Nitty Gritty Card of the Day

Today's Nitty Gritty Card of the Day is card #37 from the 1964 Topps Giants set featuring Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal. Oh, if only this giant sized card showed a full vertical photo of Marichal's awesome leg kick... If only. It does on the back, but man I wish it was on the front! I won't spoil this with a bunch of words. Enjoy!

The Nitty Gritty Card of the Day-1960 Fleer Baseball Greats

Greetings Nitty Gritty card collectors! Today’s card of the day comes from the 1960 Fleer Greats of the Game set. After making a Ted Williams set in 1959, F.H. Fleer returned in 1960 with this 80-card set of baseball greats. This set includes Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and many of the legends of the game to that point. The early Fleer sets, ’59 Ted Williams (80 cards), 1960 Fleer Baseball Legends (80 cards), 1961 Legends (152 cards) and the 1963 Fleer set, a 66 card set which included current players. The ’63 set has Maury Willis rookie card and also includes Roberto Clemente, Bob Gibson, Brooks Robinson, Carl Yastremzki, Sandy Koufax and Maury Wills rookie card. These early Fleer sets are still very affordable and the short checklists make the sets possible to complete. My personal favorites are the ’61 and ’63 sets which have appealing designs. I will be posting these cards periodically here and as I get more cards I will put together a wantlist. For now, today’s card of the day is #20 in the 1960 Fleer set of Eddie Collins, Hall of Fame second baseman, shown as a Philadelphia Athletics. He was born Edward Trowbridge Collins May of 1887. He was better known as Eddie or sometimes just Cocky. He attended Columbia University and signed with the Philadelphia A’s after college and went directly to the Majors (he did play a few games of A ball the next year) and became the A’s full-time second baseman in 1908 and in 1909 he batted .347. He would hit over .300 in each of the next 8 seasons. In 1910 he stole 81 bases, setting a major league record which stood until 1962. Collins scored 100 or more runs in a season 7 times and led the league in that category in 3 straight seasons. He hit .300 or higher 20 times, his best being .372 in 1920. His superstition was legendary and he would only use a bat made half of white wood and half of red timber. He credited his bat with his .333 career batting average (27th All Time). He sits in the top-ten in several offensive categories including 10th in hits (3,315), 2nd in singles (2,643), 7th in steals (744) and 10th in times on base with 4,891. He is the all-time leader in sacrifice hits with 512. The current active leader in this category is Omar Vizquel with 244. In other words, that record will not be contested any time soon. He shares the record of most steals in a single game with Carl Crawford, Otis Nixon and Eric Young Sr. Collins did it twice. He was a World Champion 3-times with Philadelphia and won another with the Chicago White Sox in 1917. In 1919 he was still a member of the Sox and played in the infamous Black Sox series. He was never charged with any involvement in the scandal despite only batting .214. He finished in the top-10 in MVP balloting during his career, winning the honor in 1914. His son Eddie Collins Jr. was born 2 years after he won the award. Collins Jr. signed with the A’s after graduating from Yale in 1939. He lasted for parts of 3 years in the big leagues, but never shared the success that his father had. Collins Sr. was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939 with George Sisler and Wee Willie Keeler. Collins is regarded by some as the greatest second baseman of all time. For all of his success on the diamond, he is not the most photogenic man in the world. I have had this card for many years and his evil-imp look has prevented me from posting it. I think he would have benefited from a dual-flap batting helmet. Just saying. Stay tuned for more on these early Fleer sets, 1950s Bowman, 1965 Topps, 1964 Topps Giants and yes, someday 1978 Topps. I love this hobby! 50 years, LATER!!!

Card Number 10, Hall of Famer Phil Niekro!!!

In 1977 the Atlanta Braves were awful! They finished 6th place (last) in the National League West and owned the worst record in the NL. Phil Niekro was their Ace starter (16-20) and it is fitting that he would lead the league in losses in 1977. He would ultimately pace the NL in that ominous category for 4 straight years, losing 76 games over that span. Despite his penchant for losses, he was the Braves best and most reliable starter, generally accounting for more than a quarter of their wins for the season. Aside from winning percentage (Eddie Solomon was 6-6) he led the team’s starters in every pitching category, good and bad. 1977 was manager Dave Bristol’s final year at the helm for the Braves, in 1978 Bobby Cox would take over and eventually turn things around. Unfortunately he only stuck around until 1981 and didn’t turn things around on that first stint. He returned in 1990 (after Niekro was retired), and a ton of NL Pennants and a World Series win later, Cox is still the man with the plan in Atlanta. 1974 AL MVP Jeff Burroughs had a MVP type season with big Triple Crown numbers in his first year with the Braves in ’77 (.271/41/114) but there were few other bright spots for the last place squad. They were bad and they had been bad for a while. Aside from pacing the league in the bad categories-he was tops in losses, earned runs, hits, wild pitches and walks, he led the NL with a career high 262 strikeouts, 48 more than JR Richard in 2nd place. He finished 20 of his 43 starts to lead the league in both of those categories, and he was also first in innings pitched with 330. He did all of this at 38 years of age and he was just getting warmed up. In 1979, at 40, and under Bobby Cox the Braves still finished in last place, and Niekro accounted for nearly 1/3 of the teams 66 wins that year. Phil Niekro would lead the league in losses again, but also tie for the league in wins with his brother Joe who was 21-11 with a 3.00 ERA. 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.
Niekro wouldn’t be out of a job for long, he signed on with the New York Yankees and assumed the role as their staff ace at the ripe age of 45, he was the Yankees opening day starter. The Yanks would finish 3rd in the AL East and Niekro would lead the staff in starts, innings, complete games, shutouts and strikeouts. He made his 5th and final All Star appearance that year and finished the season with a 16-8 record and a 3.09 ERA. 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….
The Nitty Gritty
Name/Number: Phil Niekro #35
Position: Starting pitcher, Braves Ace
Age-Now and Then: Was 38, he is now 70 and finally stopped pitching…
Team’s 1977 Record: 61-101, 6th place in NL West
Topps Rookie Card: 1965 Topps, card #541 with Phil Roof Number of Topps Base Cards: 25
Playball! SINGLE
1977 Stats Line: 16-20 with a 4.03 ERA.
Awards in 1977: Led league in losses, but also in strikeouts, innings, starts and complete games.
Distinguishing Feature: His trench coat.
Similar Modern Player: Who else but Tim Wakefield…
What I said about this card then: Is this guy a coach?
What I think about this card now: Sweet! Hall of Famer!
Back of the card memorable moment: No room for one, too many stats! 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…
The condition: Ex-Mt, centered 60/40
Grooviness factor: The bushy hair, the long jacket, the “where am I” look all scream the 70s.
Wow! Factor: Would win 140 more games.
What’s weird about this card: The Marlboro man in the background?
Career Accolades: Hall of Fame in 1997. 318 wins (16th All Time) and 3,342 Ks-11th All Time.
Best Season: So many… Had a league leading 1.87 ERA in 1967. Was 20-13 with a 2.38 ERA in 1974.
Nitty Gritty Fun Facts: Won his 300th game with a shutout at 46 years of age.
Where are they now? He was the manager for the Colorado Silver Bullets (now defunct) female baseball team.
Phil Niekro was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1997; he and his brother Joe are the winningest brother combo in baseball history. This card is the first of 33 different Hall of Famer cards in this set… Card #11, Rick Manning, your on deck! 31 years, LATER!

Card #7, REGGIE JACKSON Record Breaker!

Here we have it folks, card #7, Reggie Jackson Record Breaker. This is seventh and final record breaker card in the set. The record breaker cards all represent the stars of the day and 5 of those 7 players went on to enshrinement in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This is one of only two (Pete Rose) record breaker cards that show an action shot. I have no idea where or when this photo was taken, but as a kid I was sure he was hitting his third homerun of the night off of Charlie Hough. As far as I can tell, this record still stands, which is pretty remarkable. With their late nineties run, it seems like all of the current World Series records are held by Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter. With 40 trips to the World Series, I guess it is only fair that Yankees players own most of the records. To quote the back of the card- “Reggie sets series mark with 5 round trippers” it goes on to say “Reggie belts 3 in final game. Reggie Jackson set 5 World Series records and tied 3 others in 1977. His five homers were the most in one classic as were his 25 total bases and 10 runs. Reggie also set mark with 3 consecutive homers in one game and 4 in a row over 2 contests. Babe Ruth had twice hit 3 homers in World Series game, in 1926 and 1928.” Four homers had been hit in the Series 6 times prior by 5 different people. Duke Snider hit 4 homers in a Series twice (’52 and ’55) and Jackson’s teammate Gene Tenace did it in 1972. After Reggie, Barry Bonds had a 4-homer in 7 games performance in 2002. Jackson hit 5 in just 6 games. Jackson’s mark of 10 runs scored in one series has been tied, by Paul Molitor in 1993, but not broken. His 25 total bases has also been tied, by Willie Stargell in 1979, but not broken. His 5 homers in one series and 4 consecutive homers still stand as his records alone. As a kid, Reggie seemed larger than life. Whereas Pete Rose made me think that if I hustled, I could be a good player, Reggie seemed almost like a super hero. In 21-seasons in the big leagues he was an All Star 14 times, the American League MVP in 1973 and the World Series MVP in 1973 and 1977. He also paced the league in homers 4 times and hit 563 over his career, which is 13th All Time. He earned the nickname “Mr. October” with the Yankees, but he excelled in the Series everywhere he played. In five World Series contests he owned a .357 batting average with 10 homers and 24 RBI. His World Series batting average is nearly 100 percentage points higher than his career BA of .262. He won all 5 World Series that he played in and all were within the decade of the 70’s, meaning he won half of the Series of that decade. As a kid I got a sports calendar every year for Christmas, it included baseball, football, basketball and hockey players. Regardless of the year, Reggie was always the photo in October, which makes it fitting that his card is profiled before this month is up. This is pretty obvious, but after his career was done, his final stop was in Cooperstown, New York. He was elected in the Hall in his first year of eligibility in 1993 receiving 94% of the votes. Although I wasn’t a huge Reggie fan growing up, I did admire and respect him. Like I said, he just seemed larger than life and because of that, I never really collected him. I just didn’t think I was worthy to collect such an amazing, super hero like player, that doesn’t mean that dealers didn’t have to wipe the drool off of this 1969 Topps card every card show that I went to. I can remember having 4 dollars in my pocket and going up and “saying, hey, how much would you take for the Reggie rookie? Oh, okay, I’ll have to think about it…” Good times. I really love this hobby of ours! Next up, regular cards, woo hoo! One more time begging, PLEASE add this to your blog rolls if you are reading it! Happy Collecting and set building to all!

Card #4, Brooks Robinson Record Breaker

When I was making my needs list for this set I had all of the numbers written down and then I went to the checklist to figure out what star players (that would cost me) were on the list. This card was one that I needed, and the checklist listed it as such: “Brooks Robinson/Record Breaker”. That left a certain degree of suspense for me because Brooks owns so many records! In 1977 he owned the record himself of 16 consecutive Gold Glove Awards (Jim Kaat and Greg Maddux have since tied it), he owns the career marks for games, assists, put-outs and double plays by a third baseman and he also owns (shared with Carl Yastrzemski) the record for most seasons played with one team. As it turns out, the latter is the focus of this record breaker card. The title reads “Most Consecutive Seasons, One Club”. When Brooks started the 1977 season it was his 23rd (consecutive) season with the Baltimore Orioles. He started out for them as an 18-year old rookie in 1955 and played there till he was a 40 year old pinch hitter in 1977. Along the way he played in 18 consecutive All Star Games (starting 11 of them), he led the league in fielding percentage 11 times, holds the AL career record for sac flies and was the American League MVP in 1964 when he played in all 163 games, batted .317, hit 28 homers and led the league with 118 runs batted in. He also earned two World Series rings with the Orioles (’66 and ’70) and has a career .303 postseason batting average with 5 homers and 22 RBI. Okay, back to the card, which is #4 in the set, it dictates that Brooks broke the All-Time record for longevity which was previously shared by National Leaguers (and Hall of Famers) Cap Anson, Mel Ott and Stan Musial. It goes on to mention that 2 American League players shared the mark, but doesn’t mention their names. I know that Al Kaline played 22 seasons with the Tigers, so that is one, but it doesn’t mention the other. This will probably keep me up at night till I figure it out… Some of these records that were set in this set were expanded upon, but Brooks’ final year was 1977, I think he had his final at-bat on August 5, 1977 and therefore the mark stood at 23 seasons. He only started 10 games at third base that year and only had 52 at bats total and his batting average was a painful .149. He did hit a homerun that year and I hope it was at home because I can imagine the ovation that would have earned him. He was a defensive specialist, nicknamed the “Human Vacuum Cleaner”, but still delivered at the plate, including 2,848 career hits. Like Musial and Kaline with their respective teams, when you think of the Orioles, you think of Brooks Robinson and you immediately envision him at the hot corner making a diving stop and a dead-on throw to first. This record that he set stood for only 5 seasons until Carl Yastrzemski played his 23rd season for the Boston Red Sox in 1983. That same year Brooks Robinson was inducted into the National Baseball of Fame on his first year of eligibility, receiving 92% of all votes. To this day those 2 share the record and in the current climate of free agency I don’t think anyone will come close to taking this mark from these two legends. I am glad that Brooks broke another this year because otherwise Topps would have completely overlooked this legendary player. As it stands, the greatest third baseman of All-Time, #5, Brooks “The Human Vacuum Cleaner” Robinson’s final regular issue Topps card is from the 1977 set, card #285. This leaves only 3 more record breaker cards to cover and then it is off to the regular set! Happy collecting…