70 Cards from the 1970s

Lately I've been adding some 1970s cards to my collection through trades, blogger gifts, and purchases. Rather than scan and discuss them individually, it occurred to me that I could create a special '70s post. 

btw the main character of my memoir looked a lot like Donna, but she was a brunette

I have more than 70 cards from this decade in my collection. Not a lot more.. maybe 150 to 200 total. So I'm just going to select seventy to discuss. Some are new arrivals, some are old favorites, and some are just kinda rando. 

Let's jump right in...

Bought this from Dave and Adam's during the pandemic (along with a 1960 Topps Mickey Mantle) with that sweet stimulus cash. Thank you, President Biden :)

Both of these were COMC purchases from a few years back. Aparicio was $14.20 as-is, while Torre was a mere $1.04 ungraded. I promptly submitted it to PSA and.. woila! A $250 card. I love grading.

Here are some more graded cards in my '70s collection (don't worry, I'll get to the 'real' stuff soon).

 

 Anyone reading this a fan of The 1975?

 

How about The 1975... Topps Baseball card set?

This George Brett RC is my most valuable single from the seventies. I'm thrilled that I could finally pair it with...

Robin Yount's rookie card. I know what you're thinking - where's the '77 Yount? I had one a long time ago, but it was very well-loved. I'll get another one some day - probably ungraded, but you never know. 

While Yount has always been a player I like and collect, I can't really explain why I've accumulated so many Twins stars from the decade.

Both slabbed and free-range:

I know what you're thinking - why do you have a 1975 Topps Tony Oliva graded and ungraded?

Je ne (I don't)

 
The Twins were once the Washington Senators - but not these Senators...

 ...who were managed by...

I had that TCMA card on my wantlist for a while. Finally picked one up on COMC for $4.00. 

Staying in Texas for just a second...

Love those 'Tequila Sunrise' uniforms. My upcoming 100 Greatest Non-Hall of Famers project has reminded me that I need more Astros stars of the '70s in my collection.

Here's "Pops" and GrandPop. (Just kidding.) I got this Gary Sutherland in a TCDB trade and just realized it's miscut. Grrrr...

Ladies and gentlemen, your 1979 West Haven Yankees! I'm slowly chipping away at this team set; there's a Dan Schmitz sitting in my COMC inventory right now. One of these days I'll wander over to Quigley Stadium and take some pictures for you guys. It's not a very professional-looking park these days, but it is my home town field.

All hail the online dime box! They have '70s singles now. I actually picked up a 1970 Topps Dal Maxvill in VG shape... but I quickly traded it on COMC for three Whalers cards, including:

The non-Hall of Famer in the Howe family. Nice little trade that only cost me ten cents and a stamp.

I have a few Whalers from the 1979-80 Topps and O-Pee-Chee sets but since they were a WHA franchise for most of the decade, my favorite NHL team to collect would have been the Montreal Canadiens:

I've got another Larry Robinson slab waiting for me at COMC HQ, but I really need a Guy Lafleur to complete the collection. Maybe a Pete Mahovlich, too.

Here's a bunch of Bruins from the 1972-73 Topps/OPC sets:

And here's a trio of Toronto Maple Leafs from 1971-72:

Parent and Ullman were recent pickups from Desert Ice Sportscards. Under $30 total for the pair.

I know what you're thinking - don't you have any Red Wings, Rangers, or Blackhawks? Well, I shipped some '70s Rangers cards off to Billy. I hope he got 'em, I don't remember seeing them on his blog. As for my next Original Six team build...

It's on the way. 

Recently Jon sent me some Starting Lineup basketball figures for my growing collection, along with some Damian Lillard singles and these three hockey cards he had lying around:

There's one Red Wing at least. Thanks, Jon!

Speaking of basketball...

All of my 1970s NBA singles are courtesy of my 2018 Secret Santa, Mark Hoyle. There were a couple dozen Hall of Famers in the stack he sent me. Here are some of my favorites. Hot take: Bill Walton is overrated. Alex English is underrated.

Mark's stack covered most of the league's top stars from the decade - especially Gail Goodrich. If I were to fill in the holes in my 1970s NBA collection I'd need a Julius Erving, a George Gervin, a Pistol Pete, and a John Havlicek. If there are any other big stars missing from my collection I'll explore that another day.
 

On the other hand, my 1970s NFL collection is nearly non-existent. I received a few in my NFL Week swap meet (got a whole ton of 1980 singles, too) and I do have a small handful of Packers. But these three are notable because: 1 - Houston, Oilers 2) There's a car on the field behind Fouts! 3) This '78 single popped out of a repack a few years back. It's the oldest single I've ever pulled from Fairfield, though it is scratched up pretty good. In fact none of these three are in very good shape, Fouts is way off center and Houston has a small stain on the back.

The main reason why I have very few football cards before 1982 is the lack of logos. So many helmetless poses.  

My 1970s collection would be a lot better if I'd hung on to some past purchases from COMC, including:

bought for $13.60

bought for $6.99

bought for $5.50 each

bought for $5.00 each

Guess I went on a '79 binge once upon a time. Hunter cost $4.80 while Palmer was just $4.00.

$3.80 for this one. Can you believe a vintage Hall of Famer in high grade was that cheap? Can you believe I sold it? What an idiot!

$3.70?!? I wouldn't believe it if COMC didn't keep records of every sale. There's one on the site for $56 now. Sigh.

Perhaps it's time to rebuild my 1970s card collection. I've got a few cards in mind, but I'll save them for a future post.

 

Do you have a favorite card or set from the 1970s? I think I know Night Owl's answer.

Thanks for reading!



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SLU Showcase #2 - Championship Sunday

It's Championship Sunday in the NFL, so let's dig through the toy closet and see which Starting Lineup figures will represent the four finalists.

In the AFC we have the Kansas City Chiefs, making their fifth consecutive appearance in the title game. I wish I had a Patrick Mahomes or Travis Kelce action figure to show you, but since this is a Starting Lineup showcase we've got to go all the way back to 1990:

This Christian Okoye figure is one of five in my collection from the 1990 series. The Chiefs were lousy in the late '80s and didn't have many options for SLU collectors until Derrick Thomas debuted in the 1992 set. In fact Kenner produced just six Chiefs figures from 1988 to 1991 - and half of those were Okoye pieces. I couldn't find any info as to why Kansas City was completely excluded from the 1989 edition.

If you're not familiar with the "Nigerian Nightmare" here's a recent video from KTO.

In a rematch of last year's AFC Championship game, their opponent is the Cincinnati Bengals. They are represented in my SLU collection by another running back with a short but memorable career. 

Ickey Woods carried the rock as a rookie for the 1988 AFC Champion Bengals, posting a league-leading 5.3 yards per carry. With 15 regular-season touchdowns and another three in the playoffs, Cincy fans saw a whole lot of the "Ickey Shuffle".

I purchased this piece on eBay seven years ago for $11.39 + shipping, which turned out to be a wise investment.
It may have helped that the seller incorrectly listed his name as "Icky". A Woods figure recently sold for $99.99 and another seller is currently asking $129.99. While that sounds like a lot for a Cincinnati Bengal, it isn't close to the sales price of players like Anthony Munoz or even Tim Krumrie.

That '88 Bengals team lost Super Bowl XXIII to another 2022 conference finalist - the San Francisco 49ers. I've never been a 49ers fan, and since they were the class of the league in the early years of Starting Lineup, their figures were very popular. 

I knew a kid in fifth grade (1991-92) who had unopened Joe Montana and Jerry Rice figures hanging on his bedroom door. Have to admit they looked very cool together.

Also, kudos to him for not opening them. I wasn't able to keep my Starting Lineups sealed until I was in seventh grade (1993). I don't have any 49ers SLUs but if I had to pick one in my price range it would be the 1990 Montana figure. Guess I really like the '90 set, huh?

San Fran's NFC Championship opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles, are represented in my SLU collection. This one is a much more recent figure. In fact, it's from the second-to-last series of Starting Lineup football:

Here's Donovan McNabb's rookie piece, which I purchased off the rack (probably at Toys 'R Us) and stashed away so it would appreciate in value. 23 years later, this figure sells for twice the sticker price!

The back of this piece summarizes the history of the Super Bowl - which seems appropriate since these four teams are competing for a spot in this year's Big Game.

I actually have another Donovan figure. This one is not an SLU, but I'll show it off anyway:

McFarlane McNabb - and it's a white jersey variant. Those were all the rage in the early '00s. Are they still valuable today? LOL, no. This and a regular McFarlane figure combined sold for less than the SLU! Reminds me of how vinyl albums and cassettes are currently collectible, but no one wants CDs anymore. Weird.

Even though I have an Eagle figure, I occasionally kick the tires on Randall Cunningham figures. His 1989 figure is still affordable. I wouldn't mind a Reggie White piece but those are $50+. 

You may have noticed that all of these figures are still in their original packaging. I have loose figures for the other three sports but not football. Perhaps I should shop for some...

Who are you cheering for today: Bengals, Chiefs, Eagles, or 49ers?

Thanks for reading!



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100 Greatest Non-HOFers - preview

The Baseball Writers Association of America elected Scott Rolen to join Veterans' Committee selection Fred McGriff in the Hall of Fame class of 2023. Both Rolen and McGriff were part of a list I'd made several years ago: the top 40 players not in the Hall of Fame. Some others have received a plaque in Cooperstown since then: Larry Walker, Alan Trammell, and Edgar Martinez to name a few.

When I re-read the list after McGriff's election (but before Rolen's) I began to update and expand it until I had nearly 200 names. With every intention of trimming the group down to a standard 100-player list I spent several days pouring over statistics and using the player comparison feature on baseball-reference.com. There were plenty of popular modern players that did not fare as well as I had expected. Conversely, the list is scattered with players who are largely unknown to most fans.

My goal was to produce a list that would stir up some debate but look reasonable in the long run. I'm by no means a baseball expert, and I did the best I could ranking players I was familiar with against names and numbers that were new to me. This was meant to be fun, and I enjoyed the challenge of assembling these rankings. I hope you will have fun reading and rebutting each selection.

 

Before I get to the "honorable mention" section of this project, I have a confession to make.

 

I couldn't cut it down to 100 players. 

 

I tried. I really, truly tried. But after several days of agonizing over which third baseman or left-handed pitcher would make the list and which one would be left off entirely... I decided to add an additional 20 players. I'm still going to call it The 100 Greatest Non-Hall of Famers though, as a hat tip to Rob Harvilla's 60 Songs That Explain The 90s (today's episode - "Enjoy The Silence" by Depeche Mode -  is #86). That means there will be six posts in the series instead of five. I'm hoping to publish two per week until Spring Training.

Now, for the Honorable Mentions...

As I mentioned in previous posts, I want to recognize Negro League greats but I don't feel qualified to do so. There are quite a few names that popped up frequently in my research who have yet to be immortalized in Cooperstown. 

Pitchers - John Donaldson, Bill Byrd, Nip Winters, Dick Redding, William Bell, and Chet Brewer.

Catchers - Bruce Petway and Quincy Trouppe. 

Infielders - Bingo DeMoss, Newt Allen, George Scales, Sammy Hughes, Dick Lundy, Grant "Home Run" Johnson, Sam Bankhead, Oliver Marcell, John Beckwith, and Alex Radcliff. 

Outfielders - Vic Harris, Lester Lockett, Fats Jenkins, Sam Jethroe, Neil Robinson, Henry Kimbro, Spottswood Poles, Wild Bill Wright, and Heavy Johnson.

In addition, there are some major league stars who had noteworthy career numbers but lacked either longevity or elite-level production in at least one aspect of the game.

Wes Ferrell owns a career WAR of 60.1, which is borderline Hall of Fame level. (For comparison, Ichiro has a 60.0 WAR). Much of that was earned as a reliable but not exceptional pitcher for the Indians and Red Sox. Ferrell led the majors in complete games four times, though he also contributed at the plate, with a .280 average in 1,176 at-bats. So what's wrong with Wes? He was highly hittable himself. Opponents hit .275 against the right-hander, and his 4.16 fielding-independent ERA was far too high even for a list of not-quite Cooperstown caliber stars.

The greatest pitcher in Pittsburgh Pirates history, Babe Adams posted an impressive 52.7 career WAR and a 2.70 fielding-independent ERA (or FIP). He led the league with the lowest WHIP five times, and if you're the sort of fan who values winning, Adams earned 194 victories against 140 losses. So why didn't this Babe make the cut? Strikeouts. Adams totaled just 1,036 over his career, for a 162-game average of 84. Even in the dead ball era that's not enough.

Wally Schang just barely cleared my 1,500-hit minimum - and he needed 19 seasons to do so. However, the slash line Schang produced is impressive: .284 batting average, .391 on-base percentage, and .401 slugging. His career WAR of 47.9 is higher than Hall of Fame catchers Roger Bresnahan, Ernie Lombardi, and Ray Schalk.The back of this Conlon Collection card underscores how Schang could have easily been enshrined alongside or instead of Schalk or Rick Ferrell (Wes's brother).

Only five players in major league history have played more games as a catcher than Jason Kendall. A three-time All-Star, Kendall ranks fourth among regular backstops with 2,195 hits and sixth with 189 stolen bases. In almost any other era, his career .288/.366/.378 slash line and five seasons batting at or near .320 would make a very strong case for Kendall as a Hall of Famer. Unfortunately he played in the late '90s to early 2000s and his modest power disappeared completely after he was traded to Oakland. A career 95 OPS+ means he ranked 5% below major-league average for his era, which leaves him off the list.

Dolph Camilli didn't qualify for the list as he just missed my arbitrary but necessary minimum of 1,500 career hits (he totaled 1,482.) That said, it was tough to leave out a player who averaged 26 home runs, 103 RBI, 103 walks, and 286 total bases over a 162-game season. Dolph's OPS+ of 136 is higher than several legendary first basemen including Eddie Murray, George Sisler, and Tony Perez. Despite a career that was just a bit too short for Cooperstown consideration, Camilli's career WAR total (43.3) is higher than that of Don Mattingly, Boog Powell, and Steve Garvey. If only he played a couple more seasons.

What do we do with Omar Vizquel? The all-time leader in games played at shortstop has more hits than every eligible player who wasn't linked to PEDs. Harold Baines compiled 2,866 hits without any speed or defensive value and he's enshrined in Cooperstown. Vizquel won eleven Gold Gloves, stole over 400 bases, and his BBWAA vote totals are plummeting. Perhaps that's because his career slash line is a rather pedestrian .272/.336/.352. Or perhaps it's his OPS+ of 82, a career mark lower than the likes of Kurt Abbott and Jose Iglesias (but tied with HOFers Luis Aparicio and Rabbit Maranville.)

On the flip side we have Art Fletcher, whose career was roughly half as long as Vizquel's. Fletcher's 100 OPS+ suggests that he was a league-average hitter for his era. His slash line of .277/.319/.365 is barely better than Vizquel's. Yet despite the 1,500-game handicap, it's Fletcher who has the higher career WAR (47.1 to 45.6). Art's defensive prowess was also comparable to the Cleveland star; his 28.3 total dWAR trails Vizquel by just 1.2 points - a minuscule gap considering his far shorter career.

Cecil Travis was well on his way to a Hall of Fame career. He batted over .300 in all but one of his first eight seasons, earned three All-Star nods, and led the majors with 218 hits in 1941. Like many players, Travis lost three of his prime playing seasons while serving in World War II. Cecil wasn't the same player upon returning to the Senators late in 1945 at age 32, and retired two years later. Despite an abbreviated career with under 5,000 at-bats, his career slash line of .314/.370/.416 compares favorably to several Hall of Fame middle infielders such as Billy Herman, Luke Appling, and Lou Boudreau.

Ken Williams wasn't a regular in a major-league lineup until his age-30 season. He quickly made up for lost time, becoming a slugging star for the St. Louis Browns through much of the 1920s. Williams posted a career 137 OPS+, a slash line of .319/.390/.530 and averaged 299 total bases per 162 games. With 39 home runs in 1922, Ken became the decade's only American League leader in long balls who didn't play for the Yankees. His 43.0 career WAR (tied with HOFer Tony Oliva) was compiled almost entirely after turning 30 years old. Imagine what he could have done for the Browns in his twenties.

The Braves franchise has had several Hall of Very Good outfielders including Wally Berger, whose peak production would rival many all-time greats. As a rookie in 1930, Berger smashed 38 home runs, collected 341 total bases, and posted an OPS of .982. The four-time All-Star couldn't quite match those numbers over the remaining ten years in his career, though he retired with a remarkable 138 OPS+ and 42.5 WAR. 600 of Berger's 1,550 career hits went for extra bases, including 242 round-trippers.

It was tough not to get caught in a web of one-on-one player comparisons. Is Yadier Molina better than Wally Schang? Is Prince Fielder the modern-day Dolph Camilli? However, it would have taken me forever to compare each of the 120 players on the top 100 list to each other. Generally speaking, I grouped each player by position and then ranked them as if I were participating in a fantasy draft:

Would I rather have Ron Cey or Ron Guidry? Which player would you pick - CC Sabathia or Cesar Cedeno? Let the debate begin!

Thanks for reading!



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