Brooks Robinson and the Baltimore Orioles

[roarfrom34]

I hope you let me step outside of the Orioles organization for one post as this team photo of the 1949 Lancaster Red Roses has a definite Oriole tie in.

The Red Roses were a Class B affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the player on the far right of the first row is Bill Ripken (the uncle of Cal Jr. & Bill), who was a fleet footed center fielder in the Dodgers system from 1947-49:

[BaltOrioles]

Originally Posted by roarfrom34

I hope you let me step outside of the Orioles organization for one post as this team photo of the 1949 Lancaster Red Roses has a definite Oriole tie in.

The Red Roses were a Class B affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the player on the far right of the first row is Bill Ripken (the uncle of Cal Jr. & Bill), who was a fleet footed center fielder in the Dodgers system from 1947-49:

Bill,

I love those old team photos, especially some of the surprise gems they contain. Great photo. Have you ever shared it with the Ripkens?

[roarfrom34]

Originally Posted by BaltOrioles

Bill,

I love those old team photos, especially some of the surprise gems they contain. Great photo. Have you ever shared it with the Ripkens?

Alan...

I neglected to mention that the manager of that '49 club was Al Campanis, who would later become the Dodgers GM (as well as part of that ABC Night Line controversy in '87 which justifiably cost him his job).

Yes, I have shared it with them...A few years back I was part of a function that everyone was there (including "Uncle Bill") & we all spoke about his playing career..Had him sign a ball for me as well.

Cal Sr.'s older brother, Oliver was a fine player as well (he was a catcher) who turned down a signing opportunity with the Pirates...Both Ollie & Bill were members of the Aberdeen team in the Susquehanna Valley League (good semi pro league) and they told stories of Cal Sr. being the bat boy...They had suspected their signs were being stolen, so they gave the responsibilities of giving the signs to Sr. because no one would suspect that the Bat Boy was the one relaying them!

[Mark70Z]

Day 68 (March 8, 2020 – 068)

Below are a couple of newspaper header cards. The first is from THE SUN and has the Summer Sun Week Sports with an art print of Brooks.

Day 68 a Header Baseball Sun header.jpg

Day 68 b Art Print 1.jpg


Next is a newspaper header from The Baltimore Sun with a 4-Page Special
Feature on Brooks Robinson.

Day 68 c Header Brooks Robinson 4 pg.jpg

[roarfrom34]

Last year Topps in their Update Series came out with a baseball card of Jim Palmer which incorrectly pictured Mike Boddicker (I don't believe it was ever corrected).

This kind of error card needed to be signed!

[BaltOrioles]

I loved the Kelloggs cereal sets as a kid. The only problem was digging through the box only to find a non Oriole. Most of the years, you could order the set through a mail in redemption. For some reason, 1971 was different. Maybe because of that and all the variations, the 1971 Kelloggs set is a favorite of mine.

The 1971 set contains six Orioles, but I can't figure out why they left Brooks Robinson out. Especially, since he was in the 1970 set and his great World Series performance in 1970.

The Orioles included were Frank Robinson, Boog Powell, Paul Blair, Mike Cuellar, Dave McNally and Jim Palmer. Completing an Orioles master set presents a couple challenges, but can be done.

Beyond the fact that cards were only distributed individually in boxes, each card was printed with either a "1970 XOGRAPH" or "XOGRAPH" variation. I've found the 1970 XOGRAPH cards to be easier to find.


SCAN8052-1.jpg SCAN8052-2.jpg


Additionally, four players (Blair, Cuellar, McNally and Palmer) were issued with stat variations. The stat variations appear only on the "1970 XOGRAPH" cards. Here's an example of the Paul Blair (385 vs 386 Runs).

SCAN8052-3.jpg SCAN8052.JPG


Therefore the master set includes 2 cards of Frank Robinson and Boog Powell and 3 cards each of Paul Blair, Mike Cuellar, Dave McNally and Jim Palmer.


1971 Kelloggs #1.jpg 1971 Kelloggs #2.jpg


Throw in a couple cards off the back of the boxes and you're done.

1971 Kelloggs Box.JPG

[Mark70Z]

Originally Posted by roarfrom34

Last year Topps in their Update Series came out with a baseball card of Jim Palmer which incorrectly pictured Mike Boddicker (I don't believe it was ever corrected).

This kind of error card needed to be signed!

I remember seeing that card and wondering how a HOF pitcher can't be recognized by Topps and you'd think they'd have a QA process which of course was missed as well.

Now, the card makes an interesting collectible in that you have it signed. I especially like "Cakes" in there as well... There's a 1965 Who's Who in Baseball magazine that used the wrong photo of Brooks to commemorate his 1964 MVP award. I have the magazine somewhere, but can't locate it currently.