I still haven’t been able to rip any 2010 Heritage, which is strange for me because it is my favorite and most anticipated release of the year every year. A few cards have trickled into me from kind readers and I finally got one that I had a match for 1961.
Welcome to the Nitty Gritty Old vs. New Cards of the Day! Topps did a pretty darn good of replicating this one. The design is identical front and back.
The main difference is (duh) the subject.
Danny Murtaugh looks like a stern leader, like someone you would follow into war because he told you to. He looks like a man you don’t want to cross. He died before I was born and I am still scared of the man… This little photo from 50 years ago captures Murtaugh how he was-a leader. He wasn’t buddies with his players, but he knew how to handle them and he won games. He laid down the expectations and you either followed or you played for someone else. His players listened because he knew what he was doing. The dude won over 1,000 games-1,115 to be exact. That was against only 950 losses, good for a .540 winning percentage. He led the Pirates to 2 Worlds Championships and in the 15 seasons he spent at the helm in Pittsburgh the Bucs won more than 90 games 5 times. His teams had stars-he managed Clemente, Stargell and Mazeroski, but the teams weren’t filled with stars. He got the most out of all of his players and made good decisions and had high expectations of his players. I was downright pissed off when he was denied to the Hall of Fame again last year. I make cases for a lot of players to be considered, but Murtaugh is a Hall of Fame manager, case closed. He wasn’t too shabby as a player either. He was a little, tough and gritty infielder. He was a slap hitter with no power and a little bit of speed. He led the NL in steals as a rookie in 1941 with 19. That isn’t exactly a Rickey Henderson total, but it was a dead ball and dead base path era.
It was particularly impressive because he paced the league while only playing in 83 games that year. He spent the early part of the season with the Houston Buffaloes of the Texas League. The Buffaloes were a Cardinals affiliate and the Cards were the organization he originally signed with in 1937, but in June of ’41 the Philadelphia Phillies purchased his contract and brought him up to the big leagues. He spent his first 4 seasons in Philadelphia, spent a year with the Boston Braves and was in Pittsburgh for his final 4 years. His best year offensively came with the Pirates in 1948.He batted .290 and drove in 71 runs for the Bucs while only hitting one homerun. He also stole 10 bases and had 21 doubles and 5 triples. He scored 56 times and most of those runs were scored ahead of Ralph Kiner homeruns. He and shortstop Stan Rojek were among the best double play combos in baseball and Murtaugh learned the art of baseball from his manager Billy Meyer. Murtaugh watched second base in Pittsburgh for 4 seasons before Bill Mazeroski took the job over. Before I switch gears to John Russell I will state once more that
Danny Murtaugh belongs in the Hall of Fame.
Now Mr. Russell. Whereas Danny Murtaugh looks like he could have been your high school principal, Russell looks like your happy go lucky homeroom teacher. His look doesn’t demand or command respect. He looks respectable, but not intimidating. A nice guy that you don’t mind following…
With the level of talent that currently lives in Pittsburgh I don’t think that Murtaugh’s approach would work anyway. I like the Pirates and I like
John Russell as their skipper. His Bucs burst out of the gate this season and took all of baseball by surprise; I really hope he can keep it up. I am not expecting them to be contenders, but I would be THRILLED with a .500 finish. It could happen. Since this is Old VS. New I suppose I should declare a winner. That would be Danny Murtaugh. That isn't a knock against John Russell, I like the dude. He isn't in a great position. He is a company man though. I don't think that Danny Murtaugh would have stood for what the Pirates execs have done to the team over the last decade. Plus, vintage ALWAYS wins. Thanks for reading, 50 years LATER.
The card(s) of the day are #298 of Jim Golden from 1961 Topps and the modern version, card #298 of Wade Davis from 2010 Heritage. The Golden card looks more like a Chicle painting to me. 
Apparently he was a hot prospect on the Dodgers farm. He won 2 games for the Dodgers over two seasons before being picked by the Colt 45s in the expansion draft. Golden was 7-11 in Houston in 1962. 
His MLB career lasted parts of 4 seasons. For his career he was 9-13 with 5 complete games and 2 shutouts. He was also twice traded for Hall of Famers-Nellie Fox and Sparky Anderson. 
Golden's modern day twin is Wade Davis of the Tampa Bay Rays. Davis is 5-6 for the Rays so far this year. 
Thats all the time we have folks, thanks for reading! I have 56 1961 Topps cards, so that means about 50 more of these posts as soon as I get the 2010 version. I am not going to collect this set, so any card I post is up for trade for a card from my '65 Topps list. I love this hobby! 49 years LATER!
As I got older I became friends with Johnny Sain and he filled me in on A LOT about the Braves teams of the 40s. Johnny Sain went to the World Series with the Boston Braves in 1948, but was on the losing end against the Indians. He won three rings as a pitcher, but those came with the Yankees. In 
three man rotation of Spahn, Lew Burdette and Bob Buhl. The first picture I ever saw of Buhl was on his 1961 Topps card which is incidentally one of the Nitty Gritty Card(s) of the Day today. After seeing this card I instantly gave this great pitcher a nickname,
This edition of Nitty Gritty Old Vs. New is card #145 from 1961 Topps of Bug Eyed Bob Buhl going up against card #145 of Jair Jurrjens from 2010 Topps Heritage. Old Bug Eye was an 18 game winner for the ’57 Braves. Along with Spahn and Burdette he anchored the starting rotation that led them to the NL Pennant. 
When the World Series came, his luck had run out. He started two games, but lasted just 3 innings, serving up a couple of homers. Of course the Braves won it all despite Buhl, but he got a ring just the same. Buhl was most dominant as a member of the Braves, but his career lasted 15 years. He was 166-132 with 1268 strikeouts and a 3.55 ERA and a very unfortunate photo on his ’61 Topps card. His best years came with the Braves, but Phillies fans remember him in infamy. At the start of the 1966 season the Cubs sent Buhl and Larry Jackson to the Phillies for three young players including a pitcher named Fergie Jenkins. He won 6 games for Philadelphia and retired the next year. Of course Jenkins went on to a little bit more successful… 
The modern counterpart of Buhl’s card is of current Braves starter 
Jair wins this battle in having a more flattering photo, but as always vintage wins the war. Bug Eyed Buhl 1, downhill sliding Jair 0. I love this hobby! 49 years LATER!
