CLOSED...1971 Topps Progressive Auction - Day 10

[HercDriver]

I haven't done one of these progressive auctions since the beginning of COVID, so it's time to do another one. People seem to like them, more for the blog aspect, than for the cards, I think. For instance, we'll start with Pat Kelly. Evidently Kelly was big into late night carousing during his time with the White Sox, after being brought up in a devout Baptist house. He eventually found himself depressed and on the verge of a breakdown, when he signed up for a bible class. It was there that he rediscovered religion, and he then went on to become a minister. In his time with the Orioles, Tippy Martinez, Doug DeCinces, Scott McGregor, Kiko Garcia, and Ken Singleton were all "born-again" through Minister Kelly. Evidently when he tried to get Earl Weaver to "walk with the Lord," Weaver said he'd rather see Kelly "walk with the bases loaded."

The lot is currently at $15, with $3 to ship. Assuming no bids by the time I get to my coffee tomorrow, I'll add another four cards. It won't be every day, because I'm not always home to sit down with my cards, but I'll do my best to "scan ahead" and not have too many idle days. The first person who bids $15, opens the auction, for the next 8 hours. I do this to give everybody a chance to see the new cards that day, since we can't all spend 24 hours a day here. So once a bid is placed for $15, the auction will end 8 hours later, using $1 bid increments for anybody who wants to raise it. I guess it's sort of like extended bidding. Does that make sense? Anyway, here we go with Day 1. Let me know if you have any questions!

Take Care,
Geno

A brief note on grading: I grade like we used to grade 30 years ago, when trading was by letters, on paper, in the mailbox. A slight crease = VG; Off-center = Ex; Two slightly dinged corners = ExMt. You get the idea...my EXMt does not in anyway guarantee that you will get a PSA 6. I can always send you another scan, and you can always return cards (in which case, you cover your shipping back). I pretty much go through them as I watch Cubs games, which sometimes affects my mood, and thus potentially the grade. A Cubs rally in the 9th inning just might result in a missed corner ding, but I do my best. Bid accordingly.

Total Cards: 40

235 Nate Colbert ExMt
236 Bob Humphreys Ex
237 Cesar Cedeno Ex
238 Chuck Dobson Ex
240 Clyde Wright NrMt
241 Dave Nelson NrMt
242 Jim Ray ExMt
244 Bob Tillman Ex
245 Jim Kaat Ex
246 Tony Taylor ExMt
247 Royals Rookies ExMt
249 Chico Salmon Ex
252 Eddie Leon ExMt
253 Bill Sudakis NrMt
255 Bob Robertson NrMt
256 Tony Gonzalez NrMt
257 Nelson Briles ExMt
259 Dave Marshall ExMt
261 Darold Knowles ExMt
262 Padres Rookies ExMt
265 Jim Northrup (no blob) ExMt
266 Bill Stoneman NrMt
268 Phillies Team Card Ex
271 Bill Zepp
273 Pete Richert
274 Ron Slocum
277 Gary Waslewski
281 Danny Walton ExMt
282 Jose Pagan Ex
283 Dick Such Ex
284 Jim Gosger Ex
286 Jerry McNertney NrMt
287 Mike Fiore Ex
289 White Sox Team Ex
291 George Culver NrMt
295 Bobby Bonds ExMt
297 Johnny Briggs NrMt
299 Ed Kirkpatrick Ex
301 Earl Wilson Ex
413 Pat Kelly Vg

[HercDriver]

Day two brings us three pitchers and an second sacker. For some reason, I thought Clyde Wright was one of the Angels that died tragically, which seemed to happen to them once a year, with regularity. But no, I had him mixed up with somebody else. Wright had one great year, and a couple pretty good ones, and then he was pretty much done. He's one of the few pitchers that have had a 20-win season, and a 20-loss season, and threw a no-hitter in there, just for fun. He lost the All-Star game in 1970, when Pete Rose crashed into Ray Fosse, then never made another one. In the crazy coincidence category, Wright's got his final out of his no-hitter when Felipe Alou grounded out to Sandy Alomar for a double play. The reason that it's sort of weird is that all three guys involved in the play had sons that would go on to play in the bigs. As a matter of fact, Jaret Wright, Sandy Alomar, Jr, and Moises Alou all appeared together in the 1997 World Series. Funny how the stars align sometimes...

[HercDriver]

Good morning, and welcome to Day Three! I have a couple of choices to expound upon today, starting with trying to figure out what Tillman has on his hand. I guess it's a batting glove, but it looks more like he was doing rectal exams during BP. Or Paul Splittorff starting and winning the first ever game at Kaufmann Stadium for the Royals. Or Jim Kaat, who after doing a game this year as a broadcaster, logged an eighth decade in MLB. That's just crazy. He debuted in 1959, played in four decades, then has been announcing games ever since. But with all of that, I'll go with Tony Taylor, and one of the weirder plays in baseball lore. I love crazy plays, like that Javy Baez one a couple weeks ago, where the Pirates first baseman chased him all the way to the plate, allowing a run to score. I hadn't ever seen a first base coach wave a guy back towards home. Anyway, this is a good one, so let me give you the cast of characters:

Cubs:
Bob Anderson, P
Sammy Taylor, C
Tony Taylor, 2B
Ernie Banks, SS
Al Dark, 3B

Cardinals:
Stan Musial, Hitter

Plate Ump:
Vic Delmore

Field Announcer:
Pat Pieper

OK, Musial has a 3-1 count on him. Anderson's next pitch gets by Sammy Taylor, and goes to the backstop. Delmore calls ball four, and Musial heads to 1B. In the meantime, Anderson and S. Taylor are arguing with Delmore that Musial tipped it. No one has called time, so Musial heads for 2B. Dark sees him headed that way, and goes to grab the ball, but Pieper is holding it now. Dark snags it out of his hands, and throws it to Banks. At the same time, Dlemore gives S. Taylor a new ball. S. Taylor sees Musial breaking for 2B, so he wings the ball to Tony Taylor, but it sails over his head into the outfield. Musial sees the errant throw, and turns the corner for 3B, where Banks tags him out with the original ball. Musial is declared out on the play. I'm guessing replay wouldn't have helped on that one...

[HercDriver]

Day four is upon us, so let's see what we can drum up. A lot of people remember Bob Robertson for famously missing a bunt sign in the World Series, and propelling them to a victory over the Orioles with a huge home run in Game 3. Robertson can probably be excused for that, seeing as how he'd never bunted, and was playing on Astroturf...not exactly bunt friendly. I'm guessing Danny Murtaugh got over that missed sign pretty quickly. Earl Weaver hated missed signs, it's been said, but I'm guessing that's the one he hated the most. Bill Sudakis's card says he was a catcher, which was a bad experiment for the Dodgers, with Sudakis only throwing out 2 of 32 runners. Maybe he gunned down the Reuschel brothers on a double steal in a game against the Cubs, or something. Chico Salmon was famous for having no hands, to which Jim Palmer named an award for him, honoring "the player with the fielding prowess that had the deftness of a rhinoceros knitting." But when I look at Chico Salmon on baseball cards, the only thing I ever think of is the great Met, Chico Escuela. I will always remember laughing at SNL when I was a kid, as Chico was giving excerpts about his tell-all book "Bad Stuff 'Bout the Mets," with quotes like "Ed Kranepool - he once borrow Chico's soap, and no give it back." And "Yogi Berra - berry berry bad card player." Classic stuff. Anyway, sorry Chico Salmon, but it's stuck in my noggin forever.

[1966CUDA]

I hope this goes on for a while....love the stories!!!

[ZenPop]

I concur... Great stuff!

[HercDriver]

Day five brings us a World Series record holder in Darold Knowles. Most of you probably know that Knowles appeared in all seven games of the 1973 World Series, against the Mets. It would lead you to believe that he was the stud out of the bullpen in that series, but far from it. Rollie Fingers was the true hero out of the pen that fall. Knowles, in seven trips to the mound, pitched 6 1/3 innings, mostly in relief of Fingers, after Rollie had thrown a couple innings to get them out of the jams. Fingers appeared in six games, and threw 13 2/3 innings. To put that in perspective, the three Oakland starters threw the following: Vida Blue (11 IP in 2 games started), Ken Holtzman (10.2 IP in 3 GS), and Catfish Hunter (13.1 IP in 2 GS). Fingers had a 0.66 ERA, while Knowles was perfect. Reggie Jackson was the MVP, with a .310 BA, and a homer. How Rollie Fingers didn't win it, with a win and two saves, is beyond me.

I was just a wee lad in 1973, and barely remember watching the Series, other than remembering I loved the A's mustaches and green/yellow uniforms. I never got to see them, as a seven year old Cubs fan, watching WGN. But a couple years later, Knowles ended up in Chicago, after being traded for Billy Williams, amongst other pieces. Knowles joined a fearsome Cubs pen of Oscar Zamora, Paul Reuschel, and Tom Dettore. Zamora gave up 17 homers in relief that year, 1975, and I think I remember every one of them. It seemed about ten of them came off the bats of Schmidt and Luzinski. Anyway, Knowles was good enough to be the closer on a Cubs team that rarely won, because Bruce Sutter was a year away. I really miss those days of the Cubs bullpens right there, next to the fans. It's just not the same behind the wall. I loved watching the relievers play foul ball chicken. If you don't know that is, it's trying to not move, as the ball comes whistling down the line. In later years, Travis Wood was the king. Watch this clip of Wood getting hit, and not flinching...classic!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjCVhJHGgfI

[jimmysuitcase]

...is the House of Wagner! So thrilled to see another progressive Geno auction in full anecdotal effect. Hopefully this one will go on and on for several rounds. (Sorry!)

Heck, I have 2 '71 sets already, but I vow to bid if we keep Geno rolling until he runs out of dupes or steam.

Finally, in case anyone else needs more anecdotes before Geno's next post, here's one from his "archives."

https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=279359

Hope you are well, buddy. Keep up the fine work!

James

[HercDriver]

Haha! Thanks for the good words, my friend! Too bad all the pictures are gone from that one. I had a 36 day one once, which you can see if you click on “views,” since it’s the second highest viewed in the auction thread. It’s fun to dig stuff up when I have time, instead of just posting the cards. Have fun, James and everyone else!

Cheers,
Geno

[rjackson44]

Terrific geno

[HercDriver]

Day Six is here, and four more cards to add to the list! Bill Stoneman is probably not on the tip of anybody’s tongue, when asked to name pitchers who threw multiple no-hitters, but it can be now. Stoneman also held the record as a batter for most consecutive games striking out, with 37 games in a row of being punched out. The sad thing about that, as we can all attest to, watching today’s batters, is that it was tied a few years ago by...Aaron Judge. The Phillies left Connie Mack Stadium and moved into their new digs in Veterans Stadium in 1971. Other than Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, I think the Vet was the worst park I’ve ever been to. Olympic Stadium, because of the vibe and total lack of interest in the game by the fans...the Vet because it was a dump, but the fans certainly had the vibe. They were usually against both teams when I saw the Phils there. I’m not sure which stadium that team card photo is from, if it’s the 1970 team, or the 1971 team. The 1970 team had a catching problem, that started when Tim McCarver broke his finger on a foul tip by Willie Mays. Two batters later, Mike Ryan, the backup catcher, had his finger broken on a slide by Willie McCovey. Eventually, the Phils had to activate the bullpen coach, Doc Edwards, to finish out the season. And then they released him, prior to the move to the Vet. What?!? I can imagine he’s thinking, I want a do-over! I retire from baseball, because I don’t have it anymore, get this sweet coaching gig, then get released, because you make me play, and then say I’m not good enough anymore? I already knew that...why do you think I was the friggin’ bullpen coach!! Oh well...don’t worry Phillie fans, Mike Schmidt is not far away. He debuted in Reading, while all this was going on. Have an awesome day, N54 pholk...

[999Tony]

Thanks geno how do I subscribe to your newsletter? Oh and the strangest award ever is dick green who got the babe Ruth award as best post season player and almost 74 ws mvp despite going 0-13 in ws!

[HercDriver]

It’s Day Seven, and I have to fly from San Diego to Seattle, to Tampa today, which is rather grueling. However, I have a few seconds to type with my hotel coffee, so I’ll tell you about Pete Richert’s MLB debut. Richert came up with the Dodgers in 1962, and got his first shot on the bump against the Reds, in Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers were down 4-0 in the 2nd inning, and I guess Walt Alston had seen enough, or just wanted to see this new kid, so he brings Pete in to face Vada Pinson. As we all know, Pinson was no slouch, unlike Judge Schmelz, who was a tremendous slouch. Yes...Caddyshack references are allowed in my auctions. But Pete, fired up on rookie adrenaline, whiffs Vada. And with that, MLB history is about to begin. I would cue a John Bonham drum solo here, but I don’t have 20 minutes, so let’s just say that the next inning, Frank Robinson leads off against ol’ wily Pete, as he’s known by now. Now FRobby was known to be a pretty prolific hitter back then, yet down he goes on strikes, as well. Gordy Coleman is next, and he strikes out, too...but Johnny Roseboro lets the ball go by, and Coleman is safe at first. Wally Post and Johnny Edwards are next, and both go down on strikes. Pete strolls off the hill, thinking this game is pretty easy...four outs, and five strikeouts in my career. When he comes back out for the fourth inning, he K’s Tommy Harper, for his sixth in a row. He would go on to retire the next six, setting an MLB record for retiring the most batters in a row, in a debut, for a reliever. Max Scherzer notched 13 a few years ago, but it stood for about 50 years. He’s also the only pitcher to get four strikeouts in an inning in his debut. Not a bad way to head to the bar with the boys, after the game, I’d say. I’m off to the airport...have an awesome day!

[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

[jcarroll84]

$17