1960s IN-ACTION: 1961 MINNIE MINOSO

Up on the blog today, we have a 1961 "In-Action" card for HOFer Minnie Minoso, from my upcoming Series 3 of the series available soon:

Nice shot of the "Cuban Comet" from the early part of the 1960s, doing what he did best.

I'm so happy that Minoso is finally a Hall of Famer, and I always felt the stunts in 1976 and 1980 may have even hurt his chances of getting into Cooperstown.
From 1951 to 1961 he had a wonderful Major League career, leading the league in stolen bases three times, triples three times, and hits and doubles once each, while also driving in over 100 runs four times and topping 20 homers four times.
Eight times in that span he would top a .300 batting average, and in 1951 many consider him the true American League Rookie of the Year when he hit .326 split between the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox, while topping the league in triples with 14 and stolen bases with 31.
Along the way he was named to seven All-Star games, winning three Gold Gloves as well, funny enough finishing fourth in the A.L. MVP race four times.
Of course, 12 years after his last playing days, in 1976, he ended up going 1-for-8 at the plate as a 50 year-old, then coming back in 1980 at the age of 54 and going hitless in two at-bats.
Nevertheless, Minoso finished his career with a .298 average, with 1963 hits over 6579 at-bats, along with 186 homers and 205 stolen bases while also topping 1000 runs scored and RBIs, 1136 & 1023 respectively.

If only he didn't have to wait until his age 27 season to show the ENTIRE country what he could do on a ball field.

 

THE WHOLE NINE: SERIES 2- CAREER-CAPPER: 1961 DON NEWCOMBE

Time today to spotlight my 1961 "career-capper" for Don Newcombe, baseball's first Cy Young Award winner, from my recent custom set "The Whole Nine: Series 2":

Newcombe finished up and excellent 12-year career with 36 games split during the 1960 season with the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians, posting a record of 6-9 with a 4.48 ERA over 136.2 innings at the age of 34.

He'd put in a year in the Minors in 1961 with Spokane before playing one game overseas in Japan with Chunichi in 1962, thus ending his playing career.

The N.L. Rookie of the Year in 1949 when he posted 17 wins for the Dodgers, he followed that up with 19 wins in 1950 before the first of his three 20-win seasons the following year.

Sadly for him, he would spend the next two years in the military, losing two peak seasons to serving his country before coming back in 1954 when he would go 9-8 over 29 games.

In 1955 he'd be in the 20-win circle once again, helping the Dodgers win the World Series as he would go 20-5 and finishing seventh in the MVP race, the last year without an Award dedicated to pitchers.

And then came 1956...

For Don Newcombe, 1956 was a magical year. He was a monster on the mound, going 27-7 with a 3.06 earned run average and five shutouts and leading the Dodgers to another face-off with the New York Yankees in the World Series.

Not only did that get him the very first Cy Young Award, but it also bagged him a Most Valuable Player Award, thus making him the answer to a clever trivia question: who was the only pitcher to win a Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and M.V.P.? (He would be joined in this by Detroit Tiger pitcher Justin Verlander in 2011).

However, it would be the peak, followed by a quick decline at only 31 years of age, winning 11 games in 1957 before managing just 26 wins over the last three years of his career, which came to a close in 1960 after that split year with the Reds and Indians.

All told, the man won the aforementioned awards while posting 153 wins against just 96 losses, good for a very nice .614 winning percentage, with a 3.57 earned run average and 24 shutouts over 360 games.

BY SPECIAL REQUEST: AIRBRUSHING & THE 1961 BILL KUNKEL CARD

Today on the blog, a fun look at the 1961 Topps Bill Kunkel card, which was brought up recently by my buddy Thomas (Milwaukee Mauler) because of its crazy colorization:

I absolutely love all the old Topps black and white photo colorizations in the 1950s and 1960s sets, and this is one of them!

The poor guy, as his first Topps card turns out to be some cartoon-like image, obviously a black-and-white photo that Topps colored in. Not airbrushing by any means, but most likely hand-painted to the result you see here.

A much more successful card that utilized this technique would be Carl Yastrzemski's rookie card, as well as his 1961 card which was the same image.

On this Kunkel however, it is funny that while the "artist" went into some detail with the signage in the background, he kind of took a massive shortcut when it came time to work on the uniform, leaving it white except for the number "12" just above the waist.

You gotta love this stuff!!!

As for Kunkel, he put three years in the Majors, going 3-4 in his 1961 rookie season with a 5.18 earned run average for the Kansas City Athletics, followed by a no decision year in 1962 when he appeared in only nine games for K.C., capped off by a 1963 season that saw him suit up for the New York Yankees, going 3-2 over 22 games, all in relief, sporting a very nice 2.72 ERA.

After his playing days were over, he turned in quie a successful career as an official both in the Majors and the NBA/ABA.

While he only officiated in basketball for three years, he went on to umpire in the Majors for 17 years, between 1968 and 1984, umpiring a total of 2227 regular season games, including the game in which Harmon Killebrew hit his 500th home run in 1971, Nolan Ryan's third MLB no-hitter in 1974 and the Oakland A's combined no-hitter on September 28th of 1975, when four A's hurlers turned in the gem against the California Angels.

Not too shabby a baseball life!

1960S "IN-ACTION": 1961 HANK AARON

Up on the blog today, my 1961 "In-Action" card for "Hammerin' Hank Aaron", from my recent custom "1960s In-Action" Series 2 set released a couple months back:

Love this image of Aaron at the plate, and it was fun to create a unique 1961-based template to place it into for the set!

As I've stated so many times on this blog, the man was simply out of this world...

Let his numbers do all the talking: 2174 runs scored, 3771 hits, 624 doubles, 98 triples, 755 home runs, 2297 runs batted in, a .305 batting average no less than 21 all-star selections!
Just tremendous!
He also had eight top-5 finishes for MVP, including taking home the award in 1957, as well as three Gold Gloves won consecutively between 1958-1960.
It's incredible to look at his 15 years of topping 100 or more runs scored, 11 seasons of 100 or more runs batted in, five more seasons of 90+ RBI's, and TWENTY STRAIGHT years of 20 or more home runs.

How can he be underrated, yet celebrated so much? Yet it seems to be true.

Just incredible.

"Oh Henry!"

1960's IN-ACTION SPECIAL: 1961 WARREN SPAHN

The next 1960's superstar to get an "In-Action" card in my recent custom set is all-time great Warren Spahn, who I gave the 1961 template to in the initial series:

Just a rearranging of the 1961 card design, imagining what Topps would have done had they been able to incorporate action photography years ahead of the 1971 debut.

The man was amazing, flat out, and by the time he retired in 1965 he posted a 363-245 record, with a 3.09 ERA, 63 shutouts, 28 saves and 2583 strikeouts over 750 appearances, 665 of which were starts.

Oh yeah, he also hit 35 career home runs along with 189 runs batted in with (coincidentally) 363 hits!

And remember he didn’t win his first game until he was 25 years of age, as he served in the military from 1943 to 1945.

His first 20-game season was 1947 (at the age of 26), and he kept right on rolling until his final 20-game season in 1963!

In between, he ended up posting 13 such campaigns, leading the league eight times (with five of those coming consecutively from 1957 to 1961).

Just an incredible talent! Was there anything he couldn’t do?
Once in a lifetime right there...

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1961 TED WILLIAMS

On the blog today, another 1960's "career-capper" from my card set released a couple of years ago celebrating the greats of the game that retired during that decade, this time a 1961 card celebrating perhaps the greatest hitter that ever lived, Ted Williams:

The Boston legend hung them up after the 1960 season, after 19 seasons of extraordinary baseball, losing parts of five seasons to military service, denying us some absolutely bonkers career statistics.

“The Splendid Splinter” was just incredible as a hitter. The last .400 hitter, 521 home runs, a .344 lifetime average with SIX batting titles, and the man missed MULTIPLE years in his prime due to war and his service in the military.
I remember as a kid (nerd alert) I used to love averaging out the three seasons before and after his missed seasons and then factoring them into his final career numbers, and they were insane!
If I remember correctly he would have had somewhere in the neighborhood of 700 home runs, 3500 hits, 2000+ runs scored and runs batted in along with the slugging and on-base percentages that would have made his already monster career just other-worldly!

The man was truly a “hitting-machine”, perhaps the greatest pure hitter ever (or the Babe? Or Cobb? Musial?).

By the way, by today’s rules, Williams should have won SEVEN batting titles, but in 1954 he lost out to the Cleveland Indians Bobby Avila, who hit .341 with the THEN required official at-bats instead of 501 plate appearances.
Williams hit .345 with 526 plate appearances based on his 386 at-bats and 136 walks, but under the rules of the day was denied that seventh title.

 

CUSTOM SPOTLIGHT: "MISSING" 1961 FLEER ALL-TIME GREATS SATCHEL PAIGE

Good day everyone!

Up on the blog today, we have the great Satchel Paige with a "missing" 1961 Fleer "All-Time Greats" card, adding to my Josh Gibson version posted here a couple weeks back:

 

The Paige and Gibson cards were added as a bonus to my 1963 Fleer "Lost Second Series" set released a few months back.

As for Paige, from his start as a 20-year old playing for the Birmingham Black Barons in 1927 to his final Major League appearance as a 58-year old for the Kansas City Athletics, Paige became an American icon not only for his on-field play but for his infectious personality.
Though his career Negro League record is listed as 100-50 over 18-seasons, he won countless other games along the way, as was the usual for the Negro Leagues as they played exhibition and non-league games during gaps in their schedule.
His stories are legend, enough so that by the time the Baseball Hall of Fame got off their ass and finally began electing Negro League all-time greats to Cooperstown, Paige was the very 1st to be so honored.
A 5x time Negro League all-star, 2x American League all-star, Negro League champ in 1942 with the Homestead Grays, and Major League World Champion with the 1948 Cleveland Indians, Paige left a baseball legacy that few could come close to.

CUSTOM SPOTLIGHT: "MISSING" 1961 FLEER ALL-TIME GREATS JOSH GIBSON

When I released my 1963 Fleer "Lost Second Series" set a few months back, I also included two special cards of Negro League giants Josh Gibson and Satchel paige that were "missing" from the 1961 Fleer "All-Time Greats" set.

Today I spotlight the Gibson card, with Paige to follow in a week or so:

 

 

Really, what needs to be said about one of the all-time baseball (of ANY league) legends anyone has ever seen?
I remember when I was a kid in the late-70’s/early-80’s, before the internet and information at the tips of your fingers, I would see that image of Gibson in the Guiness Book of World Records, along with their statement that he clubbed over 800 home runs during his playing career, as well as over 70 in a season, and just marvel and wonder about the “what if’s”.
What a treat it would have been to have fully documented numbers and achievements by Gibson against all players. Luckily what we do have are his numbers against his fellow Negro National League players, and they were just as amazing!
By the time Gibson retired at the young age of 34 in 1946, he put up a career average of .350, with 107 home runs in 1825 at-bats. Mind you, this doesn’t take into account all the home runs he blasted in other games such as the Dominican, Mexican, and Cuban (Winter League) games!
Informally, Gibson is credited with a .359 career average with 962 homers, hitting as many as 69 in 1934 and 55 the year before, including barnstorming games.
There’s so much I could write here, but for those who haven’t already, just read up on ANYTHING you can regarding Gibson’s career, it’ll blow your mind, including some of the anecdotes, and you’ll see why he’s considered not only one of the greatest catchers of all-time (in any league), but one of the greatest players, period.
Sadly, he passed away at only 35 years of age, never really seeing all the accolades that would come his way after he was no longer with us.
Such a shame. 

THEN AND NOW- WILLIE DAVIS 1961-1977

Next up in my “Then and Now” super veteran series is former long time Dodgers center fielder Willie Davis, who capped off a wonderful 18-year career in 1979 with the California Angels, but had his last card in the 1977 Topps set:

Davis came up with the Dodgers as a 20-year old in 1960, just in time to be a part of the organization’s great run which included two world championships in 1963 and 1965, as well as a World Series appearance in 1966.
A speedster who racked up hits and had the occasional power, Davis finished his career with over 2500 hits, 182 home runs and 398 stolen bases, along with a nice .279 batting average in 2429 career games.
Though he played the first 14 years of his career in L.A., Davis would go on to play for five teams over the last four years of his career: Montreal Expos, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and the Angels in 1979 after a two-year absence from MLB ball in 1977 and 1978 when he played in Japan.

TURN BACK THE CLOCK: 1961 WARREN SPAHN WINS NUMBER 300!

Today’s “Turn Back the Clock” moment celebrated is the awesomeness that was Warren Spahn, and his 300th Major League victory in 1961 on his way to 363:

Seriously, how many wins would he have collected if he didn’t lose three prime years to the military, for whom he honorably served during World War II?
Once he came back all he did was go on to post THIRTEEN 20+ win seasons, along with four strikeout crowns, lowest ERA three times, most shutouts four times and fourteen all-star nods.
On August 11th of 1961 he pitched his way into the record books by beating the Chicago Cubs 2-1, pitching a complete game and allowing the Cubs just 6 hits and an earned run, while striking out five and walking one.
The man was amazing, flat out, and by the time he retired at the age of 44 in 1965 he posted a 363-245 record, with a 3.09 ERA, 63 shutouts, 28 saves and 2583 strikeouts over 750 appearances, 665 of which were starts.
Oh yeah, he also hit 35 career home runs along with 189 runs batted in with (coincidentally) 363 hits!
Was there anything he couldn’t do?
Once in a lifetime right there...

TURN BACK THE CLOCK 1961: WILLIE MAYS SLAMS FOUR HOMERS IN ONE GAME

As if Willie Mays needed anything other accomplishment to cement his place as one of the greatest players the game has ever seen, on April 30, 1961 he poured it on when he hit four home runs in one game, the Milwaukee Braves being the victim of his latest offensive onslaught:

Mays was pretty much in his prime in the early 60’s, and this game was a clear sign of his dominance against National League pitchers, as he became the seventh player to accomplish the feat in the 14-4 Giants win.

All he did that day was go 4-5 with the four home runs and eight runs batted in. Not a bad day’s worth, especially when you take into account that he wasn’t even going to play that day because of his jaunt the night before with Willie McCovey to eat ribs!

The man was a baseball machine!

TURN BACK THE CLOCK- 1961 YANKEES REVISIT MURDERER'S ROW

Next up in my “Turn Back The Clock” series is the 10th anniversary of the new “Murderer’s Row”, the 1961 New York Yankees and their march towards another World Championship:

The Yanks almost matched the franchise record of 110 wins (1927 team), but fell one short, but it wasn’t a problem as they took the American League and them swept the Cincinnati Reds to take yet another title during the Berra/Mantle era.
Although they had great pitching as evidenced by their six pitchers with double-digit wins and single-digit losses, led by the “Chairman of the Board” Whitey Ford and his Cy Young winning 25-4 record, it was their monster line-up that featured no less than six players with 20 or more home runs.
Of course it was all about Mantle and Maris, as they slammed their way into the record books with 54 and 61 homers respectively. But they were helped by 28 homers by Bill Skowron, 22 homers by Yogi Berra, and 21 homers apiece for Elston Howard and Johnny Blanchard, who managed his 21 homers in only 243 at-bats!
Considered one of the great teams of all-time, they had the Cy Young winner in Ford and the MVP in Maris, with Mantle as arguably the player with the MVP season!

TURN BACK THE CLOCK- 1961 ROGER MARIS 10TH ANNIVERSARY

Next up in my ongoing “Turn Back the Clock” series is a “10th Anniversary” card for the record-breaking year Roger Maris had for the awesome 1961 New York Yankees team, who dominated baseball and stampeded straight to a World Championship:

A big part of the Yankees march towards greatness was the incredible tandem Roger Maris, the previous year’s Most Valuable Player, and legend Mickey Mantle who took home the MVP in 1956 and 1957.

Together they would go on to hit 115 home runs between them, a record at the time, along with the rest of the team hitting another 125 homers for a record 240 homers for one team in any given season (again, since broken).

As we all know by now, the drama surrounding what should have been a wonderful time got to the point where the league stepped in and declared that should Maris break the record AFTER his 154th game, it would go down with an asterisk, since the current record holder at the time, Babe Ruth, hit 60 homers in eight less games.

I remember reading how the pressure got so bad for Maris that he began losing hair as he dealt with not only the league, but hardcore fans who felt that Mantle should have been the one to break the record and not him, since Mantle was a NYC idol to so many.

Nevertheless, after Mantle was hobbled by injuries, curtailing his own home run record pursuit (ending up with 54 homers), Maris became the focus and on October 1st, against the Boston Red Sox and pitcher Tracy Stallard on the final game of the season, he connected for the record, unmatched in Major League ball until both Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa both passed him in 1998.

It’s still somewhat of an oddity that Maris did break the record when you look at his career overall. Although a very good player in his prime between 1958 through 1964, that 1961 season was truly a break-out year that he never managed to come close to again.

1975 "CY YOUNG AWARD" SUB-SET: WHAT IF? 1961

Next up on my 1975 Cy Young Award sub-set thread is 1961, and the year Whitey Ford finally took home the award.

Seems everything went right for the Yankees that year, and Ford was either the beneficiary of all that stuff going right, or a heavy reason WHY it all went that way.

For the National League, the fine folks over at SABR felt that none other than Warren Spahn would have won what would have been his third award had there been a winner for each league back then.

Take a look at my card design for 1961 first:

Even though Ford had many fine seasons leading up to 1961, it really did all come together that year, as he posted a 25-4 record with a 3.21 earned run average and three shutouts over 39 starts and 283 innings.

It would also be the only year he'd top 200+ strikeouts in a season, with 209, and oddly enough, the only year in his career where he'd give up 100+ runs and earned runs in 16 years in the big leagues.

With his 25-4 record in 1961, Ford's career winning percentage at the time stood at an incredible .714, with 150 wins against 63 losses.

As a matter of fact, if it wasn't for his final two years in the Majors, 1966 and 1967, Ford would have been only the second pitcher in Major League history with more than 200 wins and less than 100 losses (Bob Caruthers STILL being the only one with a record of 218-99), as well as finishing with a career winning percentage over .700 (at .705), something no one with over 200 career wins has ever done before or since.

Over in the National League, Braves pitcher Warren Spahn once again takes center stage, this time at the ripe old age of 40, as he finished the aseason with a record of 21 and 13, with league leading numbers of: 3.02 earned run average, 21 complete games and four shutouts.

Like I've stated earlier, the man was a machine.

You think he was done yet? How about a record of 23-7 two years later at the age of 42?!

Just incredible to think he also missed three years in his early 20's to military service, and he still ended up 363 career wins.

1961 was the sixth year in a row that Spahn posted 20+ wins, as well as the twelfth time he topped that number.

Awesome couple of future Hall of Famers here.

Next up, 1962 and the winner, Dodger great Don Drysdale, and who the SABR guys thought would win, Yankee pitcher Ralph Terry.

Stay tuned…