Greetings Nitty Gritty card collectors! Has anyone noticed that it has been a few months since I have posted here? I don’t think I have added a post here since early to mid-December. The reason is VERY simple. On this blog I am showing every card in the 1978 Topps set, one card at a time, starting at #1 and working up. Well… I took the next 9 cards I needed to scan out of the set’s binder to scan them AND I HAVEN’T SEEN THEM SINCE! Who knows where they are. Somewhere in my house I am sure. I have sorted through several thousand cards this month and they haven’t turned up yet. When they do, the 1978 Topps blog will return. Until then I want to write about other sets I am building. My newest obsession is the 1964 Topps Giants set. It is a small set (in quantity), it only has 60 cards in it (1-60). It was made by Topps in 1965 and the cards are oversized, hence the name Giants. They are the same size as 1969/70 Topps Basketball Cards. That was a set I used to obsess over. It took me over a decade to finish it in near mint condition and I started out with a gem copy of Lew Alcindor. Divorce sucks. Anyway, I am pretty obsessed with this set at the moment. I have lucked out in a major way that a lot of folks out there had one or two of these laying around. Out of 60 cards I need 26 more to finish the set, meaning I am at 57% completion. I have some of the big names in the set like Mantle, Clemente, Whitey Ford, Killebrew, Kaline, Bob Gibson, Brooks, Frank Robinson, Yaz, Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn, BUT I am still lacking Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Sandy Koufax along with 23 other slightly less legendary players. Anyway, once I get a scanner I intend on posting ’64 Giants as I get them on this blog. I put Milt Pappas at the top of this post and the card’s back here to give you an idea of how amazing these cards are… 
For now, here are the cards I need to finish off the set. If you have any of these OR if you have sleeves or top-loaders that fit these cards, please get in touch.1964 Topss Giants Needs List
Gary Peters Chicago White Sox #1
Sandy Koufax LA Dodgers #3
Ron Hunt NY Mets #6
Roy McMillon New York Mets #8
Nellie Fox Houston Colt 45s #13
Tony Gonzalez Philadelphia Phillies #14
Dean Chance California Angels #16
Dick Ellsworth Chicago Cubs #17
Chuck Hinton Washington Senators #20
Elston Howard New York Yankees #21
Joe Torre Atlanta Braves #26
Eddie Brinkman Washington Senators #27
Bob Friend Pittsburgh Pirates #28
Bill Freehan Detroit Tigers #30
Camilo Pasquel Minnesota Twins #32
Jim Maloney Cincinnati Reds #34
Dave Wickersham Detroit Tigers #35
Luis Aparacio Baltimore Orioles #39
Dick Stuart Boston Red Sox #42
Wayne Causey Kansas City A’s #45
Galen Cisco New York Mets #47
Hank Aaron Atlanta Braves #49
Willie Mays San Francisco Giants #51
Juan Pizzarro Chicago White Sox #53
Leon Wagner Cleveland Indians #54
Orlando Cepeda San Francisco Giants #55
Bill Skowron Washington Senators #60
Thanks for checking out my list! 45 years, LATER!
Perez would continue on and play for the Phillies, and lead them to an NL pennant in '83, and then returned to the Reds again before retiring after the 1986 season at age 44 on the team that he began his career with. His career lasted a remarkable 23 seasons and over that career he belted 379 homeruns (60th All Time) and drove in 1,652 runs (27th All Time). He never led the league in any one offensive category, he was never an MVP award winner (except for the ’67 ALL STAR game), but he was a fantastic fielding first baseman, a team leader, a winner and one of the classiest people to play the game. 
He was also one of the most feared hitters of the 70s. He averaged 23 homeruns and 90 runs batted in for the decade. He was also intentionally walked 150 times (including twice his final season), which is good for 42nd in baseball history. This is particularly impressive because Perez always played on strong offensive ball clubs with a lot of depth in the lineup. The “Big Doggy” hit a grand slam in 1985 (at age 43) becoming the oldest player to accomplish that feat, the 1986 Topps card #205 documented that. His 3 years in Montreal were just a part of his storied career. It’s over now Tony, you’re in the Hall of Fame (Class of 2000) and you don’t have to play for the Expos again, wipe away your tears… Now, it is time for the…
Topps Rookie Card: 1965 Topps, card #581, with Kevin Collins and Dave Ricketts.
Playball! Foul out.
What I said about this card then: Why so sad Tony?
Back of the card memorable moment: There’s no room with his stats… He had 296 career homers at the start of the ’78 season.
Best Season: In 1970 Perez batted .317 with 40 homers and 129 RBI, scoring 107 runs, posting a .589 slugging % and winning the NL Pennant.
After the Sox LaGrow spent ’79 with the Dodgers and had a pretty good year (5-1, 3/41 ERA) and then signed with the Phillies in 1980. After going 0-2 in 25 appearances the Phillies cut him in July and that ended his 10 year career. He finished with a 34-55 record, a 4.11 ERA in 309 games-he completed 19 of those games and saved 54 of them (250th All Time). LaGrow runs a very successful real estate based business in his home state of Arizona and has had no association with baseball since his retirement in 1980. Now, let’s get into…
Topps Rookie Card: 1971 Topps, Card #39, with Gene Lamont.
Back of the card memorable moment: Was Tigers top right-handed reliever of 1973 campaign.
LaGrow and Campaneris were both suspended from the remainder of the ALCS, Campaneris was replaced by Del Maxvill and the A’s went on to beat the Tigers in 5 games. Campaneris returned for the World Series, but his hot bat was cooled and he batted only .179, but he did win his 1st of 3 World Series rings. LaGrow would never return to the postseason, but he did remain a Tiger and became a starter for them in ’74 and ’75. I for one think it would have been interesting to see BC and LL go at it one on one. LaGrow was 6'5" and weighed about 220 giving him 75 pounds and 7 inches on the smaller shortstop. Campaneris may have been a lot smaller, but he was pissed and I think I would have put my money on Bert. I played in a charity softball game with BC about 10 years ago when he was around 60 years old. He played all 7 innings at shortstop and played the game like it was the World Series, they guy was INTENSE!
The Nitty Gritty
He served as the Angels closer for 3 years and saved 23 games over that period and then left California to sign a free agent contract with the Baltimore Orioles where he joined their pen in ’85. He enjoyed one of the best years of his career; he had a 10-6 record with 14 saves in 88 innings of work. The following year he would become the Orioles full-time closer and would go to the All Star game. 
He finished the season with 34 saves (2nd in AL) in 66 games. After the 1988 season he moved to the NL and made stops with the Mets and the Dodgers before retiring at age 35 after the 1990 season. Over his 13 year career Aase had a 66-60 record with a 3.80 ERA and 82 saves (161st All Time) in over 1,100 innings of work. Now it’s time for…
Topps Rookie Card: 1976 Topps, Card #597
What I think about this card now: It’s perfect. Not much funny to say, this is just good photography…
Back of the card “fun fact”: Don won his first 3 decisions for the Sox in 1977.
Career Accolades: All Star in ’86, earned save in the game. 161st All Time career in Saves. Was Orioles single season saves leader till Greg Olson saved 36 in 1990.
Best Season: 1978- Was 11-8 with 6 complete games.
Todays card of the day is Rick Manning, card #11. Manning, who as far as I know is of no relation to the football playing Mannings, 
was the Cleveland Indians star centerfielder. Manning came to pro ball in 1972 when he was drafted by the Indians in the 1st round, the 2nd pick overall, as a 17-year-old infielder. He signed immediately and began his career with the Class A Reno Silver Sox of the California League. He proved to be a horrible professional shortstop making 17 errors in his first 13 games. He made the switch to centerfield and the rest is history. He was in the big leagues by age 20 and had 12 assists from the outfield that year. He also batted .285 with 19 steals for the Indians as a rookie. He did not receive a single vote for ROY despite decent numbers, partly because of two other American League outfielders named Fred Lynn and Jim Rice. With Cleveland he was managed by a Hall of Fame outfielder named Frank Robinson. In a June of 1976 Baseball Digest article Robinson sang these praises of Manning: “He’s the most exciting ballplayer the Indians have had in many years, I think his potential is unlimited.” 
1976 was probably his best year, the 21-year old centerfielder batted .292 with 6 homers, 43 RBI and 16 steals. He also won his first (and only) Gold Glove Award that year. From what I have heard from old time fans, had there been a Sportscenter in '76, Manning would have been the highlight reel... Back then it seemed like he would only get better, but he didn’t. He continued to play superb defense, but his bat never came around. He set a career high with 8 homers in ’82 and 52 RBI in 1980. He never batted higher than his .292 mark from ’76. in 1979 he did steal 30 bases. I think that Frank Robinson thought that he would become a player similar to Carl Crawford, but he ended up being more of a Coco Crisp. Even that comparison is a stretch-Crisp did hit .300, hit 15 homers and won a ring. Manning didn’t do any of these things. Exactly 11 years (to the day) after the Indians had drafted Manning, they sent him to Milwaukee on June 6, 1983, 
along with 
Number of Topps Base Cards: 13
Back of the card memorable moment: Won his first Gold Glove in 1976, was one of the youngest to do so.
The younger Niekro, Joe, would finish second in Cy Young voting that year behind reliever Bruce Sutter. This 1980 Topps card, #205, is one of my favorites because it shows the two brothers dominating their league in wins. I always found it astonishing that Phil Niekro was able to top the NL in both wins and losses in the same season, but when you pitch as much as Phil did, it’s possible. In 1979 he set personal career highs in starts (44), complete games (23) and innings with a whopping 342 and by the way, he was 40 years old! This kind of stuff was par for the course for this knuckleballer who would be dominant, steady, reliable and tireless over 3 separate decades. 
In 24 big league seasons he averaged 31 starts and 11 complete games each year and he pitched till he was 48 years old and more often than not was pitching for inferior teams. With everything he would accomplish over his long career, he never made it to the World Series and only saw the postseason twice, in ’69 and ’82. The fans did appreciate Niekro’s loyalty though; his number 35 is retired by the team. 
Sadly, Braves management wasn’t as loyal to him. After a total of 26 seasons with the Braves organization, beginning in the minors, through Milwaukee and onto Atlanta, he was released after the 1983 season. At 44 years of age Niekro would go 11-10 with a 3.08 ERA en route to a second place finish under Joe Torre. The prior season Niekro was 17-4 and the Braves won the west before losing to St. Louis in the ALCS.
At 46 the Yankees finished just two games behind the Toronto Blue Jays, but Ron Guidry had replaced Niekro as ace. He still managed a 16-12 record and he wasn’t done pitching either. He continued to hang on and made stops playing in Cleveland and Toronto before finishing his career where it began, on a last place Braves team. Niekro made one final start for the Braves in 1987 at 48 years old. He lasted just 3 innings and gave up 5 runs and finally decided to call it quits in the game of baseball. When I first got this card Niekro looked like an old man to me, he was much older than my Dad and he just didn’t look like a baseball player and I initially thought he was a coach. At this point he had pitched for 14 years and owned 178 career wins, but I had no idea that he had only just begun. He accomplished more after 40 than most pitchers do in their entire careers. He would become a running joke with my friends and me, about how long he would pitch and if the Braves would put a rocking chair in the dugout for him. Satchel Paige pitched far longer, but he did have the bullpen rocker and Niekro was the closest to Satchel that my generation would see. 
He did play for 10 years after this card was printed and he would win 140 more games. When he notched career win number 300 on October 6, 1985 (and I can remember watching on TV) he did so in a Yankees uniform against the Blue Jays and he hit that milestone in style. At 46 years old he went the distance and shut out the Jays to become not only the oldest player to throw a shutout, but the first member of the 300-win-club to join in that fashion. It would be the 45th shutout (29th All Time) of his career and barring his no-hitter in 1973, it was probably his most memorable. In his 24 seasons in the majors he never did make it to the World Series or win ROY or Cy Young or an MVP, but he did manage to lead the league in every single pitching category (good and bad) at one point or another in his storied career. He was a 5-time All Star and also won 5 Gold Gloves, but it almost stands out more that he had 19 seasons where he wasn’t an All Star. He was a nightmare to hit and Bobby Murcer spoke the greatest quote to describe his stuff when he said “Trying to hit him is like trying to eat Jell-O with chopsticks.” 
That said, it was his reliability and longevity that made him an Immortal. His success was as great as his futility, but for 24 seasons, he was always there to start a ballgame (30-plus times) each year. Now, onto….
Number of Topps Base Cards: 25
Distinguishing Feature: His trench coat.
Back of the card “fun fact”: I’ll have to make one up; his nickname is “Knucksie” for reasons unknown, at 38 years young he isn’t thinking about retiring…
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