Bill's Baseball Card Blog

1994 Ted Williams "The Negro Leagues" In my Unique Cards album, I have a "Barrier Breaker" page for players (and others) that were instrumental in breaking a barrier or being known/credited/etc. for something really notable. I start with Moses Fleetwood Walker, who as noted in my first Syracuse Baseball post, is credited with being one of the first African-Americans to play MLB, and last, until Jackie Robinson in 1947. Walker was a catcher with Toledo Blue Stockings in the American Association in 1884. Unsure. Beer card? On the back it says "Test Card/50." Along with her husband, Effa Manley co-owned the Newark Eagles baseball franchise in the Negro leagues from 1935 to 1946 and was sole owner after his death. Throughout that time, she served as the team's business manager and fulfilled many of her husband's duties as treasurer of the Negro National League. She was the first woman inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, a reflec...

  Life has been busy so I haven't posted in quite a while. I've also been waiting for some cards to arrive so I could complete this post. Here's my post on "did you know they once were a Red"? Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson pitched one game for the Reds in 1916 (9-inning complete game win!). He also managed the Reds from 1916-1918 to a 164-176 W-L record. 1961 Fleer #59. Olympic gold medalist and professional football player Jim Thorpe played 77 games for the Reds in 1917 (for manager Christy Matthewson). He batted .247 with 6 HR and 36 RBIs. He was previously featured here  with other 2-sport stars. 1988 The Sporting News, Conlon Collection, Series 4. Curt Flood played 8 games for the Reds in 1956 - 1957 before he was unwisely traded to the Cardinals where he went on to have a borderline Hall of Fame career. He was also featured here  for being a barrier breaker. Art card #NNO. From 1958-1960 Don Newcombe had a 24-21 W-L record with a 3.64 ERA with the Reds.  19...