Bill's Baseball Card Blog

Just trying to keep blogger alive. Hope to be back in 2022. Happy holidays all!

  According to B-R Bullpen : "A Negro Leagues star, Hall of Fame outfielder Willard Brown played just briefly in the majors with the St. Louis Browns. Brown began his career with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1935 and played with them for more than a decade, missing time while serving in the Army during World War II. At age 32, he was signed by the Browns in July 1947, along with Hank Thompson. He made his big league debut on July 19th and, four days later, he went 4-for-5 against the New York Yankees. His home run on August 13th was the first hit by a black player in the history of the American League; it was an inside-the-park shot off future Hall of Famer Hal Newhouser of the Detroit Tigers. Brown hit just .179 in 21 games and was let go by St. Louis." 2006 National Baseball Hall of Fame Postcard. 1990 Stars of the Negro Leagues #7. 1994 Ted Williams #101. 2020 Kriendler #141. Thanks for visiting! CinciCuse Bill

  According to BR Bullpen : "One of the best Negro League pitchers ever, Ray Brown finished his career with one win fewer than Satchel Paige, along with twenty-seven fewer losses. Although already into his forties, he played in the Quebec-based Provincial League in the early 1950s and managed a number of semi-pro teams in the province as well." Brown was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues in 2006. 2006 National Baseball Hall of Fame Postcard. 2020 Kreindler Postcard #1. 2020 Kreindler #1. Thank goodness for the 2020 Kreindler Negro Leagues Legends Centennial Baseball Card Set because there just aren't any cards of Brown out there. In addition to the above, the Trading Card Database shows a 1945-46 Cuban League card that I've not seen available for anything less than $76 (which I won't be spending), and it shows a 1972 Puerto Rican Winter League sticker that I've never seen available.  You'd think the card companies wo...

  After overcoming a serious childhood injury, Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown went on to become one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history. He won 239 games over 14 seasons in the majors, and his career ERA, 2.06, is sixth-best all-time. Played for the Reds in 1913 with an 11-12 record and a 2.91 ERA. 2004 National Baseball Hall of Fame Postcard. 1982 Dover Publications Reprints National League, T206, NNO. 2011 Monarch Corona Centennial Reprint Series #13. 1977 Dover Publications Classic Baseball Cards Reprints, #32. 1916 Sporting News (M101-5) Reprint #23. 1990 Interpretive Marketing Baseball Wit #89. 1987 TCMA 1907 Chicago Cubs, #2-1907. 1987 Hygrade All-Time Greats, NNO. 1982 Cramer Baseball Legends Series 3, #71. 1980-87 SSPC HOF Baseball Immortals #56. 1961 Fleer Baseball Greats #11. 1992 The Sporting News Conlon Collection #55.  Thanks for visiting. CinciCuse Bill

  One of the things I like to do to pass time is click on the players featured on the opening page of Baseball-Reference . Frank Corridon was featured recently, and when I opened up his page I noticed that he had died and was buried in Syracuse, NY, so I looked closer and learned that he may be the inventor of the spitball . According to Baseball-Reference (B-R Bullpen), a "letter from pitcher (and later umpire) George Hildebrand indicates that Hildebrand was with the Providence Grays in 1902 and learned about the spitball from Corridon. He and Corridon experimented together as to the best amount of wetness. At the time, such a pitch was not illegal. When Hildebrand came to the majors, he taught it to others, who in turn taught it to others, and the rest is history." Corridon won 70 games in six big league seasons (1904-1910). In the early 1920s, the Corridon family moved to Syracuse where Frank worked and coached the Central High School baseball team. Corridon died in Syracu...

National Baseball Hall of Fame card collection post... In his 19 year career (1879-1896 and 1904), Hall of Famer Dan Brouthers led the league in runs (2x), hits (3x), doubles (3x), triples, homeruns (2x), RBIs (2x), average (5x), OBP (5x), and SLG (7x). He finished with a .342/.423/.520 slash line, and is acknowledged as the first great slugger in big league history. 2004 National Baseball Hall of Fame Postcard. 1976 SSPC card #12 (error - Brouthers misspelled) 1987 Baseball Immortals card #30. 1989 Baseball Wit #102. 1981 Detroit News #80. I haven't come across very many "retro" cards of Brouthers, But I do like the small assortment here.  Stay safe, CinciCuse Bill