Who's this shadowy-faced fella? This crow-marked, wily veteran is clearly a San Diego Padre, but that's all you can tell from the front side of this oddball baseball card. So, since this card is lacking in information, please allow me to pick up the slack.
Bud Hardin had a lengthy 13-year career in minor league baseball, including a long run as a starting infielder in the old, open classification Pacific Coast League in the early 50's. This circuit almost rivaled the Majors in terms of popularity on the west coast and William Edgar Hardin starred for the Los Angeles Angels throughout the early 50's. Beyond that, he also appeared up and down the baseball chain for the Giants, Cardinals, Cubs, and Indians organizations in various remote locales from 1942-57. Of course, there was a nice, lengthy absence from the professional ranks from 1943-45 due to serving his country during a skirmish most of the world was involved with. From what I understand, a few ballplayers careers were put on pause at this time.
To close out his time in organized baseball, Bud started the 1957 season with the original San Diego Padres, returning to the PCL in a stint which is commemorated by the pasteboard which kicks off this post. However, old glory was not recaptured, as he only got into 17 games before his contract was transferred to the Mobile Bears of the Southern Association. Both clubs were affiliated with the Indians franchise at the time. After 21 more contests, Hardin hung up his cleats for good, closing the books on a long and prosperous MiLB career.
Hardin during his brief trial with the '52 Cubs. Image courtesy of Baseball Birthdays.
In contrast to his time in the bushes, Mr. Hardin had a rather brief career in the Majors, appearing in just three games with the 1952 Chicago Cubs, after he was selected in the Rule 5 Draft out of the Cardinals organization. In those three contests, Hardin made seven plate appearances - rapping out a single hit (appropriately, a single) - and played a combined, error-less fourteen innings at shortstop and second base. Shortly after the calendar turned to May, he was sent back down to the minors (the Cubs-affiliated Angels) and that was all she wrote for his MLB career.
While Bud Hardin's Major League career was brief and his stat-line revealed nothing particularly notable, his inclusion is still required for my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection. Like many cameo Cubs of this era and earlier, this was problematic due to a lack of cardboard representation. After all, the bulk of his playing career dated before the emergence of Topps and, as we've already established, his MLB stats would not have made him a likely subject anyway. Thankfully, in this department, obscure oddball and regional minor league issues often rescue my most treasured collection and it was no different in this situation. Although, it should be noted that this particular oddity comes with a bit of notoriety and significance within our hobby.
The 2"x 3", black and white oddity is printed on super thin cardstock, barely a notch above index card quality. Also, it's not hard to tell in this scan that it was printed as part of a sheet, seeing as remnants of the cards on either side were left behind when Bud was sliced out. Overall, the simplistic card is extremely basic, letting the picture do all of the heavy lifting. The backside continues this minimalist theme:
No stats, no write-up, all we get is Bud's name, team affiliation, and the set information, all of which is type-written and surrounded in a vast white space. Based on the info presented, one can thus be forgiven for thinking that this oddball hails from 1957 and being distributed with bags of popcorn. After all, cards of this very size and "design" were handed out in that very manner by teams across the Pacific Coast League in the mid-50's. This is not one of those food premiums though, as it hails from a couple of decades later. Although, it clearly draws *ahem* inspiration from those popcorn pasteboards. However, this sit has it's own interesting lineage.
As it turns out, this card comes from a set produced by Ed Broder of the infamous Broder family. If you were alive and collecting during the junk wax boom, the name Broder should ring all sorts of alarm bells, as Rob Broder became famous for his - shall we say - semi-legitimate outsider baseball card projects. These off-brand curiosities were originally meant to pump up his sport photography business, but the cards ended up taking on a life of their own. They ended up spreading everywhere - you've definitely seen these cards kicking around the dime boxes and discount bins at card shows. Nowadays, with everyone and their mother having access to photo editing software and a printer, "customs" and ACEO's have carved out their own niche; but, in the 80's and 90's the Broder works were looked down upon as fakes and phonies.
Here's a pair of Broders from my collection that I am particularly fond of. Two of my favorite all-time players.
The notoriety rose to such heights during this time of cardboard investment that the family's last name became the catch-all term for counterfeit and collector-issued cards. While Rob was the guy who accelerated the Broder boom, Rob's father Ed is the one who got the family business off the ground with passion projects such as the 1974 PCL Popcorn set. Ed seemed to be particularly fond of the PCL, as he separated the wheat from the chaff with set of the league's All-Stars a year later, and Japanese baseball, the subject of several sets on his resume. All of these products were similar in that they were decidedly not fancy - all picture with small splashes of text. As evidenced by the cheap cardstock, the wishy-washy cutting, and the minimalistic design, these cards were probably produced with little more than some old programs/magazines, a typewriter, and a facsimile machine.
In the end, cards is cards to me. Broders, customs, ACEOs, art cards, and anything put out by the major, "legitimate" manufacturers are all equally qualified for a home in my baseball binders. I have Ars Longa cards displayed next to Topps pasteboards and Monarch Coronas pouched side by side with Upper Decks - a card is a card to me. After all, where is the line between "legit" and "fake" when it comes to simple cardboard rectangles with pictures meant for children to play with anyway? With that in mind, this is actually the third Border popcorn piece to find a spot in my CATRC.
Here we have Frank Ernaga and Ed Winceniak - another pair of ballplayers who, like Hardin, had brief runs with the Cubbies but much longer careers in the minor leagues. Obviously, they also played in the PCL at some point, or they wouldn't appear in a set dedicated to the fan-favorite circuit. For all three of these men, these ancestral Broders are pretty much the only baseball cards that I can find with their mugs on them. Without such enterprising baseball fanatics, I wouldn't have been able to add this trio of players to my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection - so, thanks a bunch, Ed!
How do you feel about Broders and other such collector-driven releases? Now, we aren't talking about actual, straight-up counterfeits meant to deceive the naïve, even though the term Broder eventually came to include such nefarious copycats. Eff that crap. I'm asking if you have any of Ed of Robs work in your collections? Perhaps, if we expand the parameters, you might have a Carl Aldana, Helmar, One Star, Gypsy Oak or any one of hundreds of expertly-crafted blogger customs in your binders or boxes? After all, this stuff is all either descended from or on the same family tree as the work of the Broder clan. Personally, I feel like these outsider cardboard options add color, variety, and a desperately needed alternative perspective in the baseball card hobby. These works often cover players, eras, and events that the boys at Topps, Panini, and the like would never bother with. But, that's just me - what do you think?
In the meantime, I suppose I'll make myself some popcorn and wait for the conversation to get poppin'!
Two days ago was Halloween - a happy belated All Hallow's Eve to you all! I hope I didn't spook you by going silent for a few days after an already lengthy absence; I did not go dark again. Rather, the day upon which the barrier between our world and the great beyond is at it's weakest is my wife and I's favorite holiday. Christmas is cool, Thanksgiving is neat, Valentine's Day sucks, but Halloween is tops in our household. The reason why I haven't posted any baseball card content over the past couple days is because we've been laser focused on the frightful festivities.
Between coordinating parties and trick or treating with my little sister-in-law, carving jack o'lanterns, binging scary movies, building five separate costumes between us (obviously, we go all out), and working around the surprise snowstorm that hit the Chicagoland area, my attention has been drawn elsewhere.
However, the fun is all done and the mounds of candy and apple pie shots are currently working through my digestive tract. I can now return to Wrigley Roster Jenga and show off a card that sort of makes me think of Halloween. Shortly before I retreated from the baseball life, I pulled the trigger on a pasteboard that bears the colors most associated with the night of ghosts and goblins:
This orange and black oddball featuring former Cubs outfielder, Ward Miller. Okay, so this isn't exactly the smoothest segue that I've ever typed out on this blog space; that said, it's certainly not the worst either. It'll do.
What you are looking at comes from a set recently by Historic Autographs, the people behind the unlicensed, cut autographs that we all love so very much. For those who might not be good at picking up on context clues, that sentence was drenched with sarcasm. Their products are usually not particularly easy on the eyes - y'know, the cards that look something like this:
Basically, index cards and cut autographs purchased secondhand, framed with an artistic-looking border, and thrown back out into the market. At best, HA provides a way for collectors to obtain relatively cheap signatures of athletes and celebrities who would otherwise be far out of their budget. After all, the bare-bones design, lack of pictures, team colors and/or names, etc. keeps the price down compared to products from standard bearers such as Topps and even fellow unlicensed groups like Panini or Leaf. At worst, these products cause the destruction and mangling of rare John Hancocks, documents, and autographs - although, it's not like the other guys in the industry aren't sometimes guilty of that transgression themselves.
All told, usually Historic Autograph cards are fall somewhere in the blase middle - boring and decidedly non-flashy cards which don't move the needle very far in either direction.
However, as you can see with the Ward Miller card that this post is centered around, HA has gone in an entirely different direction with this 2019 product - The Federal League - which revolves around the "outlaw" third Major League of the same name from about a century prior to it's release. These baseball cards look much more like traditional cards - pictures of players, team designation, a distinct artistic design, biographical write-ups on the backside, etc.
As a fun little quirk, those bio paragraphs are inked in the present tense, which adds to the faux vintage aura HA is going for with this product.
Available in select hobby shops across the country, HA Federal League hit store shelves on July 24th and was distributed in boxes which contained 10 packs per unit, and 8 cards per pack. Obviously, the checklist was built around players who plied their talents in the Federal League, which existed as a rogue third Major League from 1914-1915 and poached many quality ballplayers before legal battles put an end to their uprising. While it might seem like the short-lived renegade circuit would by perfect fodder for an unlicensed manufacturer to seize upon, Major League Baseball has since absorbed the history and intellectual property of their former rival and, as such, there are still no official team names or logos featured on this product.
Nevertheless, the "Fed" League is a part of professional baseball history that is mostly forgotten in hobby circles. I can't think of many cards or card sets which focus upon these teams; some subsets in Conlon Collection are literally the only other modern peers that I can think of when it comes to the topic.
The only other cards that I can think of that have broached the subject are the iconic Cracker Jack cards from 1915, which covered the league in real time. I mean, just look at the checklist above... how many of those guys can you honestly say that you've heard of or that you've ever seen a card - much less, bought - with their likeness upon it's face? Outside of a few significant exceptions, i.e. Mordecai Brown, Chief Bender, etc., my guess is next to none.
So, with all of that in mind, while Historic Autographs might still be pigeon-holed by MLB licensing restrictions, it looks as though they found an excellent way to stand out from the crowd by tackling subject-matter which has been largely ignored in their market. As such, I think I actually adore this product and not just because it made a card of a player needed for my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection that I might otherwise have to drop big bucks on to acquire. HA has found a previously unfulfilled niche with The Federal League.
Of course, since it's a modern baseball card set, it has various inserts, parallels, and hits to chase (as noted by the disclaimer on the bottom of the box you see above); that, however, is of very little interest to me. Here, I'm all about that base.
These cards appear to drawn inspiration from the various "art cards" that can be found on the secondhand market and, in several cases, on this blog. The simulated artwork, aped vintage design, vintage cardstock all appear straight out of the template procured by the likes of Helmar, Ars Longa, Banty Red, et al. In fact, when I first saw my Ward Miller single on listed on eBay, I assumed that it was just another one of those fantasy cards... not that I'm above adding them to my collection when I see fit. That being stated, the fact that Ward hailed from a pack-issued, traditional retail set piqued my interest even more. Well, that and the fact that it mimicked the design from one of my favorite all-time card layouts - the aforementioned 1915 Cracker Jack food-issue.
It just so happens that Mr. Miller appears in both of these checklists, so let's do a side-by-side comparison. As you can plainly see, the inspiration is hardly subtle and makes sense with the Federal League through line. In a sense, HA's option is almost like a infinitely more affordable alternative.
All in all, I've talked an awful lot about the card itself and the associated release; but, I've barely given any mention of the player it depicts. After all, as much as I like these pasteboards, I would not have bought one if it didn't feature a player that held my direct interest. As such, it's time that I shift the spotlight from the cardboard to the outfielder who's bust is printed upon it.
Ward Miller is an Illinois boy, through and through. Born in Mt. Carroll, IL and raised in Dixon, IL, graduated from Northern Illinois University, played for the Chicago Cubs, returned to Dixon and served as the Sheriff of Lee County. Like I said, the license plates around here should basically read Land of Miller instead of Land of Lincoln.
Although, those early years of his professional career were marred with illness and injuries. For instance, his baseball career nearly ended before it even began after he decided to play around with a shot put. The arm injury he suffered plagued him for the rest of his diamond days. Also, while playing in the bush leagues in 1907, a fever similar to Malaria sidelined him for most of the season. Furthermore, while playing with the Pirates in 1909 (his maiden season), he only got into fifteen games before being diagnosed with tuberculosis, causing him to be traded away to the Reds by the future NL pennant winners. Bad breaks all around for Mr. Ward, it seems.
Ward (far right) with some of his Cubs teammates in 1913.
He'd play a year and a half for Reds and spent another year back in the minors before he finally made his date with destiny and returned to the Prairie State, for two years with the Cubbies. It must have felt inevitable considering all of his Illinois connections.
As a part-time fly-chaser, "Windy" Ward batted a serviceable, but non-descript, .275 across 166 games. The most notable contribution Miller made to Cubs history was that he facilitated what was likely the final on-field appearance of the most famous double play combination in the history of America's pastime. Tinker, Evers, Chance and the rest of the 1912 Cubs came to little, ol' Dixon to play an exhibition game against one of those local amateur clubs; the contest came about at the behest of their teammate, Ward Miller. Shortly thereafter, Frank Chance would move onto the Big Apple and swap Cubbie Blue for Yankee pinstripes. But, the famous trio's swan song became the stuff of local legend thanks to the hometown hero.
As you know, Miller eventually made his way to the Federal League and, sadly, it was the Chicagoans that he turned his back on to do so. To make matters worse, before the start of the 1914 campaign, he hopped to the St. Louis franchise, of all places, and he stuck around the Second City's greatest rival for a while. After two seasons with the Terriers, he spent two more with the Browns. It's a minor miracle that he was accepted back in Illinois after those years spent in the Gateway of the West... good thing his roots ran far too deep to be ripped up by a few years astray.
Like I mentioned earlier, after calling it quits, Miller returned home and traded his cleats for a sheriff's badge, serving that role for most of the rest of his life. He passed away in 1958, at the age of 74, and was laid to rest at Oakwood Cemetery in his hometown of Dixon.
Miller's only Cubs card, a T207
That's the story of Ward Miller - he battled injuries and illness, facilitated the last appearance of he most famous "trio of bear cubs," and was an Illinois boy all the way to the bitter end. And now, "Windy" is properly represented in my hallowed CATRC binder, courtesy of Historic Autographs and their Federal League set.
Has anyone else on the blogosphere sampled this HA product? Do you find the idea behind the set to be unique enough to warrant it's existence? Do you think that this is the start of something greater for the heretofore bland Historic Autographs ? Or, will they slip back into hocking nothing more than cut autos and index cards with a pretty frame? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
All I know, is that without this set, I would have either had to settle for a cheap reprint or drop big bucks on super vintage in order to get Miller into my collection. This Cracker Jack-like modern, faux-retro product is about as appealing of an alternative as I can possibly dream of. For that, I thank you, Historic Autos!
Oh and to close things out, here are some of the five Halloween costumes that were occupying so much of my time over the past few days. Can you figure out what we are? I feel as though one of these outfits should be much easier to determine than the other.
During the multi-decade process of attempting to acquire one card of every single person to take the field for the Chicago National League Ballclub, from 1870 through today, I've had to venture to the outskirts of the known cardboard universe. After all, when you're looking for obscure mop-up pitchers and scant utility infielders - oftentimes literally older than sliced bread - you have to open up your binders to more than just Topps Flagship and the rest of the usual suspects.
With this in mind, oddballs become the name of the game and my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection tome is stuffed to the gills with such curiosities. My horizons have expanded to include such non-traditional trinkets as greeting cards, unfurled matchbooks, postcards, stickers, and stamps, in addition to traditional, 2.5" x 3.5" pasteboards. Furthermore, while my binder includes plenty of offerings from Topps, Bowman, Upper Deck, Donruss, et al, it also includes some more off-the-wall representatives; i.e., TCMA, Honus Bonus, Platinum Series Baseball, Ars Longa Art Cards, and Broders, among other fringe sources. Without these alternative set producers, my collecting goal would be even more impossible than it already is!
On that note, this Christmas, I added another new "edge of the cardboard universe" manufacturer to my CATRC trapper. This is one that I'd never heard of before - with a name like Skeetersoft, I think that I would have remembered if I had!
Now, there's really nothing to get "Rowdy" about here, this Harold Elliott card is not exactly exciting. In fact, I think I can safely say that this is one of the most boring cards in my collection; although, it does have some equal company, which is a point I will elaborate on momentarily.
Before we delve too deeply into the circumstances surrounding this colorless, image-less "baseball card," let's take a look at the ballplayer which it purports to represent. Rowdy Elliott was a back-up catcher and baseball journeyman who's five-year, MLB career took place entirely between 1910 and 1920, but who's minor league tenure extended far beyond that time frame. Elliott had quick cameos with the Boston Braves to start, but the bulk of the Kokomo, IN native's MLB time came with my beloved Chicago Cubs from 1916-18. Elliott was part of a pennant winner in 1918 - though he only appeared in five games that season because he enlisted in the Navy at the onset of our involvement in WWI. Once he returned to the States, he had a 41 game stint with Brooklyn before returning to the bushes, where he would play ball in several dusty locales through 1929.
Sadly, his life was cut short in February of 1934, when he plummeted from his own apartment window in San Francisco - he was only 43. To this day, the circumstances surrounding his death remain a mystery.
Here's a photograph of ol' Rowdy, so you can actually picture the man, since the Skeetersoft card doesn't help.
Skeetersoft, Inc. was a company behind one of the many tabletop baseball games which were popularized in the middle 20th century onward. National Pastime was the name of their coffee table simulation and it was played with cards and materials exceptionally similar to those of the more well-renowned American Professional Baseball Association, aka APBA. In fact, Skeetersoft's output was often marketed and used as aftermarket additions for it's more popular cousin, as it's formula was compatible with the game play of APBA. Of course, there were a few slight differences which claimed to create a more lifelike sim. What those tweaks are, I'm not sure, as I have never played either game and I'm not going to pretend like I know how to do so.
If you're interested, while the original Skeetersoft company appears to be defunct - though there is an online version of the diamond sport simulation, with updated stats available here.
Skeetersoft in action.
Both APBA and Skeetersoft use dice and mathematics to simulate the actions of a baseball game. Cards are created to represent teams and players from all across the professional baseball timeline - these bare-bone game pieces feature assigned numerical values which correspond and interact with the dice and the game board. Without truly understanding the game play myself, that's about the best summation I could possibly hope to come up with.
As you can tell, the cards created for these games were not intended to be collectible - they are there simply to serve a larger purpose, much like the property cards in Monopoly or the knowledge-packed cards of Trivial Pursuit. Of course, that doesn't stop us obsessive baseball card collectors, constantly looking for new items to add to our precious player collections or oddball stores. I know that I've come across several of these oddities on such reliable hobby sources as Ebay, Comc, and Sportlots and I've even seen a few in my local card shops. I mean, they are cards and they do pertain to baseball... therefore, they must be baseball cards, right?
While Rowdy Elliott is the first Skeetersoft card to come into my possession, I do have a small sampling of APBA cards already resting comfortably in my CATRC book. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so I have turned to these sources to fill otherwise nigh-unfillable gaps in my collection.
For example, above you see an APBA game card for Norm McMillan, starting third baseman for one of the greatest Cubs squads to ever take the field - the 1929 NL Pennant winners. Despite his important status on an iconic team, Norm has exactly one official baseball card on the market, according to Beckett, and it's an uber rare strip card from 1923. This penny-pincher is likely never going to come across one in my budget, if I ever come across one at all. Thus, this game token allows me to scratch another name off of my list without costing much scratch itself. Similarly, Rowdy Elliott only has a handful of sparse, original Zeenut singles to his name - different player, same situation. Such is pre-war collecting, I'm afraid.
With that, I feel compelled to ask you, the reader, your opinion on a very important question - should these count?
Seeing as these flimsy game pieces hold no inherent collector's value and do not so much as even depict a silhouette of the player featured, should they count towards my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection, or even as baseball cards in general?
For me and for now, I do include these cards in my collection; but, only as a last resort and they will get booted if and when I can track down a proper, picturesque card. Elliott, McMillan, and Clyde Beck are the only three such instances and I am not exactly seeking out more; that being stated, as plain and dull as these maybe-cards are, I'd much rather see these in my binder than an empty gap.
APBA and Skeetersoft are not the only game tokens to appear in my collection; the aforementioned Platinum Series Baseball and MLB Showdown hold down a few pockets each in my Ultra Pro pages. However, unlike their brethren, these game cards feature actual photographs of the player which they represent, making them more like a traditional baseball card WITH game play characteristics. Obviously, the plain jane APBA and Skeetersoft singles lack that duality.
What do you think about this situation? Were you in my shoes, would you include these cards in your binders? Perhaps you already do have them in your own, personal collections? Do you even think of them as baseball cards? Maybe you think I'm a touch too fanatical and wouldn't use these for anything other than board game night? I encourage you to weigh in and share your opinions below because I'm truly curious how the blogosphere feels on this topic.
Blogging about baseball cards for the past four years has been a wonderful and enriching experience. Along the way, it's provided a needed outlet for me to discuss, critique, complain, show-off, and brag about my favorite hobby - trust me, my wife, siblings, and cats were not as receptive of an audience. Most importantly, it's built a network of connections and relationships with fantastic and generous collectors, with whom I would have never made acquaintance, otherwise. And it hasn't just been collectors, for that matter; additionally, I've been lucky enough to hold conversations with actual card manufacturers, as well. Before setting up Wrigley Roster Jenga, that's something that would have seemed completely out of the realm of possibility to pre-blog me.
I've had exchanges with Topps on Twitter, been pimped on Ars Longa Art Cards, received generous donations from Gypsy Oak and so on and so forth. I don't mean to sound braggadocious; rather, I just want to emphasize how much I am flabbergasted by and appreciate all of these previously impossible experiences. On that note, just a few weeks ago, I made another connection with a name many loyal readers of Bob Lemke's Standard Catalog of Vintage Baseball Cards: Carl Aldana.
Right: 1970 Orioles. Left: 1971 Yesterday Heroes. Both scans borrowed from the internet.
Aldana made his name in the 1970's as the brains, talent, producer, and artist behind a handful of oddball collector's issues. For example, his 1970 Orioles and 1971 Yesterday Heroes sets both appear in the go-to hobby bible. There's also a checklist of players from 1950-55 San Francisco Seals that was produced by his hand in 1972. Thus, as a devoted lover of all things oddball, his name definitely stuck out to me when I noticed it was attached to a few new sets floating around on Ebay a couple of months ago.
That's right, Carl Aldana was back after a 40+ year absence from the baseball card-making game with a new set of ideas. Like his Seals-centric set from '72, these new cards also focus on the players from the glory days of the original Pacific Coast League; but, this time, there are checklists for multiple teams. They also pay homage to the old Mothers Cookies sets that were contemporary to the time, with rounded corners and vividly colored backgrounds. When I saw that needed Cubs All-Time Roster Collection target, Jim Adair, appeared in a collation of Seals, I pounced.
Prior to Aldana's return, the short-term Cub never had a proper baseball card to his name - thus, I couldn't let this opportunity to fill an otherwise impossible gap in my collection slip by. As I mentioned in my original post about the Adair single, I certainly didn't regret my impulse, "if I didn't know better, you could easily convince me that these were whipped up by Topps or Panini as some sort of retro insert set - they are simply that well done."
As thrilled as I was with the find, I didn't think too much more about the experience. So, imagine my surprise when, a few weeks later, THE Carl Aldana was commenting on my humble little blog! It wasn't long before we were emailing, back and forth, discussing his work and our mutual favorite game. In the course of our conversation, he even shared with me some samples of his non-baseball work, included some wonderful, water color impressions that he painted during his time spent in Chicago. Speaking as someone who worked near most of the locations he visited, these are exceptionally well done:
My mind was further blown when Mr. Aldana, unprompted, generously informed me that he would like to send me another one of his cards, free of charge. There's no way that I was going to turn that offer down - I mean, it would have been impolite not to accept it, right?
Fast forward to yesterday afternoon and a PWE showed up in my tiny, rectangular mailbox in the foyer of my apartment complex. Within it was contained the wonderful card that tops this post... I'll show it again, down here, in order to refresh your memory:
As you can see, the subject featured in this go-round is the Los Angeles Angels' Steve Bilko. The Angels were the Cubs longtime Pacific Coast League affiliate and Bilko was the recipient of a brief trial with the Cubs in 1954; however, he saw much greater success and stardom in the PCL, a league whose popularity nearly rivaled that of the Majors, before westward expansion (more on that later). Similar to the rest of his PCL cards, this set also apes the design and look of the Mother's Cookies cards of the 1950's. The only difference between the OG cookie cards and the above is that Bilko is standard-sized, which is a welcome change to this OCD card collector!
Additionally, this single is part of a larger checklist which pays tribute to the stars of the original Los Angeles Angels, which were owned by the Wrigley family and played in their own replica of Wrigley Field:
That checklist is conveniently located on the backside and, as of yet, is incomplete. I'm extremely curious to find out what other names Aldana will use to fill out the final nine spots on this list.
Along with the checklist, the oddball mastermind has also included some nostalgic artwork drawn up by the immortal Otis Shepard, who handled the art which graced the covers of the programs for the Cubs and Angels for decades. It makes for a nice touch to an already exceptionally fun piece. Furthermore, like the rest of his PCL cards, Bilko is printed on thin, but sturdy card stock - just as God and Mother's Cookies always intended. I don't have one of those fancy, schmancy BCW card thickness point gauges, but they sure do seem like a match to my eyes and hands. Furthermore, they are also clearly printed by professionals - these aren't coming off of some lousy, ink jet printer, that's for certain.
For reference, here's a pair of Mother's Cookies cards from my collection.
Bilko was already repped in my CATRC binder; but, since the Angels were a Cubs affiliate and my previous slot-holder does not feature him in a uniform that is anyway connected to the Cubbies, Aldana's gift will take it's rightful place in my nine-pocket pages. It's truly an honor to have had the man behind the card himself gift me with a piece of his own work for my collection.
However, it should be noted that the man shown on the card is every bit as interesting as the card itself. In fact, Angel's manager and former Cub, Bob Scheffing, once said that Bilko was a bigger name in Los Angeles than Marilyn Monroe - those words shouldn't be taken lightly. So, with that in mind, let's take a deeper look into the career of this Pacific Coast League superstar.
Bilko during his brief trial with the Cubs in '54.
Steve Bilko was a towering first baseman, earning the nickname "Stout Steve" as an homage to his girth (6'1" 230 lbs). The St. Louis Cardinals farmhand possessed light tower power and dazzled audiences in the Pacific Coast League throughout the 1950's. Unfortunately for Mr. Stout, his "bang or bust" style never translated to Major League success. In his first year as a regular at the game's highest level, Bilko managed to swat 21 homers with a .251 batting average and 84 RBI. However, on the other hand, the first-sacker also lead the circuit in strikeouts with 125 (Aaron Judge scoffs, somewhere in the distance). It was this tendency to K which kept Steve in that awkward purgatory between the Majors and the minors for the majority of his professional career.
My CCC reprint of Steve's '51 Bowman single.
After the Cubs purchased his rights at the beginning of the 1954 season, he saw 47 games of action on the North Side. With Ernie Banks at short, Gene Baker at second, and Bilko at first, Cubs announcer, Bert Wilson, anointed the trio as the "Bingo to Bango to Bilko" double play combination - not quite as poetic as Tinker to Evers to Chance, but it sure is fun to say! Despite the catchy phrase, the trio wasn't to last long. After producing only 4 round-trippers with a weak .239 average, Bilko was demoted to the PCL at the end of the campaign. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing though, as it was there that he would truly make his mark on our nation's pastime.
Assigned to the Los Angeles Angels, Bilko quickly adapted to his new surroundings. All he did in 1955 was smash 37 home runs with a .328/.396/.572 slash line as he made mince meat of PCL pitching staffs. The next year, he truly outdid himself by mashing an astounding 55 big flies for the original Angels, to go along with a Triple Crown and a positively video game-like slash line: .360/.453/.687. Fans filled L.A.'s Wrigley Field to get a glimpse of this prodigious slugger - it was truly must watch baseball. As a swan song to his time with LA, "Stout Steve" again outdid himself by crushing 56 home runs, coming ever so close to breaking the PCL record of 60 (held by eventual Cub, Tony Lazzeri)
For those three consecutive seasons “the Babe Ruth of the palm-tree division” was voted as the Pacific Coast League’s Most Valuable Player. Despite this unprecedented show of power, Bilko was never again called up by the Cubs and was instead sold to Cincinnati in time for 1958. The "Lovable Losers" instead preferred to stick with Dee Fondy as their first baseman. Then again, the mid-century Cubs were not known for their excellent decision making...
Bilko spent another few seasons as a regular on the bench with the Reds, Dodgers and Tigers, sadly, his PCL power never made the ascent with him. Appropriately enough, Steve would have one last hurrah in Major League Baseball and it would come again in Los Angeles, this time with the American League version of the Angels, when he was selected in the 1960 expansion draft. He was the first man to play for both the PCL and AL iteration of the Angels.
It was this '62 Topps card which previously held down Bilko's slot in my CATRC.
Back in the "friendly confines" of L.A.'s Wrigley Field, which served as a temporary home to the expansion club, the first baseman was given a regular assignment. He rewarded him adoptive hometown with 20 homers, a .554 slugging percentage, and a decrease in strikeouts (only 81 K's) in 114 games. At 33 years of age, it looked like Bilko might have finally adapted to MLB pitching.
Alas, it wasn't to be. Though his bat stayed productive in 1962, his body began to betray him, with an infected leg cutting his season short and requiring a hospital stay. Bilko was dropped back to the AAA farm club after training camp in '63 and retired shortly thereafter, bringing an end to the career of one of the game's most unjustly forgotten, yet momentous thumpers. Eventually, Steve got some of the recognition he deserved by being inducted into the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame in 2003.
Before we go our separate ways, here's a few more fun, non-baseball related facts about the Los Angeles legend. In September of 1955, Bilko's name was borrowed, in tribute, for a CBS-TV comedy starring Phil Silvers as Sergeant Ernie Bilko, a con artist in an army uniform; that TV show would later be adapted into a major motion picture, starring Steve Martin in the titular role. Furthermore, his granddaughter, Barbara Bilko, was a goalie for the Ohio State Buckeyes hockey team from 2008-11 - no word on if she was as hulking of a presence in the net as her granddad was at the plate.
Athletics obviously run in the Bilkos' genes. Image courtesy of Citizens Voice.
And to think, we learned all of this just because of a random, thoughtful gift from a notable baseball card creator. I thoroughly enjoying the process of spotlighting obscure baseball players!
Again, the most gracious of thank yous goes out to Carl Aldana, for seeking me out, the kind words about my little corner of the internet, for taking the time to converse with me, and (of course) for the fascinating free cardboard! I highly recommend you check out some of Aldana's new work for yourself (and his old work, if you can track it down). These PCL cards are available through an Ebay vendor by the name of thebaseballhobbyist, who has an exclusive deal to distribute Aldana's current sets. Seriously, if you love oddballs, minor league history, or Mother's Cookies cards, there's no reason you shouldn't seek out a single or two for your own collection.
Here's hoping that this is the start of another wonderful relationship facilitated by my decision to blabber on and on online about baseball cards. I still can't believe what this little project has blossomed into!
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.
