Bill's Baseball Card Blog

Luke Appling, nicknamed "Old Aches and Pains," was a shortstop who played his entire career for the Chicago White Sox (1930–1950). He interrupted his career to serve in World War II in 1944 and 1945. His career ended with 2,749 hits, a .310 batting average, and a .399 on-base percentage - a figure that bests those of similar era notables Joe DiMaggio and Ralph Kiner! Appling was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964. My Appling card collection starts with a Dover reprint of 1934 Big League Chewing Gum; 1979 TCMA Galasso; and 1987 (?) Baseball Immortals. The second row starts with 1982 TCMA Baseball's Greatest Hitters; 1983 Donruss Hall of Fame Heroes; and 1987 (?) Hygrade Baseball's All-Time Greats. The third row includes 1988 and 1990 Pacific Baseball Legends cards; and a 1990 Impel/Swell Baseball Greats card. The second sheet includes 1992 The Sporting News Conlon; 2007 Upper Deck SP Legendary cuts; and 2013 Panini Cooperstown. Thanks for vi...

In a 13-year career, Averill played in 1669 games, compiling a .318 batting average with 1224 runs scored, 401 doubles, 128 triples, 238 home runs, and 1164 RBI. His on-base percentage was .395 and slugging percentage was .534. He hit better than .300 eight times and recorded five 5-hit games in his major league career. He is sometimes remembered for hitting a line drive that broke Dizzy Dean's toe in the 1937 All-Star Game. Dizzy had averaged 24 wins a season up to then, and only 4 wins a season after, changed his delivery due to the broken toe, damaged his arm, which led to his retiring in 1941 at the age of 31 My Averill card collection consists of a Galasso Reprint of a Goudy Big League Chewing Gum card; a 1987 (?) Baseball Immortals; 1979 TCMA Galasso (great smile in this photo); and 1991 and 1992 The Sporting News Conlon cards. I recently added to my collection the above 1931 W-517 set reproduction. Thanks for visiting! CinciCuse Bill

Luis Aparicio was known for his speed and fielding. He led the American League in stolen bases a (still) record nine straight seasons, and racked up nine Gold Glove Awards over the span of his career. The White Sox were well served by shortstops for quite a stretch of time. HoFer Luke Appling held the spot from 1930-1950, then Aparicio manned the position from 1956-1962, then again from 1968-1970. Between 1950 and 1955, the position was well served by four time All-Star Chico Carrasquel. Top row: 69 Topps; 72 Topps; and a 72 Topps IA. Middle row: 73 APBA game card; Newspaper clipping of early 70's all-star game starters; and a 73 Topps. Bottom row: 74 Topps; 77 TCMA/Galasso; and an 87 Baseball Immortals (SSPC HoF) card. Second sheet, top row: 2001 Fleer Greats of the Game; 2002 Topps Reprint of 1960 Topps; and a 2005 Upper Deck Legendary Cuts (why did UD have to print landscape cards with an opposite orientation from almost every other card manufacturer? ...

"Four 20-game winners - and no pennant!"  As it says on the back of the 1973 Laughlin/Fleer Wildest Days and Plays card: "Only twice in baseball history has a team had four pitchers win 20 games each in the same season. It happened in 1971 when the Baltimore Orioles turned the trick - only to lose the World Series. In 1920 the Chicago White Sox had a quartet who won at least 21 games each: Red Faber (23-13), Lefty Williams (22-14), Dickie Kerr (21-9), and Ed Cicotte (21-10). Yet the Sox finished second to the Cleveland Indians! It was just as well for baseball that Chicago didn't win, because just before the World Series the scandal broke about White Sox players involved in an attempted "fix" of the 1919 Series, and two of the players were Williams and Cicotte, also 20-game winners in 1919." I couldn't have said it better - so I didn't. The four Orioles card above is an art card I purchased on Ebay. The four White Sox cards are 198...

If you've followed my blog to this point, you probably realize that I don't have the highest of standards when it comes to the type or condition of the cards I collect, especially for players from long ago. The Allen & Ginter's Dover Reprint is a perfect example, as if you look closely, it has serrated edges on three sides, so it was removed from a sheet of some sort. That's okay with me. I'm not likely to ever seek (and pay for) a vintage card of Cap Anson or other relatively old time players. Meanwhile, I thoroughly enjoy reprints and other post-playing career commemorative cards such as Baseball Immortals and TCMA's Baseball's Greatest cards. The first card (top row, left to right) is a Dover Reprint Allen & Ginter's mini; followed by a 1961 Fleer; and an 87 Baseball Immortals (SSPC HoF). Middle row features an 82 TCMA; Space; and a 94 Upper Deck from the Ken Burns "Baseball" documentary. I highly recommend this 9-p...

Sparky Anderson managed the National League Cincinnati Reds from 1970 - 1978, and then the American League Detroit Tigers from 1979 - 1995. During this time he led the Reds to four pennants and two World Series titles, and the Tigers to one pennant and one World Series title, becoming the first manager to win the World Series in both leagues. Anderson's overall record of 2194 wins (currently 6th all-time), 1838 losses, and two ties resulted in a winning percentage of .545. During Anderson's tenure with the Reds they became known as the Big Red Machine, a team that dominated the National League. The 75 and 76 Reds teams are still widely recognized as being among the best in baseball history. Those teams featured the "Great Eight'" consisting of Pete Rose, Ken Griffey, Sr., Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, George Foster, Dave Concepcion, and Cesar Geronimo. The 75 and 76 Reds are the only National League team to win back-to-back World Series in the last 75...

Wow! Seven pennants and four World Series titles, all with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1954 through 1976 - what an amazing career! Alston's managerial record of 2040 - 1613 with five ties resulted a winning percentage of .558. Currently ninth in all-time managerial wins, he only had four losing years. Truly amazing! What's also interesting about Alston is he signed 23 one-year contracts with the team. His MLB career consisted of one game and one at-bat with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1936. He spent 19 years in the minors as a player and/or manager before beginning his major league HoF career. Alston managed the National League All-Star team to seven victories, and he was selected Manager of the Year six times. Top row: 67, 70, and 71 Topps cards. Middle row: Topps 73 and 74 cards with (then future) HoFer Tommy Lasorda; and a 75 Topps team card. Bottom row: 87 Baseball Immortals (SSPC HoF); space; and a 2001 Fleer Greats of the Game card. You might thin...