The Joy of Christmas Cards

Christmas has come and gone, so I'm a little late with this shout out - but, I hope Angus can find it in his heart to forgive me.

The proprietor of Dawg Day Cards has been somewhat MIA on the blogosphere lately, as real life has gotten in the way over the past few months.  However, everyone's favorite Browns fan has recently returned to our ranks and announced his presence with authority in a round of Christmas packages.  Watching the Browns every Sunday is enough to turn anyone into a bitter mess, but not Angus.  Despite the woes of his favorite sports team, this blogger remains as generous as ever.  One does not need to look any further than the bubble mailer that showed up in my mailbox in the days leading up to Jesus' birthday:

First of all, they came encapsulated in the fabulous Christmas card that you see above, which also contained a lovely note on the inside which I forgot to photograph for the purposes of the blog.  This would have been enough on it's own, as it's a gift that appeals to both myself and my wife, as well.

For me, I absolutely love the ivy-walled artwork chosen for the front flap of this masterpiece and it makes for a unique oddball to my Cubs-themed baseball card collection.  In my wife's case, one of her favorite parts of the holiday season is receiving Christmas cards from our friends and family, bringing Yuletide greetings, well-wishes, and spirited joy as they decorate our mantelpiece... well, book shelf, that is... we live in an apartment, after all.  At any rate, this was something both my wife and I "oohed and aahed" over!

In case you were curious, the print hails from an original piece of work by Darren Hill, titled "Where He Called His Shot" - an obvious nod to Babe Ruth's mythical (and fictional) called home run.  I haven't been able to track down any more of Mr. Hill's work, but I love his peaceful depiction of "The Friendly Confines," despite it being based on the "modern" Wrigley as opposed to the configuration from when the titular event took place.  I wonder if he's published any more work since his partnership with Off-Season's Greetings Card Co. in 1986?  I can't really find any more information on that company either... where did you find this gem, Angus?

It was easy for me to get lost in that Christmas card alone, but, as I mentioned, it came stuffed with further cardboard goodies.  So, let's take a look at what other gifts Angus Claus dropped down my figurative chimney flute.

Let's start with a quick warm-up, like any proper running event - these two track & field singles should do the trick.

By collection of running cards is a project that's been on the back-burner, seeing as it's not a sport that sees much trading card love and harriers do not show up in sets regularly.  Thus, I was thrilled when the University of Arizona's George Young and Team USA's Karl Warner fell out of Angus' mailer.  they're both new faces to be added to that burgeoning collection.  The former won a bronze medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics in the  steeplechase and held several American records in events ranging from the two mile to the 5k.  The latter ran the third leg in the American 4x400 meter relay team in the 1932 Olympics, taking home the gold when they posted a then-world record of 3:08.2.

I'm sorry, my distance runner nerd side is showing... let's shift gears a little bit with another pair of cards from the 1990 Collegiate Collection set:

Holy moly!  The University of Arizona basketball star, Ken Lofton?  You better believe that's the same Ken Lofton who would go on to patrol the outfield for seemingly every team in Major League Baseball in the 90's and 00's.

Before signing his first pro baseball contract in between his junior and senior year of college, the multi-sport athlete starred on the basketball court for the Wildcats.  In baseball, he regularly lead the league in steals on the basepaths; in basketball, Lofton actually set the UA record for career steals (200) and steals in a season (67) on the hardwood.  Also, fun fact, Kenny is one of four Cubs to have played in the March Madness tournament.

These singles have long been on my want-list for my collection of multi-sport Cubs, a PC which includes Tim Stoddard basketball cards, Matt Szczur football cards, and Ernie Banks golf cards.  Angus is bringing the fire power!

How do you keep that momentum going? By throwing in an autograph, of course!

Billy Blitzer is a scout that worked for the Cubs from the early 80's through the early portion of this decade.  Among his most well-known signings are Shawon Dunston, Jamie Moyer, Derrick May, and Alex Arias.  In 2011, Topps decided to include autographs of scouts in their popular Bowman brand - it's a pairing that makes sense on paper, but I can't imagine prospectors were thrilled when one of their guaranteed hits turned out to be a non-athlete.  On the other hand, I love these sorts of quirks and I'm more happy to scoop them up, odd though they may be.

Speaking of oddballs, the rest of Angus' "Christmas in an envelope" mailing was nothing but:

These three cards might look like ordinary 2017 Flagship base and inserts, but there's more than meets the eye.  As the different photos on the front might have indicated, these are actually singles from the New Era promotional set released by Topps through Lids.  Seeing as my trusty, dusty Cubs cap isn't getting updated anytime soon and I'm not one to drop thirty smackers on headgear anyway, these bad boys simply weren't on my radar, whatsoever.

Now, with Maddux, Bryant, and Schwarber in hand, I have the complete Cubs base team set and half of the inserts from the checklist - not bad!  Also, Kris looks phenomenal in World Series Champion gold!

Speaking of Kris Bryant, one special Topps promotion that was on my radar was National Baseball Card Day.  In fact, I went to multiple different card shops to chase the free packs that were given away during that hallowed holiday.  Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I did not pull a single Cubs card from any of them.  It was quite the letdown.

Well, Angus wasn't going to let that stand.  I did a little happy dance when this NBCD '17 Bryant single fell out of his stocking stuffer!

Continuing the oddball trend, was this small stack of Panini stickers.  I'm still fighting the temptation to stick them all over the walls of our apartment; however, I think that might ruin the Christmas glow that my wife is still joyously basking in.  My landlord might have something to say about that too.

Moving on, before the urges become too strong to overpower:

Angus also tossed in a couple of complete sets of oddities - on the left is the 1985 7Up sponsored, SGA set and on the right is the 1987 Pro Cards Wytheville Cubs collation.

I've long had scattered singles from the former floating throughout my collection, so it's awesome to finally have a complete, team-bagged set to keep intact.  In contrast, I've never possessed a single one of these Wytheville cards, which was the Rookie level team in the Appalachian League for the Cubs of the late-80's.  I'm sure that Angus knows that I absolutely adore minor league cards and threw these into the package accordingly.

Here's a pair of my favorites from the latter.  First, we have Matt Franco, eventual Cubs bench player and nephew of the great Kurt Russell.  Next to him, is the rare shot of the pitching coach pretending to lay down a bunt - seriously, what's not to love about that?  Not to mention, Rick Kranitz went on to become the Big League Cubs' bullpen coach in 2002; so, this goofy single will slot nicely into my coaches binder.  Meanwhile, Franco and several other friends will be targeted for my "Nothing Major" collection of minor league cards of Major League Cubs.

On that note, so will these two concluding pasteboards:

These 1988 Iowa Cubs All Stars would go on to be key contributors for the surprise 1989 NL East Champion Cubs, aka "The Boys of Zimmer."  Dwight Smith would finish second in the Rookie of the Year voting while Mike Bielecki would revive his career as the number two starter on the staff.

Back to the cards, these blue-bordered and beautiful Pro Cards were available, on-site, to patrons of the 1988 AAA All-Star Game in Buffalo, New York and the player information on the back was only two weeks old that day - not bad, considering how long it takes to print and prepare thousands of card sets!  Now, they, like their Wytheville brethren, will be resting comfortably in my minor league Cubs binder.

With that, we've finally reached the conclusion of Angus' seemingly endless Christmas gift.  Seriously, it was like trying to find the bottom of Santa's bag!  Thank you, Angus, for your Christmas spirit and generosity - the package was a thrill to sort through and distribute among the various arms of my collection.  There was no lack of quality cardboard, that's for sure.  I'll be sure to return the favor ASAP.

Also, I made sure to put the Christmas card on prominent display on our mantelpiece.... errr, again, bookshelf.  Here it is, right on the very top, among the other bits of mailable Noel joy on that shelving unit:

A merry late Christmas to you Angus and to all of you out there who are reading this - and a happy new year!

Something to Chew On

Earlier this week, I alluded to the fact that I was lucky enough to receive a small handful of new additions to my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection, as well - three, to be specific. Apparently, my family knows me and knows what I want pretty well! I've been chasing these vintage oddball cards for a long time and the players' stories are unique enough that I feel as though it would be a disservice to cram them all into a singular blog entry; therefore, over the next few days, I'll give each individual card a moment in the spotlight, so that I might brag appropriately.

On Wednesday, we began the showcase by examining the newest of the trio, John Flavin's 1983 Fritsch One-Year Winner card.   Yesterday, I displayed the "middle child" of the bunch, 1945 NL ERA Champ Ray Prim's 1947 Signal Oil single.  Therefore, let us continue this linear timeline by moving on to the oldest of the three gifts.  Today's example is truly an antique, as it is older than sliced bread, zippers, and women's right to vote.

What we have here is a 1909 Colgan's disc, featuring minor league journeyman, Walt Woods.  As you can plainly see, it has some serious flaws on the surface, but that's what brought this bad boy down into my parent's price range.  When the slip of paper in question is 108 years old, these sorts of dings don't bother me too much, if at all.

From 1909-13, Colgan's included these small, circular cards in the small, circular tins of their unique, five-cent, Mint Chip Gum - hence their bizarre 1.5 inch diameter.  Additionally, they are printed on thin stock, barely thicker than your standard printer paper; this further excuses the confectionery premium's condition.

On the backside of this "Star of the Diamond," you can find an advertisement for "the gum that's round" and a warning to "beware of imitations."  I highly doubt their was a lot counterfeit Colgan's "circulating" way back then *ba dum tiss*

That about covers the basics of the card itself; now, how about we profile the career of the man depicted on it's front?

Woods (#5) and his dapper buddy, mgr. Tom Burns (#10) w/the 1898 Chicago Orphans. Courtesy of Legendary Auctions.

Walt Woods' Major League Baseball career was a long time ago and did not last for a very long time.  The Rye, NH native broke into the National League with the Chicago Orphans, better known today as the Cubs, 119 years ago.  He had been playing with Tom Burns in the New England minor leagues and when his teammate took over for Cap Anson in the Second City, the skipper brought Walt along with him to the midwest.

Despite having an "in" with the team's new signal-caller, Mr. Woods almost did not make the team in the spring of 1898. You see, apparently the rookie's head was not entirely in the game or his pre-season conditioning.  The recently displaced ballplayer spent nearly every waking moment carrying on a passionate correspondence with his girlfriend back in New Hampsire.  I suppose it's lucky for Wally that he didn't come along in this current day and age - I can see him losing countless hours to FaceTime and other social media!

Get off the damn phone, Walt!

Eventually, the pitcher would on the mound in 27 National League games (22 starts) for the pre-Cubs, posting a 9-13 record in 3.14 ERA along the way, as the fourth man in their rotation.  Meanwhile, the fielder appeared in 23 games in the outfield, third base, shortstop, and second base.  That's right, Mr. Woods was a two-way player and could do it all on the field... well, that is except for play on Sundays  The teetotaler drew the line at honoring the Sabbath and thus earned the moniker as "the Sunday School Pitcher."

As versatile as Woods was, he wasn't much of a threat at the plate - in '98 he batted an anemic .175.  Thus, with better starting options and much better offensive choices, the Colts decided that the wannabe Shohei Ohtani wasn't worth their time.  After being sent to the Louisville Colonels for their final season in 1899 and having a very similar season, Walt was transferred with several of his new teammates to Pittsburgh upon the former franchise's collapse (former Col. owner, Barney Dreyfuss, purchased the Pirates).  Although, before he went, he did have the honor of taking the ball for the last game in Louisville history - against Washington, his team smashed six homers and triumphed 25-4.

Woods as a Colonel in 1899, image courtesy of Baseball History Daily.

Instead of going on to stardom like fellow transfers Honus Wagner, Tommy Leach, or Fred Clarke, Woods appeared in just a single game with the Buccos.  He didn't exactly go out in a blaze of glory either, hurling three innings and giving up six earned runs in his swan song... eep!  That said, you could stillsay that he was a hero as, during the preceding winter, he saved the life of a young boy who fell through the frozen surface of a lake.  What a selfless fellow!

With that, Walt's career in Major League Baseball was officially over; however, his professional baseball career was only just beginning.  Deciding to drop the two-way act (since 1893, no pitcher with as many IP as Walt has notched fewer K/9 innings - 1.07), Woods would go on to star for various minor league clubs, at nearly every other position on the diamond and his career would last for yet another 14 seasons after being cut by the Steel City powerhouse.  Most of his time was spent with the Jersey City Skeeters of the Eastern League and the Troy Trojans of the NY State League.  Despite this fact, it is with the Buffalo Bisons that Wood is listed on the Colgan's Disc that I found under my Christmas tree, which - to my knowledge - is his only baseball card.

Woods after stepping away from the game, courtesy of Baseball History Daily.

Our hero's tenure in Buffalo lasted for just a season and a half, from 1909-10.  His stats from the partial year in '09 are lost to time; but, we do know that he appeared in 73 games with the team in '10, batting .190.  Not exactly the most inspiring stint.

After finally hanging up his spikes, the baseball lifer still remained in the game for a little while, going on to serve as the head coach for the University of New Hampshire and Dartmouth College nines for several years.  Once he stepped away for good, Woods traded in delivering pitches and advice for delivering envelopes and packages as a mail carrier in his hometown.  But, despite the seemingly banal "real" job, he wasn't quite done being a public figure.  When he wasn't passing out parcels, he was “Jolly Wally Woods - the man who lives in the Santa Claus house.”

You see, for about 15 years, local kids would queue up in front of the former ballplayer's house just before Christmas. Woods would then appear in an attic window dressed as Father Christmas and lower baskets of candy and toys down to the children with a rope. Then, on the big day itself, he would again don the big, red coat and beard before going around town to distribute gifts - what an amazing fellow!  Also, how appropriate is it then that I should acquire his card as a Yuletide gift - it's kismet!

A visual approximation of "Jolly Wally Woods"

And there you have it, the story of "the Sunday School Pitcher" - cameo Cub, two-way wannabe, minor league lifer, and Colgan's subject.  Also, that covers the Christmas cards that were gifted to me by my generous parent's, in honor of Jesus' birthday - thanks, guys!  Not only was I able to cross off three obscure, rare names from my "needs" list, but I also learned an awful lot about these heroes of baseball past along the way.  I suppose that is the purpose of trading cards, after all, right?

In conclusion, I'm thrilled to be able to add this bubblegum baseball card to my collection of cards based around a team which would come to be own by a chewing gum magnate.  I know that run-on sentence was a lot to "chew" on, but I just can't help myself sometimes.

By gum!

Third Time's the Charm

In Tuesday's post, I alluded to the fact that I was lucky enough to receive a small handful of new additions to my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection, as well - three, to be specific.  Apparently, my family knows me and knows what I want pretty well!  I've been chasing these vintage oddball cards for a long time and the players' stories are unique enough that I feel as though it would be a disservice to cram them all into a singular blog entry; therefore, over the next few days, I'll give each individual card a moment in the spotlight, so that I might brag appropriately.

Yesterday, we began the showcase by examining the newest of the trio, John Flavin's 1983 Fritsch One-Year Winner card.  Therefore, let us continue this linear timeline by moving on to the second "newest" of the three gifts.  Of course, time is quite relative and this card is a little bit older than middle-aged:

This 70-year old slip of cardboard represents the second 1947 Signal Oil Pacific Coast League single to enter into my prized collection, the first being Ray Prim's 1945 Cubs teammate, Ed Sauer.  These  5-9/16" x 3-1/2", over-sized, super-vintage pieces are printed on thin cardstock with newspaper comic-like headshots of the titular player.  Additionally, as you can plainly see, they also featured immensely entertaining cartoons around the drawn bust.

Courtesy of these cartoons, we learn that the Angels' Prim once tossed two no-hitters in just a single week (record of which, I cannot find), fishing is one of his favorite hobbies, and - get this - he once pulled an 11-foot alligator out of a hollow log.  That's not exactly the kind of background information that you usually uncover on a baseball card!  It also begs the question, "why???"

One more thing about the front:

The bottom right corner features the credit for the etchings, which belongs to former New York Giants pitcher, Al Demaree, who handled the cartoons for the entire set.  After an eight-year stint in the Majors, Demaree parlayed his diamond experience into a lengthy second career as a sports cartoonist.  In fact, the Sporting News used his cartoons for over 30 years and, at one time, he was syndicated by over 200 newspapers at once.  As an added bonus, Al also spent one of his eight years in baseball with the Cubs and also resides comfortably in my CATRC binder.

Al Demaree - pitcher and cartoonist, as the back of my 1994 Conlon Collection burgundy parallel states.

So, with that in mind, I guess Al Demaree is the only man to show up in my coveted tome twice... kind of.  At any rate, I'm fairly certain that he's the only former Cubs player to have anything to do with the production of another Cubs baseball card in my collection.  So, there's a fun fact.

Meanwhile, turning our attention back to Ray Prim and his antique '47 Signal Oil exhibit, let's take a look at the reverse of the intriguing piece of baseball ephemera:

Here you will find the traditional baseball vitals and biographical write-up.  Additionally, below the bio is a full manifesto of professional clubs for which Prim has played (Major and minor) and, to the right, is an advertisement for the corresponding team's home broadcasts and for the set sponsor, Signal Oil.

Overall, the larger set only consists of 5 of the 8 Pacific Coast League teams and the Sacramento and Seattle singles are much more rare.  I'm not entirely sure how they were distributed - however, they were likely a premium associated with Signal Oil purchases.  Luckily for me, the Wrigley-owned and Cubs-affiliated LA Angels made the cut and are not among the rarer portions of the checklist, as several of the players eventually made it to the Show with Chicago and don't have much else to their cardboard portfolio.  This post's hero, Mr. Prim, is one of those cases.

Despite his lack of trading cards, Prim's name is permanently etched into the Cubs franchise's record books.  You see, the former Senator and Phillie had a second wind as a wartime replacement player and, before Kyle Hendricks in 2016, Ray was the last Cub to lead the National League in ERA - 2.40, in 1945.  Appropriately enough, both campaigns ended with the club's two most recent World Series appearances.

Prim's Major League story actually begins with the Cubs - back in 1932, as a minor-leaguer with the Class-B Albany Senators, Commissioner Kenesaw Landis was forced to settle a dispute between the Cubs (who claimed they held an option on the pitcher) and the Boston Braves, who wanted to purchase Prim's contract.  In a M. Night Shyamalan-esque twist, Landis ignored both claimants and allowed Albany to sell his rights to the highest bidder - the Washington Senators.

It would be another another four years before the Cubs would finally land their man.

In the interim, the lefty was less than impressive in his brief Big League auditions (10 games from 1933-34) and, after a trade, was downright terrible in his lone season in Philadelphia (5.77 ERA in 73.1 IP).  With that performance, he was pushed back down to the bush leagues and back into the free agent pool.  Come 1936, the Cubbies came back around to the one who got away and inked him to a contract to play for their PCL affiliates, the Los Angeles Angels.

Prim (right) warming up with LA teammate, Fay Thomas, circa 1936.  Image courtesy of Water and Power Associates.

For the next several years, Prim would toil in the minors for the Cubs, with his once promising Big League potential deemed to have been spent.  However, he managed to find a home in the City of Angels, thrice winning 20-games for the Wrigley-owned, Chicago-affiliate and never posting any less than 16 victories.  Additionally, his ERA consistently hovered in the mid-to-high twos.  Despite this impressive performance, the man known by his teammates as "Squire" may not have had another Major League opportunity if it wasn't for war.

As we wanna-be baseball historians know, the pool of Major League talent continuously dried up after America entered World War II.  As the conflict raged on and more and more players volunteered or were drafted, clubs were getting downright desperate to fill rosters.  Thus, many aged veterans (many even coming out of retirement) were once again called upon to fill gaps, as they were too old to be considered for the service.  By 1943, Ray Prim, who was now in his late-30's and featured streaks of gray in his perfectly coiffed hair, was finally given a second chance.

Prim during his MLB revival.  Image courtesy of SABR.

Going into the season, both of the club's lefties were drafted and Prim found his opening.  In 29 games, working mostly out of the bullpen, Prim looked pretty good with a 2.55 ERA in a round 60 frames of mound duty; his average was lowest on the staff.  Of course, a bit of self-sabotage almost ruined his MLB revival.  Going into 1944, "Squire" chose to train in sunny LA with the Angels rather than the rest of the Big League club in chilly French Lick, IN - this lead to a demotion by the spurned club.

Nevertheless, after another season back with Los Angeles in 1944, he posted his fourth 20-win season and again forced the pitching-thin Wrigley residents to give him another chance for 1945.  Not many men get three chances like Ray did and Prim absolutely seized it.  After a rough and tumble start, the “ancient lefty,” rattled off a streak 27⅓ scoreless innings in mid-July on his way to a 1.27 ERA in his final 113⅓ innings, completing eight of 13 starts (among 19 appearances), and winning 11 of 14 decisions.  Come the end of regular season, no hurler in the entire National League had a lower ERA than Prim's mark of 2.40.

Unfortunately, that was to be Prim's peak.  We all know how the '45 World Series worked out for the Cubs and his performance did nothing to help the team (5 runs allowed in 4 innings).  Then, with the War finally over and the Major League stars returning for 1946, Prim injured his elbow in his first start of the season and never truly recovered.  Back in the PCL by '47, the veteran finally called it quits after a battle with the mumps hampered his effectiveness, at the age of 40.

Therefore, with that in mind, we can consider Prim's 1947 Signal Oil card to be a sunset card, seeing as it was released during his last year of professional baseball.  While his Major League success was brief and fleeting, the numbers he racked up with the Angels earned him a spot in the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame in 2005.

And that's the story of Ray Prim - fought over as a prospect, banished to the bushes, surprised as a War time star, and became a PCL legend.  Sounds like quite the ride!

Thanks to this generous gift from my parents, I now know "Squire's" tale - I must admit, I knew nothing about this man until I unwrapped the present sitting under my Christmas tree.  Nothing, that is, except that he was a forgotten Cub who was needed for my CATRC and had only one true baseball card issued in his name.  But, isn't that the true beauty of baseball cards?  Through these slips of paper we learn all about the history of our nation's pastime and those who played a part in it's ever-growing tale.  Welcome to the binder, Ray.

Stay tuned for part three of my Christmas stash, a post which will go live tomorrow morning.  Who will it be?  What will it be?  Let's just say that it's another oddball which makes this 70-year old antique look like a spring chicken!

One Year or Zero Year?

In my previous post, I alluded to the fact that, in addition to my awesome Thomas Ian Nicholas-autographed baseball, I was lucky enough to receive a small handful of new additions to my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection, as well.  Apparently, my family knows me and knows what I want pretty well!  I've been chasing these vintage oddball cards for a long time and the players' stories are unique enough that I feel as though it would be a disservice to cram them all into a singular blog entry; therefore, over the next few days, I'll give each individual card a moment in the spotlight, so that I might brag appropriately.

But seriously - my family rocks!

Anyway, today we will take a look at the "newest" card of the bunch, that being a single from Larry Fritsch's third series of "One Year Winners" (which was released in 1983) and features a little known pitcher by the name of John Flavin:

Larry Fritsch made his name by selling completed sets of Topps cards in the baseball publications of his day, a service which is still offered under his name today.  Additionally, Mr. Fritsch decided to fill some gaps that he'd noticed along the way with oddball card sets of his own creation.  Between 1977 to 1983, he released three series of "One Year Winner" cards, each with different designs and players on the checklist.  The concept behind the collation was fairly simple - men who had only appeared in one season of Major League Baseball.  John Flavin had a cuppacoffee in the Majors back in 1964 and thus qualified for inclusion.

However, upon examining this simply-designed card, eagle-eyed readers of this blog might have a question.  After all, I mentioned that this card was long-needed addition to my CATRC binder - in fact, I recently named it as my fifth most wanted item on my whole want list.  Furthermore, Flavin appeared in only five MLB games in '64 during his only season of action.  Lastly, on his "OYW" card - his only known baseball card - he is quite clearly sporting the uniform of one of the Cubs' National League rivals - the Cincinnati Reds.  Thus, the question becomes, "How does Flavin fit into this tome?"

As it turns out, this "One Year" card is actually a "Zero Year" card; by that, I mean that John Flavin spent exactly zero years with the Major League Reds, in an official capacity.  While he had been a prospect in the Reds' system going back to 1961, as the back of this card (obviously paying homage to 1953 Bowman) notates, piling up strikeouts and a PCL All-Star selection in '62 along the way.  John Boy was then traded to the Cubbies early in the 1964 season and it was there, in Chicago, that Flavin would make the ultimate ascent for the first, last, and only time.

The Cubs thought they were getting a live-armed prospect with a bright future as part of their rebuild - instead, they got 4.2 innings of 13.50 ERA ball, spread across a scant five innings. 

It's quite possible that John's performance suffered due to an injury of sorts, as after his embarrassing late-summer audition, he did not take the mound at any level in 1965.  Back on the hill in '66 for the Cubs' AAA affiliate in Tacoma, Flavin appeared in 13 games (4 starts) and was perfectly mediocre (2-3, 4.82 ERA) in what would be his final professional season.  His career was over at the tender young age of 24.

A photog was quick enough to get a shot of Flavin in a Cubs uni!

I cannot find confirmation anywhere, but I'm willing to bet that the old "sore arm" did Johnny in, as it did many a bright pitching prospect in the days before Tommy John surgery.  Bummer.  Nevertheless, at least he did get a taste of the Bigs and his own baseball card, courtesy of Larry Fritsch.

As brief as his career was, he still managed to play in a role in baseball history.  During his days as a Reds' minor leaguer, Flavin played the role of stopper in an amazing streak by the Orioles' Johnny Orsino.  The catcher was brought in by the birds that spring to audition for the full-time role and promptly made an impression on the club.  All he did was hammer a home run in his first FIVE STRAIGHT spring at-bats... even in exhibition ball, that is eye-poppingly astounding.  John Flavin was not having any of it though - with Orsino looking for longball number six, Flavin induced a weak pop-up to the catcher, ending the show of power.

Not on Flavin's watch!

Curses!  Foiled by Flavin!

I feel as though I should also mention that, according to my research, this John Flavin doesn't appear to bear any relation to the John Flavin that founded the ubiquitous Score trading card company in 1988.  Nor does he appear to share any blood with the John Flavin in the athletic Hall of Fame for Georgetown or the John Flavin who starred in track & field for the University of Dayton.  Apparently, "John Flavin" is quite the sporty name!

Back to the card itself, Fritsch's One-Year Winners has been a goldmine for me, in terms of my CATRC.  After all, by it's very nature, it covers several obscure and short-term Cubbies, throughout it's three editions, who would otherwise not have any baseball card representation.  At this point, I do believe the only card from that checklist which I still need is Jim Ellis' #28, from 1979's Series Two.  So, if you have a lead on that bad boy, please feel free to let me know!

The previous editions of OYW.  Left, 1979.  Right, 1979.

With that, we've pretty much covered the story of John Flavin and his 1983 Larry Fritsch One-Year Winners single.  But, like I said, this is just the tip of the iceberg - there were still two more, much older Cubs All-Time Roster Collection additions sitting under my tree on Christmas morning.

Who will we talk about tomorrow?  Stay tuned!

Funky Butt-Loving!

Christmas time has come and go - the magic is over.  The Andy Williams and Burl Ives classics that were once blasting through your stereo speakers on repeat have been replaced by the normal pop radio station, the holiday gut is beginning to form after a week of eating nothing but ham and eggnog, the living room is still strewn about with ribbons and shimmering wrapping paper, and the office is expecting you to be back at your desk and working at full-steam right now.  So goes the Christmas hangover every year; but, oh, what a ride it was!

This was a particularly good yuletide season for the Wrigley Roster Jenga kin.  All of our family gatherings went off without incident or drama, on both sides of the family, and fun was had by all who made it to our snowy, mid-western havens.  Of course, this is the most important part of the holiday; but, it would be exceptionally remiss of me to ignore the capitalistic aspect of our holiday - the presents!

Lets not kid ourselves, we're all a teensy bit materialistic.  After all, this "show and tell" blog is built around that fact.  That being acknowledged, please allow me to show you the "piece de resistance" of my holiday gifts:

That right there is an official Major League Baseball, emblazoned with the logo of the best team is the history of professional sports (biased much?), and featuring a flowing, personalized autograph in Cubbie-blue ink.  I know you're just itching to know, whose penmanship graces this pristine piece of baseball ephemera?  Fergie Jenkins?  Anthony Rizzo?  Theo Epstein?

No, even better - one must pay attention to the inscription for a clue.  Any self-respecting child of the 90's should recognize what "Float it!" is an homage to:

Funky butt-loving!  That ball was personally signed by the star of 1994's kiddie blockbuster, Rookie of the Year - Thomas Ian Nicholas, aka Henry Rowengartner.  Surely you are all at least familiar with the flick that details the adventures of a 12 year old boy who's unfortunate arm injury heals to create an adolescent arm capable of triple-digit speed and signing a Major League contract.  "Float it!" hints towards the movie's climax, where (spoiler alert!) Henry is forced to resort to the eephus pitch, after another injury robs him of his magic.  This movie was a staple of any young baseball fan's entertainment diet who grew up during the decade of the Macarena, Pogs, and Smashmouth, especially when that young fan was also a die-hard Cubs rooter.

After all, we didn't have much else to tout, besides a declining Ryne Sandberg and a pre-Flintstone vitamins Sammy Sosa, back then.

As it turns out, way back in August, Mr. Nicholas made an appearance at the Chicago stop of the touring comic convention known as Wizard World.  My gracious brother, a devoted follower of super hero and science fiction culture, just so happened to be attending this event of his own volition.  Knowing just how important this movie was to both of us, he opted to put his day on pause and wait in line to get this baseball autographed by the best 12 year old to ever play the game.  Then, he somehow managed to sit on it for four months and turn it into an amazing Christmas gift.

Here's an interview with Mr. Nicholas from that summer event.

Additionally, I should mention that Thomas Ian Nicholas also went on to star in the American Pie film series and has had modest success touring and recording with the Thomas Ian Nicholas Band.  However, to this over-grown child, he'll always be that kid heckling Tim Stoddard on the base-paths of "Dodger Stadium"...

...that pre-teen with a difficult to pronounce name...

...or that kid who took pitching advice from Home Alone's Marv:

Needless to say, my brother done good.  This will make a fine addition to my burgeoning collection of autographed baseballs; in fact, it may very well be the new marquee exhibit.  Thanks, Mike!

Now, while this gift definitely stole the spotlight this Christmas, it definitely was not the only baseball-related gift nestled under my Christmas tree.  I was lucky enough to unwrap a small boon to my treasured Cubs All-Time Roster Collection binder, as well, which will be split up and highlighted over the next few days.  It would be a disservice to cram all of these oddball goodies into one post!  So, keep your eyes open for those gems.

With that, before I go, I'm curious - did any of you readers out there receive any cool baseball or baseball card-related gifts during this festive season?  Were they even cooler than my TIN ball?  Please let me know in the comments section below.

Although, I'll have you know, my "Rowengartner" ball is going to be tough to beat!

Reelin' in a Bass

Well, you don't see this every day.

On Wednesday night, the Cubs put ink to paper and signed another pitcher to a contract for the 2018 season.  No, it wasn't Yu Darvish, Alex Cobb, Jake Arrieta, or any of the other major free agents the North Siders have been attached to this winter - despite what certain Barstool personnel might have "reported."  However, like Darvish, the man who signed on the dotted line is a former Rangers hurler who has pitched in "the land of the rising sun."

The moundsman in question was Anthony Bass, who was reeled in on a (presumably) minor league deal to serve as depth in both the rotation and the bullpen.  The swingman was once a top prospect in the San Diego system (as evidenced by my 2013 Topps Bass base card above), and has since journeyed through the bullpens and rotations of the Padres, Rangers, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, and the Rangers once again.  In 2017, Bass spent most of the year on the Texas farm, making a two-game, MLB cameo in the summer, giving up 9 ER in 5.2 innings.  At AAA Round Rock, Bass was much more average, posting a 4.18 ERA in 12 starts and 18 appearances.

Whether or not the 2013 Flagship single I dug up from my trade boxes for this post will ever be slotted into my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection binder remains to be seen; after all, this contract appears to be a minor league pact, the kind of depth signing that all orgs make.  But, it's good to know that I have one should the Cubbies need to dig into said depth at some point during the 2018 campaign.  With all that stated, you might be asking yourself, what about this transaction makes it "something you don't see everyday?"

EXCITED to officially announce that I’ll be heading north to the Windy City in 2018 to help bring another championship to the @Cubs historic franchise!! #FlytheW pic.twitter.com/IbtzYPWltZ

— Anthony Bass (@AnthonyBass52) December 21, 2017

Well, he announced the deal on his own.... on Twitter, of all places. In fact, the Cubs still haven't made any acknowledgement of the signing themselves. You don't see that too often. At any rate, it's awesome to see how excited Mr. Bass is about swimming into the Chicago Cub organization!

It should also be pointed out that this isn't the first time that Anthony's name has popped in Cubs news this off-season.  As I mentioned a couple of times in this post, Bass spent a season playing in Japan (2016), serving as a swingman for the Fighters and as a teammate to a guy by the name of Shohei Ohtani.  Heard of him?  Anyway, during the two-way star's decision making process, Bass offered up some advice -  “I told him, `You should come to the Cubs. They’re a good team, they won the World Series, and you can hit,’ ” Bass told Scott Miller of Bleacher Report.

While we didn't land Ohtani, it's clear that Anthony wasn't just blowing smoke up his ass, either.  He must truly believe in this franchise.

So, in the end, Theo might not have landed the big fish of the off-season, free-agent fishing trip; that said, he did end up hooking a nice Bass.

Welcome to Chicago (or Iowa), Anthony Bass!

Christmas in a PWE

"The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear."  Buddy the Elf in Elf.

Shenanigans - I say the best way to spread Christmas cheer is to mail baseball cards to all of your collector friends.  After all, I've heard enough of Jingle Bells, White Christmas, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, and the entire yuletide canon already this December.  Someone who clearly agrees with this sentiment is Stealing Home, of the Dodger-centric blog, All Trade Bait, All the Time.  Every year, this kind soul digs out his trade boxes and stuffs generous PWE's full of baseball cards and ships them off to his blogging buddies, purely out of the goodness of his heart.

2017 is no different and I managed to stay on Mr. Home's nice list, as my gift landed in my mailbox yesterday afternoon.  When I saw this envelope nestled among the bills and the college loan paperwork, I giddily tore into it like a kid on Christmas morning!

1989 Topps might be one of the most ubiquitous trading card sets to ever hit the printing presses; however, Stealing Home managed to locate a Cubs on this checklist that I did not already possess.    Although, technically, Dwight Smith was part of the Traded box set, making his single a little tougher to come across.  Plus, the outfielder was kind of a big deal when those boxes hit the shelves, as he was well on his way to finishing second (to teammate, Jerome Walton) in the Rookie of the Year balloting.

Oh what could have been...

Sticking in the 80's, here's another pair of baseball cards from the overproduction era.  Speaking of ubiquitous sets, 1987 might be the most recognizable baseball card set of all-time, thanks to being a keystone of the junk wax era and Topps constantly paying tribute to it's wood-grained borders.  In contrast, Brian Dayett is not nearly as iconic.  In fact, the extra outfielder was entering into his last Major League season as this card hit the market, pink printing errors and all.

On the other hand, Cubs fans will always remember the rocket-armed Shawon Dunston at shortstop.  On this '87 Donruss single, Dunston has either nailed the runner at first base in spring training, or sailed the throw into the stands and nailed an unsuspecting fan... you just never knew with that guy!

Fast-forwarding into the next decade, here we have a pair of Hall of Fame sluggers lumbering around the base paths; in fact, they both appear to be preparing to make the turn around third.  I think that we can all agree that Ryno and the Hawk look much more majestic on the cards which showcase their powerful swings... track runners they were not!

We're moving into the "modern era" with the next few cards.

Speaking of awkward photographs... holy moly!  I think the photographer's official assignment that day was to nap the worst picture possible of the future Hall of Fame second baseman.  I mean, he didn't even get Ryne to look at the camera... or get both of his eyes to look in the same direction!

Here's a pair where the famous ivy walls of Wrigley Field are prominently displayed, which is always a pleasant characteristic for a baseball card.

The 100 Years of Wrigley Field, which pays tribute to important moments in the stadium's century-plus history, insert set from a couple years back is still one of my favorite such checklists of the decade, perhaps even of all-time.  Sure, I may be a Cubs homer, but isn't there just something about the red brick and the lush green ivy that just screams America's pastime?  This particular single highlights William Wrigley himself becoming the majority shareholder of the franchise in 1921.

Next to the chewing gum magnate, we have Marlon Byrd leaping for a fly ball at the wall of the field which bear's William's name, about 91 years later.  This card is just gorgeous - the ivy, the high socks, the fantastic play unfolding before us... that's why this card reps Byrd in my CATRC binder!

Finally, we conclude the Christmas gifting with one further card from the 1980's, one that features a potential Hall of Famer.  Granted, Moyer's chances of reaching Cooperstown are long due to his reputation as a stats-accumulator, but the ageless wonder is, nevertheless, on the ballot.  Hey, it could happen!  No matter what, he's still one of my favorite players of all-time, so any time he shows up in a PWE is a joyous occasion in my eyes.

With that, we've reached the bottom of Stealing Home's generous Christmas gift to Wrigley Roster Jenga.  Thank you for showering me with Christmas cheer and Cubs baseball cards, Mr. Home - it was greatly appreciated!  I would expect some Dodgers to hit your doorstep sometime after the holidays, if I were you.


"The best way to spread Christmas cheer is mailing baseball cardboard for all to hoard."  - Stealing Home... probably.

via GIPHY