Wrigley Roster Jenga's Most Wanted

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

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

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

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

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

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

#10 - 2003 Topps T205, #151 Dave Shean

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

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

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

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

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

#8 - 1990 Target Dodgers, #714 Dick Scott

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

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

#7 - 1979 Diamond Greats, #112 Vern Olsen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#2 - 1978 SSPC, #251 Mike Gordon

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

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

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

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

Drum roll, please:

via GIPHY

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

via GIPHY

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

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

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

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

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

via GIPHY

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

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

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

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

Gordon's Gallery

When it comes to oddball trading cards, there might not be any name in the hobby bigger than TCMA - the company started by hobbyists, Tom Collier and Mike Aronstein.  These maverick card producers put out several retro-themed and minor league card sets throughout the 1970's, which were ardently advertised in early hobby publications.  Then, in 1975, the pair got it in their heads to produce a direct challenge to Topps and create their own comprehensive set of current players (a Flagship, if you will) under the banner of Sports Stars Publishing Co. (SSPC) - one of those early hobby publications and one that Aronstein just so happened to own.

Borrowing inspiration from the classic 1953 Bowman set, the 1975-76 SSPC set became a hobby legend for it's minimalist focus on photography, it's vast checklist, and it being edited by a baby-faced Keith Olbermann.  As far as distribution goes, their product was only available via mail-in order; that said, Aronstein had intentions of bringing it to store shelves.  Unfortunately, before this came to be, Topps stepped in and sued to block any further production, ending any further competition between David and Goliath.

Admittedly, this is probably a tale that most collectors are familiar with; however, what often gets forgotten is that this lawsuit did not mark the end of SSPC baseball cards.  Aronstein and crew regrouped, licked their wounds and came back at Topps just a couple of years later.

Exploiting a loophole, in 1978, SSPC produced special magazines that profiled the top 44 players in Major League Baseball... oh and they just so happened to contain team-centric panels of "27 full color photo fact cards" that could easily be separated.  These "All-Star Gallery" publications were produced for a handful of clubs and actually made it to retail shelves before again being shot down.  It was after this second shot across the nose of Topps, TCMA returned to focusing on minor league sets and throwback checklists; but, they put up a valiant fight.

I'm not sure how SSPC went about selecting the "44 Top Starts" to profile - they aren't based off of the previous season's All-Star selections and appear to have been chosen by the whim of the publishers.  In case you were wondering (I know I was), only one Chicago Cub made the cut:  Bobby Murcer.

It's easy to forget that "the next Mickey Mantle" was once a Cub.... mostly because he was the aged, declining return in the lopsided and shortsighted Bill Madlock trade.  Although, the first half of his 1977 was pretty decent.

Besides the cards that were actually included within the spine of these magazines, Aronstein made sure to hawk his card products with TCMA and their business partner, Renata Galasso:

Renata - the "world's largest hobby card dealer" - was known for offering complete, hand collated sets of Topps products.  In order to stand out from the competition, she partnered with TCMA to produce some retro-themed sets of her own doing, as modeled by Joe DiMaggio in the add above, that were offered as further purchase incentives.  Needless to say, between TCMA, SSPC, and their partnership with Renata Galasso, Tom Collier and Mike Aronstein were the oddball kings of the 70's and 80's!

For many moons, I've been trying to track down the Cubs edition of the "All Star Gallery" for a reasonable price.  After searching high and low, basically since starting this humble blog, I was thrilled to finally stumbled across a copy on Ebay that did not hurt my wallet.  For just a little more than six dollars shipped, the full 27-card set of Cub finally entered into my possession this afternoon:

Aren't they glorious?  I mean, the Cubs of the late 70's were pretty blase at best, but they sure look good here - again, in a minimalist, Bowman inspired design.  All the big names are there - Bill Buckner, Dave Kingman, Bruce Sutter, Rick Reuschel, etc. - that said, to be honest, that's not what I'm after.

They may have survived all this time in their panel configuration; but, I can say for certain that I'll be separating them with the paper cutter on my desk.  This might cause some collectors' skin to crawl, but it's what has to be done.  You see, one of these panels contains the one and only baseball card ever produced for a certain Cubs player, a player in dire need of representation in my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection.  Single cards from this product don't pop all that often... thus, the knife must come down.

Mike Gordon was one of several young catchers that the Cubs were grooming to replace franchise "Iron Man," Randy Hundley, throughout the seventies.  Drafted out of high school from Boston, Gordon was highly touted by Chicago scout, Lennie Merullo, and encouraged his employers to take the young, switch-hitting backstop in the third round of the 1972 draft.

Sidenote - Merullo, you might remember, was the last living man to have played in a World Series game with the Cubs when he passed away in 2015.  Lennie manned shortstop for the team throughout the forties, including the 1945 Fall Classic against Detroit.  After hanging up his spikes, he transitioned into a scouting role for his former club, like many a former ballplayer.  Moe Drabowsky was his most notable discovery and, unfortunately for both parties involved, Mike Gordon did nothing to boost Merullo's credentials.

Merullo (and son) on a TCMA "War Years" single.

Gordon was offered a substantial bonus to pursue baseball, abandoning his natural sport of football. The prospect likely received a bonus in the $25,000 to $30,000 range, comparable to the $35,000 signing bonus the Montreal Expos paid future Hall of Famer, Gary Carter. After all, Gordon was selected to the Parade Magazine national All-America high-school football team and had also signed a letter of intent to play at West Virginia University. He was highly desired too, as he had scholarship offers from Boston College and Notre Dame to fall back on, as well; meanwhile, his baseball resume included no comparable honors or achievements. Perhaps that imbalance should have been a red flag, but the Cubs still heeded the advice of their longtime scout.

To put it lightly, things did not go well.   After posting a .194 batting average in the Gulf Coast League in 1972 and following up that anemic performance with a similar .180 mark in each of the next two years at Single A, Gordon's position in the org was tenuous, at best.  It was only his defensive skills behind the dish and the team's expensive investment that kept that pink slip at bay.  Accordingly, the Cubs drafted a pair of college catchers in Ed Putman and Steve Clancy, who leapfrogged our hero in the depth chart.

Putman would only appear in 22 games for the Cubs from 1976-78.

In order to save his career, Gordon made some adjustments at the plate over the 1974-75 off-season.  Accordingly, his batting mark improved to .241, earning his ticket to AA, and further rising to .247 after that promotion.  Going into the 1977 season, Gordon had improbably jumped back to the top of the catching prospect ranks.  Everything looked golden as Mike made the ultimate ascent to the Major League club, coming out of spring training that March, as the third string backup to Steve Swisher and George Mitterwald.  Sadly, it was all downhill from there.

Mike got off to a slow start, going 0-for-4 at bat  and catching a few innings of two games before he was sent back down to Wichita. He would not reemerge on the Big League roster until the September roster expansion and that's when things got really ugly.  He was given a starting opportunity in a pair of games against Montreal as audition for 1978, as Swisher and Mitterwald did not impress.  Gordon went 0-for-7 in those two contests AND allowed six stolen bases on six attempts; he didn't exactly seize the opportunity.  Furthermore, his hit-less streak would eventually extend to 12 at-bats before he finally connected on his first Major League knock.  All told, Mr. Gordon posted a dismal .043 batting average (1 for 23) on the year and looked over his head behind the plate.

I guess TCMA liked what they saw though, seeing as they decided to include him in their Cubs booklet for 1978.

 Bill Hayes would only appear in 5 MLB games, from 1980-81.

(He's also repped by a TCMA single from the 1983 Iowa Cubs team set)

At this point, the Cubs went out and traded for Dave Rader and Larry Cox to split time behind the dish.  However, Mike Gordon would get one further cameo with the MLB team in 1978, sneaking into four games after an injury to Rader, with one hit in five at-bats.  But, the writing was on the wall, as the Cubs selected catcher Bill Hayes in the first round of the 1978 draft, a clear signal that Gordon's glass slipper had shattered.  He was demoted as soon as Rader was healthy and would never again appear on a Major League roster.

In the end, Mike Gordon would hang on in the Cubs chain through spring training of 1980; after his release, Gordon decided to call it a career.  From there. he went back home to start a family, work as a technician for the Bay State Gas Company for almost three decades and became a noted amateur golfer in his region.  Sadly, in the autumn of 2003, Mike Gordon was diagnosed with leukemia, a disease which would claim his life eight months later, at the age of 60.

It should also be noted that it wasn't until the Cubs hit on Jody Davis in the 1980 Rule 5 Draft that the merry-go-round at catcher ceased to turn.

Jody Davis, catcher without fear, would hold down the backstop from 1981-88.

Seeing as his career in the Show didn't amount to very much and did not last for particularly long, it should come as no surprise that Mike Gordon got no love from Topps.  Furthermore, considering that he played in the days of the Topps monopoly, it stands to reason then that Gordon severely lacked cardboard representation.  To the best of my knowledge, Mike never snuck into a minor league card set or any other regional oddball checklist.  Therefore, I am eternally grateful to TCMA and SSPC for filling what would have otherwise been a frustratingly permanent black hole in my premier collection.

Additionally, it seems as though if it weren't for these booklets, we wouldn't even have a uniformed photograph of Mr. Gordon.  Image searches turn up nothing but this card, which is even used on his Baseball-Reference profile picture:

Maybe he didn't like having his picture taken?

All of these factors considered, I'm accordingly ecstatic about crossing Mike Gordon's name off of my want-list.  Now, with this acquisition officially in the books, there's only one further obscure infielder who played for the Cubs from 1977-78, who's only traditional baseball card happens to have been produced by an Aronstein venture, left for me to track down.  Oddly specific, right? 

If anyone knows where I can locate a modestly priced copy of the 1979 TCMA Syracuse Chiefs card featuring Mike Sember, I sure would appreciate the tip!

Before we wrap this up, I have to ask, do you have any of the 1978 SSPC cards in your collection?  Were you aware of their existence, despite the fact that the 1975-76 version steals pretty much all of the SSPC thunder?  Also, with all of Collier and Aronstein's cardboard ventures, how many cards from the oddball godfathers do you have in your collection?  Do you enjoy their efforts as much as Topps' flagship products of the day?  Personally, I feel like we need another set of mavericks, like these two, to step in, shake up the market, and issue a challenge to Topps' current monopoly.

With that, it's time to "close the book" on SSPC and Mike Gordon.  So, let's wrap up this post by showcasing the back cover of the Chicago Cubs edition of SSPC's 1978 All Star Gallery magazine:

Bad puns might be the only thing I enjoy more than adding a new name to my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection tome.

Also, I wonder if that offer has expired...

Let's Go, Go-Go TCMA

Today's post celebrates the long-awaited arrival of a card that been a cornerstone of my want-lists since I first started Wrigley Roster Jenga and, in all actuality, long before this blog was even a glimmer in my eye.

Oddball card manufacturer TCMA has long been known for their nostalgic, throwback card sets which were sold through hobby periodicals of the 1970's and 80's.  Several cards from these various releases populate the pages of my treasured Cubs All-Time Roster Collection, as their comprehensive checklists shine the spotlight on subjects who have otherwise long been ignored. Accordingly, in 1981, the company released a set which paid tribute to the 1959 Chicago White Sox, better known as the "Go-Go White Sox," who represented the franchise's first pennant winner since the infamous Black Sox of 1919.  It's a set that I've been chasing for quite a while now, but have had little luck in finding, outside of a few singles here and there.

I hear what you're saying, "Have you gone daffy? You're a Cubs fan!"  I realize that this set is centered around that "other" Chicago baseball team and not the one that I am hopelessly devoted to.  That being stated, there is a reason that I have been trailing these Sox cards for countless years and that reason's name is Jim McAnany:

Jim McAnany was the surprise starting right-fielder for the Go-Go's and would eventually go on to be one of the few men to suit up for both the White Sox and the Cubs during their Major League careers.  Unfortunately for me and my roster-based collecting ways, Jim's time on the North Side of town was never properly commemorated on cardboard and his White Sox tenure was only barely acknowledged.  Thus, this TCMA oddball was a focal point for my hobby-related searches and it proved to be a maddening target.  Until today, I had never seen one of these in person and it's even autographed by the man himself!

Like I said, I've encountered a handful of singles from this set before; in fact, one of them already represents his teammate, Bob Shaw, in my CATRC binder.  Despite that, I have never seen a complete set of TCMA's 1981 Go-Go White Sox hit Ebay or appear on card show tables.  Thus, when the listing for this John Hancocked version came across my EBay feed, I pounced before even looking at the price.  As a result, I definitely overpaid, but it was worth it to finally add one of the few post-1950 needs left for my CATRC.  And, did I mention it's autographed?

The other 1981 TCMA Go-Go White Sox card in my possession

McAnany first burst onto the baseball scene in 1958, as the young fly-chaser from California batted an astounding .400 for the Colorado Spring Sky Sox of the A-level Western League.  For this accomplishment, he was named the winner of Hillerich & Bradsby Co.’s Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award for the highest batting average in all of the minor leagues.  That September, he was rewarded further for his heroics with his first cuppacoffee in the Bigs, though he would go 0-13 in 5 contests.  Apparently, he left all of the hits back in the mountains!

That speed-bump in his first trial did little to stall his Big League career.  The very next May, the White Sox - finding themselves in the thick of a pennant race with an underachieving outfield - gave Jimbo another call and installed him almost immediately into the starting line-up.  The 22-year never looked back, batting .276 with 27 RBI in 231 PA's, largely from the 8th turn in the batting order and easily outpaced his right-field competition (including future Cub, Johnny Callison).  Come World Series time, McAnany started three of the six games for the Pale Hose; but, by then, the magic had worn off as Jim was unable to record a single hit six trips to the plate.

The backside of his TCMA card details his career up through the 1959 campaign

Despite the disappointing end, the future appeared bright for the Go-Go Sox and their blossoming young star, McAnany.  Sadly, sunglasses were not needed for either party once the World Series afterglow had worn off.  In 1960, the White Sox dropped back to third in the AL and would not earn another trip to the Fall Classic for another 46 years.  Meanwhile, the breakout star of  '59 would only don the white stockings just thrice more.

During that off-season, McAnany headed the call of Uncle Sam and enlisted with the Army Reserve. While on duty at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, Jim injured his shoulder while working in the snow, and injury which would plague him for the rest of his baseball career. His nagging shoulder would keep him from getting in proper shape and his duties kept him from reporting to spring training on-time. As such, Jim was unable to get out from behind the 8-ball, being demoted after three hit-less April appearances and spending the rest of the year back in the bushes.  Thus came an unceremonious end to his White Sox tenure.  However, he would soon enough blow back into the Windy City, just to a different side of town.

Can't find a picture of Jim as a Cub on the internet, so my crude Photoshopping will have to do.

In the winter of 1960, McAnany was still seen as having potential and was accordingly drafted by the new Los Angeles Angels as part of the expansion draft, though he would never take the field in LA.  The outfield-needy Cubs traded away a promising rookie, Lou Johnson, to acquire Jim's talents as Opening Day 1961 loomed, signaling that the Angels weren't the only club which had hope in the still only 24-year old.  Unfortunately, it wouldn't take long for things to go sideways once again for our hero.

Uncle Sam wasn't done with McAnany and he was called away to spend most of the ensuing year at Fort Lewis, Washington during the Berlin Crisis.  In what was starting to become a pattern, Jim was able to come back for yet another late season cuppajoe, though his barking shoulder limited him to pinch-hitting duties, in which he went 3-for-11 with a double. His professional career would come to an abrupt end after seven more PA's the following spring, as his shoulder problems proved to be too much to manage on field and he officially called it quits.

Despite the brevity of his career, Jim McAnany was able to play in the World Series and experience the thrill of a pennant race,which more than most aspiring pro ballplayers could ever hope to achieve.  He wasn't bitter about it either, attending as many reunions of Go-Go White Sox as he could, kept in touch with many of his former teammates, and was reportedly wearing a White Sox jersey the day that he died in 2015.

Jim poses with his framed copy of the 1959 team photo in 2003.  Image courtesy of Stephanie Diani of the Chicago Tribune

Even considering the flash in the pan nature of Jim's career, I still find it surprising how minuscule his cardboard footprint is.  Despite making a name for himself as a prospect by hitting the hallowed .400 mark and ascending to a starting position on a World Series bound team, McAnany never appeared on Topps baseball card.  You would think that he'd at least get a nod in the old bubblegum company's 1960 checklist as a hot rookie, right?  In fact, excepting the ACEO art cards and customs which often populate my Ebay feed, Jim only ever appeared on two true baseball cards... one being the TCMA oddball which forms the basis of this post and, ironically, the other wasn't even his!

Having resigned myself to the fact that I might never track down McAnany's blue-bordered beauty, I had to open myself up to other options.  I'm not quite sure, but I think it was the SABR Baseball Card Blog which first enlightened me to a secondary opportunity, in the form of 1960 Leaf.  The upstarts challenged Topps authority that year with their doomed entry into the baseball card market and Jim McAnany was part of their initial offering.  Of course, it wasn't as if they were astutely recognizing the potential their competitor was seemingly blind to; rather, Leaf simply stamped the wrong face onto Stover McIlwain's pasteboard:

Will the real Stover McIlwain please stand up?  Please stand up? (he's on the right)

Stover was a teenage pitcher who appeared in just two MLB games, the last having come nearly two years before Leaf went to print.  "Smokey's" inclusion is a real head-scratcher to me and it would have made much more sense to include McAnany - maybe someone at Leaf felt the same way?  Anyway, as it stands, that is the full length of Jimbo's cardboard resume.  Also, as much as I like the "K.I.S.S." design of 1960 Leaf, I'm much happier acquiring a card with both Jim's name AND picture on it.

Meanwhile, during my years of searching, I discovered that his progeny also played professional baseball, as cards of Jim McAnany, Jr. littered my saved searches on Ebay.  The minor league catcher played in the mid-80's, in the early days of the baseball card bubble, and therefore appears in a few contemporary team-issued and Pro Cards sets from the decade.

Even more interesting, at least to me, is that Jim Jr.'s sister, Michele, also played in the pros, for three years, as the starting second baseman and lead-off hitter for the all-female Colorado Silver Bullets, a barnstorming team you might remember from the mid-90's.  As such, Michele also outpaces her father in cardboard appearances, as there were three team-issued sets of cards issued for her Coors-sponsored club.

Image courtesy of the unofficial Colorado Silver Bullets fan site.

How cool is that?  I just might have to get myself one of these, as well.  If I ever get that collection of Cubs progeny off of the ground, a Michele McAnany Silver Bullets card would make a fine cornerstone.

Meanwhile, speaking of other potential targets, it's now time to shift my focus onto the next object of my affection - there ain't no rest for the wicked... or the collector.  Moving up to the number one spot on my most wanted list is a low-grade copy of Norm Gigon's 1967 Topps high number (shared with Ramon Hernandez)... another obscure Cub from the 60's with only one "true" card to his name.

At any rate, while it took quite a while, I'm thrilled to finally have the patriarch of the McAnany baseball family represented in my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection.  It's about damn time.  While the purchase was a definite overpay, I feel no regrets about finally tackling one of my collection's most annoying black holes.  Plus, the blue pen signature was definitely an added bonus worthy premium pricing; after all, it's not like he's signing any more of them.  All in all, I don't think I've ever been this gleeful to add a Chicago White Sox card to my collection.

Thank goodness for TCMA plugging the gaps in history that Topps left behind.

She Turned Me Into a Newt!

"...I got better..."  I'm always looking for an opportunity to slip a Monty Python reference onto the blog.  Luckily, my latest purchase has provided me with a timely window to do so:

What you see here is a 1976 TCMA oddball, part of a larger set which honored the 1938 National League pennant winning Chicago Cubs.  Of course, you know how that season ultimately ended up for the world's most lovable losers, but let's not talk about that loss to the Tigers.  Oh and yes, that is, in fact, an authentic John Hancock scribbled along the bottom there.

A little more than a week ago, a seller on Ebay put up a rather large lot of JSA certified, signed TCMA Cubs for individual auction with basement level starting bids and free shipping.  Ummm, hell yes!  I put in small bids on pretty much all of them, hoping I could steal one with a cheap price tag, and this is the (only) one I came out on top with.  Nifty.

I mean, these vintage, off-brand pieces don't turn up to often, let alone with the signature of someone who died fifteen years ago.  I had to jump on this chance.

Newell Kimball was a need for my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection, so I was uber-pleased to end up with this oddity.  As a short-term Cub from the late-30's, he doesn't have much of a cardboard presence and I don't know too much about him either.  Let's flip this baby over and do us some learnin':

Oh - that's right - these TCMA cards are exceptionally bare-boned.  The oddball Gods released several sets honoring specific teams (like the '38 Cubs or the '41 Dodgers or '60 Pirates, etc.) and they all featured basic, type-written stats, isolated to the player's performance in that particular season.

As you can see above, the company really did their homework, seeing as Newt only played in one game for the varsity squad that year.  Good on TCMA for being inclusive.

So, until I lucked into this card, all I knew about "Newt" was that he was a Cub on my want list.  In order to learn more about the newest addition to my CATRC, it looks like I'm going to have to turn to the internet.

Uh oh - they're onto me

Newt was a prospect signed out of the Santa Monica High School in California.  Being that he was from the area, it was almost inevitable that he would have a natural affinity towards the Pacific Coast League and the Wrigley-owned LA Angels.  Kimball won 20 games at the C level in 1934, his first year in pro ball, earning a late-season call up to his beloved Angels.

After a couple of seasons yo-yo'ing up and down the Cubs chain, Newt finally got the call up to the Show in 1937, despite struggling through most of the minor league season with an ERA over seven.  His action was limited to two relief appearances where he gave up 6 ERs - it wasn't pretty.

After again bombing out during a trial in 1938 and posting a 9-18 record in AA the next season, the Cubs gave up and traded him to the Dodgers, along with Gus Mancuso for veteran backstop Al Todd. For the Dodgers, Newt hung on in the back of the bullpen for the next several seasons, with a brief layover in St. Louis in 1940, never seeing much more than mop-up duty or spot starts.  Nevertheless, he still was seen on screens all across the country.

You see, Kimball was one of the featured Dodger players who made an appearance in the comedic Hollywood motion picture Whistling in Brooklyn, starring Red Skelton and Ann Rutherford, in 1943.  Skelton, as a radio crime show host known as "the Fox," finds himself on the trail of a real-life serial killer while becoming a suspect himself.

At one point during his time on the lamb, Skelton disguises himself as a bearded pitcher and ends up facing Newt's Brooklyn Dodgers.  Future Cubs manager and Munsters/Mr. Ed guest star Leo Durocher makes a credited, speaking appearance in his film debut while Newt is relegated to the background.  However, how many people can say that they were in a Hollywood motion picture?  He even has a page on IMDB.com and everything.

Unfortunately, his MLB career fizzled out soon after his career in the movies biz did.  After being purchased from the Dodgers by the Phillies in May of 1943, Newt continued to be hittable, with a 1-6 record and a 4.12 ERA in 89 innings, earning himself a ticket back to the PCL, this time with the Hollywood Stars; from the Hollywood screen to the Hollywood diamond.  By 1947, he was done as a player and spent the next few seasons managing in the Braves system before quitting baseball for good in 1951.

God bless TCMA and other vintage oddballers such as Larry Fritsch and Renata Galasso.  Without their collector's and niche issues, obscure subjects such as Newt Kimball would never have had a baseball card with their likeness on it and my CATRC would be that much more impossible to finish.  Not to mention, I'm sure Kimball had a smile on his face when someone remembered his brief and long-ago baseball career and presented him with a card - we all dream of having our faces on our own baseball card, after all.  Simple though the card may be.

Newt in his days as a Cubs moundsman.

Image courtesy of baseball-birthdays.net

I'm thrilled to be able to add Newt Kimball to my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection binder, with extra happy points for the autograph.  It definitely would have been nice to walk away with a few more of them; however, Newt's auction seemed to go unnoticed among the rest and I really shouldn't get greedy anyway.

If I gt greedy and unappreciative, some witch might turn me into a newt:

The Daly Double

Vintage TCMA singles can be a pain in the butt to find.

Of course, the granddaddies of all oddballs were produced on a far lower scale than contemporaneous Topps, Fleer, Donruss, etc. products and catered to a much more niche market of collectors.  Advertised and sold exclusively through mail-order catalogs and other assorted hobby publications, it should come as no surprise that these oddities are much tougher to come by than their pack distributed, mass produced peers some forty years on down the road.  For me, personally, this is quite frustrating, seeing as these specialty sets are of great interest to me and my collecting needs.

Tom Collier and Mike Aronstein used their often team-centric and decade-specific sets to fill in considerable gaps in the cardboard history books.  These cards were usually very basic, with just a photograph and some type-written identifying information on the front and/or back.  Focusing on players of the distant past rather than design, TCMA sets often produced the only cards of long-forgotten baseball players of  yore... players such as:

Tom Daly, seen here as a coach for the Boston Red Sox.  While the signal-caller served the longest uninterrupted coaching tenure in franchise history, this is not why I sought out this card from TCMA's 1975 tribute to the '46 Sawx.  Long before then, Daly spent the vast majority of his playing career in the Windy City, split almost equally between the South Side and North Side of town.

Originally coming up with the Chicago White Sox, the prospect was a hot commodity.  While playing for Lowell of the New England League, Daly accepted an offer from Charlie Comsikey to don the palehose.  At the same time, the Red Sox contested this transaction, citing that they had rights over the catcher's services.  The National Board of Arbitration would eventually rule in the White Sox's favor, but the other Sox would eventually land their man.... it would just take a loooooooong time!

Daly went on to serve as as a backup catcher with the Sox of White from 1913-15 before being sold to the Cleveland Indians.  After just one season with the Naps and a demotion to the minors, the Cubbies came-a-callin', purchasing his contract from Buffalo of the old International League.  After a one-game cameo in 1918 with the eventual NL pennant winners, Daly closed out his days as an active Big League player with three seasons as the Cubs' second-string backstop.  In February of 1922, Daly's contract was again sold, this time to the Los Angeles Angels of the PCL, officially marking the end of his MLB career.  That said, Tom continued to ply his trade with various bush league clubs through the 1932 campaign.

The very next year (the card-back erroneously states 1934), Daly began his career on the other side of the clipboard with the Boston American League club, who finally landed their man twenty years later.  They must have liked him around there, as his 14 consecutive years stint as a coach (mostly posted at third base) in Beantown is still a franchise record.  It sounds like he was an interesting fellow and took a particular interest in keeping his charges humble.  According to Amazing Tales from the Boston Red Sox Dugout, Daly once caught Bobo Newsom barehanded to prove that his velocity was nothing special and crammed on checkers just so that he could take down the boastful Wes Ferrell in a game where the latter claimed to be unbeatable.

Tragically, his coaching career came to an abrupt end... not with a managerial change or roster move, but due to a bout with colon cancer.  In the November of 1946, Daly lost his battle with the deadly disease and passed away at the far too young age of 54 years old.

Daly warming up prior to an unknown game in 1918.

Despite his notoriety in Boston, courtesy of that stint as a reserve with the Cubs in the shadow of World War I, Tom Daly required representation in my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection.  Seeing as his playing career took place entirely in the gap between the original tobacco premiums and Goudey gum cards, it is not surprising that the back-up's contemporaneous trading card checklist is quite limited.  During these dark days of no regular Major League Baseball card sets, Zeenut minor league issues are the only checklists that he appeared on.  Seeing as my cardboard budget is quite limited, this TCMA single was my only other realistic option.  Cheap though it may be, these specialty sets are a bear to find today and singles from these compilations are even tougher to find.

Luckily, after years of prowling dime boxes at card shows and saved searches on Ebay, I came across a copy on the latter service with PWE shipping and a "best offer" option.  Sure, Beckett will say that three bucks (plus a dollar for shipping) is an overpay, but considering how rarely I stumble upon these bad boys in the wild, I'm calling that a win.

Further complicating my search for a Tom Daly baseball card was a sort of "Daly Double"; by that, I mean that this Tom Daly wasn't the only Tom Daly to don a Major League uniform.  Plus, this Tom Daly wasn't even the only Tom Daly to put on a Cubs uniform.  Double plus, this second Tom Daly was also a catcher. This "Daly Double" definitely had the potential to be a stumper.

Turning back the clock even further, to the 19th century, this "other" Tom Daly originally debuted in the Bigs as part of the short-lived Union Association with the Philadelphia Keystones in 1884.   After that two-game cameo and two more years in the minors, the original Daly was promoted to the National League and served two seasons as Chicago's regular catcher and fill-in elsewhere.  Released prior to the '89 campaign as Anson sought to rid his club of rowdy influences, Daly went on to spend more than a decade with the eventual Brooklyn Dodgers as their regular second baseman, in a career that would last through 1903.

While the second Tom Daly originally came up with the White Sox and then closed out his career with the Cubs, the first originally came up with the Cubs and then closed out his career with the White Sox (and Cincy), during that 1903 season.  Funny how that works out, isn't it?

Embed from Getty Images

The first Tom Daly, near the end of his career with the Chicago White Sox, circa 1903.

Despite the fact that their playing careers weren't particularly close to overlapping, the fact that both of these men (of no relation, by the way) had the same name, often played the same position, and both played for the Cubs franchise threw a bonus monkey wrench into the machinations of my search for the latter Daly.  As if chasing an obscure oddball from 45 years ago wasn't difficult enough, my saved searches were almost always populated exclusively with Target Dodger singles of the OG Daly, as well as reprints of his 1895 Mayo's Cut plug tobacco issue, and other bits of miscellaneous ephemera - the original definitely had a larger cardboard footprint.  All in all, this just made for another layer of junk to patiently sift through.

On the bright side, the other Tom Daly had already been acquired for my CATRC, thanks to an LCS purchase made about half a decade ago.  Maybe a year or two before I established Wrigley Roster Jenga, a trip to More Fun Sports Cards and Coins in Dyer, IN uncovered a complete, cello-wrapped 1986 reprint collation of the Mayo's cards.  Reprint sets are often massive boons to my super vintage, roster collecting needs, so I bought it without consulting the checklist.  It worked out well though - among the dapper 19th century players needed for my CATRC were Bill Dahlen, Jimmy Ryan, Fred Pfeffer, and T.P. Daly... better known as Tom Daly.

Now, after all this time, I'm thrilled to finally have the complete "Daly Double" safely nestled in my CATRC tome.

It's always a thrill to add a new name to my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection, especially so when it's a card I had so much difficulty in tracking down.  I guess it should come as no surprise that vintage oddities of obscure and forgotten men who share names and positions with fellow ballplayers of the same franchise are not particularly easy to track down.  However, that quest has finally been completed and Tom Daly (mach two) is now properly represented in my binder, courtesy of that 1975 TCMA 1946 Red Sox artifact.

Name game aside, has anyone else had the same difficulty in tracking down old school TCMA cards from the 70's and 80's or is that just me?  I find it especially difficult for certain sets too - their collaborations with Renatta Galasso, for example, seem to rear their heads far more often than their team-centric sets or decade-specific checklists.  Please feel free to weigh-in in the comment section below.

In the meantime, I'm just glad that I didn't blow the "Daly Double."