Hal,

Those GU pitcher bats are awesome; congrats on picking up another. Also, I really like how you have the bats displayed. One day we “need” a picture of that great looking room you have OR a tour would be fine...:D

Day 119 (April 28, 2020 – 119)

While they’re not as nice as the snapshot examples Kurt (horzverti) posted here’s a few fielding snapshots of Brooks from a home game.

Attachment 397046
Attachment 397048
Attachment 397049
Attachment 397050

Norfolk Tides Sunday SGA Photos
 

For many years, the Norfolk Tides had a photo giveaway on selected Sundays throughout the season. The promotion started while the Tides were a Mets affiliate and continued when the Orioles came to town in 2007. Unfortunately, the Tides discontinued the promotion in 2019.

The photos are 9x12 and on thicker poster paper. The backs have stats and bio of player. There were usually 4000 passed out at each game and the featured player was available to sign them before the game. I really like them a lot. There were 8 photos per year from 2007-2017, but only 5 photos in 2018. Through a connection at the Tides, I have been able to get 86 out of the 93 photos from the time the Tides started with the Orioles. I would love to complete the sets.

Here are samples and checklists from each year

2007 - #1 Mike Cervenak, #2 Jason Dubois, #3 JR House, #4 Garrett Olson, # 8Terry Tiffee, Cory Doyne and Tike Redmond are not numbered (One unknown player that I don't have)


Attachment 397063


2008 - #1 Luis Terrero, #2 Hayden Penn, #3 Oscar Salazar, #4 (Unknown-Need), #5 Scott Moore, #6 Mike Costanzo, #7 Omir Santos, #8 Andy Mitchell


Attachment 397064


2009 - #1 Matt Wieters, #2 Brad Bergesen, #3 Chriss Tillman, #4 Oscar Salazar, #5 Jim Miller, #6 Jolbert Cabrera, #7 Jeff Fiorentino, #8 (Unknown - Need)


Attachment 397065 Attachment 397084


2010 - #1 Josh Bell, #2 Brandon Snyder, #3 Rhyne Hughes, #4 Jeff Salazar, #5 Matt Angle, #6 Michael Aubrey, #7 Dennis Sarfate, #8 Zach Britton


Attachment 397066


2011 - #1 Nick Green, #2 Mike Ballard, #3 Mark Worrell, #4 Josh Rupe, #5 John Hester, #6 Brendan Harris, #7 Brian Matusz, #8 Jake Fox


Attachment 397067


2012 - #1 Joe Mahoney, #2 Jamie Hoffman, #3 Miguel Tejada, #4 Xavier Avery, #5 LJ Hoes, #6 Jason Berken, #7 Miguel Socolovich, #8 Lew Ford


Attachment 397068


2013 - #1 Jonathan Schoop, #2 Travis Ishikawa, #3 Jason Pridie, #4 Kevin Gausman, #5 Buck Britton, #6 Zelous Wheeler, #7 Josh Stinson, #8 Eric Thames


Attachment 397069


2014 - #1 Henry Urrutia, #2 Caleb Joseph, #3 Mike Wright, #4 Brett Wallace, #5 Ivan DeJesus Jr, #6 Jemile Weeks, #7 Tyler Wilson (Need), #8 Cord Phelps


Attachment 397070


2015 - #1 Christian Walker, #2 Eddie Gamboa (Need), #3 Chris Parmelee, #4 Zach Davies, #5 Chris Jones, #6 Dariel Alvarez, #7 Oliver Drake, #8 Steve Clevenger


Attachment 397071


2016 - #1 Francisco Pena (Need), #2 Pedro Beato, #3 Trey Mancini, #4 Christian Walker (Need), #5 Mike Yastrzemski, #6 Audry Perez, #7 Paul Janish, #8 Joe Gunkel


Attachment 397072


2017 - #1 Stefan Crichton, #2 Drew Dosch, #3 Johnny Giavotella, #4 Chris Lee, #5 Logan Schafer, #6 Chance Sisco, #7 David Washington, #8 Jimmy Yacabonis


Attachment 397073


2018 - #1 Cedric Mullins, #2 DJ Stewart, #3 Joey Rickard, #4 Austin Wynns, #5 David Hess


Attachment 397074

Great fielding photos of Brooks Mark!

Alan,

Your collection never ceases to amaze. Those are pretty neat items. I really like the setup on the 2017 issue. Man, and you only need a few to complete the sets.

Posted for Clint (ksfarmboy)

Today Clint has a 1986 Majestic made warm up for Al Pardo.

Attachment 397181
Attachment 397182

Day 120 (April 29, 2020 – 120)

We’ve seen some Salada coins and a shield posted previously and this one is from the next year. The 1963 Salada Tea coin #53; this ’63 Salada set was called the All-Star Baseball Coins. These coins were made of metal and are 1 ½” in diameter.

1963 Salada Tea #53

Attachment 397183
Attachment 397184

Oddball Oriole Magazines and Ads
 

Hello,

With some time to go through my various cabinets of magazines, I'd thought I'd feature some newer ones featuring Orioles players but from some oddball sources.

1972-1975 Lodi affiliates
 

When the Orioles ended their relationship with the Stockton Ports after 1971, the next four seasons saw the Orioles class A affiliate in the California League located in Lodi,CA. During that span, Lodi went through several name changes and averaged between 300-600 fans per game. From 1972-1974, Lodi was managed by Jimmy Schaffer. In 1975, the Orioles were managed by Bobby Malkmus.

Here are programs and a few team issued and Mel Bailey postcards from those teams. I have a bunch of postcards of players in Lodi uniforms, that I'll post when I'm back in Maine.

1972 Lodi Orions

The 1972 Orions finished 67-73. A few players included Manager Jimmy Schaffer, Bob Bailor, Terry Clapp and Larry Harlow. Terry Clapp never made it to Baltimore.

Attachment 397197 Attachment 397212


1973 Lodi Lions

The Orions changed their name to the Lions in 1973. They finished with their best record as an O's affiliate finishing 77-63. Players included Blake Doyle, Kiko Garcia, Larry Harlow and Dave Skaggs.

Attachment 397198 Attachment 397213


1974 Lodi Orioles

A final name change occurred in 1974 and for the next couple seasons they were the Lodi Orioles. The 1974 Orioles ended up going 61-79, but did include a couple cup of tea Orioles in Randy Miller and Mike Parrott

Attachment 397199 Attachment 397214


1975 Lodi Orioles

The 1975 Orioles were back over .500, finishing 71-69 under new manager Bobby Malkmus. Willie Royster was the only future Oriole on the roster

Attachment 397200 Attachment 397215

Very cool. A couple of them I've never seen before.

Day 121 (April 30, 2020 – 121)

Let’s end the month of April with the good word. I know, I know no religious talk on Net54 so I’ll try to refrain. This bi-monthly magazine is called “the good word” and was put out by Gunther Brewing Company and pictures the Orioles team shot on the cover of the magazine for the April 1957 issue. Brooks is pictured on the back row 10th player over (looking oh so happy). I purchased this magazine from Dan (danmckee) who extended a great deal after a bit of crying and begging on my part (at least that’s what I recall).

1957 “the good word”, April Baseball Issue, Vol. 6, No. 2

Attachment 397365

Quote: “The Orioles were built on having great defense, and Brooks was the cornerstone.” Ron Hansen

I like the pin…

Attachment 397366

Clint, nice '86 BP jersey...don't see those often!
Mike...Love the oddball publications
Mark...I've never seen that Good Word publication before
Alan...Great pictures of the minor leagues (as always)..What I like about this Forum (among a lot of things) is that names of players will pop up & it will remind me of things I have buried around here...

Alan showed a photo of Willie Royster..Royster had a monster year at AA Charlotte in 1981 setting Franchise records in HR's/RBI's & Stolen Bases...Willie stole 53 bases that year and he was a catcher!

He was rewarded with a promotion to Baltimore after the season ended, however he only got 4 AB's with the Orioles that last month & never saw a day in the Major Leagues after that.

Well over 20 years ago I bought a collection of game bats from a former Rochester Red Wings clubhouse employee and Royster was among them..I had wanted to get this bat signed at some point, however Willie passed away before I had the opportunity to do so.

https://i.imgur.com/mxRf4ww.jpg

Bill,

I echo that statement. We head back to Maine in a week and I have some items I need to unearth. :D

1977 McCurdy's Rochester Red Wings
 

I've always been one of those guys that has enjoyed collecting minor league sets. I remember when TCMA started putting out sets in the 1970's. At last count, I have around 275 different Orioles minor league team sets. I have the 1980 Charlotte Blue set and someday hope to add the Orange set to my collection. I still can't find the 2006 Choice Ottawa Lynx set anywhere. Dealing with the Lynx was an adventure and a story for another day.

In 1977, McCurdy's Department Stores out of Rochester sponsored a set of 4 sheets of Red Wings players. It used to be fairly hard to find them, but recently I've seen more around and prices all over the place. The cards are standard size when cut out, but I see most still in sheet form. The set contains plenty of guys that played for the Orioles at one time or another.

Attachment 397382

Attachment 397384

Attachment 397383

Attachment 397385

It’s a wonder that you have “more” items! :D

Mark,

Just posted this on the Clemente thread, but thought you'd like to see it since Brooks is present.

About 4-5 years ago I saw this next item on eBay with a reasonable BIN. As I frantically rushed to make the purchase, someone must have beat me to the punch by a few seconds and purchased it before I could.

Earlier this year, I saw only the second one I've ever seen and was able to make the purchase. Either side could be used, and I'm sure many were, which is why I've only seen 2 examples.

1965 Complete Sports book cover...


https://photos.imageevent.com/docpat...BookCoverA.jpg

https://photos.imageevent.com/docpat...BookCoverB.jpg

https://photos.imageevent.com/docpat...BookCoverC.jpg

Thanks so much for posting the book cover here. That is such an interesting item that I have never seen before. So neat to see things for the first time.

Day 122 (May 1, 2020 – 122)

I used to get a calendar every year, the type with a picture per month and usually of the muscle car variety, but once it a while I’d pick up a baseball calendar. I still have a few of these calendars stored in boxes somewhere, but this calendar pictures Brooks on the front of the calendar. It’s such a cool photo of Brooks during a night game, in-action, at Memorial Stadium. It states on the back cover about the cover shot, “1983 Hall of Fame inductee Brooks Robinson stalks the white sphere.” It also has a different picture of him, in his away uniform, on the inside for the month of May. The calendar is actually a lot nicer looking than this photo would indicate (looks a bit dull in color, but it's glossy and bright).

1984 Play Ball! Calendar put out by Tide-Mark Press – front cover

Attachment 397515

1984 Play Ball! – May 1984

Attachment 397516

The calendar has a very nice Clemente pictured for the month of August; back cover states “Latin whirlwind and hero: Roberto Clemente”

1984 Play Ball! – Clemente

Attachment 397517

Mark:

I had that very calendar up in my first apartment!

Here is a game used BP top from Larry Sheets (1985)

https://i.imgur.com/KhrQE9o.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/XT84sby.jpg

Rochester Red Wings photos
 

In an earlier post, I talked about team issued glossy B&W 8x10 photos of the Rochester Red Wings and posted an example of John Anderson from 1961. I don't see these photos offered very often, but try to pick them up when I can. I only collect photos of Red Wings while they were affiliated with the Orioles. I've also seen similar photos from the late 1950's, but the Red Wings were a St.Louis Cardinals affiliate. The uniform style often helps identify the earlier photos.

Here are a few more from 1961-1963. I love these types of photos.

1961 Ray Barker

Attachment 397539

1961 Jim Finigan

Attachment 397540

1962 Ron Kabbes

Attachment 397541

1962 Billy Short

Attachment 397542

1963 Sam Bowens

Attachment 397543

1963 Earl Robinson

Attachment 397544

Alan:

As always, nice photos of those Red Wings players...

I'm not a huge pennant collector, but here is a Red Wings pennant from 1981 which was significant in that that was the year of their historic 33 Inning game with Pawtucket as well as it being the season that Cal Ripken Jr. played there and was the International League MVP:

https://i.imgur.com/Yq6saSa.jpg

Joel Stephens
 

I don't know how many of you following Roch Kubatko, one of the Orioles beat writers. Each day he posts stories and updates in his "School of Roch" column.

I'm sure most of us have been following Trey Mancini's battle with colon cancer. Today, Roch talked about several former Orioles and their cancer battles, including Eric Davis and Boog Powell. One story caught my attention and touched my heart.

A quote from Roch's post today...


"The success stories warm the heart.

Joel Stephens broke ours.

Stephens’ colon cancer wasn’t discovered in time. The Orioles drafted him in the ninth round in 1995. The world lost him in 1998, less than a year after his diagnosis.

He was 22.

Cancer doesn’t care how old you are.

Three members of the Orioles family diagnosed with the same form of it in the same year. Unfortunately, Stephens tends to be forgotten.

His tragedy should resonate the loudest. He never had a chance.

Doctors said Stephens’ case was much more serious than that of Davis and Powell - and now Mancini. He was undergoing round-the-clock chemotherapy from doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He’d spend 12 hours in bed each night receiving medications.

If he wanted to become mobile, he’d wear a backpack that dispensed the drugs intravenously.

Oncologist Dr. Ross C. Donehower, who also treated Davis, told The Baltimore Sun in 1997 that colon cancer rarely attacks people in their 20s or 30s. Fewer than one in 20 cases occur in people 35 or younger.

“For the Orioles,” he said, “it is an extraordinary coincidence.”

Stephens played for the low Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds the summer before his diagnosis, when he noticed a dull pain in his stomach, and hoped to receive at least one at-bat with high Single-A Frederick in 1998. He was placed on the Keys roster but never got into a game.

He underwent multiple surgeries in March, just as he had done the previous November, and threw out the ceremonial first pitch before an Orioles exhibition game at Camden Yards.

Doctors told Stephens in July 1998 that he was in remission, but the cancer returned. He died on Sept. 30.

Stephens had left a note for his teammates in the Keys locker room before heading back home, telling them not to worry. The Lord was taking care of him.

Please don’t forget about Joel Stephens. No matter how much it hurts."


Roch this post is for Joel Stephens. RIP Joel

Attachment 397545

Bill,

I assume you've seen this book. I really need to get Cal to sign it.

Attachment 397546

Bill I really like those BP tops.

Day 123 (May 2, 2020 – 123)

As you already probably know I very much enjoy snapshot photos. If you don’t like snapshots you need to get on-board with the likeability of these cool items. Now that I’m sure you decided to love them, which do you love better…color OR black and white snapshots?

Color

Attachment 397683
Attachment 397684

B&W

Attachment 397685
Attachment 397686

1969 Transograms
 

Good morning,

Mark, although the B&W photos have a better artistic feel to them, I prefer color photos because I'd rather see the event in as much realistic detail as possible.

I know 1969 Transograms have been featured on this thread before but I was just able to acquire the three Orioles in the 1969 set (Brooks, Frank, and Dave McNally) nearly mint in box.

It has taken me years to find them in this condition (although I have my disagreements with 'realistic reproduction'). So, two days or so to enjoy them, then on to searching for the 1970's (why, oh why, must Boog be with Reggie Jackson).

Alan....That's a neat book...About 5 years ago my wife and I stopped in Pawtucket on the way back from Boston to take in a game at McCoy Stadium (I wanted to get there before it got knocked down).

Mark...love unique photos regardless of the color (or lack thereof)

Mike...Those Transograms have been on my radar for years.

Getting back to that historic 33 Inning Game, about 25 years ago I purchased from a collector in Charleston, team signed sheets of both teams with the box-score affixed..The cool thing is there are dates on each when the collector got them signed in '81 & if you checked the schedules those clubs were indeed in town that day. The Pawtucket sheet includes not only Wade Boggs but also the signature of pitcher Win Remmerswaal who is from the Netherlands (and has been in a nursing home there for years) and his signature is sought highly by collectors due to its scarcity.

https://i.imgur.com/wRxgB7v.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/yf2Anqe.jpg

Rochester Red Wings photos
 

Mark: I love the photo of the players with their kids.

Mike: Those Transogram boxes look better than the ones I bought in the store in 1969. Unfortunately, I didn't know enough back then to keep the boxes intact.

Bill: Those are cool sheets. It's interesting that I've witnessed some current minor league players that won't sign blank sheets like that for fear of their autographs being stolen. They especially don't like being the first signature on a blank sheet and if they do sign try to intersect their autograph with another player.


Anyway, here are a few more Rochester Red Wings photos from 1961-62 .

Art Quirk

Attachment 397700

Bob Saverine

Attachment 397701

Herb Moford

Attachment 397702

Bob Giggie

Attachment 397703

Nativadad Martinez

Attachment 397704

Mike,

Man, those Transograms look very nice! I think I pictured mine already and I definitely need an upgrade.

Bill,

That’s soooo cool!!!

Alan,

Maybe you can answer this question. Why is so much of the minor league items better looking than the pro ball stuff? The pictures you’ve been posting lately are extremely nice.

Mark,

My only guess would be that major league photographers take such a high quantity of photos, that quality sometimes takes a hit. I'm guessing most minor league teams use a local photographer. Minor league teams have limited budgets and local photographers take more time to do the photos right the first time. It would also be good advertising for a local photographer, so they want the fans to see their best stuff. Just a guess.

I do think the old B&W photos from the 1950's and 60's, major or minor leagues, are way better than the photos today. Just my preference.

Day 124 (May 3, 2020 – 124)

When I was young, I used to cut out all the Oriole pictures out of the newspapers (plus the other teams if the pictures looked good). I still have a few, but most are long gone. The bad thing is I cut them out of pretty much all the publications I had as well. Well at least a few others did this as well and I’ve picked up a couple of newspaper cutouts over the years, mostly signed, and added them to my Oriole collection.

Attachment 397845
Attachment 397846

1995 Bowie BaySox Photos
 

Another minor league set I'm working on is a set of 1995 Bowie BaySox photos that were giveaways at the stadium. Bowie has been the Orioles AA affiliate since 1993 and over the years have had some nice giveaways. I have three out of ?? photos. Looking for additions to the checklist. The photos are 8x10 on glossy paper.

Attachment 397871 Attachment 397870

Attachment 397872

Added Bonus - 1995 Bowie BaySox Beacon Newspapers

Attachment 397873 Attachment 397874 Attachment 397875

Going through some junk and ran across a few snapshots. What do you think mid-70's? Gotta love the long sideburns and the staches coming into play...

Attachment 397880

Think it's a nice setup on those 8X10's. Gotta be more than the three...

Cal Ripken Jr. Rochester Red Wings paycheck dated 07/08/81

https://i.imgur.com/Us2IhI0.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/rniXlHb.jpg

My Bowie BaySox collection is limited other than this game used jersey of Ryan Ripken from 2019:

https://i.imgur.com/B07Htzs.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/1RkShwG.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/069wnNh.jpg

I respectfully disagree. I think this set is beautiful and among the best of the 1970s.

The picture is the same but the facsimile autograph is placed differently. I own the Stargell and I have seen the Clemente from another poster on this board.

WOW! This is NICE!!

Those have to be rare. Thanks for the information on the facsimile autograph being in different locations. If you have an opportunity I’d really like to see the Stargell. I can’t remember where I saw a picture of it in the past, but did see it before. I know Howard (hcv123) has a Clemente poster and has shown it in the past.

Candy Lids
 

Day 125 (May 4, 2020 – 125)

Topps had a neat test or experiment with a new type of collectible; the candy lid. The 1973 Candy Lids set consisted of 55 different lids which were around 1 1/78” in diameter and were on top of a bubble gum product called Baseball Stars Bubble Gum. It’s a struggle to get these things in pristine condition since you had to pull the tab to get the lid off the small gum tub or bucket. I think they were relatively cheap to purchase; around $.10. What’s also pretty cool is on the back of the lid it pictures Tom Seaver and Carl Yastrzemski surrounded by a red star. Just one more thing concerning the candy lids in that the box that these lids came in was visually appealing; the box pictured Johnny Bench, Hank Aaron and Jim Palmer.

1973 Candy Lids

Attachment 398027

1973 Candy Lids – proof

Attachment 398028
Attachment 398029

Candy Lid Box Top
 

Good morning Mark,

I really like that '73 Candy Lid Brooks proof. Here is the box top you were referring to:

Bowie Baysox
 

Alan, your post reminded me that in the inaugural year of the Baysox (1993), the company my father worked for (Nabisco) sponsored a day at the stadium. I tried to get as many autographs as I could in a little notebook. Here's the first page of that notebook. WJZ13 was there filming and somewhere my parents still have a tape of 11-year old me on the news standing in line for Brian Dubois' autograph.

The only slightly disappointing note is that I just missed (I think I was 2 back) getting manager Don Buford's autograph and I still haven't been able to meet him.

1993 Bowie BaySox
 

Mike,

That's a cool story. I hope you can find that tape. It's interesting to note that the stadium in Bowie wasn't ready in 1993, so the BaySox played their first season at Memorial Stadium.

Attachment 398033

Attachment 398034

Mark & Mike...Love those Candy Lids, unfortunately I don't own any although I've always wondered why Topps couldn't use the MLB logos on them.

Anyways, in the final season of Memorial Stadium, Coors made a nice commemorative can to celebrate the occasion.

Here is a production proof of the can (the reverse has each department's signed approval) as well as the can itself:

https://i.imgur.com/7MRV2jK.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/9sro6lx.jpg

Candy Lids No Team Logos
 

Hi Bill,

I've always read that once Topps had to start paying the Players Association and MLB Baseball separately, they went cheap and just focused on acquiring the players rights for test issues. It's one reason why in the 70's sets like Kellogg's, Burger King, and Hostess started to come out more frequently. Topps would ask that company to acquire the rights for the MLB logos and Topps would supply the player photos.

1997 Delmarva Shorebirds photos
 

Yet another set of minor league photos I'm trying to complete. This time the photos are from the 1997 Delmarva Shorebirds. The Shorebirds have been an Orioles Class A affiliate since 1997. They were affiliated with the Expos in 1996 after relocating from Albany, GA. Ironically, the Albany Polecats had been an Orioles affiliate in 1993-1994.

These color photos are 4x6 and nice quality. I don't know if they were a stadium giveaway or not and exactly how many players were done.

Here are the four photos I have ...

Bobby Rodriguez, Chip Alley, Maleke Fowler and Maximo Heredia

Attachment 398107 Attachment 398108 Attachment 398109 Attachment 398110

Thanks for sharing. Would be a cool display item.

Mike,

Great memory. Thanks for sharing with us here.

Back some years ago, while in FL, the company I worked for stored Nabisco Foods products. We did this until I believe 2005 when they were sold to Kraft. Most of the product went to their mixing center.

Alan:

My son lives in Salisbury and is one of the Shorebirds Official Scorers. He hits area flea markets, etc. and I can have him be on the look out for some of these.

Here are a couple Red Wings checks made out to Cal Ripken Sr.

One from his playing days during Spring Training 1961 (cashed at a Sunoco Station in Daytona Beach):

https://i.imgur.com/k7w262i.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/hyATudt.jpg

And another from his managerial days with the Red Wings in 1970:


https://i.imgur.com/0tvMkiI.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/iEZptsi.jpg

Think the checks are a neat collectible for sure.

Day 126 (May 5, 2020 – 126)

Metal thermometer made by Figgie International Inc. of the Norman Rockwell, “Gee, Thanks Brooks” painting image. Made in the good ‘ole U.S.A.

1984 Figgie International Inc. thermometer

Attachment 398185

Today I’ll include the December 1, 1994 Sotheby’s auction catalog with the Norman Rockwell “Gee, Thanks, Brooks” on the cover. The Sotheby’s auction is where Brooks bought the original Rockwell painting. Of course, Brooks donated the painting he purchased at Sotheby’s. In a 2015 Forbes article by David Seideman he stated about Brooks, “What better way to celebrate Brooks Robinson than life imitating art. After all, he personifies Rockwell’s patriotic ideals for perseverance, compassion, and teamwork, proving time again that nice guys can finish first.”

Attachment 398186

What’s the story behind the Rockwell?
So the owner of Rawlings commissioned Rockwell to paint it'? How much did that cost Rawlings??

How much did Brooks pay for the painting at auction?
Who owned the painting when Brooks purchased it ?
How long did Brooks own it? Did it hang in his house?
Who owns it now and, where does it hang?
What did they pay for it ?

I think I know a couple of the answers but I want a expert to chime in .

I like the thermometer Mark posted, rarely do you see a thermometer in the horizontal position.
Also for those who don’t know this, Rockwell painted himself into the crowed.

Bicentennial bat for the month of May is Rich Dauer. I acquired this bat in the same lot as the Willie Royster one I mentioned in an earlier post from a Rochester clubhouse guy. Rich had a monster year with the Red Wings in 1976, hitting .336 & tied with two other players for the International League Player of the Year Award (earning him a call up to Baltimore after their season was over):

https://i.imgur.com/41AFuss.jpg

Japanese Magazines
 

Good morning,

Lots of items from the Orioles tours of Japan in 1971 and 1984 have been posted on this thread before but I thought today I'd show some of the Japanese magazines that featured Cal on them. Most of these came out in the mid- to late-'90's.

Orioles Affiliates Minor League Programs
 

Minor league programs are an important part of my collection. Bill's offer to help with some Delmarva Shorebirds items prompted me to post a few more current programs. For many years, teams would generally print one or two different program covers each year. Rarely would teams print more than three or four. That all changed with the Bowie BaySox in 2001 and the Frederick Keys, Delmarva Shorebirds and Aberdeen Ironbirds in 2002. Teams changed from traditional sized programs to what are now often referred to as playbills. Most of you have probably attended a minor league game in recent years and know what I'm talking about.

The playbills are approximately 6x9 and were passed out free to fans entering the game. They contain many of the same features as the old style programs, player stories, schedules, rosters, etc. Many programs feature future Orioles on the cover. In addition to be free to fans, different programs began being printed for each series or homestand. In fact, from 2002 until 2013, the Ironbirds printed a different program each game. Each program was dated. I can't imagine the work involved in updating and printing new programs each game. Getting a program or two from each year is quite simple, but of course I'm trying to get copies of every issue throughout the years.

Here's my progress - Most of my needs are from 2001-2004

Bowie BaySox 222 out of 256 (Missing 34)
Frederick Keys 176 out of 185 (Missing 9)
Delmarva Shorebirds 236 out of 246 (Missing 10)
Aberdeen Ironbirds 1752 out of 1753 (only missing the Aug 12, 2016 issue)


Bowie BaySox Programs from 2001, 2007, 2014 and 2016

Attachment 398262 Attachment 398263

Attachment 398264 Attachment 398265


Frederick Keys Programs from 2002, 2006, 2015 and 2018

Attachment 398266 Attachment 398267

Attachment 398276 Attachment 398228


Delmarva Shorebirds Programs from 2003, 2009, 2013 and 2019

Attachment 398229 Attachment 398230

Attachment 398231 Attachment 398232


Aberdeen Ironbirds Programs from 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2019

Attachment 398233 Attachment 398234

Attachment 398236 Attachment 398237

Attachment 398235 Attachment 398239

Those are very cool. I've never seen most of them.

Mike...

I love those Japanese magazines (especially the one with just him & ARod).

Ironically, just last evening I was organizing some books in my library (need to thin the herd) and came across this one. It's the Japanese version of Harvey Rosenfeld's 1995 biography of Cal "Iron Man: The Cal Ripken Jr. Story."

Mr. Rosenfeld was kind enough to thank me in the Acknowledgements, but I'd be damn if I could find it inside this..lol

https://i.imgur.com/o6k7Z9u.jpg

Alan,

I didn’t notice at first glance at the BaySox program, but do you notice anything interesting about the drawing of Brooks on the program?

Scott,

My answers may be way off, but I’ll give it a shot at what I remember (or remember incorrectly). Figgie with Rawlings did commission Rockwell to conduct the painting in 1971. While Rockwell did do some sports related paintings this is the only one to my knowledge that features one player. Unsure what the commission price was at the time.

In 1994 Harry Figgie sold Rawlings Sporting Goods and with it he sold the Rockwell painting of Brooks at auction. So, Rawlings owned the Rockwell painting till sold that year in the Sotheby’s auction. I believe Brooks paid around 200k for the painting at the time in this auction.

I know Heritage handled the sale of the Rockwell in 2006. Unsure who owns it now.

Thanks Mark for the Rockwell info.., I am to lazy to look it up... what did the painting sell for at Heritage? I think Brooks got it for a steal at 200000.

The "Gee, Thanks Brooks" within the Heritage auction was offered via Private Treaty. Think a Private Treaty the seller/dealer decides to put a fixed price on their property or item and a price range. Now who bought it or was it bought I don’t know.

You guys...Those foreign magazines are really cool! I wish back in the day they would have featured more players from the US than they did. There are a few, but are scarce for sure.

Mounties
 

Day 127 (May 6, 2020 – 127)

Most of the photos of the 1959 Mounties team shot, with Brooks’ head shot pictured, are copies of the original. I know I have one in my collection that’s a copy; I purchased it cheaply just to have one since at the time I didn’t have an original example. Below is an original (hopefully I scanned the original) 1959 Vancouver Mounties PCL team photo.

Attachment 398394

Here’s another picture of Brooks in his minor league uniform receiving an award while he was with the 1959 Mounties.

Attachment 398395

I read the reason that Brooks "got it for a steal" was that once it was known that he was bidding on it, other potential bidders backed off out of respect so that Brooks could win it.

Brooks loaned the painting to the Sports Legends Museum next to Camden Yards and I know that every time I went in, I made a point to go look at it.

2001 Topps Combo Cal Ripken Jr./Lou Gehrig card displayed along with it's original artwork:

https://i.imgur.com/38zJpBT.jpg

Foreign Magazines with Cal Ripken
 

Thank you for the compliments on the Japanese magazines with Cal.

I found a few more foreign magazines as I was organizing my collection.

One more from Japan:

Attachment 398401

One from France:

Attachment 398404

And one from Germany with an article on Cal (I love the name 'Der Marathon-Mann'!):

Attachment 398402

Attachment 398403

Nice candy lids Mark. I’d like someone to customize the hat logo onto those.

Hall of Fame Exhibition Games
 

The cars are packed and we leave Sarasota tomorrow morning for the trek back to Maine (1,600 miles). This will be my last post for a few days as we work our way up the east coast. Plenty of stuff to dig out and share when I get home.

Today, I'm talking Hall of Fame Games in Cooperstown, NY.

Wikipedia says

"Each year from 1940 to 2008, Doubleday Field hosted the Hall of Fame Game, an exhibition game between two major league squads. Originally, the game and induction ceremony for new Hall of Fame members were held on the same day, a Monday. Starting in 1979, the induction ceremony was moved to Sunday, with the game played on Monday. Starting in 2003, the game was scheduled in May or June, to better accommodate the participating teams' travel schedules.

As MLB's last remaining in-season exhibition game, its results did not count in the official standings, and substitute players were generally used to avoid injury to starters. The curiosity factor of two teams from different leagues playing each other in this game outside of a World Series or spring training situation was eventually removed in 1997 with the launch of interleague play, further reducing the game's cachet.

On January 29, 2008, Major League Baseball announced that the final Hall of Fame Game would be played on June 16, 2008, between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres, citing "the inherent challenges" of scheduling teams in the modern day as the reason for ending the annual contest. However, the contest was canceled on account of rain, making the 2007 matchup between the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays the last Hall of Fame Game that was played."

The Orioles were invited to play in the game 6 times, but the 1990 game was rained out. Here are programs and tickets from the games. I was at the Hall of Fame in 1983, 1990 and 2007.

1961 Game vs Los Angeles Dodgers (LA 6 O's 2)

Attachment 398429


1967 Game vs Cincinnati Reds (O's 3 Reds 0)

Attachment 398430

Attachment 398435 Attachment 398436


1983 Game vs St. Louis Cardinals (Cards 4 O's 1)

Attachment 398431 Attachment 398437


1990 Game vs Montreal Expos (Canceled - Rain)

Attachment 398432


1998 Game vs Toronto Blue Jays (O's 7 Blue Jays 1)

Attachment 398438 Attachment 398433


2007 Game vs Toronto Blue Jays (O's 13 Blue Jays 7)

Attachment 398439 Attachment 398434

Alan,

All those are very nice! I, of course, especially like the 1983 example and tickets.

I bet when you get home you're going to be doing some digging for more great items!!!

love it!!

Day 128 (May 7, 2020 – 128)

The 1964 Wheaties Stamps were a 50-stamp release and measure approximately 2 1/2” x 2 3/4”. The set was designed to lead up to the 1964 All Star Game at Shea. They used a picture of Brooks in a batting pose with the cool looking Oriole bird on his sleeve.

1964 Wheaties Stamp

Attachment 398517

Does anyone happen to have the Wheaties Major League All-Star Baseball Player Stamp Album? I know I don’t…

Keeping with the same year, in 1964 Topps Stand-Ups were another great set consisting of 77 cards. They are blank-backed and unnumbered cards. They were meant to be punched out which allows them to stand on the green base, but the majority (possibly all) of collectors desire them unpunched.

Mike (Baseballcrazy62) is doing a 1964 Topps Stand-Up autograph chase. At last count he was at thirty-seven cards in the set signed. I don’t have an autographed Brooks example, but he does; quite nice.

1964 Topps Stand-Up

Attachment 398518

Mark
The Brooks Stand Up is sweet... send that in for grading if the back is clean!
The 64 Wheaties are a nice set with nice color photography. Easy to put together and fairly inexpensive compared to other sets of the 60s.

Unique Japanese magazine that not only re-capped the '83 MLB season but the World Series as well....Also has a neat four page spread on the '71 Orioles visit.


https://i.imgur.com/chuGIJx.jpg

[QUOTE=roarfrom34;1978328]Unique Japanese magazine that not only re-capped the '83 MLB season but the World Series as well....Also has a neat four page spread on the '71 Orioles visit.

Hi Bill,

I love that Japanese magazine and have never seen it before. If you ever decide to sell it, please let me know!

Mark, those are two outstanding Brooksie items.

Banty Red
 

I received a very thoughtful gift in the mail from Phil (Phil68). It's a 1952 Topps style flexichrome card #318 of Brooks. While I'm typically not really into custom cards I really like what Phil has done and accomplished with the cards he's making. Man, the card looks even better in hand than in the picture. What a kind and gracious gift; these are the type of things that make this hobby great...

LOVE IT Phil!

Attachment 398608