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A Big Birthday: Part 2


Here's the second and last part of my birthday 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.) collections.

Reds Hall of Famer Tom Browning. For a time, Browning resided in Malone, NY, and he played at LeMoyne College in Syracuse from 1979 to 1981. The day after Browning pitched the twelfth perfect game in baseball history (on September 16, 1988 against the Los Angeles Dodgers) I remember taking the Syracuse Post-Standard newspaper out of the mail box, and after reading the headline about the feat, I dropped the paper and gasped so loud that a neighbor had to ask if I was okay!

1990 Classic, card #T7.

Reds Hall of Famer Sean Casey. Casey was nicknamed "The Mayor" for his chattiness to strike up a conversation with just about everyone that reached first base.

2000 Topps Opening Day 2K, card #OD4.

Reds Hall of Famer Eric Davis. Nicknamed "Eric the Red," Davis became the first player in major league history to hit three grand slams in one month and the first to achieve at least 30 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season (1987).

1988 Leaf/Donruss MVP, card #BC-2.

Reds Hall of Famer George Foster. In 1977, Foster won the MVP Award for hitting 52 home runs with 149 RBI's and a .320 batting average. He was the first player since Willie Mays in 1965 to hit 50 or more HRs a season, and the 50 HR mark would not be reached again until Cecil Fielder hit 51 in 1990.

1993 Ted Williams Memories '75, card #M17.

National Baseball and Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer Ken Griffey, Jr. Although Jr.'s best seasons were with the Mariners, he hit 210 HR's and had over a .360 OBP during his 9 seasons with the Reds.
2005 Topps The Sporting News All-Stars, card #UH166.

Reds Hall of Famer Ken Griffey. Statistically, Griffey's best season with the Reds was in 1976 when he hit .336 with a .401 OBP, 111 runs, 189 hits, 74 RBI's, and 34 stolen bases.

1990 Leaf/Donruss, card #469.

Reds Hall of Famer Tommy Helms. Helms played for the Reds from 1964 - 1971. During that time, he won the Rookie of the Year Award, was selected to two All-Star teams, and won two Gold Glove Awards.

1969 Topps Deckle Edge, card #20 of 33.

National Baseball and Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer Barry Larkin. Larkin won nine Silver Slugger awards, three Gold Glove awards (no easy feat competing with the Wizard of Oz), and the 1995 National League Most Valuable Player Award. He was selected to 12 All-Star Games.

1998 Skybox Thunder, card #11.

National Baseball and Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer Joe Morgan. Morgan was the Reds catalyst during the heyday of the Big Red Machine. According to Wikipedia, in the New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, Bill James named Morgan the best second baseman in baseball history, ahead of #2 Eddie Collins and #3 Rogers Hornsby. He also named Morgan as the "greatest percentages player in baseball history", due to his strong fielding percentage, stolen base percentage, walk-to-strikeout ratio, and walks per plate appearance.

1993 Ted Williams Memories '75, card #M18.

National Baseball and Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer Tony Perez. Perez played first and third base as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won four National League pennants and two World Series championships between 1970 and 1976. He averaged over 100 RBI's per season during those years.

1993 Ted Williams Memories '75, card #M19.

Reds Hall of Famer Jose Rijo. Rijo was the MVP of the Reds 1990 World Series Championship over the Oakland A's. Elbow injuries sidelined Rijo from most of the 1995 season through 2000, preventing him from returning to the major leagues in spite of all his efforts. In 2001, he returned to the major leagues as a relief pitcher with the Reds. By doing so, he became the first player to appear in a game after receiving a Baseball Hall of Fame vote since Minnie Minoso in 1976.

1995 Upper Deck, card #407.

Reds Hall of Famer Pete Rose. In 1999, Rose was selected as an outfielder on the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Although ineligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame, "Charlie Hustle" was allowed to be inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 2016.

1978 Topps, card #5.

1969 Topps Deckle Edge, card #20 of 33.

Reds Hall of Famer Chris Sabo. Then Reds manager Pete Rose gave Sabo the nickname "Spuds" during his rookie season in 1988, citing a resemblance to a bull terrier character in Bud Light commercials named Spuds MacKenzie.


Thanks for visiting!
CinciCuse Bill

Comments

  1. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one reading this who knows where Malone, N.Y., is and has been there several times.

    We covered Browning when he was in high school in our paper. That was before my time though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I went to SUNY Canton and have spent a fair amount of time in the North Country. So I've enjoyed following the careers of Browning and Jim Deshaies (another LeMoyne pitcher, as I'm sure you know :).

      Delete
  2. Agree with Jeff... that Rijo fact is cool.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love that Sean Casey - I've never seen those cards before. I saw a documentary on Griffey a few months ago (ESPN probably). His Cincy years were heartbreaking.

    ReplyDelete
  4. They were heartbreaking - so much hope but so little to show for it.

    It's funny, just last night I saw about 3/4 of the movie Trouble with the Curve!

    ReplyDelete

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