"DEDICATED ROOKIE"- 1964 TONY OLIVA

Let's dip into the 1960's for another sweet "dedicated rookie" card, this one for Hall of Fame hitter Tony Oliva and a 1964 edition:

Now, interestingly, Oliva's actual FIRST Topps card was on a 1963 multi-player rookie card, before appearing on a 1964 multi-player card again, so for now I chose to create a '64 version with a '63 coming soon.

He burst onto the Major League scene in 1964 when he easily won the American League Rookie of the Year award.
In that year, all he did was lead the league in batting, hitting .323, while slamming 32 homers with 94 runs batted in. 
He also lead the league in runs scored with 109, hits with 217, doubles with 43 and total bases with 374!
Those numbers also got him a fourth place finish in M.V.P. voting as well.
The following year there was no sign of a sophomore jinx, as he once again led the lead in batting, this time hitting .321, with 16 homers, 98 R.B.I.'s, 40 doubles and 107 runs scored.
He also led the league in total hits again, this time with 185.
All told in his career, Oliva would win three batting titles (the third coming in 1971 when he hit .337), and would lead the league in hits five times, slugging once (1971), get named to eight straight all-star teams, and have two second-place finishes for M.V.P., in 1965 and 1970.
I wouldn't say his final numbers "definitely" warranted a Hall of Fame spot for Oliva. But I'll admit that you can argue a good point for it with the career he left us with, and come 2022 he would be selected for a spot in Cooperstown, which is just fine with me!
When you really take a look, he only had 11 full seasons in the Majors, with the half-season in 1976 and three pretty much non-existent years in 1962, 1963 and 1972. 
So his numbers carry a bit more weight in that light.
And wow, what a great hitting combo he and Rod Carew made for the Twins, huh?!
Nice 1-2 punch right there.

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: TONY OLIVA

The next baseball superstar to get added to my future custom "Classic Baseball" set is three-time American League batting champ Tony Oliva of the Minnesota Twins:

Just a nice portrait shot of the man who was born to hit a baseball.

He burst onto the Major League scene in 1964 when he easily won the American League Rookie of the Year award.
In that year, all he did was lead the league in batting, hitting .323, while slamming 32 homers with 94 runs batted in. 
He also lead the league in runs scored with 109, hits with 217, doubles with 43 and total bases with 374!
Those numbers also got him a fourth place finish in M.V.P. voting as well.
The following year there was no sign of a sophomore jinx, as he once again led the lead in batting, this time hitting .321, with 16 homers, 98 R.B.I.'s, 40 doubles and 107 runs scored.
He also led the league in total hits again, this time with 185.
All told in his career, Oliva would win three batting titles (the third coming in 1971 when he hit .337), and would lead the league in hits five times, slugging once (1971), get named to eight straight all-star teams, and have two second-place finishes for M.V.P., in 1965 and 1970.
I wouldn't say his final numbers "definitely" warranted a Hall of Fame spot for Oliva. But I'll admit that you can argue a good point for it with the career he left us with, and come 2022 he would be selected for a spot in Cooperstown, which is just fine with me!
When you really take a look, he only had 11 full seasons in the Majors, with the half-season in 1976 and three pretty much non-existent years in 1962, 1963 and 1972. 
So his numbers carry a bit more weight in that light.
And wow, what a great hitting combo he and Rod Carew made for the Twins, huh?!
Nice 1-2 punch right there.

 

STARS RETIRE: 1977 BILLY WILLIAMS AND TONY OLIVA

Up on the blog today, another 1977 "Stars Retire" card, this time one for two wonderful hitters of the 1960's and 1970's, Billy Williams and Tony Oliva:

Beginning with "Sweet Swingin' Billy from Whistler", Williams wrapped up a Hall of Fame career in 1976 with the Oakland A’s, his second season with the team after 16 years with the Chicago Cubs.
Is it possible to be considered overshadowed and underrated yet still make the Hall of Fame? Williams is the perfect example!
By the time he retired, he finished with 2711 hits, 1410 runs scored, 426 home runs, 1475 runs batted in and a .290 batting average over 2488 games.
He was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1961, two-time runner-up to the MVP Award (thanks to Johnny Bench each time) in 1970 and 1972 and a six-time All-Star.
What a career he put together, yet always in the shadows of giants like teammate Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente.
Nevertheless, though it took him six years of eligibility to make it, he was elected for a rightful place in Cooperstown in 1987 when he received 85.7% of the vote.
Just a great player all around.

As for the great Oliva, he established himself as possibly the second best Twins hitter ever at that point (behind Rod Carew), and would retire with a .304 career average, 220 homers and just under 2000 hits (1917) in his 15 year career.

Oliva was well on his way to the Hall of Fame until injuries derailed his Cooperstown march once he reached his 30's.

He burst onto the Major League scene in 1964 when he easily won the American League Rookie of the Year award.

In that year, all he did was lead the league in batting, hitting .323, while slamming 32 homers with 94 runs batted in. 

He also lead the league in runs scored with 109, hits with 217, doubles with 43 and total bases with 374!

Those numbers also got him a fourth place finish in M.V.P. voting as well.

The following year there was no sign of a sophomore jinx, as he once again lead the lead in batting, this time hitting .321, with 16 homers, 98 R.B.I.'s, 40 doubles and 107 runs scored.

He also lead the league in total hits again, this time with 185.

All told in his career, Oliva would win three batting titles (the third coming in 1971 when he hit .337), and would lead the league in hits five times, slugging once (1971), get named to eight straight all-star teams, and have two second-place finishes for M.V.P., in 1965 and 1970.

When you really take a look, he only had 11 full seasons in the Majors, with the half-season in 1976 and three pretty much non-existant years in 1962, 1963 and 1972. 

So his numbers carry a bit more weight in that light.

And wow, what a great hitting combo he and Rod Carew made for the Twins, huh?!

Nice 1-2 punch right there.

 

THEN AND NOW: 1976 TONY OLIVA

Today’s blog post has a 1976 “Then and Now” Super Veteran card for three time batting champion Tony Oliva of the Minnesota Twins, who wrapped up a wonderful career that season:

 

Even though Oliva played out the 1976 season as a player-coach, I don't think he officially stated that it would be his last season as an active player.
But Oliva established himself as possibly the second best Twins hitter ever at that point (behind Rod Carew), and would retire with a .304 career average, 220 homers and just under 2000 hits (1917) in his 15 year career.
Oliva was well on his way to the Hall of Fame until injuries derailed his Cooperstown march once he reached his 30's.
He burst onto the Major League scene in 1964 when he easily won the American League Rookie of the Year award.
In that year, all he did was lead the league in batting, hitting .323, while slamming 32 homers with 94 runs batted in. 
He also lead the league in runs scored with 109, hits with 217, doubles with 43 and total bases with 374!
Those numbers also got him a fourth place finish in M.V.P. voting as well.
The following year there was no sign of a sophomore jinx, as he once again lead the lead in batting, this time hitting .321, with 16 homers, 98 R.B.I.'s, 40 doubles and 107 runs scored.
He also lead the league in total hits again, this time with 185.
All told in his career, Oliva would win three batting titles (the third coming in 1971 when he hit .337), and would lead the league in hits five times, slugging once (1971), get named to eight straight all-star teams, and have two second-place finishes for M.V.P., in 1965 and 1970.
I wouldn't say his final numbers warrant a Hall of Fame spot for Oliva. But I'll admit that you can argue a good point for it with the career he left us with, and come 2022 he would be selected for a spot in Cooperstown, which is just fine with me!
When you really take a look, he only had 11 full seasons in the Majors, with the half-season in 1976 and three pretty much non-existent years in 1962, 1963 and 1972. 
So his numbers carry a bit more weight in that light.
And wow, what a great hitting combo he and Rod Carew made for the Twins, huh?!
Nice 1-2 punch right there.

1972 ALL-STAR SUB-SET: TONY OLIVA

Up next in my on-going "missing" 1972 All-Star set is the new Hall of Famer Tony Oliva, who was on his way to a third batting crown in 1971 while also being voted as a starter for the classic 1971 game:

 

Oliva would actually not play in the game due to injury, but nevertheless he made his eighth straight All-Star team since bursting onto the baseball world with his Rookie of the Year winning 1964 campaign.

All he did to start his career was win two straight batting titles in 1964 and 1965, also leading the A.L. in hits both years as well as runs and doubles in 1964.

Injuries would nag him throughout his career, however in 1971 he would go on to cop his third batting title, hitting .337 while also leading the league with his .546 slugging percentage.

Of course, all he would do over his 15-year Major League career is have one of the greatest rookie seasons in 1964, easily taking home the top rookie honor in the AL while finishing up fourth in the MVP race, finish second in the MVP race the following season when he helped guide the Twins to their first World Series appearance (though many including myself feel he was robbed of the award, ironically by his own teammate Zoilo Versalles), and lead the league in hits five times, batting three times, doubles four times, while topping .300 seven times.
He was an All-Star eight times while garnering MVP attention eight straight seasons, with three top-5 finishes, and if it wasn’t for injuries we’d be talking about a 3000-hit player with more than three batting titles.
What a great player that gets lost in the shuffle of the glory days of 1960 among legendary names like Aaron, Mantle, Mays and Clemente.

1971 SPECIAL- OLIVA AND KILLEBREW: "TWIN TERRORS"

Came across this great image for former Minnesota Twins all-stars Tony Oliva and Harmon Killebrew circa 1970 and thought it’d make for a great 1971 special, so here goes:

What a great pair of players!
Olive, the three-time batting champion and 1964 American League Rookie of the Year, along with Killebrew, the eight-time American League home run champion and 1969 Most Valuable Player.
A case can also be made that Oliva should have been the 1965 A.L. Most Valuable Player over his teammate Zoilo Versalles (which I happen to agree with), but he had to settle for second place in the voting, which he’d also do in 1970 when he finished behind Baltimore’s Boog Powell for the honor.
Nevertheless, the two studs gave the Twins such a potent double-threat in their line-up for years, and must have been a joy to watch day-in and day-out!
Oliva burst onto the Major League scene in 1964 when he easily won the American League Rookie of the Year award.
In that year, all he did was lead the league in batting, hitting .323, while slamming 32 homers with 94 runs batted in. 
He also lead the league in runs scored with 109, hits with 217, doubles with 43 and total bases with 374!
Those numbers also got him a fourth place finish in M.V.P. voting as well.
The following year there was no sign of a sophomore jinx, as he once again lead the lead in batting, this time hitting .321, with 16 homers, 98 R.B.I.'s, 40 doubles and 107 runs scored.
He also lead the league in total hits again, this time with 185.
All told in his career, Oliva would win three batting titles (the third coming in 1971 when he hit .337), and would lead the league in hits five times, slugging once (1971), get named to eight straight all-star teams, and have two second-place finishes for M.V.P., in 1965 and 1970.
I wouldn't say his final numbers warrant a Hall of Fame spot for Oliva. But I'll admit that you can argue a good point for it with the career he left us with.
When you really take a look, he only had 11 full seasons in the Majors, with the half-season in 1976 and three pretty much non-existant years in 1962, 1963 and 1972. 
So his numbers carry a bit more weight in that light.
Killebrew?
What does anyone need to be reminded of regarding Killebrew?
He was an absolute BEAST at the plate, crushing 573 lifetime homers, MOST of them during the pitching-era of the 1960's into the '70's.
Eight 40+ home run seasons, nine 100+ runs batted in seasons, seven 100+ base-on-balls seasons, an M.V.P. in 1969 (with five top-5 finishes in M.V.P. voting as well), and a Hall of Fame induction in 1984.
Just awesome!

 

1975 IN-ACTION: TONY OLIVA

Time to go and give three-time American League batting champion Tony Oliva a card in my long-running “1975 In-Action” thread, celebrating his Hall of Fame worthy 15-year career:

Oliva was coming towards the end of his great career by the time this card would have come out, but was still a solid hitter who hit .291 and .285 the previous two seasons.
He’d hit ..270 in his last full season, 1975, before falling to only .211 in 1976, which turned out to be his last, all with the Minnesota Twins, with whom he first came up in 1962.
Of course, in between, all he would do is have one of the greatest rookie seasons in 1964, easily taking home the top rookie honor in the AL while finishing up fourth in the MVP race, finish second in the MVP race the following season when he helped guide the Twins to their first World Series appearance (though many including myself feel he was robbed of the award, ironically by his own teammate Zoilo Versalles), and lead the league in hits five times, batting three times, doubles four times, while topping .300 seven times.
He was an All-Star eight times while garnering MVP attention eight straight seasons, with three top-5 finishes, and if it wasn’t for injuries we’d be talking about a 3000-hit player with more than three batting titles.
What a great player that gets lost in the shuffle of the glory days of 1960 among legendary names like Aaron, Mantle, Mays and Clemente.

MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #4: 1972 TONY OLIVA

You'd think that Topps would give an "In Action" card in their 1972 set to the reigning American League batting champ!

Oh well, then allow me to show my design for a Tony Oliva "in action" specimen here:

Oliva was coming off of his third batting title, hitting .337 with 22 homers and 107 runs batted in.

He also lead the league with a .546 slugging percentage, getting named to his eighth straight all-star game.

Really is a shame injuries slowed down a sure path to the Hall of Fame.

MISSING IN ACTION OR CAREER CAPPER-EITHER WAY WE CELEBRATE TWINS GREAT TONY OLIVA IN 1977

You can either look at todays 1977 card as either a "missing in action" or a "career capper" for Minnesota Twins great Tony Oliva in the 1977 Topps set.

Take a look at my creation:

Even though Oliva played out the 1976 season as a player-coach, I don't think he officially stated that it would be his last season as an active player.

But even if he did, I think it would have been nice to have one last card for him in 1977, especially since he appeared in 67 games for the Twins, good for 128 plate appearances.

The numbers weren't what everyone was used to from the former hitting machine in 1976: a .211 average with a single homer and 16 runs batted in.

But Oliva established himself as possibly the second best Twins hitter ever at that point (behind Rod Carew), and would retire with a .304 career average, 220 homers and just under 2000 hits (1917) in his 15 year career.

Throw in the fact that what would end up being his last Topps card, in 1976, is kind of lame because of the picture Topps used.

There's a prominent shadow straight across Oliva's face, and it always bothered me.

Seems I remember a few other cards in the 1975 or 1976 sets where shadows played a big part of the a card (1975 Jim Palmer for one).

Anyway, Oliva was well on his way to the Hall of Fame until injuries derailed his Cooperstown march once he reached his 30's.

He burst onto the Major League scene in 1964 when he easily won the American League Rookie of the Year award.

In that year, all he did was lead the league in batting, hitting .323, while slamming 32 homers with 94 runs batted in. 

He also lead the league in runs scored with 109, hits with 217, doubles with 43 and total bases with 374!

Those numbers also got him a fourth place finish in M.V.P. voting as well.

The following year there was no sign of a sophomore jinx, as he once again lead the lead in batting, this time hitting .321, with 16 homers, 98 R.B.I.'s, 40 doubles and 107 runs scored.

He also lead the league in total hits again, this time with 185.

All told in his career, Oliva would win three batting titles (the third coming in 1971 when he hit .337), and would lead the league in hits five times, slugging once (1971), get named to eight straight all-star teams, and have two second-place finishes for M.V.P., in 1965 and 1970.

I wouldn't say his final numbers warrant a Hall of Fame spot for Oliva. But I'll admit that you can argue a good point for it with the career he left us with.

When you really take a look, he only had 11 full seasons in the Majors, with the half-season in 1976 and three pretty much non-existant years in 1962, 1963 and 1972. 

So his numbers carry a bit more weight in that light.

And wow, what a great hitting combo he and Rod Carew made for the Twins, huh?!

Nice 1-2 punch right there.

#400's DURING THE 1970's FOR MY 400th POST

Another personal milestone for this blog, the 400th post in just about a year, and we all know what that means: profiling every card numbered "400" in Topps' sets through the 1970's.

Let's jump right in and take a look shall we?

1970: Denny McLain

 

 

I always thought Denny McLain was somewhat of a chameleon since he had two "looks" as a ballplayer: the geeky bespectacled guy you see here on this card, the the chubbier, no-glasses dude later on.

Really did look like a completely different person later on.

Anyway, this card catches McLain at the height of his career, two straight Cy Young Awards, a 30-win season and a world championship with the Tigers in 1968.

A decent card in an otherwise bland set.

1971: Hank Aaron

 

 

Bleh. Kind of boring card for "Hammerin' Hank".

Maybe I'll redesign this one in the future.

Hank Aaron still had a few really good seasons left in him when this card came out, and was on his way to baseball immortality in just a few short years.

It wasn't just about his home runs. The man's career totals in hits, runs, R.B.I.'s, total bases, you name it!

I've always loved the fact that Aaron's career was one of excellent consistency. He never had the MASSIVE season that everyone seems to have.

This guy (like an Eddie Murray) just had all-star seasons every single year for about 20 years.

1972: Tony Oliva

 

 

Just coming off of his third batting title, and first since he exploded on the baseball scene his first two years in the mid-60's.

Oliva sadly is one of those "what could have been" had he avoided injuries that plagued him throughout his career.

Nevertheless, the man was a hitting machine, and besides his three batting titles, he lead the American League in hits five times, doubles four times and even slugging percentage once (in 1971) before he hung them up after the 1976 season.

Nice card of the Twins legend.

1973: Gaylord Perry

 

 

Love this card!

Perry was coming off of his first Cy Young season, posting 24 wins for the lowly Cleveland Indians.

Great in-game action shot.

Perry of course would go on to win 300 games, overtake Walter Johnson for the all-time strikeout mark (before being topped a few times over since), and eventually get himself inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991.

1974: Harmon Killebrew

 

 

Another great card!

Killebrew at the plate, ready to "jack" another ball out of the park at the tail end of his career.

All the guy who they'd call "Killer" would do in his career is blast 573 homers, have eight 40+ home run seasons, and lead his league in positive offensive categories 15 times.

Besides being voted A.L. M.V.P. in 1969, Killebrew would also finish in the top-5 in voting five other times throughout his 22 year career.

1975: Dick Allen

 

 

I think you all know by now how much I love Dick Allen!

I've always liked this card, with Allen in the filed wearing his batting helmet.

Winner of the Rookie of the Year in 1964, Most Valuable Player in 1972, and a league leader in one offensive category or another 12 times, the "Wampum Walloper" was an awesome player and an awesome character who STILL isn't as appreciated as he should be in my eyes.

351 home runs in only 6332 career at-bats! Think about that for a minute.

1976: Rod Carew

 

 

Even though this card just has a shot of Carew in the dugout, I've always thought this was a "classy" card of the seven-time batting champ.

Just love the colors all-around on this card.

Smack in the middle of his hitting domination, it would be one year later when he caught everyone's attention as he flirted with the magic .400 mark in 1977, finishing at .388 and an M.V.P. award.

3000 hits, a .328 career average, and the Hall of Fame in 1991 (along with the 1973 card above!).

1977: Steve Garvey

 

 

The very first card I was in "awe" of as a kid.

What a nice card, and I'm not 100% sure, but I'm almost positive this was the first time I really understood what that extra banner at the bottom really meant when I pulled this card out of a pack as an eight year old in 1977.

Love the photo Topps went with.

I still don't truly understand the extreme lack of support Garvey received for Hall of Fame induction when he was eligible.

THE all-star first baseman for the National League for over a decade, six 200-hit seasons, an M.V.P. in 1974 (along with a second place finish in 1978), and five National League pennants.

Throw in five 100-R.B.I. Seasons, 2599 career hits, 272 homers and four Gold Gloves, I feel you have to have him in Cooperstown if you have guys like Jim Rice and Jim Hunter in there.

1978: Nolan Ryan

 

 

Great card, great set, great player!

What else can we say about Nolan Ryan?

Just about ready to jump ship in Anaheim when this card came out, he'd go on to become the first player to average over $1 million a year, top the WORLD in no-hitters and strikeouts, and become a legend of legends when it comes to "power-pitchers".

As a side note: I did always think he looked a bit weird with those blank looks he'd always sport on cards. 

1979: Jim Rice

 

 

Nice card of Rice beaming a million dollar smile coming off of his incredible 1978 M.V.P. year where he managed to lead the league in both home runs AND triples (how freaking cool is that?).

Rice would eventually make it into the Hall of Fame in 2009 known as perhaps the most feared hitter in the game in the late-70's and early-80's along with Dave Parker and George Brett.

A monster at the plate: 2400+ hits, 382 homers, 1451 runs batted in and a .298 lifetime average.

Five times would he finish in the running for Most Valuable Player besides the year he took it home.

So there you have it: all ten cards numbered "400" in Topps' 1970's sets, celebrating my 400th post on this blog.

Hope you're all enjoying the blog after about a year.

It's really beyond fun for me to work on it, and I hope to keep it going well beyond the 500th, dare I even say 1000th post!

Thanks for reading so far…

THE MISSING ALL STAR CARDS: 1972 TOPPS: AMERICAN LEAGUE

Today I give you what I'd like to think the 1972 Topps cards would have looked like had they designated all stars as they would later in the decade, between 1975-1981.
Instead of an separate "all star" sub-set, the players would be tagged all stars on their regular issue cards.
I went with a simple bar-design running across the bottom of the card, just above the player's name. The A.L. got a red bar, while the N.L., which I will post tomorrow, got green.
Again, these are the players that were voted to the starting line-up, so even though Ray Fosse, Boog Powell and Tony Oliva didn't play because of injuries, they still get the all star tag-line.
Of course, Reggie Jackson, who didn't get voted in as a starter, was the player with the biggest impact on the 1971 All Star game, hitting a mega-blast off the light tower that instantly became legendary.
As a matter of fact, this game featured six home runs, and ALL six were hit by future Hall of Famers: Frank Robinson, Reggie Jackson, Harmon Killebrew, Johnny Bench, Roberto Clemente and Hank Aaron.
Frank Robinson's homer made him the first player to ever hit home runs as a member of both leagues.