Missing Card Question

[savedfrommyspokes]

Since it seems that Topps goal each issue (year) was to include and preview players on each team for the upcoming season (whenever possible), it is interesting that some years players were posthumously included in a new set. Some that come to mind are:
1964-Ken Hubbs
1964-Jim Umbricht
1973-Roberto Clemente
1975-Don Wilson
1977-Mike Miley
1977-Danny Frisella
1980-Thurman Munson (Yankee team card)

Several of these players passed away either in Dec or Jan (the year of their last card), so it was likely too late to pull the card as the issue was well into the production stages

[brewing]

I believe these missing cards are one portion that could make Topps Archives releases hot items.

The 1953 and 1954 Archives produced during the junk wax era are worth little today. Lacking the funds for the actual sets, i treasure my 1952, 53, and 54 reprints/Archives. I feel they really missed the mark on the "missing cards" in those sets. Black and white photos for the 1953's look horrible.

They could correct those and other errors in a future Archives release.

My idea is for a 1955 release along with some of the missing cards done properly (era correct photos, the card should look like it belonged in the set), and they could include proper solo rookie cards. A 1967 Tom Seaver should look like other solo releases from that set, not the bastardized version they have put out in previous Archives sets. The missing cards could be inserts along with numbered autographed rarities. The high numbered 1955 cards could be short prints.

There are several bloggers that make great versions of missing cards. Bob Lemke as he previously mentioned (also sells copies of his creations, thanks to him I own a 1967 Koufax). The blogs "Cards That Never Were" and "Uncle Doc's Closet" make incredible versions of missing cards.

[Rich Klein]

Back when I was at Beckett (and we would do that every few years or so) s to do pictures of cards that never were.

I think one of the weirdest was the lack of a 1993 George Howard Brett Donruss card. 1982 Ryne Sandberg should have been made as well.

Plenty more where those came from

Rich

[ALR-bishop]

This one appeared on an early checklist on card 44, the Washington team card but appears blank on latter checklists in the set. Compliments of Mr Lemke. One of my favorite cards that never were:

[cardinalcollector]

That's a great card Al, my favorite Lemke card is the 1956 Topps Charlie Peete.
In fact, I'm going to make it my avatar!

[Bob Lemke]

Thanks for the mentions of my customs. Here's my latest. As an update, I'm working on a 1966-style IN MEMORIAM version.

Al, I just found a new photo of Bouchee that I'm considering using for a remake of my '58. I've never been completely happy with the 1960 Topps photo I used.

65 wantz f.jpg

As best I remember Topps only created one "In Memoriam" card for a player. That was 1964 card #550, Ken Hubbs, remembering the Cubs second baseman who was killed in a plane crash on Feb. 15 that year.

They could have created a similar card the following year.

Dick Wantz was a California boy whom the Los Angeles Angels signed to a bonus contract out of a 1961 tryout camp in Southern California.

At the time the Angels were looking to develop their farm system in the same season that they debuted in the American League. In '61 the Angels had only two minor league teams, Dallas-Ft. Worth in the Class AAA American Association, and Statesville in the Class D Western Carolina League.

Wantz, at age 21, was assigned to Statesville. As the Angels expanded their farm system into higher classifications, Wantz advanced a step or two every season, despite the fact that he never had a winning season. He was 20-33 with a 4.29 ERA between 1961-64.

He was a lanky right-hander with a propensity for wildness. In 1962 he led the Midwest League with 16 hit batsmen. But he also could throw heat. In 1963 at Tri-City he recorded 164 strikeouts in 137 innings. Since the Northwest League didn't keep strikeout records, I don't know if that was league-best or not.

Wantz pitched in the Arizona Instructional League in the winter of 1964-65, with a 2-1 record. On the basis of a strong spring training, he made the major league team for 1965.

Wantz pitched only a single inning in the big leagues. In the top of the eighth inning of the season opener, with the Cleveland Indians ahead 5-0, Wantz was brought in to relieve Don Lee. While he struck out two of the six batters he faced, he gave up two doubles and a single for two earned runs.

A month later he was dead.

Wantz had been suffering from severe headaches for some time. When the Angels visited Detroit at the end of the month, Wantz was hospitalized there for a week before returning to Southern California where he was operated on at Daniel Freeman Hospital in Inglewood on May 12 in an effort to remove a cancerous brain tumor. He never regained consciousness and died the next day.

We'll never know at this late date why Topps chose not to issue an In Memoriam card for Wantz. They certainly had a usable photo.

The picture I used on my Dick Wantz custom card is courtesy of Keith Olbermann, who acquired it from the Topps archives. It's a good thing Olbermann recognized the importance of the image because I haven't found any other decent color photos of Wantz. Also courtesy of Olbermann are Wantz's strikeout numbers from 1961, 1963 and 1964 Tri-City. In that era, the leagues didn't promulgate certain stats for pitchers. Olbermann maintains an extensive baseball library and was able to get the K numbers from appropriate edition of the Baseball Guide.

In making a 1965-style Dick Wantz card, I chose to go with the regular format. Given the timeline of Wantz's MLB appearance and his death. It's just as easy to presume that Topps might have created an In Memoriam card for its high-number series.

It would be easy enough for me to do an In Memoriam version, and I probably will in the near future. For now, I'm very happy with how my first attempt at a 1965-style custom card came out.

65 wantz b.jpg

[ALR-bishop]

Looking forward to seeing the new Bouchee card, Bob

And I like the Wantz card too. Instead of a 1966 Memorial card you could just do what Topps did with Hubbs that year and put Wants on a card with Dick Ellsworth's name .

Oh, and I think you should bill Randy a monthly license fee for the use of Peete as his avatar