Bill's Baseball Card Blog

  Hall of Famer Lou Brock was best known for his base stealing, leading the league eight times, breaking Ty Cobb's all-time major league career steals record, and breaking Maury Wills's single-season record. But he was much more then that. He topped 200 hits in a season four times and finished with 3023 hits which contributed to his career .293 career batting average. He led the NL in doubles and triples in 1968. He also finished his career with 149 home runs and 900 RBI's, very respectable numbers for someone that was a leadoff hitter most of his career. Brock was an All-Star for six seasons, and was the runner-up for the NL Most Valuable Player Award in 1974 when he had 118 stolen bases. For a brief time, Lou was a member of the Harlem Globetrotters as noted here . 2006 National Baseball Hall of Fame Postcard. 1969 Milton Bradley 1970 Topps #330. 1971 Topps #625. 1972 Topps #200. 1973 APBA Game Card. 1973 Topps #320. 1974 Topps #60. 1979 Topps #665. 1979 Topps #415. 1982

  Big Klu! Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer Ted Kluszewski was notorious for his strength. When Kluszewski joined the Reds in 1947, he cut off the sleeves of his uniform, an action he took because the tight sleeves constricted his large biceps and shoulders and interfered with his swing. Kluszewski was a first baseman, was with the Reds from 1947-1957, and was an NL All-Star from 1953-1956. He had a .298 lifetime batting average, with 279 home runs and 1,028 RBI, hitting over .300 seven times. In 1954, he was the NL MVP runner-up to Willie Mays, hitting .326 and leading the NL in home runs (49), RBI (141), and fielding average (.996). For his career, Kluszewski walked (492) more often than he struck out (365). He is the only player in major league history to hit 35 or more homers in four seasons in which he had fewer strikeouts than home runs! Defensively, in 1,479 games at first base, he compiled a career .993 fielding percentage. 1954 Topps #7. 1956 Topps #25. 1986 C.C.C. Reprint #143 i

  George Brett. MVP; 13 time All-Star; led AL in batting 3 times, hits 3 times, doubles 2 times, triples 3 times, OBP 1 time, and slugging 3 times. Finished with 3154 hits, 665 doubles, 137 triples, 317 HR, 1596 RBI, 201 SB, 1096 BB, 908 SO, and a .305/.369/.487 BA/OBP/SLG slash line. What a great, great career!  2007 National Baseball Hall of Fame Postcard. 1983 Donruss Large Card, Card #42. Top: 1975 Topps, Card #228; 1977 Kellogg's, Card #6; and 1981 Donruss, Card #100. Middle: 1981 Donruss, Card #491; 1981 Donruss w/Carew, Card #537; and 1981 Topps, Card #700. Bottom: 1981 Topps, Card #401; 1982 Donruss, Card #34; and 1982 Donruss, Card #15. Top: 1982 Fleer, Card #405; 1982 Topps, Card #200; and 1982 Topps, Card #201. Middle: 1982 Topps, Card #549; 1982 Topps Kmart, Card #38; and 1983 Fleer, Card #108. Bottom: 1983 Topps, Card #600; 1983 Topps, Card #388; and 1983 Topps Sticker #76. Top: 1984 Donruss, Card #53; and 1984 Fleer, Card #344. Bottom: 1984 Fleer w/Perry, Card #638; 1

  Eric the Red! Cincinnati Reds team Hall of Famer Eric Davis is a member of the exclusive 30-30 club, earned three Gold Gloves, and won a World Series with the Reds in 1990. Later in his career Davis defeated a ruthless and dangerous opponent, colon cancer. From Wikipedia "Davis was blessed with a mesmerizing combination of athletic ability, including excellent foot and bat speed, tremendous power, and superlative defensive acumen." I'm so glad I held on to this SI issue! Top: 1985 Cincinnati Reds Yearbook Cards #44; 1985 Topps #627; & 1986 Topps #28. Middle: 1987 Classic #21; 1987 Kraft #10; & 1987 Donruss #265. Bottom: 1987 Donruss DK #22; 1987 Fleer AW #11/44; & 1987 Fleer Sticker #30. In 1986 Davis hit 27 HR, 71 RBI, and 80 SB. In 1987 he hit 37 HR, 100 RBI, 50 SB, and had a slash line of .293/.399/.593. Top: 1987 Sportflics #22; 1987 Topps #412; & 1988 Chef Boyardee #2/24. Middle: 1988 Sportflics #10; 1988 Donruss #369; & 1988 Donruss MVP #BC-2.

  Roger Bresnahan. I'm fairly easy on Hall of Famers, but this one is a head scratcher. For his MLB career, Bresnahan had a .279 batting average with only six seasons of 100 hits or more (142 is his season high). To his credit, he had a .386 lifetime OBP. BTW, as a manager he had a 328–432 win-loss record, so he's not in the HoF for that. It appears Bresnahan is best known for popularizing the use of protective equipment in baseball by introducing shin guards and developing the first batting helmet. There is certainly value for that. He passed away on Dec. 4, 1944, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1945. These are the cards I have of HoFer Roger Bresnahan. 2003 National Baseball Hall of Fame Postcard. 1982 Dover Reprint of 1909-11 American Tobacco Company T206 White Border. Monarch Corona Reprint of 1911 Turkey Red Cabinets T3, Card #4. 1977 Dover Reprint of 1909-11 American Tobacco Company T206 White Border. 1916 Sporting News (M101-5) Reprint. 1961 Fleer Baseball Greats,