn't ya say?

 

A couple of young Dodger prospects who actually capitalized on their early promise...

 ...and one young Cubs prospect who definitely didn't.  Thank God for Theo & Co.

As a closing act, here are a couple of recent additions that I haven't gotten around to showing off yet.  By the way, that's Mike Olt on the right... damn chrome.

Honestly, I've been looking for a proper excuse to make this post for a long time and the Murton signing just seemed right.  The bizarre sight of a player from the highest rung of the sport in an unfamiliar, small-town, minor league jersey truly piques my oddball interest.  Plus, who can beat team names like the RockHounds, the Lugnuts and the Pelicans?

Is anyone else as fascinated by these kinds of cards or is that just weird, ol' me?

Thank you Matt Murton for giving me the window I needed to get this post out - for that, I wish you good luck on your quest to make it back to the Majors.  Now I just need to get one of your Japanese cards for one of my other side-collections...