i went for blue on black friday

it's been well over seven months since black friday, so i am a bit unsure why it has taken so long for me to post about some of the cards i purchased that day.  especially since one of the cards i bought on ebay that day was this 1952 bowman duke snider card

it was cheap, thanks to some rounded corners, scuffing, and a bit of paper loss, but to me it looks the way vintage ought to look.  that is a pretty card.

i have been on the lookout for a 1972 topps venezuelan steve garvey card for a long time, but have only seen one come up for sale in that time. it was prohibitively expensive.  on the other hand, i picked up this 1977 topps venezuelan davey lopes card

for what i thought was a reasonable price.  these cards are really thin, with nothing on the back, by the way.

most of my black friday shopping was done on comc, where i picked up a 1950 bowman bruce edwards card

along with a 1951 topps blue back

ralph branca card

this was my first blue back - there are only three dodgers in the blue back set, and they seem to be a bit tougher to find than the red backs.

i found some post cards - 1961 post john roseboro

1961 post larry sherry

and 1962 post stan williams

that weren't butchered too badly by the scissor wielding children of the 60's and gladly added them to my cart.

it wasn't all vintage, however, as i purchased a couple of 1983 permagraphics cards of pedro guerrero

and fernando valenzuela

along with a 1983 topps glossy send-in valenzuela

i am pretty sure i have this card already, as i sent in wrappers for these sets pretty regularly, but i bought it anyway because it didn't look familiar.  i still haven't checked to see if it's a double or not.

the last couple of cards are blue and shiny.  from 2012 bowman, i grabbed the matt kemp

and duke snider

blue sapphire rookie reprint cards.  my black friday duke purchases spanned 60 years, now that i think about it.

this was money well spent without getting up early and fighting the crowds - i think i'll make a habit of 'blue' friday...

sunday morning target dodgers - featuring not the spanish armada, but rather mexico's almada

it's sunday. that means more cards from a sheet from the 1990 target dodger giveaway set.  15 cards to be exact.  no, actually 14 because one of these guys gets a double dipper post later today.

mel almada

almada, an outfielder from sonora, mexico (although he went to high school in la), joined the dodgers during the 1939 season and played in 39 games for them during that campaign.  one of those games was the 23-inning tie between the dodgers and the braves, in which almada was 0 for 9 while playing the entire game in centerfield.

stan andrews

andrews was a catcher for the braves who also appeared in the 1939 23-inning contest (he struck out as a pinch-hitter in the 7th inning).  he later joined the dodgers for four games in the 1944 season and returned for 21 more in 1945 before heading to the phillies to finish out that season and his career.

marv breeding

speaking of finishing careers, breeding's came to a close after he joined the dodgers during their 1963 championship season.  he was acquired from the senators in july of '63 for ed roebuck and hit .167 in 20 games as a dodger over the remainder of the season.  although he continued to play in the minors through 1968, breeding never made it back to the majors.

tom brennan

brennan was taken by the indians with the 4th overall pick in the first round of the 1974 draft. he debuted for the tribe in 1981 and pitched for them until joining the white sox in 1984.  for the 1985 season, he joined the dodgers and was 1-3 in 12 games.  he did get his only big league hit while wearing dodger blue that year, although he did not pitch in the postseason.

chuck dressen

dressen managed the reds for a few seasons in the 1930's and then didn't get another chance at managing until he took over the dodgers in 1951.  he led the team to the playoff with the giants, but finished second in the national league thanks to the shot heard 'round the world.  in 1952 and 1953, dressen led the team to the pennant, although the dodgers were not able to beat the yankees in the world series either year.  after that, dressen wanted a long-term contract, while walter o'malley only believed in one-year deals.  so, walter alston took over and dressen moved on.  he did serve as a coach on alston's squad later in the decade, but more importantly, managed the senators, braves, and tigers before passing away during the 1966 season.

joe ferguson

one of my favorite double dippers, ferguson broke in with the dodgers in 1970, and played catcher and outfield for them until he was traded to the cardinals for reggie smith during the 1976 season.  ferguson returned to the dodgers in 1978 when rafael landestoy was dealt to the astros.  perhaps ferguson's greatest play was when he, as a right fielder, cut in front of jimmy wynn in game 1 of the 1974 world series to catch reggie jackson's fly ball and then nailed sal bando at the plate to prevent the a's from taking a two-run lead.  of course, ferguson also struck out to end that game.

weldon henley

henley had been with the philadelphia a's for three seasons before the superbas took him in the 1906 rule v draft.  in 1907, henley appeared in 7 games for brooklyn, all as a starter, and went 1-5 with a 3.05 era and 5 complete games.

duster mails

mails pitched for the robins in 1915 and 1916, and went 0-1 each season.  he did not appear in the 1916 world series for the robins, but did pitch against them in the 1920 fall classic as a member of the indians.

al maul

maul pitched for the 1899 superbas as part of a 15-year major league career.  the 1895 era champion was 2-0 for brooklyn in just 4 games pitched.

bob mcgraw

mcgraw pitched for the robins in the 1925, 1926, and 1927 seasons, although he only pitched in one game for brooklyn in 1927 before being traded to the cardinals.  he was 9-16 in 34 games for the robins during his time in brooklyn.

gene michael

michael was one of the players (bob bailey being the other) that the dodgers received from the pirates in exchange for maury wills following the 1966 season.  he played for the dodgers for just one season, however, before his contract was purchased by the yankees.  in that season, michael hit just .202 in 98 games at shortstop.  michael spent 7 seasons with the yankees and one with the tigers before retiring as a player, and later became a manager and general manager for the yankees.

german rivera

interesting that rivera is listed as an infielder on his card when he played nothing but third base for the dodgers in 1983 and 1984, his two seasons with the club.  in that time, rivera hit .266 in 107 games.  he was dealt to the astros for enos cabell in 1985.

myron white

i told myron white's dodger story before, since he was a member of the 1978 club who had a 7 game big league career.  there's not much more to say than that.

dick williams

williams, the hall of fame manager, played for the dodgers from 1951 to 1956, except for their championship season of 1955 which he spent in the minors.  he was selected off of waivers during the 1956 season by the orioles and went on to play for the indians, red sox, and a's, along with some return trips to baltimore before retiring as a player and moving on to managing.  as a manager, williams won four pennants and two world series.

sunday morning target dodgers

this week's sheet from the 1990 target dodgers giveaway set is a nice one.  two members of the 1978 topps dodger team, plus this guy - jackie robinson

what more can one say about robinson?  he is one of the best things about being a dodger fan, although he certainly does not only belong to the dodgers.

reggie smith

smith is the first of two players on the sheet who were members of the team of my youth.  he was one of four dodgers to hit at least 30 home runs in 1977, the same year that he led the league with a .427 on base percentage.  injuries slowed him down beginning in 1979, but he still was able to start in the 1980 all-star game held in los angeles.  that's the all-star game patch on his left shoulder, as a matter of fact.

lee lacy

lacy was a dodger double dipper, but i've already covered that.  i've also visited and re-visited his career a number of times, thanks to his status as a member of the 1978 topps dodgers, and he was also the former dodger who was signing in autograph alley the last time i was able to get back to chavez ravine. he was the utility player on the team of my youth, spending time everywhere on the diamond except for the mound, behind the plate, and at first base.

enos cabell

cabell finished his major league career with the dodgers in 1986.  he had been acquired from the astros during the 1985 season, and he hit .292 for the dodgers down the stretch.  initially, the dodgers moved him back to what i considered to be his 'normal' position of third base (he had been playing first for the astros since 1981 but spent the five seasons before that at third), but he wound up back at first after the dodgers picked up bill madlock.

doug camilli

camilli was a second generation dodger, as his dad dolph had played for brooklyn in the 1930's and 40's.  doug was the dodgers' back up catcher in the early 1960's, appearing in a total of 163 games over the course of five seasons.  he hit .204 with la and caught sandy koufax's third no-hitter before moving on to the senators prior to the 1965 season.

oris hockett

hockett broke into the big leagues with the dodgers in 1938, and hit .329 for them in 21 games.  he followed that up in 1939 with a .231 average in only 9 games, however, and never played for brooklyn again.  he resurfaced with the indians in 1941, and even made the all-star team in 1944 as a member of the tribe.  he finished his big league career with the white sox in 1945, which must be when the photo used on his card was taken.

steve howe

howe was the second of four consecutive dodgers to win the rookie of the year award from 1979 through 1982.  he followed rick sutcliffe to receive the award in 1980, and preceded fernando valenzuela and steve sax, the winners in 1981 and 1982, respectively.  he spent 4-plus seasons over 6 years with the dodgers from 1980 - 1985 (he was suspended for the entire 1984 season), and also pitched for the twins, rangers, and yankees.  during his career, howe was suspended from baseball 7 times due to various drug related offenses, including a permanent ban in 1992.  that ban was overturned, however, and he returned to pitch for the yankees until they released him during the 1996 season after he was arrested at jfk with a loaded gun in his suitcase.  ten years later, in 2006, howe was killed in a single vehicle auto accident when his truck rolled in the california desert.  i best remember steve as the guy who was on the mound when the dodgers won the 1981 world series.

bill joyce

joyce was a third baseman and hit .245 in 97 games for the brooklyn grooms in 1892, one of eight seasons he spent playing in the major leagues.  the last three of those seasons, 1896-98, he was the player-manager for the new york giants.  his .435 career on base percentage ranks 7th all-time, although in his lone season with brooklyn, his obp was 'just' .392.

doug mcweeny

mcweeny pitched for the robins for four seasons, from 1926-29, amassing a record of 33-45.  his 4 shutouts led the league in 1928, but so did his 114 walks.

rip repulski

repulski was one of the players the dodgers received prior to the 1959 season from the phillies in exchange for george 'sparky' anderson.  rip's real name was eldon, by the way, and this native minnesotan appeared in 53 games and won a world series ring with the dodgers in 1959.  he returned to la for the 1960 season, but was dealt to the red sox after just a few games.

ferdie schupp

schupp was acquired by the robins in march of 1921 by way of a trade with the cardinals.  he appeared in 20 games for brooklyn, and was 3-4 with a 4.57 era in them.  he is best remembered for his time spent with the new york giants, including 1917, when he was 21-7 with a 1.95 era.

billy sullivan

the dodgers purchased sullivan's contract from the tigers early in the 1942 season.  he wound up playing in 43 games for brooklyn, hitting .267 and serving as a backup catcher.  sullivan was out of the majors from 1943-46 while serving in the navy, but returned to the big leagues with the pirates in 1947.

tom sunkel

sunkel had pitched for the cardinals and giants before joining the dodgers for one season in 1944.  he was 1-3 for brooklyn in 12 appearances.

stan williams

williams began his big league career with the dodgers in 1958.  he threw a 2-hit shutout in his first major league start (second big league appearance), and later was named to the 1960 national league all-star team.  he was a part of the dodgers' 1959 world championship club (he appeared in relief in one game of the world series that year), but missed out on their 1963 title as he was traded to the yankees for bill skowron prior to the start of that season.

clarence wright

clarence here actually went by his middle name of eugene, or at least by a shortened version of it.  big gene wright broke into the major leagues with the superbas in 1901.  he made one start, and threw a complete game, allowing only 1 run.  he also went 1 for 3 at the plate.  that game would be his only start and appearance for the brooklyn franchise, as he somehow wound up with his hometown cleveland bronchos for the 1902 season.

sunday morning target dodgers

lots of good dodgers on this week's sheet.  these 14 shared space on the same sheet as double dipper lloyd waner.  let's have a look.

first up, is the penguin - ron cey

what can i say about cey that i haven't said before?  not too much, i don't think.  he is one of three dodgers from the team of my youth to appear on this particular sheet.

eddie ainsmith

ainsmith was born in russia, and while not the first russian born player, he enjoyed the longest career of any to date.  he caught walter johnson as a member of the senators for 9 seasons from 1910 through 1918 before moving on to a number of different teams.  one of those teams was the brooklyn robins, for whom he appeared in 2 games in 1923, amassing 10 plate appearances and 2 hits.

joe black

black won the nl rookie of the year award in 1952 thanks to his 15-4 record and 2.15 era in 56 games, 54 of which he appeared in as a reliever.  he also finished third in the mvp voting, although he received as many first place votes as did hank sauer, the winner of the award.  he pitched for the dodgers in both the 1952 and 1953 world series, but unfortunately for black, he was traded to the reds during the 1955 season and missed out on brooklyn's lone world series title.

dick egan

egan pitched in 20 games for the dodgers in 1967, his last of four seasons in the major leagues.  he has remained in the game as a coach and scout, mostly for the marlins and tigers. i like this card because of the angle of the photo, which gives a good view of the left field pavilion.

kirk gibson

gibby!  gibson won the mvp award in 1988 and hit a big home run for the dodgers as we all know, and that absolves him in my mind from trying to beat the dodgers as the diamondbacks' manager.

bill hallman

hallman appeared in 134 games for the bridegrooms in 1898.  he also played for the phillies, browns, a's, quakers, and something called the cleveland blues.  according to baseball reference, he is the only player to have increased his batting average 9 years in a row.

gene hermanski

hermanski played for the dodgers in the 1940's, debuting in 1943 and returning to the majors in 1946.  he was a dodger until 1951 when he was traded to the cubs in the andy pafko deal.  aside from helping the dodgers win pennants in 1947 and 1949, hermanski's career highlight was likely the three-home run game he had as a dodger in 1948.

tom lasorda

lasorda was the manager of the team of my youth, as well as the team of my early adult years.  from late in the 1976 season until the middle of the 1996 campaign, he was at the helm of the team.  i do not know why he had tom niedenfuer pitch to jack clark.

rick monday

monday was the center fielder on the team of my youth, and like cey up top, i have written about him quite a bit.  he may well be the only player honored with a solo bobblehead giveaway in which he is wearing a different team's uniform.

jerry nops

the orioles traded nops to the superbas prior to the 1900 season.  he was 4-4 in 9 games for brooklyn and then returned to baltimore for the following season.

harley payne

payne pitched for the bridegrooms in 1896, 1897, and one game in 1898.  he was 29-33 in 75 games, 67 of which were starts.  it's hard to see in the photo, but he also had a fine moustache.

jerry royster

royster was signed by the dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1970, and made his big league debut for them in 1973.  he had cups of coffee with the dodgers in 1974 and 1975 as well, amassing 13 hits in 29 games over those three seasons.  prior to 1976, he was dealt to the braves in the dusty baker deal and had several productive, or at least full, seasons there.  he retired after the 1988 season and eventually went into coaching.  he later replaced former teammate davey lopes as the brewers' manager in 2002.

bill singer

singer won 20 games for the dodgers in 1969, and later won 20 for the angels after being dealt in the andy messersmith/frank robinson trade.  he also threw a no-hitter in 1970, and was the first pitcher to earn a save after the statistic became official in 1969.

woody williams

woodrow wilson 'woody' williams was named for the 28th president of the united states - woodrow wilson - although he was born prior to wilson winning the white house.  for the dodgers, he played shortstop and third base in 1938, hitting .333 in 51 at bats.  williams returned to the minors and returned to the major leagues in 1943 with the reds and was their regular second baseman in 1944 and 1945.