Brooks Robinson and the Baltimore Orioles

[roarfrom34]

You might recall last month (post #1538), I posted a photo of a Mark Belanger alternate orange GU jersey that was worn during the parade the day after the 1979 World Series and tossed to a young girl after the festivities concluded:



Anyways, I was perusing eBay a week or so ago and ran across a listing that was entitled simply "Photo-Oriole In a Parade" and when I saw the image I (obviously) immediately recognized it as Mark Belanger in that '79 parade wearing the uniform top that I now own:

[BaltOrioles]

Originally Posted by Mark70Z

Think I noted it before, but I’ll pick up pretty much any book with Brooks on the cover OR back cover. Here’s a couple hard back books with Brooks pictured.

Mark,

I found this today. I'm not sure if it's been posted already, but nice picture of Brooks on the cover. It looks like it might have been part of a series of books.

The Explosive Sixties

The Explosive Sixties.jpg

[roarfrom34]

I heard late this afternoon that the 1967 NL Cy Young Award winner & one time Oriole (1963-64) Mike McCormick passed away:

[roarfrom34]

Originally Posted by BaltOrioles

Mark,

I found this today. I'm not sure if it's been posted already, but nice picture of Brooks on the cover. It looks like it might have been part of a series of books.

The Explosive Sixties

Attachment 405176

Yes, this was the first book in a subscription type baseball history book series from the late 1980's which were really done well (I believe there were about 12 books in total).

If you ever see this particular book in a thrift or used book store, check out the title page because a lot of them were signed by Brooks (as an incentive to subscribe) & donated unknowingly.

[Mark70Z]

Originally Posted by roarfrom34

You might recall last month (post #1538), I posted a photo of a Mark Belanger alternate orange GU jersey that was worn during the parade the day after the 1979 World Series and tossed to a young girl after the festivities concluded:
Anyways, I was perusing eBay a week or so ago and ran across a listing that was entitled simply "Photo-Oriole In a Parade" and when I saw the image I (obviously) immediately recognized it as Mark Belanger in that '79 parade wearing the uniform top that I now own.

So COOL!!

[Mark70Z]

Originally Posted by BaltOrioles

Mark,

I found this today. I'm not sure if it's been posted already, but nice picture of Brooks on the cover. It looks like it might have been part of a series of books.

I don’t think we’ve seen it yet. Nice book and even better photo used for the cover. I think there’s a painting, I think by Perez, or this image.

[71buc]

These are the press credentials issued to the media for the 1979 World Series in Baltimore

[71buc]

Here are the 1971 World Series Baltimore press passes and a parking pass gifted to me by author of this thread.
I really like the green pass as it is stained by the rains that washed out game 2. It lends a historical feel to it.

[71buc]

I purchased the original 35mm slides shot by a Sports illustrated photographer who worked the 1971 World Series. These are some of the shots of the Orioles in Baltimore. They have never been printed or published. The wire photo is what it is.

[Mark70Z]

Originally Posted by 71buc

These are the press credentials issued to the media for the 1979 World Series in Baltimore

Mike,

Are you going to start collecting the 1979 World Series too?!?

[Mark70Z]

Originally Posted by 71buc

I purchased the original 35mm slides shot by a Sports illustrated photographer who worked the 1971 World Series. These are some of the shots of the Orioles in Baltimore. They have never been printed or published. The wire photo is what it is.

Very impressive. Really like some of the pitching slides especially. You should have some of those printed; would make for a nice display in your ORIOLES/Pirates room...

[Mark70Z]

Day 169 (June 17, 2020 – 169)

A 1960’s MLB American League Junior Major Leaguer youth t-shirt picturing several stars of the day. I’ve seen a similar shirt picturing some of the same stars, but in a different location also and some players have a different player image but haven’t been able to acquire one yet; shirt is likely from a different year than the one pictured.

Day 169 a Shirt Junior Major Leaguer American League.jpg

The same image of Brooks was used in different cards, photo’s odd-ball items, etc. I have an example of the same image used below:

1962 Topps Baseball Bucks

Day 169 b 1962 Topps Baseball Bucks.jpg

[ripfan008]

Good morning,

Below is an advertising poster for the 1999 Maryland Baseball Legends Scratch Offs. I really like the look of the poster but wish the Maryland Lottery had paid to have the Orioles logo on the tickets.

There is also a lithograph version of this poster that was signed by all six of the Orioles featured. Does anyone have that one to share?

1999 Maryland Baseball Legends Poster.jpg

Also, I've been meaning to ask this thread a question but haven't been able to find the magazine ad in question again. Several years ago, I was reading a 1983 or 1984 Orioles magazine or program and on the back was an ad for All Star Dodge of Baltimore. It stated that if you came in and test drove a Dodge, you'd receive All Star Orioles baseball cards. The ad was not specific and there were no photos to determine if you were receiving 1983 or 1984 Topps cards or specially made cards just for Dodge. Has anyone ever seen that ad and/or cards before?

I'm going to continue to search for the magazine in question.

[roarfrom34]

Originally Posted by ripfan008

Good morning,

Below is an advertising poster for the 1999 Maryland Baseball Legends Scratch Offs. I really like the look of the poster but wish the Maryland Lottery had paid to have the Orioles logo on the tickets.

There is also a lithograph version of this poster that was signed by all six of the Orioles featured. Does anyone have that one to share?

Attachment 405298

Also, I've been meaning to ask this thread a question but haven't been able to find the magazine ad in question again. Several years ago, I was reading a 1983 or 1984 Orioles magazine or program and on the back was an ad for All Star Dodge of Baltimore. It stated that if you came in and test drove a Dodge, you'd receive All Star Orioles baseball cards. The ad was not specific and there were no photos to determine if you were receiving 1983 or 1984 Topps cards or specially made cards just for Dodge. Has anyone ever seen that ad and/or cards before?

I'm going to continue to search for the magazine in question.

Mike:

The only thing I can think of is the back cover of the 1983 Yearbook where you could leave your copy with All Star Dodge and they would have Brooks sign and they'd return it to you?

[BaltOrioles]

A few days ago, we were discussing various postcards issued by people like JD McCarthy, Mel Bailey and Don Wingfield. You can add James Elder to that list. He was from Florida did a set of 1400 postcards that he sold individually and as sets. I believe he even offered them to players to use for autograph requests, although I don't have any that have gone through the mail. Here's an older post that talks a little about James Elder.

https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=234476

There are 30 or 31 Orioles depending on your definition. One player, Frank Sigafoos, appears in a Baltimore Oriole uniform while they were a minor league team before 1954. It's an interesting mix of players & coaches. Most are them are not household names. In my opinion, the postcards are very well done and can easily be identified by the numbers stamped on back. I've been trying to complete the set of 30 Orioles for many years and still need four. I think I've only added one new postcard to the set in five years. They don't seem to show up that often, but still can be had in the $20 range when available.

Here's the checklist of Orioles along with the postcards in my collection

#552 Luke Appling
#558 Clint Courtney
#562 Walt Dropo
#575 Fred Hofmann
#576 Stan Hollmig
#578 Dick Hyde
#588 Hobie Landrith
#591 Dick Luebke
#593 Frank McGowan
#598 Al Pilarcik
#604 Art Quirk
#606 Earl Robinson
#610 Carl Scheib
#619 Al Smith
#621 Jim Snyder
#625 George Staller
#632 Willie Tasby
#635 Bobby Thomson
#638 Marv Throneberry (NEED)
#640 Gus Triandos
#677 Billy Hitchcock (NEED)
#678 Gene Stephens
#679 Albie Pearson
#680 Del Rice
#681 Paul Richards (NEED)
#854 Jim Gentile
#1066 Lou Jackson
#1069 Carl Warwick
#1149 Vic Roznovsky
#1297 Billy Short

#1368 Frank Sigafoos (Minor League Orioles)

James Elder 01.JPG James Elder 02.JPG
James Elder 03.JPG James Elder 04.JPG
James Elder 05.JPG James Elder 06.JPG
James Elder 07.JPG James Elder 08.JPG

Backs of the postcards

SCAN8583.JPG

James Elder Postcards I still need

105369-15195694Fr.jpg 105369-15195733Fr.jpg 105369-15195737Fr.jpg 105369-15196353Fr.jpg

[71buc]

Mark, No prints have been made of the Orioles slides. I have printed a few of the Pirates. My wife would start packing my bags if I began working on collecting the 79 team.

[BaltOrioles]

Originally Posted by roarfrom34

I heard late this afternoon that the 1967 NL Cy Young Award winner & one time Oriole (1963-64) Mike McCormick passed away:

Bill,

Sad to hear. It seems you are posting these notices way too often.

Mike's team issued photo

McCormick, Mike 1.jpg

Just a short rant, but I absolutely hate when PSA/DNA put their stickers on the front of photos. Is there any reason the sticker can't be put on the back and not ruin the original photo.

[BaltOrioles]

Originally Posted by ripfan008

Also, I've been meaning to ask this thread a question but haven't been able to find the magazine ad in question again. Several years ago, I was reading a 1983 or 1984 Orioles magazine or program and on the back was an ad for All Star Dodge of Baltimore. It stated that if you came in and test drove a Dodge, you'd receive All Star Orioles baseball cards. The ad was not specific and there were no photos to determine if you were receiving 1983 or 1984 Topps cards or specially made cards just for Dodge. Has anyone ever seen that ad and/or cards before?

I'm going to continue to search for the magazine in question.

Mike,

Great question... Is this the ad you are talking about? It's on the back of the Orioles 1983 Yearbook. It mentions a set of 1966 Orioles cards. My only guess would be the set done by Franchise, but that was done in 1981?? I've never seen any cards directly related to Dodge. Also looks like Brooks will sign your yearbook if you bring it into Dodge.

SCAN8584.jpg

Franchise 1966 set

1981 The Franchise 1966 Orioles #1.jpg 1981 The Franchise 1966 Orioles #2.jpg 1981 The Franchise 1966 Orioles #3.jpg 1981 The Franchise 1966 Orioles #4.JPG

[ripfan008]

That Brooks ad wasn't the one I was referring to but I went through the 1983 and '84 Yearbooks and all of the programs from those years again. I found an ad in the 1984 Program with Cal on the front cover that answered my question but it wasn't the original one I had seen (which was an entire back cover ad). Apparently, the cards you received for testing driving a Dodge were 1984 Topps Orioles cards. It's a shame, I was really hoping that there was some obscure Dodge Orioles issue out there to hunt down.

1984 O's Program with Cal.jpg

1984 O's Program ad.jpg

[ripfan008]

And speaking of ads, there was one in a 1996 Inside Pitch Magazine with Eddie on the cover (that magazine is in my storage unit and I don't have a picture of it right now) for a show called "Orioles of the 1950's" coming in October 1996 to Baltimore County Community College. Autograph guests of the show included 15+ members of the 1950's Orioles, including Brooks, Don Larsen, and Gene Woodling. It was $45 for a VIP ticket to meet all of the 1950's Orioles.

I grew up 5 minutes from BCCC and never heard about that show until I was re-reading that magazine a few years ago. So many of the 1950's Orioles are now gone and with the passing of Mike McCormick and others, we are losing the 1960's Orioles as well. It also goes to show you how hard pre-internet advertising was. They clearly didn't advertise over TV or radio O's games because I watched every game that year, as it was the first playoff-bound O's team I remember.

[roarfrom34]

Originally Posted by ripfan008

And speaking of ads, there was one in a 1996 Inside Pitch Magazine with Eddie on the cover (that magazine is in my storage unit and I don't have a picture of it right now) for a show called "Orioles of the 1950's" coming in October 1996 to Baltimore County Community College. Autograph guests of the show included 15+ members of the 1950's Orioles, including Brooks, Don Larsen, and Gene Woodling. It was $45 for a VIP ticket to meet all of the 1950's Orioles.

I grew up 5 minutes from BCCC and never heard about that show until I was re-reading that magazine a few years ago. So many of the 1950's Orioles are now gone and with the passing of Mike McCormick and others, we are losing the 1960's Orioles as well. It also goes to show you how hard pre-internet advertising was. They clearly didn't advertise over TV or radio O's games because I watched every game that year, as it was the first playoff-bound O's team I remember.

Mike:

I was fortunate to be at that show one of the days (I think the Friday) and it was a pretty good one....I remember it being right in the middle of their playoff run so there was a lot of excitement.

The promoter was one that usually held shows in the Pittsburgh area (and I think they still do) and they advertised pretty heavily in the hobby publications of the day (and Inside Pitch).

You don't often see card/autographs shows advertised on MLB broadcasts....I think the people they are targeting were the ones that read SCD, Tuff Stuff, Orioles Gazette, etc.

[Mark70Z]

Originally Posted by BaltOrioles

A few days ago, we were discussing various postcards issued by people like JD McCarthy, Mel Bailey and Don Wingfield. You can add James Elder to that list. He was from Florida did a set of 1400 postcards that he sold individually and as sets. I believe he even offered them to players to use for autograph requests, although I don't have any that have gone through the mail. Here's an older post that talks a little about James Elder.

There are 30 or 31 Orioles depending on your definition. One player, Frank Sigafoos, appears in a Baltimore Oriole uniform while they were a minor league team before 1954. It's an interesting mix of players & coaches. Most are them are not household names. In my opinion, the postcards are very well done and can easily be identified by the numbers stamped on back. I've been trying to complete the set of 30 Orioles for many years and still need four. I think I've only added one new postcard to the set in five years. They don't seem to show up that often, but still can be had in the $20 range when available.

Here's the checklist of Orioles along with the postcards in my collection

#552 Luke Appling
#558 Clint Courtney
#562 Walt Dropo
#575 Fred Hofmann
#576 Stan Hollmig
#578 Dick Hyde
#588 Hobie Landrith
#591 Dick Luebke
#593 Frank McGowan
#598 Al Pilarcik
#604 Art Quirk
#606 Earl Robinson
#610 Carl Scheib
#619 Al Smith
#621 Jim Snyder
#625 George Staller
#632 Willie Tasby
#635 Bobby Thomson
#638 Marv Throneberry (NEED)
#640 Gus Triandos
#677 Billy Hitchcock (NEED)
#678 Gene Stephens
#679 Albie Pearson
#680 Del Rice
#681 Paul Richards (NEED)
#854 Jim Gentile
#1066 Lou Jackson
#1069 Carl Warwick
#1149 Vic Roznovsky
#1297 Billy Short

#1368 Frank Sigafoos (Minor League Orioles)

Backs of the postcards
James Elder Postcards I still need

Alan,

I’ve never seen these before. Thanks for sharing these.

[Mark70Z]

Day 170 (June 18, 2020 – 170)

A 1962 Jays Publishing photo of Brooks Robinson. The Jays typically, but not always, had the city and team name listed beside the player name.

Day 170 a Picture 1962 Jay Publishing.jpg
Day 170 b Picture 1962 Jay Publishing signed.jpg

[BaltOrioles]

Brook Treakle was another photographer along the same lines as Mel Bailey and JD McCarthy, that took a lot of baseball photos and ended up producing postcards. My research shows he did MLB players, but much of his work involved the minor leagues. He was from the Virginia area.

Here's a post from Exhibitman from April 2019

"I've been doing some research over the past two years on these postcards. The photographer's name is Brook Treakle. He passed away in 1991, but he took a lot of photographs for the Peninsula Pilots in the Carolina League; in fact, his photographs were used for the two 1980 TCMA Peninsula Pilots sets with Julio Franco. ... Treakle's trademark is his immaculate hand-printing on the backs of the cards. When he passed away, his mother sold his collection. It was broken-down into three groups: photo postcards, negatives, and autographs. A lot of the autographed items have appeared on eBay. I found out the two collectors who purchased the negatives and the postcards. I don't know what quantities he produced the postcards in, but I have to believe it couldn't be more than a handful. He also took pictures of photographs in books and made postcards out of them, He referred to them as "photo negatives."


Years ago I picked up a couple groups of his photos that included B&W postcards (with postcard backs), postcard sized color photos and some larger 4x6 color photos. All of the photos were Rochester Red Wings from the late 70's through mid 80's. Photos included posed and action shots.

Here are some samples

Orlando Sanchez, Larry Sheets, Billy Ripken and Willie Royster

SCAN8585.jpg

Dallas Williams (twice), Steve Luebber and Jeff Youngbauer

SCAN8587.jpg

Example of the handwriting on the back

SCAN8586.JPG

[roarfrom34]

That photo pf the Bill Ripken Rochester postcard matches the color photo I posted back in #1494

Here is a what I believe to be a Treakle postcard of Bill taken during his time in Hagerstown:



and the Cal Ripken Jr. one:

[orioles70]

I was going thru some old stuff in a closet of one of my hobby rooms and came across a couple of old Brooks ads in the Sporting News from 1962 and 1963...that I likely

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[orioles70]

Sorry, accidentally sent previous message while nearly dropping phone...these are from 1962 and 1963 Sporting News...not quite a full page but nice ads of Brooks...I apologize if previously shown...the Sporting News was great even in black and white
John

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[Mark70Z]

Originally Posted by roarfrom34

That photo pf the Bill Ripken Rochester postcard matches the color photo I posted back in #1494

Here is a what I believe to be a Treakle postcard of Bill taken during his time in Hagerstown:

and the Cal Ripken Jr. one:

Bill,

Very cool postcards!

[Mark70Z]

Day 171 (June 19, 2020 – 171)

On June 19, 1955 the Norfolk Tars of the Piedmont League played the York White Roses in a doubleheader. Shown below is the program from the game, Miller High Life insert showing both the Norfolk and York rosters as well as a newspaper cutout of the box score.

Day 171 a 1955 Norfolk Tars Score Book.jpg
Day 171 b 1955 Norfolk vs. York insert.jpg
Day 171 c 1955 Norfolk vs. York.jpg

[BaltOrioles]

Let me preface today's post with a short story. My wife and I were high school sweethearts and in a few weeks will be celebrating our 41st anniversary (46 years together). Kathie knew I was an Orioles fan and collector. She didn't walk into this blindly. We've lived in the same house for nearly 40 years and raised our family there. When we moved in, I was given a small area off the downstairs family room to display/store my collection. Forty years ago it seems adequate.

Fast forward to last summer. The boys have long moved into their own homes and we are empty nesters. We had a piano in the family room that no one had played for years. I suggested to Kathie that someone might enjoy the piano and I could expand my territory. She said if I could find someone to take the piano without damaging the floor, she would part with it. Now it was a 100 yr old heavy, heavy piano and I don't think she thought I could get rid of it. It took me all summer, but just before we left for Florida in October, some friends from church and I delivered the piano to a lady about 20 miles away.

Last week, IKEA opened back up and we made the 8 hour round trip from Maine to Boston to pick up my shelves. This week I've been redesigning my space and discovering items I haven't seen in awhile. I'm no interior designer and my space is limited, but I'm happy with the results.

Here are some photos of the new space. I'll also post some pictures of the original room.

DSCN2411.jpg

DSCN2406.jpg

DSCN2390.jpg

DSCN2413.jpg

DSCN2391.jpg

DSCN2392.jpg

DSCN2393.jpg

DSCN2394.jpg

DSCN2395.jpg

[BaltOrioles]

Here are more pictures from my original room, see post #1780 for details. Now I have space to move around and enjoy the displays. You can see why I love my wife.

DSCN2396.jpg

DSCN2397.jpg

DSCN2404.jpg

DSCN2399.jpg

DSCN2400.jpg

DSCN2401.jpg

DSCN2402.jpg

DSCN2398.jpg

DSCN2408.jpg

DSCN2409.jpg

DSCN2403.jpg

DSCN2412.jpg

[roarfrom34]

Thanks Alan.....Now I think I'm going to spend my weekend looking through all those pictures!

Fantastic is all I can say!

[ripfan008]

Hi Alan, that's a pretty big collection...I guess....

Wow!

Below is a 1986 Rawlings Poster with several Hall of Famers on it, including Cal. They misspelled his name on the poster but it's spelled correctly on the coupons below.

1986 Rawlings Poster with Cal.jpg

1986 Rawlings Poster with Cal enlarged.jpg

[Mark70Z]

Originally Posted by BaltOrioles

Let me preface today's post with a short story. My wife and I were high school sweethearts and in a few weeks will be celebrating our 41st anniversary (46 years together). Kathie knew I was an Orioles fan and collector. She didn't walk into this blindly. We've lived in the same house for nearly 40 years and raised our family there. When we moved in, I was given a small area off the downstairs family room to display/store my collection. Forty years ago it seems adequate.

Fast forward to last summer. The boys have long moved into their own homes and we are empty nesters. We had a piano in the family room that no one had played for years. I suggested to Kathie that someone might enjoy the piano and I could expand my territory. She said if I could find someone to take the piano without damaging the floor, she would part with it. Now it was a 100 yr old heavy, heavy piano and I don't think she thought I could get rid of it. It took me all summer, but just before we left for Florida in October, some friends from church and I delivered the piano to a lady about 20 miles away.

Last week, IKEA opened back up and we made the 8 hour round trip from Maine to Boston to pick up my shelves. This week I've been redesigning my space and discovering items I haven't seen in awhile. I'm no interior designer and my space is limited, but I'm happy with the results.

Here are some photos of the new space. I'll also post some pictures of the original room.

Alan,

Very impressive. Really like the new shelves and the look of the room as a whole. Wish I had your organizational skills.

[Mark70Z]

Day 172 (June 20, 2020 – 172)

I’ll tell you what; I’m going to go back to back days with the 1977 Topps Brooks Robinson #285 whether you like it or not. I personally like it…

1977 Topps #285

Day 172 a 1977 Topps #285.jpg

1977 Topps #285 back

Day 172 b 1977 Topps #285 back.jpg

1977 Topps #285 pasteup artwork

Day 172 c 1977 Topps Pastup Artwork back.jpg

[roarfrom34]

Mark....Love that paste up back.....Topps Vault?

Here is a 1993 signed program celebrating Chuck Thompson's election to the Broadcaster's wing of the Hall of Fame..You'll note a small photo of Brooks on the cover as well....

[ksfarmboy]

Mark I like it.

Alan great room. Didn’t realize the size of those Gunther pictures.

[BaltOrioles]

First of all, thanks to everyone that commented on my post yesterday. I am very happy how the rooms came out and it's nice to be able to enjoy more of my collection, instead of having stuff packed in boxes.

Like most of you, as a kid, some friends and I were into baseball board games. After trying to develop our own dice games, we discovered Strat-O-Matic games. We spent countless hours drafting teams and playing games.

The cards themselves aren't all that attractive, but were supposed to be based upon the player's actual stats, which was cool for a kid. Cards that say 1968 batting record are actually the 1969 set, as cards were based on the previous years statistics. The early cards are blank backed, but in the early 70's Strat-O-Matic added an advanced version that was printed on the back.

Strat-O-Matic Game cards

Here are a few examples of Brooks Robinson's cards. Unfortunately, I started playing near the end of his career.


SCAN8595.JPG SCAN8596.JPG
SCAN8597.JPG SCAN8598.JPG
SCAN8599.JPG SCAN8600.JPG

Several attempts over the years have been made to rekindle my interest and perhaps my sons, but neither attempt lasted very long. A couple sets that include Cal Ripken Jr.

SCAN8601.jpg

SCAN8602.jpg


1972 Sports Illustrated Game

Sports Illustrated produced a game in 1972 that caught my eye for a year, but I always seems to go back to the Strat-O-Matic game.

1972 Sports Illustrated Orioles team sheet

DSCN2414.jpg DSCN2415.jpg


Cadaco Game Discs

The last set today are the Cadaco game discs. This game involved a spinner instead of dice. I never played it, but did pick up a few discs once they added pictures.

1989 Cal Ripken Jr Cadaco Disc

SCAN8605.JPG SCAN8606.JPG

2003 Jim Palmer and Brooks Robinson Discs

SCAN8603.JPG SCAN8604.JPG

[Mark70Z]

Originally Posted by roarfrom34

Mark....Love that paste up back.....Topps Vault?

Here is a 1993 signed program celebrating Chuck Thompson's election to the Broadcaster's wing of the Hall of Fame..You'll note a small photo of Brooks on the cover as well....

Yes; the paste up was from Topps Vault. So funny to view the cut and paste skill.

The Brooks drawing kinda looks like an afterthought.

[roarfrom34]

Alan...

I spent a lot of hours playing those dice games (though I was more of an APBA guy).

At one time, Beckett had a quarterly magazine called "Beckett Elite" and in the Spring of 2007 (with his HOF Induction right around the corner) they placed Cal Ripken Jr. on the cover.

They made eight printing plates of the cover and had Cal sign each one..I was able to acquire plate 8 of 8 :

[Mark70Z]

Originally Posted by roarfrom34

Alan...

I spent a lot of hours playing those dice games (though I was more of an APBA guy).

At one time, Beckett had a quarterly magazine called "Beckett Elite" and in the Spring of 2007 (with his HOF Induction right around the corner) they placed Cal Ripken Jr. on the cover.

They made eight printing plates of the cover and had Cal sign each one..I was able to acquire plate 8 of 8 :

That is a great piece. Like how you have it framed as well; very professional and just plain cool looking.

[Mark70Z]

Happy Fathers Day! Hope you guys have a wonderful day...

Day 173 (June 21, 2020 – 173)

To follow up Day 172 with the 1977 Topps #285 we have a blank back card.

1977 Topps #285 front/back

Day 173 a 1977 Topps #285 blank back.jpg
Day 173 b 1977 Topps #285 blank back back.jpg

1977 Topps Rack Pack

Day 173 c 1977 Topps Rack Pack.jpg
Day 173 d 1977 Topps Rack Pack back.jpg

[roarfrom34]

Mark....I'm always amazed when I see packs over 40 years old still unopened...

I posted this in the Game Used Bat thread back in March, but I thought I'd re-post it here since it has a Father's Day theme & perhaps some of you missed it:

On Father's Day 1995 at Tiger Stadium, Cal Ripken Jr. swung/missed at a pitch and uncharacteristically lost the grip of this bat as it "helicoptered" into the stands. Fortunately, no one was injured and the fan who retrieved it offered to pass it back down to the field to Cal, however Jr. motioned back up to him that he could keep it.

Time rolled on and the fan who retrieved that errant bat sadly passes away and his son (who sat next to his dad that Father's Day) reached out to me to see if I had interest in the bat & a deal was quickly struck.

When I had Cal sign it, I asked him to add the '1995 Game Used' inscription but most collectors know that Cal won't do that unless he is 110% certain it's true. When I told Cal about the provenance, he fortunately recalled the incident & gladly added the inscription...

Adding also that 1995 is somewhat important to the story because less than three months later, he passed Lou Gehrig for the most Consecutive Games Played Record.



Happy Father's Day to All!

[BaltOrioles]

Happy Father's Day to everyone

In the fall of 2013, I entered the Topps Make Your Pro Debut Contest for the fun of it. I never expected to win, but entered mostly because the sponsoring team that year was the Orioles affiliate, the Aberdeen Ironbirds. In January 2014, I was notified that I was a finalist and after on line fan voting ended up winning.

Six years ago today, I made my debut with the Ironbirds. It was the thrill of a lifetime for an Orioles fan. I can't say enough about the Ironbirds and the welcome they gave me, my family and friends that attended the game. I did everything that the players did that day, from warm ups, batting practice, meals and just hanging around getting to know a few guys. The Ironbirds even had a press conference where I signed my contract. Dylan Bundy was on a rehab assignment and one of my teammates. He's actually a very cool guy. The player in the locker beside me was Hector Veloz. He made me feel a part of the team from the beginning. Aberdeen is a short season team and many of the players were making their debuts, too. Most of the players on that team didn't last very long, but one player to make it to the Orioles is Stevie Wilkerson. I still say hi to him each spring training. He is a nice kid and hope him success in his career.

Matt Merullo was the manager and was great. He introduced me to the team and treated me like one of the guys. After the game, we had a nice talk about baseball in his office. His final words were, I'm glad you had a great time, because I'm afraid we're going to have to let you go. Cut after one game..

I could go on and on, but really appreciate everyone that made it possible, my family, friends, Topps and the Ironbirds.

Debut 1.jpg

The winning essay

Pro Debut Essay.jpg Debut 2.jpg

Signing my contract

Debut 3.jpg

Batting practice

Debut 5.jpg
Debut 4.jpg

Pre Game Activities - Signing autographs, throwing out the first pitch and delivering the lineup card

Debut 7.jpg Debut 10.jpg
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Enjoying the game from the dugout - The Ironbirds lost 2-1 in 10 innings

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The dugout lineup card signed by all my teammates including Dylan Bundy, Stevie Wilkerson and manager Matt Merullo.

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[BaltOrioles]

I ended up with a lot of items for my collection from my experience with the Ironbirds.

My Topps Minor League Heritage card and Bobblehead

Pro Debut Card.JPG Bobblehead - Copy.jpg

2 different uniform tops. The Ironbirds ened up wearing the tops without names that game, so that's the one that's game used

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Warm up gear, two hats, spikes and batting gloves

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Four bats with my name engraved on them. If you look close one shows use from batting practice.

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Equipment bag and glove - leftovers from the 2012/2013 MLB All-Star games

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[Mark70Z]

Day 174 (June 22, 2020 – 174)

For Day 174 I’m picturing three full page Rawlings ads that were in The Sporting News. I like to collect ads that are Brooks related, but they are really not a priority. I like these since they are the full-page variety and include the players of the day and Brooks is included somewhere in the advertisement (even if it’s just his name like in the first ad pictured).
1974 Rawlings Ad – Pro Leagues make it official: Rawlings is “The Mark of a Pro”

Day 174 a Ad Rawlings TSN.jpg

The second ad is a bit different since the page is set up like there are different articles, but it’s all really an ad for Rawlings.

1970 Rawlings Ad

Day 174 b Ad Rawlings TSN 1.jpg

Lastly this is an ad for the Rawlings Gold Glove winners of 1974. As you can see the Orioles have four Gold Glove Winners pictured (Belanger, Blair, Grich and Robinson).

1974 Rawlings Ad - Gold Glove Winners

Day 174 c Ad TSN Rawlings 1974 GG Winners.jpg

[Mark70Z]

Originally Posted by BaltOrioles

Happy Father's Day to everyone

In the fall of 2013, I entered the Topps Make Your Pro Debut Contest for the fun of it. I never expected to win, but entered mostly because the sponsoring team that year was the Orioles affiliate, the Aberdeen Ironbirds. In January 2014, I was notified that I was a finalist and after on line fan voting ended up winning.

Six years ago today, I made my debut with the Ironbirds. It was the thrill of a lifetime for an Orioles fan. I can't say enough about the Ironbirds and the welcome they gave me, my family and friends that attended the game. I did everything that the players did that day, from warm ups, batting practice, meals and just hanging around getting to know a few guys. The Ironbirds even had a press conference where I signed my contract. Dylan Bundy was on a rehab assignment and one of my teammates. He's actually a very cool guy. The player in the locker beside me was Hector Veloz. He made me feel a part of the team from the beginning. Aberdeen is a short season team and many of the players were making their debuts, too. Most of the players on that team didn't last very long, but one player to make it to the Orioles is Stevie Wilkerson. I still say hi to him each spring training. He is a nice kid and hope him success in his career.

Matt Merullo was the manager and was great. He introduced me to the team and treated me like one of the guys. After the game, we had a nice talk about baseball in his office. His final words were, I'm glad you had a great time, because I'm afraid we're going to have to let you go. Cut after one game..

I could go on and on, but really appreciate everyone that made it possible, my family, friends, Topps and the Ironbirds.

Alan,

Thanks for sharing the experience that you had with the Ironbirds plus the great items that you have to remember it by.

[BaltOrioles]

I never really considered myself a schedule collector until I was at a card show a few years ago. One dealer had huge boxes of misc schedules at 10-25c each. As I pulled out my list of schedules I already had, I mentioned that I'm not much of a sked collector, but pick some up when I find them cheap. He looked at my list of about 15 pages and said "I think you are a schedule collector". I didn't realize until I organized them that I have close to 1000 different Orioles and O's affiliate schedules. I know a few people that specialize in schedules that have three times that many, with some very rare ones. I've been told that Orioles schedules are quite popular and tend to sell for a lot more than most teams. I've seen some from the 1950's sell on eBay for hundreds of dollars.

Here are a few from my collection that don't fall into the pocket schedule category.

1970 National Bohemian Beer Can Schedule

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1966 Political Candidate Schedule
compliments of Clement J. Prucha

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1965 Matchbook Schedules
from George E. Palmer Beer Distributors in Littlestown, PA

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[ripfan008]

Good afternoon,

I recently picked this ad up because I had never seen it before and liked the facsimile autographs of the 1974 Orioles (not dated but it includes Ross Grimsley who only came to the O's in 1974 and still includes Earl Williams who last played in Baltimore in 1974). It has Mickey Mantle on the outside and is an offer for a personally inscribed bat. The O's signatures are on the inside. However, I don't know much about the piece. Does this look legitimate to everyone?

1974 O's ad- front and back.jpg

1974 O's ad- inside.jpg

[roarfrom34]

Mike:

appear legit to me

Nice!