Ralph Houk
I’ve collected baseball cards since I was a kid. The first
cards I remember buying on my own were 1972 Topps. Of course buying on my own
meant that my dad gave me a dime and I would go over to the drug store to buy a
pack.
One of the cards that always stuck in my mind was Ralph Houk’s
’72 Topps. It’s a picture of him in a
Yankee uniform and cap. It’s a manager card, but for those familiar with the ’72
series the individual’s position was not listed on the front of the card. I had
no knowledge of Houk at the time and for all I knew he was a player. He was 52
years old at the time, but as a 5yo he looked like he was 92. Of course I
eventually came to learn that he was a manager, but I never got over my first impression
of that card and seeing that old man on a baseball card.
Sometime later in the late ninety’s I saw him on TV as part
of some Yankee retrospective. Even though I was then an adult and had an understanding
of age, I was shocked to see that he was alive. In my mind I had always thought
of him as that old man on the card from back when I was a kid. The funny thing
was that he really looked about the same then as he did 25 years earlier.
Then this morning I read that he passed away and I was once
again surprised to find that he was ‘just’ 90 years old. It’s amazing the way
the mind works and how one first impression can dominate your thoughts despite
knowledge to the contrary.
RIP – Ralph
Lou Piniella’s Rookie Card?
Will the real Lou Piniella rookie card please stand up?
In 1962 Lou Piniella was signed as an amateur by the
Cleveland Indians but soon afterward was drafted by the Washington Senators in
the 1962 first year draft.
Here is Lou’s first card. A 1964 Topps.
In the summer of 1964 Lou was traded from Washington to
Baltimore. That fall Lou made his first big league appearance playing 4 games for
the Orioles. He was 0 for 1.
Piniella spent all of 1965 in the minors and then was traded
by Baltimore to Cleveland in March of 1966. Lou was called up to play with the
Indians in September that year. He played in 6 games, getting 6 plate appearances.
He went 0-5 with 1 run scored and 1 rbi from a sac fly. Here is his second
rookie card, a 1968 Topps.
Following the 1968 season an expansion draft was held for
the newly formed Seattle Pilots. Lou was drafted from the Indians with the 28th
pick. Here is his third rookie card, a 1969 Topps.
Notice the same picture was used in both the ’68 and ’69 cards.
On April 1st, 1969, before ever playing a game for the Pilots, Seattle traded Lou to the
Kansas City Royals for John Gelnar and Steve Whitaker. In 1969 Lou played 135
games for the Royals making 539 plate appearances, hitting .282 and winning the
Rookie of the Year award.
So…. Lou has three different rookie cards and none of them
are for the team he wins the Rookie of the Year award for.
Favorite Cards Pt. 1
I’m a baseball card collector; at least I used to be. I still occasionally will pick up an individual pack of cards, but generally I will just buy the set at Christmas and put it away. But when I was growing up, I bought cards by the packs hoping to put a set together, which was the only way to do it. Today I have quite a few cards stored away. Yes I beat up some good cards in my spokes, but in general I have all the cards from my youth.
For me, baseball cards were a way to learn the players. As a kid, many times I formed an opinion on whom I liked or not as a player strictly based on their card. Check out this 1973 card of Ed Brinkman.
Brinkman could have been the best shortstop in baseball, didn’t matter. The way he held the bat and hunched over in the picture sealed the deal. He must have stunk and I didn’t like him
Of course over time as I got older the men became more than just pictures on a card. I started to learn the stats of the players and I learned about the game.
Cards were a part of the learning process then. Now we are bombarded with a 24 hour baseball channel, ESPN, MLB.com, and hundreds of blogs giving us everything from in-depth analysis to some goof’s favorite baseball cards.
1981 Topps #625 Bill Buckner
I always thought this card truly epitomized Bill Buckner. Just looking at this card now I can feel the pain in his ankles. I can remember the way he used to hobble as a way to start running. I can picture his wide, bent-knee’s stance at the plate. Buckner was a great Cub and a wonderful player during his career. I don’t think that Billy Buck was HOF worthy, but for a player with 2700+ lifetime hits he should have received more than 2% of the vote and not been booted off the ballot in one year.
More favorite cards in the future……………
WrigleyRegular
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