My First Frankenset: The Top Cards - Honorable Mentions

I never had a clear plan for how to reveal my long-ago finished Frankenset. I've shown bits and pieces of it on the blog, and had some of the pages uploaded, but recently decided to finish it - in the sense of getting all the pages loaded to my Frankenset page. I suppose part of the reason it has taken me so long is that the set is 800 cards. So that's pretty big. But also, I've had other card projects that have pulled me away. 

Feel free to check out the link above to see all the cards in the set (89 pages!). I plan to reveal my top 10 favorite cards from my Frankenset. But first, I will show the honorable mentions, cards that just missed the cut for the top 10. 

1993 Upper Deck #124 - Andy Van Slyke

Choosing this image for a card of a prominent All-Star player of the early 90s is a bit puzzling. But I'm can't say I'm displeased that they chose it.

1994 Topps #180 - George Brett

You may be aware that Nolan Ryan's last season was 1993, and he had some fantastic cards toward the end of his career. But so did George Brett, whose final season was also 1993. This one is my favorite of Brett's late-career cards. 

1996 Score #126 - Benito Santiago

If I'm not mistaken, I think Schottzie is the most famous (infamous?) dog in baseball history. You don't see very many dogs on baseball cards, though there are some. Marge Schott was the Reds owner, and she often had Schottzie on the field. When he would do his business, she did not pick up after him. Obviously, this irked a lot of people. Also, incidentally, I believe this card features Schottzie 2. 

1970 Topps #252 - Lowell Palmer

Lowell Palmer had a 5-18 win/loss record over five MLB seasons. This legendary card ensures Mr. Palmer has not been forgotten, at least by the card collecting community.

1973 Topps #273 - Chris Speier

This card was voted the best of Dime Boxes second Frankenset. And for good reason. It's just a great card.

1992 Score #311 - Jeff Reed

I don't typically find joy in other people's pain but for some reason, this card makes me chuckle pretty much every time I see it.

1973 Topps #542 - Pat Corrales

Another legendary card from 1973 Topps. A painful collision with Fergie Jenkins. Written about many times, this card was a Cardboard Appreciation selection by Night Owl.

I plan to feature a countdown of cards 10 to 6 in my next post, then finish up with the top 5. Do you have any favorites among today's group? Thanks for stopping by.

The Grizzled Veterans of 1973 Topps

Playing 15 seasons in the majors is an impressive accomplishment. Not only do you have to be a talented player, but a lot of other things need to go right for you to reach the decade-and-a-half mark. Getting a timely call-up to the majors, staying relatively healthy throughout your career, and having marketable value into your late thirties are some of the requirements. Fifteen years in the majors also makes for a great back-of-the-baseball card for those companies that dare try to cram all those seasons onto the back. I, for one, am thankful for those companies. So much so that I have a binder featuring only cards of players with 15 or more seasons of MLB stats listed on the back. Call it a fifth-tier mini-collection, because it doesn't get a lot of attention.

In my 1973 Topps pursuit (down to 3 cards!) I wanted to see how many of these grizzled old veterans featured in the set had played 15 or more seasons entering the 1973 campaign. By my unofficial count, it turns out the number is 19. I'm sure you could name some of these players if you sat down to brainstorm (and feel free to quiz yourself, because I will reveal all of the names). But I imagine, like me, there are some you never would have guessed. 

I'll highlight them here in order of card number, giving you some images and tidbits along the way for some of the players.

29 - Tony Taylor

19 major league seasons

Final season: 1976

46 - Lindy McDaniel

21 major league seasons

Final season: 1975

50 - Roberto Clemente

18 major league seasons
Final season: 1972

Clemente was the only 1973 veteran to not play during the 1973 season. He died on December 31, 1972, when the plane he was on crashed at sea. He was on his way from Puerto Rico to Nicaragua to deliver relief supplies after an earthquake. 

70 - Milt Pappas

17 major league seasons

Final season: 1973

75 - Vada Pinson

18 major league seasons

Final Season: 1975

90 - Brooks Robinson

23 major league seasons

Final season: 1977

Robinson made his last two All-Star team in 1973 and 1974, his 17th and 18th appearances of his career.

100 - Hank Aaron

23 major league seasons

Final season: 1976

Aaron played a majority of his games in 1972 at first base, but Mike Lum took his spot there in 1973, with Hank moving back to the outfield. 

125 - Ron Fairly

21 major league seasons

Final season: 1978

Fairly lasted the longest of the 1973 veterans, wrapping up his career in 1978 with the California Angels.

165 - Luis Aparicio

18 major league seasons

Final season: 1973

170 - Harmon Killebrew

22 major league seasons

Final season: 1975

A great card of Killer. 

175 - Frank Robinson

21 major league seasons

Final season: 1976

One of those unique angles that only 1973 Topps can provide. You either love it or hate it, it seems. I love it, of course.

277 - Bob Miller

17 major league seasons

Final season: 1974

280 - Al Kaline

22 major league seasons

Final season: 1974

Something about Al Kaline still playing in 1973 seems crazy to me. I always thought he was a guy that probably retired in the late 60s, but here he is. And still providing some value it seems, too.

305 - Willie Mays

23 major league seasons

Final season: 1973

Mays is the super veteran of the group. His 1951 debut with the New York Giants is the earliest debut of any of the veterans of 1973.

485 - Norm Cash

17 major league seasons

Final season: 1974

TCDB tells us that this card incorrectly states that Norm Cash was a 1st round draft pick of the Chicago Bears. He was actually drafted in the 13th round. 

490 - Claude Osteen

18 major league seasons

Final season: 1975

535 - Johnny Callison

16 major league seasons

Final season: 1973

560 - Frank Howard

16 major league seasons

Final season: 1973

Howard had a decent season in Detroit in 1973 before hanging it up. 

650 - Felipe Alou

17 major league seasons

Final season: 1974

According to Wikipedia, Freediving, free-diving, free diving, breath-hold diving, or skin diving is a form of underwater diving that relies on breath-holding until resurfacing rather than the use of breathing apparatus such as scuba gear.

Other random observations:

• Just 3 players out of the 19 were not given a "star" number, that is, a card number ending in 5 or 0 (Tony Taylor, Lindy McDaniel, and Bob Miller). 
• The group of 19 also featured 8 eventual Hall of Famers (Clemente, B. Robinson, Aaron, Aparicio, Killebrew, F. Robinson, Kaline, Mays).
• Johnny Callison, Frank Howard, and Felipe Alou fell in the dreaded high number series, though none of them were too difficult to obtain.
• Al Kaline, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron are the only players to appear in both this set and my other set project, 1955 Bowman.

Incidentally, if you have any of these 73 Topps cards lying around, feel free to connect with me for a possible trade:

• 380 - Johnny Bench
• 610 - Rookie Pitchers (Freeman/Hough/Webb)
• 615 - Rookie Third Basemen (Cey/Hilton/Schmidt) --- going to have to save up for this one.

1955 Bowman Autographs - Only a Few Still Possible

In late 2021, I had the late Frank Thomas (the Original One), sign my 1955 Bowman card of him. You can see that card and others from Mr. Thomas here. My favorite players to send to during my TTM binge of late 2021 were the old-timers, as well as the really old-timers. It's sad that many of the baseball heroes of the 1950s have passed away, but there was still time to make a connection with a few of them via their 1955 Bowman cards. So, just after the calendar turned to 2023, I set out to do just that. I believe this is a comprehensive list of players from the 1955 Bowman set who are both still alive and still signing their cards through the mail:

• Joe Amalfitano (age 89)
• Carl Erskine (age 96)
• Hobie Landrith (age 92)
• Bobby Shantz (age 97)
• Vern Law (age 92)

I actually had sent to both Amalfitano and Shantz back in 2021 due to their Cubs connections. In January, I sent to them again, as well as sending Hobie Landrith's card to him. They all came back signed beautifully. 

I just sent out Carl Erskine's card to him about a week ago, and still need to get Vern Law's in the mail. If I can get those back, I will have six signed cards in the set, which I think is pretty neat. I don't typically like buying autographed cards, so that will probably be all that I collect for this set. It's kind of crazy to get cards signed that came out 68 years ago. I appreciate these gentlemen graciously returning them to me. 

A 1955 Bowman Birthday: Red Schoendienst (A New Series)

Boosted by a Christmas gift card boom, I have been adding to my 1955 Bowman set build. Between eBay, COMC, and TCDB, I have added a big chunk of cards in the last couple of months. I'm now at 242 out of the 320 card set. Recent notable additions include:

Nellie Fox

Lou Boudreau

Bobby Thomson

Bobby Shantz

Enos Slaughter

Gil McDougald

Phil Cavarretta

Roy Campanella 

Carl Erskine

Bob Lemon

Carl Furillo

Early Wynn

There were some high number acquisitions along with a few commons, too. But today's featured card is another recent find, card #29 Al "Red" Schoendienst, another Hall of Famer. Why am I featuring this card today? Well, today would have been Red's 100th birthday. I plan to feature all the cards I have of players that would have turned 100 this year. This gets a little tricky, though, because a not insignificant number of cards have the wrong birth year for the player. But some cross-referencing never bothered me. In fact, it will be necessary for this series, as I try to provide some interesting info about the players.

Here's my actual card of Red Schoendienst:

Date of Birth: 

February 2, 1923

First Year in Organized Baseball:

1942 with the Albany (GA) Cardinals and the Union City (TN) Greyhounds, both Class D teams in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. 

Link to a Really Old Baseball Guy:

Schoendienst's manager in his first MLB season (1945) was Hall of Famer Billy Southworth, who was born in 1893 and began his minor league playing career in 1912.

Definitely not a card I own.

Link to a Much Younger Guy:

Managed Ray Lankford on the 1990 Cardinals. 

1990 Upper Deck - Ray Lankford

Interesting Facts: 

• Red was actually inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player in 1989 by the Veterans Committee. Most people still around today would better remember him as a manager. He managed a total of 14 years in MLB, leading the Cardinals to the World Series title in 1967. His managerial success no doubt boosted his Hall of Fame case. 
• 10-time All-Star
• Played or managed in the Cardinals organization in 32 separate seasons.
• Died June 6, 2018 at the age of 95.

There appears to be 11 more 100th birthdays from the 1955 Bowman set to celebrate this year (pending double-checks of their birth years). Quick math tells us these players would have been either 31 or 32 during the 1955 season. As a result, no coach cards or umpire cards will be featured. I'll try to get to those in other posts.