Night Owl Cards

The results are in for Roy White's best 1970s card. It was a fairly close race between the 1971, 1978 and 1976 entries. Two cool action shots and a photo of a guy with a lot of hair. But in the end, the 1971 card received the most votes (8-to-6-to-5) and will now reside in the "best of the '70s section" of the sidebar. I thank those who voted. I realize White isn't as well-known as some of the other guys, but he means just as much to me as some of the stars from that decade. Now, it's fitting that I'm showing a Roy White card because I'm getting ready to reveal the other half of the contents from the package from Jerry. The first half were all cards from my wants -- either Dodgers or set needs. The second half was this ... ... and this ... ... and this ... ... and this ... That's right. He sent me 50 Don Mattingly cards. Jerry likes to live dangerously -- sending a Yankee hater Yankee cards. But that's not telling the w...

(*Sigh*) Nice try, Mr. Oswalt. Hope you're around for Game 6. Anyway, ever since Roy Oswalt came over to the Phillies late in the regular season, there's been a lot of talk about the name "Roy." When you've got two dominant pitchers on the same team with the same first name, everyone falls all over themselves to come up with a cutesy title for the two of them. Like you, I've suffered through the teeth-grating attempts at cleverness. And I've never heard more talk about the name Roy since the mid-1970s when Roy Scheider needed a bigger boat and Roy Clark was a-pickin'-and-a-grinnin'. I was a mere lad of 10 back then, and the name Roy meant a lot to me. It's the reason why when I hear the name, I don't think of Oswalt. And I don't think of Halladay (better be on your game Thursday, sir). I don't even think of this guy. I don't think of Roy Smalley, Roy Face or Roy McMillan either. Instead, the person that I ...

I've mentioned before how much I like horizontal cards and that I wish someone would issue an all-horizontal set someday -- something like 1960 Topps , but with all action shots. I'm not sure why I find horizontal cards so pleasing. It might be because the cards are much like the effect you receive from a wide-screen TV or computer. The image just seems bigger, more life-like, more panoramic. Another reason is because during my peak collecting period, from 1975-1990, Topps didn't issue horizontal player cards. It wasn't until Upper Deck arrived and started putting out horizontal player cards that Topps came back with them in 1991. I thought I'd show some of my favorite horizontal cards, in no particular order, although I did save my favorite for last. Also, I'm breaking this post up into two parts. Since horizontal cards are so commonplace now, it's too difficult to search for my favorites from 1992 to the present. So, this part will be the old-school...

I'm going to refrain from posting any unpleasantness about the Yankees tonight. Even though the Yankee Stadium lovefest was a bit much to endure, I just don't have it in me to go through a litany of all I don't like about them. So, instead, I'll talk about the fond memories I have of the Yankees. All two of them. The first is Roy White. I always liked him. He played during an era when the Yankees weren't very good, and then when the Yankees grew into perennial champions in the late-1970s, he remained above all the petty, obnoxious garbage that went on with that team back then. He was a quiet, consistent performer, much like Bernie Williams, although Williams had more talent. Seeing the huge ovation Williams received from the fans Sunday just goes to show you -- you don't have to be a jerk to be popular in New York. The second memory is my one-and-only trip to Yankee Stadium. It was the day before my birthday. We went down to the game on an overnight visit...