Bill's Baseball Card Blog

Yep. I had one of those very big birthdays this past weekend. To celebrate (mildly), I made a few ebay purchases to add to my Cincinnati Reds National Baseball Hall of Famers cards (e.g., Bench, Morgan, etc.) and Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famers cards (e.g., Tom Browning, Pete Rose, etc.) to add to my collections. Heeeeeere's Johnny! 2010 Topps, card #US-330. The red ' C ' on the front looks more like a Cubs-shaped logo rather than the Reds traditional wishbone ' C .' Uncorrected error?   1993 Ted Williams Memories '75,  card #M16. 2013 Topps Museum Collection, card #29. This card has thicker than normal stock. You'd think in 2013 that Topps would come up with a different photo than the 1993 Ted Williams card above.   2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces, card #98. 2015 Panini / Donruss All-Time Diamond Kings, card #13. 1984 Topps - 1983 All-Star, card #22 of 22. 1981 Topps / Coca Cola, card #1. 2001 Upper Deck Hall of Fame Gallery, card #G11. 2003 Topps Gallery, card...

On this Father's Day, I thought I'd pay tribute to the only two father-son player teammate combinations in MLB history by showing my card collection that best represent this incredibly rare feat. I start with the famous Griffey family that became the first father-son combination to play together in the same MLB game when they did this for the Mariners on Friday August 31, 1990. I'll also show my very meager collection of the not as well known Raines father-son combination that played together in the same MLB game for the Orioles when they did this on Thursday October 4, 2001. 1991 Score card #841. Box score of famous game - compliments of Baseball-Almanac. I grew up during the heyday of the Big Red Machine, and Griffey (Sr.) was a huge contributor to their success. So when Jr. became a Red he brought an incredible amount of excitement to Reds Country. Both Griffey (Sr.) and Jr. are in the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame. 2003 Fleer Family Tree card #4 of 10. K...

In the history of MLB there has only been (so far) four Grandfather-Father-Son combinations: the Boone's , Bell's , Hairston's, and the Coleman's. These posts depict my collection of baseball cards that represent these baseball royalty families. The Coleman's. Joseph Patrick Coleman, played in MLB from 1942 to 1955 for the Philadelphia Athletics, Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers. He was the father of Joe Coleman, a MLB pitcher for 15 seasons from 1965 to 1979 (and a two-time 20-game winner), and the grandfather of Casey Coleman, a pitcher with the Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals, and most recently with the Syracuse Mets. All three generations of the Coleman's were/are pitchers. In 10 seasons, Joseph Patrick had a 52–76 Win–Loss record in 223 Games. He started 140 games  and completed 60 with 11 shutouts. He finished with a 4.38 ERA. He was selected to the All-Star team in 1948. Coleman missed the 1943–1945 seasons while serving in the United States Navy dur...

In the history of MLB there has only been (so far) four Grandfather-Father-Son combinations: the Boone's , Bell's , Hairston's, and the Coleman's. These posts depict my collection of baseball cards that represent these baseball royalty families. The Hairston's. The Hairston's may be the biggest major league baseball family. Sam Hairston was the father of MLB players Jerry Hairston, Sr. and Johnny Hairston, and the grandfather of Jerry Hairston, Jr. and Scott Hairston. A son, Sammy Hairston Jr., and three grandsons, Johnny Hairston Jr., Jeff Hairston and Jason Hairston played in the minor leagues. The five Hairston's who have played in the majors are tied for the most ever with the Delahanty brothers. Sam Hairston was a Negro League baseball and Major League Baseball player. He played for the Birmingham Black Barons and the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues and played part of one season (1951) with the Chicago White Sox as a catcher. In his one MLB sea...

In the history of MLB there has only been (so far) four Grandfather-Father-Son combinations: the Boone's , Bell's, Hairston's, and the Coleman's. These posts depict my collection of baseball cards that represent these baseball royalty families. The Bell's. Gus Bell was the patriarch of a rare three-generation major league family. His son, Buddy, was a third baseman and manager in the majors, and his grandsons, David and Mike, are both former infielders. David is the current manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Gus Bell wore uniform #25 during his nine years with the Cincinnati Reds (the Reds were known as the "Redlegs" during the Cold War years from 1953–58); Buddy Bell wore #25 in tribute to his father during much of his playing and managing career, including his tenure with the Reds. David, named manager of the Reds in 2019, carried on the tradition when he took Cincinnati uniform #25 as well. When David was named Reds manager, he and Buddy became the fifth f...

In the history of MLB there has only been (so far) four Grandfather-Father-Son combinations: the Boones, Bells, Hairstons, and the Colemans. These posts depict my collection of baseball cards that represent these baseball royalty families. The Boones. Ray Boone was an infielder from 1948 - 1960. He had over 80 RBIs five times, topping at an AL-leading 116 in 1955 for Detroit. In his career, he hit .275 with 151 home runs and 737 RBI in 1373 games for Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics, Milwaukee Braves, and the Boston Red Sox. He was a two-time All-Star. Ray Boone was followed into the majors by son, Bob Boone, who was a catcher from 1972 to 1990, and grandsons Bret Boone, who played from 1992 to 2005, and Aaron Boone, who played 1997 to 2009. Another brother Matthew, was drafted by the Detroit Tigers and played in the minor leagues for seven seasons. The Boone family was the first to send three generations of players to the All-Star Game (all four were All-S...

Hall of Famer Lawrence "Yogi" Berra won 3 MVPs, was selected to 18 All-Star games, and won 10 World Series championships as a player—more than any other player in MLB history. He holds the all-time record for shutouts caught, with 173. He was a gunner's mate in the Normandy landings during World War II, where he earned a Purple Heart. Berra was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously by President Barack Obama. Wow - just wow. The rest of this post includes Yogi-isms, one for each card of Yogi that I have shown here.  2007 National Baseball Hall of Fame Postcard. “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.” 1973 Topps card #257. “It’s deja vu all over again.” Said after Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris hit back-to-back home runs during the 1961 season. 1974 Topps card #179. “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” 1975 Topps card #421. “Never answer an anonymous letter.” 1980-87 SSPC HOF card #127. “I didn’t really say everything I sai...