so it begins - the (mostly) regular issue steve garvey binders

i've got essentially four full binders of steve garvey cards and assorted items (not to mention my garvey posters, prints, first baseman's glove, louisville slugger bat, and signed balls).  two of them feature oddball items (which i've shown over the past few months) and the other two feature (for the most part) standard sized cards.  over the course of the next unknown amount of time, i'm going to show you the contents of those two binders.

here we go - page 1:

this first sheet features:

1. 1971 dell today's team stamp
2. 1971 o-pee-chee
3. 1971 topps
4. 1971 topps dodger team
5. 1972 topps dodger team
6. 1972 topps
7. 1973 o-pee-chee
8. 1973 topps dodger team
9. 1973 topps

here are the backs, just remember that they are reversed since i just flipped the sheet over to scan it

a couple of notes about this sheet - i obviously decided to include team cards (topps only) as the garv is in the front row of the 1971 card, the third row of the 1972 card, and the middle row of the 1973 card.  also, the dell today's team stamp is also sometimes referred to as the 'mlb official stamp'.  the only garvey release i am missing from this period is the 1972 topps venezuelan stamp. good luck to me.

here's the second sheet:

featuring:

1. 1974 o-pee-chee
2. 1974 topps
3. 1974 topps dodger team
4. 1975 hostess
5. 1975 kellogg's
6. 1975 o-pee-chee
7. 1975 o-pee-chee 1974 mvp's
8. 1975 o-pee-chee 1974 nlcs
9. 1975 topps

and the backs:

in case you're wondering, garvey's in the middle row of the team card.  here i'm missing only the 1975 hostess twinkie card (it has a black bar on the back, which the regular hostess card - as seen above - does not).

this is the third sheet of the binder:

featuring:

1. 1975 topps 1974 mvp's
2. 1975 topps dodger team
3. 1975 topps 1974 nlcs
4. 1975 topps mini
5. 1975 topps mini 1974 mvp's
6. 1975 topps mini 1974 nlcs
7. 1976 hostess
8. 1976 kellogg's
9. 1976 o-pee-chee

these are the backs

garvey's still in the middle row on the team card.  you might notice a couple of things here.  first, i am missing the 1976 hostess twinkie card (again with a black bar on the back), and the 1975 sspc card is not where it should be. instead, i have a 1976 o-pee-chee card there.  that's because i used to catalog the sspc card as a 1976 release (which is how it's listed on the official beckett garvey checklist).  since starting this blog, however, i have come to refer to that set as the 1975 sspc set based on the copyright date on the back of the cards.

so, there you have the first three sheets of cards in my basic steve garvey card collection.  there will be more.  lots more.  stay tuned.

cards that should have been from the garvey binders

here are a couple more pages from my steve garvey oddball binder.  these two pages features cards that should have been of my favorite player. most i have created, but there are a couple that i have obtained from others - bob lemke and mrmopar.

the last 1969 topps card is the one that bob lemke made, while i lifted the first 1970 topps card from mrmopar.  i am partial to my 1970 topps card that should have been, as well as the 1978 topps record breaker.

turning chris cannizzaro candids into cards that should have been

a long time ago, johngy asked for a 1973 topps chris cannizzaro card.  i tried to oblige, but what resulted was a pretty crappy colorization of a black and white photo.  then, about a year and a half ago, reader eric alerted me to some photos from 1972 and 1973 made available by topps that showed cannizzaro in a dodger uni.  color photos at that!

i grabbed the images and just recently spent some time trying to improve upon my first shot at creating the 1973 topps chris cannizzaro card that should have been.  here's what i came up with.

the first one and this next one suffer from close-cropping in an attempt to avoid the watermark/avoid trying to photoshop the watermark out

this third one might be my favorite, thanks to the holman stadium background

i did spend some time getting rid of the watermark on that one.

same goes for this one

a lot of these photos look like they came from candlestick

on two separate occasions

here he's back in vero beach

and here's the last one

i suppose i should have used some of these for a 1974 topps card that should have been, since he was omitted from that set, too, after spending the 1973 season with the dodgers.  heck, i should have photoshopped a couple of them into padres unis and made a better version of his 1975 topps card as well.

jim fairey was a dodger double dipper

[this is the sixtyfirst installment in the double dippers posts.  here are the previous posts - brett butler, omar daal, eric young, nick willhite, chris gwynn, mickey hatcher, dave anderson, don zimmer, rafael landestoy, dave hansen, jose vizcaino, hideo nomo, greg maddux, mike maddux, jon garland, chan ho park, vicente romo, gene mauch, denny lewallyn, von joshua, joe moeller, dioner navarro, rudy seanez, bart shirley, randy wolf, ismael valdes, bobby castillo, mike devereaux, pete richert, jay johnstone, jesse orosco, lee lacy, giovanni carrara, jeff weaver, ted sizemore,  orel hershiser, tom goodwin, joe ferguson, eddie murray, matt luke, ken mcmullen, tim wallach, jerry grote, don sutton, ralph branca, todd hundley, elmer dessens, guillermo mota, joe beckwith, jamie hoffmann, babe herman, joe medwick, juan castro, ron perranoski, clyde king, paul waner, hughie jennings, ron negray, broadway aleck smith, george smith, and johnny cooney.]

jim fairey.  i've featured him on the blog a couple of times before, and both times, his 1968 topps rookie card figured in.  might as well make it three for three.

fairey obviously shares the space with jack billingham, although he did get a card of his own in 1969.  by then however, he was with the expos as his first stint with the dodgers ended after 99 games played in 1968 and a .199 batting average to show for it.

fairey played for the expos through the 1972 season and into spring training of 1973.  he was released by the team in late march that spring, and was picked up by the dodgers.  here's his 1973 topps card, which was printed too soon to capture his return to the dodgers.

fairey's four years in montreal resulted in 290 games played and a .245 batting average, by the way.  if only topps had put fairey's card in the last series, maybe they would have taken the time to make some changes to his uniform.  perhaps it might have looked like this

actually, it probably would have looked worse.

fairey only played in 10 games for the dodgers in 1973, but he did cement his status as a double dipper, so at least that's something.  his low game count was obviously not enough to warrant inclusion in the 1974 set, but i went ahead and made this card that should have been anyway.

the photo comes from the great steve's baseball photography pages, and would have fit right in with the 1974 set, i believe.  even though the photo is from 1968 (fairey wore a different number during his second go-round with the dodgers).

i do have one other card of fairey's that really was made, and that is his 1990 target card

here's to you jim fairey - another dodger double dipper!

another dodger double dipper

it has once again been a while since i have looked at a player that played for the dodgers, left the franchise for another, and then returned to wear dodger blue again.  double dippers, i call them.  i was reminded of this when i did the recent 'evolution of the shortstop' post which featured a double dipping maury wills. this post isn't about wills, however - he will have to wait.  this one is about ron perranoski.

[this is the fiftyfourth installment in the double dippers posts.  here are the previous posts - brett butler, omar daal, eric young, nick willhite, chris gwynn, mickey hatcher, dave anderson, don zimmer, rafael landestoy, dave hansen, jose vizcaino, hideo nomo, greg maddux, mike maddux, jon garland, chan ho park, vicente romo, gene mauch, denny lewallyn, von joshua, joe moeller, dioner navarro, rudy seanez, bart shirley, randy wolf, ismael valdes, bobby castillo, mike devereaux, pete richert, jay johnstone, jesse orosco, lee lacy, giovanni carrara, jeff weaver, ted sizemore,  orel hershiser, tom goodwin, joe ferguson, eddie murray, matt luke, ken mcmullen, tim wallach, jerry grote, don sutton, ralph branca, todd hundley, elmer dessens, guillermo mota, joe beckwith, jamie hoffmann, babe herman, joe medwick, and juan castro.]

perranoski joined the dodger organization in 1960 when he was traded by the cubs in the don zimmer deal.  he made his major league debut in april of 1961 against the pirates, striking out the first batter he ever faced, and getting the third batter he faced, roberto clemente, to ground into a double play.  here's perranoski's 1961 topps card

perranoski quickly established himself as one of the best relievers in the game - he made only one start in his entire career (in his rookie season) - saving 20 and 21 games (even though the save wasn't an official stat back then) in his second and third seasons, respectively. he led the league in appearances both those years, and even won 16 games in relief in 1963.  his 16-3 record that year led the league in winning percentage, and earned him a 4th place finish in the mvp voting.  obviously, he was a big part in the dodgers' pennant winning season, and in his first world series appearance, perranoski struck out clete boyer to save game 2.

perranoski again led the league in appearances in 1967, but was traded to the twins following the season in the deal that netted the dodgers zoilo versalles and mudcat grant.  as a twin, perranoski twice led the american league in saves (31 in 1969 and 34 in 1970), and even garnered some cy young award votes in 1970.

in 1971, the tigers picked him up on waivers, and so he finished the season in detroit.  here's his 1972 topps card as proof

perranoski remained with the tigers as the 1972 season began.  after a poor showing in the first half of the season (0-1 with a 7.71 era in 17 appearances), the tigers released him.  a week later, the dodgers signed him to a contract, and perranoski returned to la.  perranoski only appeared in 9 games for the dodgers during his second stint with the team, but he was 2-0 with a 2.70 era in those appearances.  unfortunately, topps did not include him in the 1973 set (individually, anyway - he does appear on the team card in the top row, upper left).

anyway, here is what his card that should have been might have looked like.

the dodgers released perranoski at the end of the season, but he wasn't done.  the angels signed him, and he finished out his career with 8 appearances for them in 1973.

of course, perranoski later returned to the dodger organization once again, becoming the pitching coach under tommy lasorda after red adams retired.  unfortunately, he is currently working for the giants in some capacity.

here's to you ron perranoski, you dodger double dipper!

a helping of leftovers - more ttm successes to be thankful for

well, i hope the turkey and football and pie and gelatinous cranberry from a can has served you well today.  i am taking another moment to be thankful for some through the mail successes.  these are way down the list of things i am truly thankful for, but they rate fairly high in terms of collecting related things to be thankful for.  hopefully that makes sense.

here's a 1961 topps jim golden card

not sure why i hadn't sent a request to golden before a couple of weeks ago.  he may be best remembered for being one of the guys that the dodgers got from philadelphia in exchange for sparky anderson.  he was also traded for nellie fox later in his career.

thanks jim!

another former dodger, chad kreuter, signed a couple of cards for me a couple of years ago.  here's his 2001 topps card

and his 2002 topps card

kreuter may be best remembered for being the first dodgers since (i believe) reggie smith to go into the stands after a fan.  in kreuter's case, a fan in chicago stole his hat, and chad wanted it back.  it was the incident that led to kevin malone being referred to as 'the sheriff', as i recall.

thanks chad!

now for a 2005 topps update & highlights blake dewitt card

dewitt signed that one for me shortly after he left la for chicago.

thanks blake!

from one blake to another, here are a couple of casey blake cards that the former dodger signed for me through the mail.

2009 topps allen & ginter

looks nice!

2010 topps

thanks casey!

the last few are of the non-dodger variety, and are mostly due to my desire for more signed 1978 topps cards. first, though, there is this 1973 topps don kessinger card

followed, of course, by his 1978 topps card

love the lapels, by the way.  kessinger was named player-manager of the white sox for the 1979 season, and so he got two cards in the 1979 set, which i thought was pretty cool.  topps had done the same for frank robinson in 1975, but for some reason only gave him the team card in 1976 and 1977.  silly topps.

thanks don!

here's kessinger's teammate and subordinate, eric soderholm

soderholm was the first overall pick of the 1968 draft (january secondary) when he was taken by the twins.  appropriately, he also signed a 1976 topps card from his tenure in minnesota.

off the top of my head, i think this brings the number of former number 1 overall picks in my ttm autograph collection to 7 - soderholm, rick monday, tim foli, floyd bannister, bill almon, tim belcher, and josh hamilton - although i think most don't consider the secondary draft to be a true number 1 overall pick.  i think of that particular draft to be the one wherein the dodgers picked davey lopes in the 2nd round.  but i digress.

thanks eric!

back on topic - here's a 1978 topps bill castro card

and a 1978 topps card of his teammate, lary sorensen

thanks bill and lary!

more through the mail successes to be thankful for

as i have done in previous years on the blog, i am taking some time today to be thankful for through the mail autograph successes.  it's nice of these players to have taken a bit of time and signed some cards for free, and i appreciate it.

jim fregosi was an early request in my ttm infancy. he signed a 1978 topps card for me, but when i came into a large lot of 1960's angel cards, i decided to go back to the well for a couple more autographs.  the former angel player and manager signed a 1968 topps card

and another 1978 topps card for me.

i had, up to this point, never asked any questions (other than 'would you please sign and return the enclosed cards' in a request, but i did ask fregosi about a black armband that the angels wore at some point during the 1962 season.  he didn't answer, but instead signed my letter of request.

i think i will try to ask don lee and lee thomas in future requests, unless anyone out there knows tha answer.  

thanks jim!

i also went back to ron fairly for a couple more autos.  i had previously received a 1962 topps and a 1978 o-pee-chee signed by fairly, but hoped to add a 1978 topps for my partially signed set, as well as a card from his expos days.  and so i did.

thanks ron!

ben oglivie also signed a 1973 topps card

and a 1978 topps card for me

i realized only around the time that i started this blog that i had been pronouncing his name incorrectly for about 30 years.  i would say 'ogle-vee' instead of 'oh-gli-vee'.  if you had asked me to spell his name, i would have swapped the 'i' and the 'l'.  i can spell 'yastrzemski' and 'mientkiewicz', as well as 'grudzielanek', but not 'oglivie' apparently.  

thanks ben!

as you may or may not know, most of my non-dodger ttm requests come from the 1978 topps set.  i have maybe about 250 cards signed from the set.  i am not really trying to complete a signed set, but i add to it when i can.  over the last few months, i have seen quite a few players from that set being added to the sportscardforum database.  that is good for me, as i have a bunch of doubles from the set that i can send out for autographs.

among the players who have signed for me in the last few months are:

jack brohamer

paul dade

jim mason

duffy dyer

john curtis

kiko garcia

chris knapp

ron schueler

dave revering

bill stein

and bob lacey

wait - what?  a 1982 topps card?  i had sent a '78 to lacey, but he returned a signed '82 instead.  no worries - i sent that off to patp and sent another '78 to lacey.  this time, there was no card confusion.

thanks jack and paul and jim and duffy and john and kiko and chris and ron and dave and bill and bob!

and happy thanksgiving to all!