Bill's Baseball Card Blog

  Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer Gary Nolan pitched for the Reds from 1967 through part of 1977. Including 5 games with the Angels in 1977, Nolan finished his career with a 110 -70 W-L record, 1,039 strikeouts, a 3.08 ERA, 45 complete games, 14 shutouts, and 1,674.2 innings pitched in 250 games (247 starts). In eleven post season games he was 2–2 with a 3.34 ERA covering 59.1 innings. Nolan was an excellent fielding pitcher, committing only 3 errors in 287 total chances for a .990 fielding percentage, among the best in history for pitchers whose careers spanned 10 seasons (1,500 innings) or more. Here is my Gary Nolan collection of cards while he was a Red. 1968 Topps #196. 1970 Topps #484. 1970 Kellogg's #53. 1971 Topps #75. 1972 Topps #475. 1973 Topps #260. 1974 Topps #277. 1975 Topps #562. 1977 Topps #121. My favorite card from this collection: I love the black border 1971 because it was the first Nolan card I owned, and it reminds me of his 1970 season when he was 18-7 in 250 in...

  This post features cards that I have of members of the Syracuse Baseball Wall of Fame that are from the Central New York area.  Tex Simone was born and raised in Syracuse, NY and began his career with the Syracuse Chiefs in 1961. He started his career on the grounds crew and advanced within the organization to become trainer, traveling secretary, business manager and public relations director, and general manager from 1970 - 1997. After that, Simone served as the club's executive vice president and chief operating officer until he retired from that position in September 2013. Simone also served as vice president of the International League , and was enshrined in the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame (1989), the Syracuse Baseball Wall of Fame (2001), the International League Hall of Fame (2008), the Le Moyne College Hall of Fame (2011) and the North High School Hall of Fame (2012). He was named International League Executive of the Year five times and received the Presiden...

  Dave Giusti was born in Seneca Falls, NY (believed to be the inspiration for Bedford Falls in the Christmas movie "It's a Wonderful Life."). He attended my alma mater (North Syracuse High School), and played college ball at Syracuse University, pitching in the 1961 College World Series as a starting pitcher. Giusti signed out of college as a free agent with the Colt .45s, and played in Houston from 1962-68. Giusti was mainly a starter for Houston, and also for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1969. Late in 1969, Giusti was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. With the Pirates, he was converted into a relief pitcher by manager Danny Murtaugh, and Giusti soon became one of the leading relief pitchers in the National League.  Using his sinking palmball heavily, Giusti recorded 20 or more saves in each of the next four baseball seasons, and he led the National League with 30 saves in 1971 for the Pirates. Giusti appeared in three games for Pittsburgh in the 1971 World Series, earnin...

As you can see from the cards, Jim Bottomley's nickname "Sunny Jim" is quite appropriate as he seems to be smiling all the time. Bottomley is in both the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Syracuse Baseball Wall of Fame, so I enjoy really finding cards of him. Bottomley won the NL MVP award in 1928 with 20 triples, 31 home runs, 136 RBIs, and a .325/.402/.628 slash line. He finished his 16-year career with a .310/.369/.500 slash line. 2005 National Baseball Hall of Fame Postcard. Syracuse Baseball Wall of Fame. In 1922, Bottomley batted .348 with 14 home runs, 15 triples, and a .567 slugging percentage for the Syracuse Chiefs. 2000 Grandstand, Card #NNO. 1992 Reprint of 1927 Middy Bread Die Cuts , Card #NNO. Dover Reprint of 1933 Goudy, Card #44. Sunny Jim spent most of his 16 big league seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, but he also spent three seasons with the Cincinnati Reds.   Reprint of 1934 - 1936 National Chicle Diamond Stars (R318), Card #59. 1961 Fleer, Ca...

  Continuing with my posts on retired numbers, below are card scans of former MLBers whose numbers have been retired by the Oakland Athletics to forever be revered. No. 9 Reggie Jackson 2013 Topps Commemorative Patch Card #RCP-7 No. 24 Rickey Henderson 1991 Bowman #692. There are so many great, great Henderson cards that I had a hard time picking out just one for this post. Well the '91 Bowman really stood out to me. No. 27 Catfish Hunter 1976 Laughlin #7. As noted here , Hunter is one of only 6 players ever that went directly from HIGH SCHOOL to the major leagues and NEVER played in the minor leagues. No. 34 Rollie Fingers 1976 Hostess #104. No. 42     Jackie Robinson 1980-1987 SSPC HoF #89. I love how Oakland's green and gold colors stand out in the border of this card. No. 43 Dennis Eckersley 2014 Panini HoF Induction Class of 2004 Autograph #78. Who do you think will be the next former Oakland A to have their uniform number to be retired? Vida Blue? Dave Ste...