Managing My OCD

I think all of us collectors have a little bit of OCD; it's just the nature of the beast.

After all, all of our collections have little rules and idiosyncrasies if you stop and think about it.  I only collect Topps, I only collect this particular team, I only collect cards of Tim Wallach...

The list goes on and on but there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.  It's what makes our collections different and interesting and what drives our passion.

So, today I'm going to discuss one of my OCD tendencies, one that I often have to suppress with my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection.

This card here is a perfect example:

Nothing particularly odd here, right?  A 1985 Topps manager card of Jim Fanning; it is a high-number (#759), but otherwise nothing really notable about it.  I found it on Ebay for change (gotta love free shipping).

But why is it in my CATRC?

Yes, I collect cards of all the men who have been saddled with managing the Cubs as well as the players.  But, you'll find that Jim never managed the Cubs.  In fact, he only managed 1 full season and 2 partials in the majors, all with Montreal.

He is much more notable for serving as the GM of the Expos for their first 8 years and various other positions in their front office.

Besides all that, he also had a brief playing career as well.  Therein lies the answer.

Jim earned a cuppacoffee for four consecutive seasons in the majors, all with the Northsiders, from 1954-57.  Mostly because the Cubs were just terrible in that decade.

In 149 ABs, he batted .170 with 0 homers and just 2 XBH as a backup catcher.

Fanning with the Cubs in 1957, his last in the Majors

With his time in the majors being so short and insignificant, Topps never included Jim in any of their sets.  I have yet to find an oddball release from the time period that used his likeness either.  I think it's safe to assume there is not a baseball card that features Jim during his playing days.

This poses a problem for my CATRC.  I would absolutely prefer a player card for all those who played for the Cubs and a manager card for all those who managed the Cubs.  But, this is simply not possible.

So, though it may bother me a touch, I must compromise and include Frank's 1985 Topps release in my binder so that I can cross his name off of my checklist.

#FirstWorldProblems

Jim isn't the only example of this dilemma in my collection either.   Although, the circumstances are a bit different for Mr. Loviglio here.

Short though it may be (1981-83), Jay's playing career saw not 1, but 2 Topps releases, plus at least one TCMA minor league card that I am aware of.  His Cubs career consisted of a single at-bat in 1983, resulting in a strikeout.

While Charlotte was have been a Cubs affiliate at the time, why do I use a managerial card when player cards are available?

Well, both cards that Topps put out featuring Jay are multi-player "Future Star" cards, including the only one I've been able to locate thus far:

Topps are certainly not soothsayers.

The problem here is that this card also features Reggie Patterson.  Reggie pitched minimally for the Cubs from 1983-85 in addition to a cameo with the Southsiders in '81.  He's most notable for giving up the Pete Rose's Cobb-tying hit in September of '85.

This is the only card of Reggie I've been able to find so far, although I know he was included in Fleer's 1986 set.

So, I had one card for two players - a bonus OCD trigger!

Therefore, when I discovered the manager's card of Loviglio in a box of nothing but Line Drive at my LCS (BTW - awesome box to dig through!), I picked it up.

It may be a manager's card, but at least it allows me to feature both Jay and Reggie separately in my CATRC binder.  A lesser of two evils situation.

Meanwhile, I'm still on the lookout for Reggie's '86 Fleer card.  When I find that, I should be all squared away.

Have you seen this man?

As you can plainly see, OCD is prevalent throughout are great hobby and I am certainly no exception.  Managerial cards, multi-player cards & player scarcity are constantly driving me up a wall.

But, as I stated earlier, "there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.  It's what makes our collections different and interesting and what drives our passion."

Yes, I am quoting myself in my own blog post.  Big whoop; wanna fight about it?

A Big ol' Box of Conlon, Pt. 2

Yesterday, I showed you the first half of my bounty from a recent purchase of a box of 1992 Conlon Collection, which you can see above.

Hopefully, the second half of my post is more exciting than the second half of my box break.

It was about half way through the break when I realized that the collation on these packs was just awful.  Doubles were prevalent, but that wasn't the main issue; many packages were carbon copies of each other.

By that, I mean that these packs featured not only the exact same cards, but even had them in the exact same order.  I'd say that this was true of about half the packs in the box.

So, in all actuality, it was really more like a 18-count box of Conlon than 36-count.  Still quite nice, but it definitely was a disappointment.

But, enough bellyaching about that; let's take a look at the rest of the players that were added to my CATRC:

The "Steam Engine in Boots" (They just don't make nicknames like they used to!) was a sidearming righty throughout the Deadball Era.  He was a long-time workhorse in the rotations of the Indians and Phillies, plus brief stops with the Yankees, Cubs and Buffalo's Federal League squad from 1901-14.

Fun fact:  he twirled the first no-hitter in American League history when he baffled the White Sox in '01.

Not-so-fun fact:  he was the first person of the 20th century to lose a no-hitter, when the White Sox pushed a run across without the aid of a hit in the 10th inning.

By the time he came to the Cubs, he was pretty much done.  He made it into just 7 games (2 starts), posting a 4.45 ERA in 28.1 innings before he jumped to the upstart Federal League for his final season.

As a Cub fan, we hear so much about the trades that our club screwed up, Brock for Broglio being the most notable.  But it seems we rarely hear about the good ones.

Pete Scott was involved in one of the good ones.  Unfortunately for him, he wasn't on the end that thrived.

The promising young outfielder batted .299 coming off the bench for the Cubs from 1926-27.  Pittsburgh thought they saw a star in the making and was looking to dump a disgruntled outfielder of their own.

So, they swapped young star-to-be Scott for the disgruntled player who had yet to achieve his full potential.  That player?  Kiki Cuyler.

Kiki went on to have a Hall of Fame career for the Boys in Blue while Pete got hurt halfway through his first season as a Pirate and never returned to the big league diamond.

I'd put that in the win column for Chicago.

Speaking of trades, sometimes the short-term benefits of a deal can be outweighed by the long-term developments.

For instance, while Rich Harden made the Cubs a much better team during their 2008 Central Division Title season, they had to give up Josh Donaldson to do it.  Harden was done in Chicago after 2009, Donaldson emerged to become the face of the A's

In 1938, the Cubs were surging towards the NL pennant.  Looking to add another impact arm that would put them over the top, the club added Dizzy Dean in a trade with the Cardinals.

While the Hall of Famer was dominant down the stretch - 7-1, 1.81 ERA in 13 games - he was effectively spent.  Injuries would severely limit his use for the next 2 seasons, effectively ending his career by 1941

What did Dean cost the Cubs?  For one, starter Curt Davis became a reliable mid-rotation starter for the next 8 seasons in St. Louis and Brooklyn.

Adding insult to injury, Clyde Shoun became an effective weapon out of the bullpen for several teams over the course of the next 9 years.

I'd probably have to put that in the loss column for the Cubs.

Last, but not least, we have "Big Jim" Weaver.

Jim didn't have a particularly noteworthy career.  The journeyman played all or part of eight seasons in the majors, from 1928-39, for the Senators, Yankees, Browns, Cubs, Pirates, and Reds.

However, Weaver was involved in a significant trade after his singular year with the Cubbies (1934).

Long-time starter Guy Bush was dealt away from the Cubs with Weaver and Babe Herman (whose best days were behind him) alongside to the Pirates in order to obtain Larry French and Freddie Lindstrom.

The HOF'er Lindstrom was only a Cub for 90 days in 1935, but French went on to be a key member of the rotation for the next several season, effectively taking Bush's place.

Unlike the other two trades discussed in this post, I think we can call that one a wash.

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There you have it; that concludes my break of a 1992 box of Conlon Collection.

All told, I was able to add 8 new players to my CATRC, a "Cubgrade" of Roger Bresnahan (as discussed here) and a stack of new additions to my Cubs player collections.

Despite my complaints about collation, it was definitely a worthwhile purchase!

Also, I now have pretty much all of the players that the 1992 Conlon collection had to offer my CATRC.  In order to add any more new names to that set, I'll have to find some boxes of the later editions.

So, if you see any of those around or if ya have any loose doubles laying about, you know who to talk to!

A Big ol' Box of Conlon, Pt. 1

One of my favorite baseball card sets of all-time is the Conlon Collection, which ran from 1991-95 before the strike killed it dead.

When I was a kid, my uncle from North Carolina mailed me a couple of these beauties in order to foster my appreciation of the game's history.  It worked.

As a follow up, the first box of baseball cards that I bought was from the 1992 edition of the series at K-Mart.  Well, my mother bought it for me; I was seven or so at the time.

I was fascinated to discover the players of the Dead Ball Era through the War Years.  Curious names like Sad Sam Jones and unfamiliar teams like the St. Louis Browns fascinated me.  Also, the Braves played in Boston?

Consequently, when the neighborhood kids all fought over who got to be Sammy Sosa and Frank Thomas in our sandlot games, I was quite content being Riggs Stephenson.

I was the weird kid.

I've been keeping my eye out for another box of Conlon (any edition) ever since I returned to collecting.

Not only is Conlon one of my favorites, it's yearly checklists features many players who don't otherwise show up on baseball cards and has been immensely helpful with filling gaps in my CATRC.  I've found loose packs here and there, but never anything more.

Of course, that's without cheating and using the internet anyway.

But, this guy here finally filtered through one of my LCS a few days ago:

Detroit Hall of Famer Hughie Jennings obviously shares my enthusiasm!

What better way is there to spend an evening than ripping open 36 packs of a favorite baseball card set?

Thankfully, after all of the build up, the box was no let down either.  In addition to the Riggs that you see above (as an upgrade), many cards were added to my collection - including several new faces for my CATRC.

I'll show them off alphabetically, for organization's sake.

Not to be confused with Dick Bertell, who later caught for the Cubs in the early 60's.

Like Riggs above, Dick Bartell comes from the subset "Why Not in the Hall of Fame?" As you might guess, these cards spotlight players who had overall good numbers but fell just short of enshrinement for one reason or another.

"Rowdy Richard" (I love the inclusion of nicknames on the back) was an inaugural All-Star in 1933 and played for 17 seasons with the Pirates, Phillies, Giants, Tigers and, of course, the Cubs.

A .284 average over that lengthy career compared favorably to other HOF shortstops at the time of print (Pee Wee Reese, Phil Rizzuto), but has been far out-shown in today's age.  Plus, his defense was average at best and he lacked any power.

His time as a Cub didn't help him either.  In his one season on the North Side, Dick batted. 238 in just 105 games in 1939.  That meager production cost the Cubs the services of Frank Demaree and Billy Jurges via trade with the Giants.

Oops.

Les Bell here also hails from a special subset, this one honoring the 100th anniversary of the Cardinals franchise.  *shudders* Ugh, Cardinals...

But, Les Bell was once a Cub as well.  Excuse me as I get all Dr. Seuss on you.

Bell saw regular action as the starting third baseman with meager power and decent average in St. Louis and Boston (Braves) for several seasons in the 20's.

The Cubs, seeking help at the hot corner, selected Les off of waivers in 1930.  He couldn't stay on the field though, losing playing time to Woody English as he dealt with injuries.  By 1931, he was done and out of the league.

I guess Les isn't always more.

Also, check out that massive patch on his sleeve honoring the 50th anniversary of the NL - it's Golden Jubilee.  Here's what it looked like in color, courtesy of Wrigley Wax

 Jumbo looks miffed that he was included as just a base card.  Sorry bud.

However, making Jumbo mad was probably a bad idea.  Towering at 6'4" and 295 lbs, Brown was easily the largest baseball player of his time.  It sure would have been amusing to see him pitch to Eddie Gaedel.

He received a brief two-game audition out of the Cubs bullpen in 1925, giving up 2 ER in 6 IP.  They weren't impressed and he went back down to the bush leagues.

It wasn't until the Yankees got a hold of him in 1932 that Jumbo took off (the first Jumbo Jet?), serving as an effective swingman for the next nine years for both New York clubs and Cincy.

Gotta love baseball, what other sport features such people of all shapes and sizes?

And we have another subset.  A pretty simple concept here; just a bunch of really cool nicknames.

Roy "Jeep" Hughes earned his nickname as a result of his speed on the infield, easily able to cruise through the dirt at top speed.

Roy served as mostly a utility infielder throughout his 11-year big league career, including his stint with the Cubs from 1944-45.  However, for the most recent Cubs Fall Classic, Roy was promoted to starter.

Lennie Merullo (the last living Cub to have played in the World Series) had been the man for the job all through the regular season, but his weak bat and defensive limitations kept him on the bench for all but one game of the series.

For his part, "Jeep" went 5 for 17 with a double, 3 RBI and 4 walks to his credit.  Alas, as we well know, it wasn't enough to put the Cubs over the top.

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That's going to do it for today.  I've got some errands to run and I don't think my lovely girlfriend will take blogging as an acceptable excuse.  So, I'll cover the rest of my Conlon finds in tomorrow's post.

I hope that discovering these forgotten men of baseball's past is just as exciting for you as it was for both childhood Tony and adulthood Tony

Axl Rose Redemption - My Greatest Pull

While I love baseball and the Cubs, I'm not a completely one dimensional person.  I have many other interests and hobbies.

Shocker, right?

Well, music happens to be one of them.  While I can't play a lick or carry a tune (even if it had handles), I managed the college radio station during my time in school.  In addition, I've served as a radio DJ/sound editor there, a local NPR station and an internet station based out of New York as well.

I'm currently seeking employment in the radio world, which is a tough world to break into.  So, if you know a guy...

I get a real kick out of being able to introduce new tunes and the music I love to other people.  You may have noticed that I use any excuse to include a song in my posts here as well.

My tastes lie mostly in the rock/alternative sphere and every sub-genre thereof.  Grunge, garage rock, punk rock, hard rock, soft rock, indie rock, southern rock, classic rock, sedimentary rock...

Ok. That last one might not actually have anything to do with music.

So, I was ecstatic when I saw this fall out of a random pack 2013 Archives that I had picked up from the discount bin of the local Target, just to satisfy an itch:

Borrowed from the internet; I lost mine after I entered the code

This is the single-greatest thing I've ever pulled from a pack.  I've seen these go for a couple hundred bucks on Ebay!  But, it's not all about the money.

It just so happens that the 80's might be one of my favorite decade for rock and roll.  I know some people loathe the cheesiness of arena rock and the excesses of the hair metal scenes, but they sure don't bother me.

Axl Rose is, of course, the lead singer of Guns N' Roses (who had a foot in both of those scenes) and a true rock immortal.  His extremely impressive vocal range recently had him ranked as the greatest singer of all-time.

On the flip-side, Axl is also notoriously temperamental and reclusive.  So, I'm somewhat surprised Topps got him to sit down and sign a bunch of "baseball" cards.

He was probably 2 hours late to the session.  Plus it actually took him 8 years and help from 20 other band-members to sign all of the cards because he wanted to get each and every one perfect...

But, no matter.  One of these scribbles was going to be mine, courtesy of this special slip of paper!

After a few months of patiently waiting (Axl was, in fact, slow to sign these bad boys), this beauty showed up in my mail box:

While I am a touch disappointed they used a picture of Axl fronting his Guns N' Roses "tribute band" of today, it sure does look pretty damn cool.

Bonus points for the John Hancock being on-card and rather legible.  I guess Axl was feeling particularly cooperative that day.

The card itself comes from a pretty rockin' set of Heavy Metal autographs that were part of the 2013 Archives release.  Besides Mr. Rose here, you can also find Dee Snider (Twisted Sister), Scott Ian (Anthrax), Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) and several others.

The card I received is the base version.  There was also a special parallel of the card that was actually printed on metal... 'cause, y'know, heavy metal.

It's cool to see Topps reach out of their comfort zone on this one.

While it may not be the "real" Guns N' Roses anymore, I'd still like to catch Axl and Co. and see what kind of show he puts on.  I was fortunate enough to catch Slash at the Naperville Rib Fest last summer; he's definitely still got it!

Does Axl still bring it like Slash can?

While I've often given thought to starting a collection of music-themed cards to pay tribute to my "other" passion, I have yet to pull the trigger.  Although, this piece would make for an excellent jumping off point.

Do I really need another way to spend more of my money?

No matter what, this Axl Rose will be going on display and it might just mark the beginning of a new card-collecting foray.

I'll close today's post with my favorite Guns N' Roses track.  It's not exactly a deep cut, but you don't hear it nearly as often as, say, "Paradise City" or "Welcome to the Jungle":

To Infinity and Beyond!

The card community is a fantastic place.

I've never once regretted starting my blog about the hobby and immersing myself in this fantastic blogosphere.  There are legitimately countless quality blogs occupying our special little corner of the internet.

One of my favorites is The Infinite Baseball Card Set, written by the fascinating Gary Cieradkowski (God, I hope I spelled that right).

If you're not familiar, Gary is a graphic designer and illustrator with a passion for baseball and it's days of yore.  No matter how old or obscure the player or event, it seems that Gary has not only heard about it, but has written about it as well.

He shows off this vast knowledge by way of his Infinite Baseball Card Set (hence the blog title).  He produces his own never-ending baseball card series featuring subjects from off the beaten path.  Each one becomes the subject of it's own blog post and the world wide web is a better place for it.

Past cards have included John Dillinger's semi-pro baseball career and the real life "Moonlight" Graham.  You won't see these in Topps!

The best part about the set is that he draws all of the artwork by hand - talk about a labor of love!

When I saw that he was selling many of these unique cards, I couldn't resist adding a few to my collection.  After all, his wide-ranging checklist features many players who've never received a card elsewhere; that proved to be very helpful to my CATRC.

Without further ado, allow me to show off the cards that Gary put together:

See; that ain't no Microsoft Paint job!

Now, I won't get into too much detail about the background of good ol' Oscar here (Gary already did a fine job of that with his own post here, which you should read).  But, I will tell you that he was the starting rightfielder for the Cubs during the first season of the National League.

So, if the uniform wasn't already a dead giveaway, Oscar goes back a few years.  Bonus points for being the first Major Leaguer of Polish descent.

Gary chose to depict him on this card as a member of the 1874 Baltimore Canaries of the old National Association, precursor to the NL.  They sure don't make uniforms like that anymore, do they?

Once I saw that the physical cards lived up to the reputation cast by the blog, I knew that I had to have at least one more; one that depicted a player in an actual Cubs uniform:

Paul was a war-time replacement on the North Side of Chicago and spent most of his time in the bigs as the backup to Mickey Livingston in 1945. This is the stint during which Gillespie is depicted on Gary's card.

As every good Cubs fan knows, that team is significant as being the last squad to win the NL pennant and earn a berth in the World Series.  Yes, we know that's a long time ago.  Believe me.

You can read Gary's full write up here to find out the story behind that eye-catching gold patch on Paul's sleeve and what rare feat he accomplished to leave his mark in Major League history.  I'll give you a hint - it involves his first and final at-bats.

These are the only two I've pulled the trigger on so far, but the book is definitely open for more.

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Although his blog posts have slowed down in recent months, it is for good reason:  Gary has been working on getting a full-scale book printed based on his illustrations!  How cool is that?

From what I understand, he has finished "The League of Outsider Baseball: An Illustrated History of Baseball's Forgotten Heroes" and it is already available on Amazon for pre-order.  You can find it on shelves, courtesy of Simon & Schuster on March 24, 2015.

In the meantime, you have plenty of time to catch up on The Infinite Baseball Card Set and all it's glory.

If the blog is any indication, the book will certainly be a page-turner!

This Cub Grew Into a Bear

Are you ready for some football?!

The anticipation is palpable here in Chicago as the Bears get ready to open their season against Buffalo at Soldier Field tonight.

Despite some big moves (signing Jared Allen, extending Jay Cutler, etc.) the pre-season lead to more questions than answers about this team and whether or not they've actually improved.  The defense and special teams have been dubious at best.

But, this is a Cubs baseball card blog - why are we talking about the Chicago Bears?

Well, not too long ago, I obtained a card of the only man to play for both franchises.  I figured what better day than Bears opening day to spotlight this new arrival?

John "Paddy" Driscoll was a Hall of Fame quarterback in the early days of the NFL with the old Chicago Cardinals and the Bears from 1920-29.

In his career on the gridiron, the Northwestern grad had 18 passing TDs, 25 rushing TDs, 4 receiving TDs and was known for his drop kick and punting abilities. In 1924, he recorded a 55 yard drop-kicked field goal and in 1925 holds a tied NFL record of 4 drop-kicked field goals in one game.

He could beat you several different ways and because of that was inducted into the Pro Football HOF in 1965 and the College Football HOF in 1974.

A young Paddy Driscoll

But before any of that, he dabbled in professional baseball as well.

Multi-sport athletes were much more common before today's super-specialized era.  Especially in Paddy's time, as many other pro sports were just getting off of the ground and leagues were much more loosely organized.

Long before Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders - Jim Thorpe, George Halas, Chuck Dressen, Cliff Aberson and several others appeared in both the NFL and MLB with varying degrees of success.

I'll bet Jeff Samardzija or Russell Wilson would have loved to have played in that era.

Good ol' "Spellcheck" certainly had the potential to succeed in both arenas

(Notre Dame card created with Rookies App)

That said, "Paddy" Driscoll's baseball career was nowhere near as prolific or successful as his football exploits.  In fact, it was barely a blip on the radar.

In 1917, he was called up for 13 games as a utilityman, in which he received 32 plate appearances.  In those appearances, he batted an anemic .107 with 1 double, 2 walks and 2 SB.

He also saw brief action with the Cubs top farm club, the LA Angels of the old PCL, two years later before focusing on the pigskin.

I don't think he'll ever add the Baseball Hall of Fame to his otherwise impressive resume.

The only baseball image of "Paddy" to be found - 1919 Zeenuts, for LA

Not surprisingly, Driscoll's career was so short that he only appeared on one baseball card (pictured above). Honestly, I'm surprised there's even been one - let alone one from his tenure in the minor leagues.

But, since a classic 1919 Zeenut card is well out of my budget for the foreseeable future, I was forced to battle my OCD tendencies and introduce a football card to my CATRC.

It'll make an acceptable place-holder until I strike my fortune and can afford his baseball card - or that's what I tell myself anyway.

Besides, that 1989 Swell Greats card is a pretty "swell" piece of cardboard itself and at least it depicts him as a member of a Chicago team.  That counts for something, right?

In the meantime, I'm going to kick back and listen as the Bears whip the Bills.  I hope.

Bear down!

Know Your Role

The greatest teams in baseball always have their fare share of stars.

Murderer's Row had Ruth, Gehrig and company.  The Big Red Machine had Rose, Bench and crew.  Where would the Gashouse Gang be with Leo the Lip, Medwick and friends?

But, even these historic teams didn't have a Hall of Famer occupying every spot on their roster.  The fact of the matter is that every team needs quality role players to fill in the gaps.  Plus, the 162 game grind that is Major League baseball necessitates substantial roster turnover throughout a full season.

However, history rarely remembers these men.  Such is the nature of their roles.

That said, TCMA and Larry Fritsch Cards always dug deeper in their set production, something Topps should take note of.  Both companies produced several sets that honored such legendary teams and they always did a thorough job in highlighting their rosters.

Their commitment and research has been invaluable in my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection.  While the Cubs have not had many significant teams of their own since 1908, their players have bubbled up in famous places before and after their tenures on the North Side.

A couple of Ebay bids allowed me to add two such players to my CATRC, for instance:

This exquisite piece was produced by Larry Fritsch in 1996 as part of a series that paid tribute to the 1944 St. Louis Browns.  Those old Browns were a more hapless franchise in those days than the Cubs at their worst. 

From 1902-52, before becoming the Orioles, the Browns were perennially doormats of the AL.  But, in 1944, things were different.  That year, they won their first and only pennant by going 89-65.  Though they lost to their crosstown rival Cardinals in the Series, they certainly enjoyed their year of respectability.

While George McQuinn, Vern Stephens and Bob Muncrief got the All-Star selections, former Cub Mike Kreevich played a key role as well.

After a brief 5 game audition with the Cubs in 1931, going 2 for 12, Mike didn't reemerge in the Bigs until 1935.  He eventually earned a starting role in the outfield on the other side of town through '41, hitting for high average and providing above average speed and extra base-power.

 Kreevich as a member of the White Sox

But injuries and battles with alcoholism took their toll and after a brief and unproductive stint in Philadelphia, Kreevich limped over to the Browns.

For that 1944 squad, Kreevich only got into 105 games but he certainly made the most of it.  He posted a .301 batting average in 402 at-bats and a .405 slugging percentage, even earning a few votes in the MVP balloting.  But, the .231 average and lack of power he showed in the World Series dimmed his star.  He was out of baseball by 1946.

But Larry Fritsch made sure he wasn't completely forgotten by including Mike in this commemorative set.  The cards feature a simple layout and superb artist renderings of the players on the front...

...while the back evokes card designs of the fifties in it's layout and inclusion of cartoons.  All in all, it was an outstanding release.

Plus, who doesn't love cards that feature defunct teams?  The Browns, Senators, Colt .45's, Pilots... they sure do make for more interesting card subjects.

While the next team being spotlighted is far from defunct, it has moved it's base of operations in the ensuing years.

1953 was the first season for the Braves in Milwaukee after their abrupt transfer, which was uncomfortably close to opening day.  Not a truly great team, but certainly a significant one in the history of the MLB and thus honored with a special set, again by Larry Fritsch, in 1983.

While the Braves had long been second-fiddle to the Red Sox in Boston and been years removed from contention, the team found a fanatical audience for Warren Spahn, Eddie Mathews and Joe Adcock in a city starved for a Major League franchise.

The support no doubt injected some energy into the club, which posted a 92 win season, a wild 28 game improvement over the previous year, and finished second in the pennant race. 

However, our subject here never actually played in a game for the Milwaukee Braves.  The former Negro League standout had been in the Braves system since 1951.  Batting .197 in 122 at-bats that season had kept him in the minor leagues since then.

 Marquez was briefly a Cub in '54

His .345/14 HR/99 RBI season in AAA put him back on the prospect map and earned him a spring training invitation going into 1953, but he didn't capitalize.  When the team made their big move to Milwaukee, Marquez was not invited to be part of the show.

The Cubs took a chance on him as a Rule 5 draft choice for the 1954 season, but he went 1 for 12 in 17 games with no extra base hits so they traded him to the Pirates for Hal Rice.  In his last 14 ML games, he got his career average all the way up to .182.

Though he wasn't technically a Milwaukee Brave, Fritsch decided to add Luis to his inaugural Milwaukee Braves set.  The set is much more rudimentary than that which Mike Kreevich appeared in (that's to be expected when considering the age difference) and it is certainly apparent that Fritsch lacked the design budget that the major card manufacturers had.

While Luis never officially appeared for the 1953 Braves, our next subject actually made a cameo for the team being honored - albeit extremely brief:

While I stated earlier that the Cubs haven't have many famous teams since 1908, they've definitely had some good ones take them ALMOST all the way.  One of those teams was the 1938 club, of Homer in the Gloamin' fame.

Among some of TCMA early sets was this 1976 series honoring the '38 Cubs.  The team went 89-63 and won the Pennant.  At the time, the Cubs had averaged a World Series appearance every 3 years ('29, '32, '35, '38) and seemed ready to end their modest title drought soon.

Although they were powered by HOF'ers Gabby Hartnett, Billy Herman and Dizzy Dean, the Tigers spanked them in the World Series and they'd have to wait until 1945 for their next chance.

Long-time PCL standout Steve Mesner was just another name on the roster that season.

Mesner turns a double play for the PCL Sacramento Solons

The middle-infielder was just getting his first taste of Major League action when he came up in late September as part of pennant race reinforcements.  The race was tight (The Cubs only beat the 2nd place Pirates by 2 games), so the rookie saw little usage.

In 2 games and 5 PA's, Steve contributed 1 hit, 1 walk and 2 runs to their cause.

He got into 17 more games the next season before being dealt to St. Louis.  He finally saw regular action as the starting third baseman for Cincinatti from 1943-45.  But, when the stars came back from war, Mesner went back to the PCL for good.

TCMA included every Cub to appear on the roster that season in their honorary set.  As was typical of their early days, the set features bare bones design, black & white photography and type-written statistics on the back.  Again, they definitely didn't have the budget of Topps.

I found this card in at my LCS in a box that was otherwise filled with relatively recent, mainstream releases; I was surprised and ecstatic when this fell out.  It may be a little bit dinged up, but I can now add Mr. Mesner to my CATRC!

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In summation, though star power is what powers great teams, even the best of the best need role players and reinforcements to stay on top.

These vintage oddballs serve as an effective reminder of that statement.  For every Gabby Hartnett or Eddie Mathews, there's a Steve Mesner and a Luis Marquez.

Thanks to great companies like Larry Fritsch Cards and TCMA and their team sets, it's much more reasonable to find cards of these relatively anonymous role players.  I only wish Topps - or even Panini - would release sets with such depth today.

Maybe some day.