CLOSED...1971 Topps Progressive Auction - Day 10

[ALBB]

thats entertaining !

[HercDriver]

This proved to be a tough combo to dig up anything about, as the only one that stuck around very long was Jose Pagan. There’s a few interesting tidbits, like that fact that Jim Gosger made the tribute video the Mets did to honor the deceased players of the 1969 championship team. Gosger actually got to see, since he wasn’t dead. Oops. Reminds me of the “bring out your dead” scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I’m guessing the Mets didn’t clonk Gosger on the head, though. I don’t know if they had walk-up music back in the 70’s, but if they did, I’m guessing Dick Such might use something like Albert King’s “Born Under a Bad SIgn,” which features the line “if it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.” Such pitched 128 innings for the Double A York White Roses in 1967, throwing eight complete games, giving up 108 hits, and compiling a 2.81 ERA. Oh...and an 0-16 won/loss record. How is that even possible with those numbers? Pagan is probably best remembered for becoming the hero in Game Seven of the 1971 World Series, driving in Willie Stargell to send the Pirates to the crown. Pagan was known to be one of the smarter baseball minds on the bench, and many thought he would be an outstanding manager, but there was no way he was going to get that kind of job, at that period in time, which is a shame. Have an awesome day, and enjoy the All-Start Game tonight!

[HercDriver]

Happy Day 9 to everybody! Today brings us three more players, and a whole team of south siders. George Culver had a nice career, and even managed to squeeze a no-hitter into his resume. It appears he was also guilty of shaving his eyebrow hair, and applying it to his chops to enhance the Elvis look. The other two guys both had special at-bats for expansion teams, along the way. Jerry McNertney, as you remember from Bouton’s Ball Four, was the catcher on that Seattle Pilots team. On his card, it seems that even as late as 1971, flying machines still left him rather bewildered. McNertney was one of the few guys that didn’t have any problem with the book when it came out, mostly because Bouton saw him as a choir boy, staying out of trouble. As for the special at-bat, it was McNertney who brought a close to the Seattle Pilots short history, striking out on Oct 2, 1969 to make the final Pilots out. The same year the Pilot debuted, so did the Royals. It wasn’t until th fifth game of the season, but Mike Fiore was the first Royal in history to go yard, off of Blue Moon Odom, of the A’s. Being a Cubs fan, I didn’t get to a lot of games at Old Comisky, but occasionally we’d do the Cubs by day, and take the train down to see the Sox that night. Of course, it might be best remembered for Disco Demolition night, where the fans destroyed the field in between games of a double header. Not only did the 50,000 drunks come out of the stands, but another 20,000 broke in through the gates to start the giant bonfire in centerfield. Tickets were 98 cents, and the beer just as cheap, so Bill Veeck had to know that wasn’t going to turn out well. Comisky did have some cool stuff, like that shower out in centerfield, where you always hoped some hottie would go to cool off. Comisky also hosted an NFL Championship Game, in the best year of Chicago Cardinals history, 1947. It also hosted four World Series, including the the famous 1919 Black Sox games. It wasn’t around for the 1906 Series against the Cubs, but the Sox played the 1917 and 1959 Series there, as well. The other one was actually the 1918 Cubs and Red Sox World Series, where Babe Ruth won game one in Comisky Park, because the Cubs thought Wrigley was too small for the event. For as long as Comisky Park was around, you would have thought somebody would have 100 home runs there, but nobody ever did. Carlton Fisk was the all-time leader with 94, which I guess is a testament to a park built to keep Ed Walsh’s pitches in play.

[HercDriver]

Welcome to Day Ten of the auction! Today brings us one of the greatest leadoff hitters of all-time, Bobby Bonds. He was also the guy whose name was on my boyhood glove. I was a shortstop in Little League, and would have preferred an Ivan DeJesus glove, but those just didn't exist. There was just one, and DeJesus was using it. I remember being disappointed in junior high when the Cubs traded DeJesus for Larry Bowa. They did manage to get a young third baseman at the time, named Ryne Sandberg. He turned out OK, when they finally moved him over to second base. Back to Bonds, though. He finished his career with the Cubs in 1981, in that crazy year where the players took about six weeks off in the middle of the season. It was his eighth team in eight years, so you never seemed to know what he'd be wearing on his baseball card each year. He hit a record 35 lead-off home runs, including 11 in one season. Both of those records have fallen since then, but they were impressive while they lasted. Rickey Henderson broke the record of 35, and Brady Anderson broke the record of 11. What I didn't remember about Bonds was how often he struck out. When he retired, he was only behind Reggie Jackson and Willie Stargell for all-time whiffs by a big leaguer. I guess I didn't realize that, because he always seemed to be on base, trying to steal second off Steve Swisher. When he came to the Cubs, I thought maybe that was the piece we were missing. Just like I thought with the previous San Francisco outfielders who showed up in Wrigley in the years before him, Bobby Murcer and Dave Kingman. But it wasn't to be, and Bonds retired after that year. I remember being shocked to hear that he had died of a brain tumor, at the young age of 57, because I just remembered him as the perfect combo of power and speed, like nothing could stop him. But that silly brain tumor did, where an army of catchers never could. Whenever I see a Bonds card now, it always takes me back to Little League, with that Bobby Bonds glove. RIP, Bobby.

[rjackson44]

$15 hi geno please do this again fun working on set

[HercDriver]

OK...the bidding is open! The auction closes eight hours after Octavio's bid, which is 12:22 Mountain Time, or 2:22 East Coast Time.

[jaytee]

$16