Brooks Robinson and the Baltimore Orioles

[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.

[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
Debut 14.jpg

Enjoying the game from the dugout - The Ironbirds lost 2-1 in 10 innings

Debut 17.jpg

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

DSCN2425.jpg

[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

DSCN2416.jpg DSCN2417.jpg

DSCN2418.jpg DSCN2419.jpg

Warm up gear, two hats, spikes and batting gloves

DSCN2420.jpg DSCN2421.jpg

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

DSCN2422.jpg

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

DSCN2424.jpg

[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