Quote:
Originally Posted by roarfrom34
I reached somewhat of a milestone last October when I acquired this 1978 Bluefield Orioles signed ball (signed by Cal Jr. & 16 others). Was purchased from a woman who attended games in Bluefield, WV as a child with her grandparents (and still lives there)...In 63 games, Cal hit .264 with no homers & 33 errors...Obviously better things were to come!
Here is the ball and a team signed program (which I've owned for years):
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Bill,
Obviously I love the Bluefield program. It reminded me of a question I've had for years. For some reason, Bluefield issued two very different programs in 1978 (a colored version and a B&W version). Anyone know the story behind the two versions? I doubt that Bluefield was visionary enough to anticipate a young Cal Ripken Jr going on to a HOF career.
Bluefield was known to use left over programs from one year the following season. Here's an example of a 1974 program being reused in 1975 with a sticker over the year.
1974 Bluefield Orioles - Copy.jpg 1975 Bluefield Orioles #2 - Copy.jpg
However, 1978 is the only year that I'm aware of that Bluefield issued two different programs. FYI - In my years of collecting O's minor league programs, I've found the color version to be tougher to find than the B&W.
Any info would be appreciated....
1978 Bluefield Orioles #1 - Copy.jpg 1978 Bluefield Orioles #2 - Copy.jpg