Top 5 Deep Cut Cards for Immaculate Grid

The Immaculate Grid encourages you to remember all kinds of team-specific trivia otherwise lost to the sands of time. When you're steeped in card history, knowing a player often means a cardboard image also jumps to mind first. This article calls out five picks for low percentages, where to use them, and highlight cards.

Julie Wera (Yankees only, played 3B, 1927 World Champ, .300+ batting season)

That championship ring netted him a spot in TCMA's retro sets for those 1927 Murderer's Row legends.

1975 TCMA 1927 Yankees

Wera must have few photos, as TCMA rotated this pose 90 degrees for its 1979 portrait version.

1979 TCMA 1927 Yankees #5

TCMA used borders from 1920s American Caramel, yet missed that this pennant-and-megaphone design fits the Chicago White Sox instead of New York. More details on my border breakdown.

Dave Vineyard (BAL only, pitcher) & John Boozer (PHI only, pitcher, sub-3 ERA, .300+ batting season)

This intoxicating two-fer appeared like a vision from a box of vintage cards at the 2024 National show. Love to see two names like this sharing space in the excellent 1965 Topps set. Boozer turns the sought-for double-play of having good ERA and hitting seasons.

Jimmy Archer (born outside USA, position 237 Pirates, 246 Tigers, 2345 Cubs, 2 Dodgers, 23 Reds)

This peripatetic and versatile Irishman excelled wearing the Tools of Ignorance in part because an industrial accident in his pre-baseball days shortened his throwing arm. That gear also makes for a great T222 Fatima tobacco image, where he's one of four different #5 cards (set profile).

Jerry Lumpe (.300 for A's/Yankees, 10+ HRs for A's, All-Star for Tigers, World Series champ for Yankees, position 456 for A's and Yanks, 45 for Detroit)

After younger years and a 1958 championship in New York, Jerry spent his peak in KC, and then four more in Detroit, notching this low percentage All-Star appearance for the Tigers. My memorable "card" turned up this year on eBay after being extracted from an overseas baseball album and it's another #5.

Lumpe moved to KC in May 1959, so I think it came out during the 1958-59 winter league season, following his utility role on the Yanks title winner.

Bob Nieman (.300+ Orioles/White Sox/Cardinals/Guardians/Giants, homered in first MLB game, 20+ HR for Orioles, position 79 Orioles/Tigers/White Sox/Guardians, 7 Cardinals/Giants)

This guy raked everywhere that needed a bat, peaking for Baltimore before closing out in spot duty for St. Louis, Cleveland, and San Fran. His memorable 1960 Topps card features Bob's spectacular specs, looking for the world like a guy who sold insurance between innings.

People outside Fenway Park shoulda bought head insurance, as Bob homered in his first two MLB at-bats, including a blast that cleared the Green Monster and reached Landsdowne Street beyond. It's an unmatched feat in our modern game. His woeful Browns lost 9-5 anyway to the Red Sox (box score). Win or lose, welcome his specs into your heart and grid!

Based the higher-than-expected scores for guys like Billy "F-Face" Ripken and Mike "Airbrush" Laga, I suspect their noteworthy cards made them easy to remember, even for fans today! Who else do you like to use on the grid who has a distinctive card? 

1972-73 Sport Grafico Venezuelan Winter League Baseball #5, Manny (J. Marcano) Trillo

The deeper I look into 1970s baseball, the more its collectibles reflect an era of complex regional relationships for sports and its fans. Today's 1972-73 Venezuelan winter league set contains dozens of familiar names competing in a country far fewer Americans would visit today. Local magazine Sport Gráfico covered those leagues in detail, making them a natural fit for baseball collectibles.

At time of writing, offered at $350 OBO on eBay 

This November 1972 issue celebrates Gonzalo Marquez's productive late-season hitting for the first of Oakland's three consecutive World Championships and shows off their classic gold-and-green look. 

This set's #5 features Venezuelan native and future four-time MLB All-Star Manny Trillo.

Let's look at several nine-player sheets Gráfico printed that year, starting the 18 players from 24-Nov. Dwight Evans and Dick Pole fans, rejoice! (Also see Dewey's more colorful 1972 Topps knockoff card from that winter season.)

"Recorta por la linea de puntos" means "cut along the dotted line."

The 1972-73 set includes several umpires, distinct in their black-billed caps. #130 Armando Rodriguez officiated for two decades in Venezeula and several other pro leagues.

"Joven el deporte es vida" translates as "youth sports is life," a Gráfico motto

Note Grafico jumbled player numbers within each issue and 24-Nov ranges from #25 Pole to #138 Bumbry.

• 25 Dick Pole
• 32 Bobby Mitchell
• 41 Enrique Gonzalez
• 67 Dwight Evans
• 84 Faustino Zabala
• 94 Jim Holt
• 99 Luis Rodriguez
• 104 Juan Francia
• 109 Jose Lopez
• 113 Larry Bittner (Biittner)
• 116 Francisco Borges
• 120 Luis Rivas
• 121 Simon Barreto
• 123 Bruce Heinbechner
• 126 Iran Paz
• 130 Armando Rodriguez
• 133 Hector Artiles
• 138 Al Bumbry

More Gráfico player photos hit newsstands on January 5, 1973.

As of writing, offered at $200 OBO on eBay

Its photos include Dagoberto (Bert) Campaneris, who also starred for the aforementioned 1970s Oakland A's champions, and played all nine positions in one game on September 8, 1965 (box score).

This issue's numbers page tailed off somewhat, leaving a blank next to ex-Padres manager Preston Gomez. Number #252 went to Venezuelan star and Big Red Machine stalwart, Dave Concepcion, kittycorner from Bill "Spaceman" Lee.

It appears Gráfico pulled a number altogether to leave that blank, so I think its checklist contains 251 players. At least they kept the ocular intensity of #233 Rafael Alvarez!

That leaves 17 total players for 5-Jan's sheets.

• NNO Harold McRae
• 196 Richard Henniger
• 201 Barry Lersch
• 206 Ramon Webster
• 212 Harold Hunter
• 219 Charles Murray
• 221 Dagoberto Campaneris
• 223 Jose Carvajal
• 231 George Manz
• 232 Duriel Durand
• 233 Rafael Alvarez
• 242 Garry Raziano
• 243 Preston Gomez
• 248 Bill Lee
• 249 Emilio Rodriguez
• 251 Rafael Camejo
• 252 David Concepcion

Google's translation of this Spanish trading card catalog hints why we see that "unfinished" page.

"Series edited and produced by the magazine Sport Gráfico...inserted in the aforementioned magazine, with weekly 18 cut-out cards and 18 spaces numbered for the preparation of the album. The first came with magazine No. 387, dated 14th October, 1972, and the last one with No. 400 of 5th January, 1973. There were 14 in total for a set of 252 pieces and 13 for the preparation of the album. One was missing to complete it and that's why it remained at 234."

Date TBD for these sheets, who eBay scans are missing its dated Sport Grafico cover.

• ?? Enrique Guterriez
• 10 Alexis Corro
• 30 Ken Forsch
• 43 Graciano Ravelo
• 65 Gustaso Sposito
• 77 Olinto Rojas
• 80 Edward Janson
• 87 Juan Loaiza
• 89 Armando Chacon
• 92 Alfredo Ortiz
• 95 Urbano Lugo
• 101 Pablo Torrealba
• 107 Victor Colina
• 108 Dick Lange
• 111 Jose Martinez
• 115 Franklyn Moreno
• 118 Alberto Cambero
• 144 Virgilio Mata

My collection consists of one issue from 15-Dec, featuring Venezuelan fan favorite Dick Billings, who signed it by mail in October 2024!

This issue contains two blank album pages, #145-162.

#159 Teodoro Obregón notes his "ocho hits seguidos" (eight consecutive hits), a nice feat for any pro player.

Photo sheets from 15-December include personal faves Diego Segui and Jose Cardenal. #29 Walt "No Neck" Williams features one of this set's better portraits.

#174 Camilo Pascual continued to pitch in Venezuelan leagues after his major league career ended in 1971.

Of 15-Dec's 18 players, five in bold fit into its centerfold album. Others go with ealier or later issues.

• 13 Toby Harrah
• 28 Walter Williams
• 82 Carlos Avila
• 97 Lew Krausse
• 125 Pablo Torrealba
• 134 Diego Segui
• 139 John Lowenstein
• 145 Arquilio Freites
• 148 Leopoldo Tovar
• 160 Elias Lugo
• 161 Evangelista Nuñez
• 162 Leonel Carrion
• 165 Pancho Lopez
• 167 Jose Cardenal
• 168 Charles Day
• 172 Nelson Caras
• 174 Camilo Pascual
• 177 Ed Sprague

The cover of 19-Jan issue #402 celebrated league champs Caracas.

Album pages run #19-36, a late date for these early set numbers.

Its photo sheets include the aforementioned Richard Billings. Sorry to say the lower quality of available scans leave some names unclear.

As before, some of its numbers fit into the issue's own #19-36 number range.

• 3 V. Acosta
• 4 Richard Billings
• 8 Ely Infante
• 20 Digoberto Mendoza
• 22 Alfonso Collazo
• 26 Neudo Morales
• 31 Antonio Correa
• 34 Oswaldo Troconis
• 36 Remigio ??
• 40 Ossie Virgil
• 49 Hector Fultiro
• 50 Con. Escobar
• 61 C. Torieto
• 74 Carlde Pascual
• 75 Francisco Navas
• ?? Damaso Blanco
• ?? Nelson Garcia
• ?? Juan J. Rivas Frim

I'll update this post as more complete photo and album sheets surface. If you enjoy vintage Venezuelan ball, check out Historias del beisbol en Venezuela at Facebook, where I found Enos Cabell's .380 batting average from that 1972-73 season and plenty more.

Value: I bought my 15-Dec issue on eBay for $50, which came with two complete sheets. While I know of online scans for #5 Trillo, the card itself proves elusive.

Fakes / reprints: Modern counterfeits exist for at least one other South American set, so purchase hard-to-find type cards like these from dealers you trust.

1969 Topps Team Posters and A Padre To Be Named Later

Introduction

In mid-May 2024, Sports Collectors Daily published Roy Carlson's deep dives into 1969 Team Posters, one of my favorite vintage sets for sheer size and displayability. I profiled its #5, the Baltimore Orioles, back in 2012.

12"x20" at full, unfolded size

Each of Roy's articles shares original design mockups and quantifies how Topps coped with an absence of fresh photos for that year's cards.

• Part 1: Big, Bold, & Borrowed
• Part 2: Giant Size! Assembly

Close inspection of Roy's work highlights how Topps made the best of an expansion era defined by rapid player movement. 1969 posters impress both in size and breadth of lineup, even for new squads in Montreal, KC, Seattle, and San Diego.

1969 Topps issues: Which came first? The chicken, egg, or team posters?

Topps added every animal to their barnyard in 1969, if you include standard and test issues.

• 664-card base set (#5 is AL HR Leaders)
• Stamp sheets with accompanying albums (#5 Atlanta Braves)
• Rub-on decals (unnumbered)
• Black-and-white deckle edge (#5 Jim Fregosi)  
• 4-in-1 sticker sheets (unnumbered)
• Super Baseball (#5 is Yaz)
• Team posters (as above)

I bet fan interest during an expansion year inspired this burst of marketing enthusiasm, in spite of the players union refusing to pose for new photos in 1968, pending better compensation from Topps. Their boycott led, in part, to infamous goofs like batboy Leo Garcia (left) standing in for Aurelio Rodriguez (right). Check out #653's profile from Collecting 1969 Topps to learn everything worth knowing about this card.

Keith Olbermann shared similar insights into 1969 images for SCD in 2010. If Topps bought their rookie Reggie Jackson and "Aurelio Rodriguez" photos from legendary photographer George Brace, #653's mistaken identity could stem from his own goof.

San Diego's expansion year poster shows further impact from players refusing to pose for Topps cameras: 10 hatless headshots and one airbrushed bill for Ron Davis. The Padres even traded Ron to Pittsburgh on March 28, so a proper hat logo would've been out of date by opening day.

The circled Padre, Bill Davis, achieved a measure of hobby fame by appearing on five straight multiplayer "rookie stars" cards, 1965-69, an unbreakable record given how Topps handles RCs today. Bill remained on the verge of breaking out for years, thanks to minor league power and fan popularity. Read Hope Springs Eternal for a look at every Davis base card.  (Don't confuse 1966 cardmate Tom Kelley with Minnesota's manager of similar name.)

San Diego acquired Bill in October 1968 for the classic "player to be named later" (PTBNL). This 1969 cardmate, Clarence "Cito" Gaston, is the future manager who led Toronto to back-to-back titles in 1992-93.

That Padres poster marked Davis's final Topps appearance, once again sharing the spotlight with (many) others. San Diego waited six weeks before sending former AL MVP Zoilo Versalles to Cleveland as their PTBNL, creating some interesting 1969 checklist anachronisms.

 

Note Zoilo's 1969 stamp says "San Diego shortstop" and his autograph graces their album, if upside-down. That tells us Topps designed and produced this set before they could react to late 1968 trades.

His first series card (#38) splits the difference, with Padres on the front and trade to Cleveland on the back! This shows Topps locked series one card fronts by December 1968, when San Diego sent him to Cleveland, and back text sometime later. (It should also say "N.L." under league, since Zoilo played for the Dodgers.)

Zoilo's hatless image from his "S.D. Padres" stamp appears on Cleveland's poster, so these came together sometime after that December swap. In echoes of Ron Davis, Cleveland shipped 😮 Lou Johnson to California on 4-April, so his poster and card team became out-of-date by opening day.

Card #367 fails to mention Johnson's trade, so Topps locked their poster layouts and third series of cards sometime between December & April. Zoilo and Lou each appear in multiple 1969 sets as players on teams they never quite played for.

INSIDE BASEBALL: Some collectors call these almost-played-for-you-but-didnt cards "Flood Warnings," in honor of Curt Flood's refusal to report to the Phillies after being traded in 1969, defying baseball's reserve clause and providing key inspiration for the establishment of free agency by 1975.

"Not just no, hell no."

Why did Topps invest in such gaudy team posters?

I think 1969's lack of fresh photos exacerbated a general laziness Topps showed toward their 1960s team cards. This 1961 White Sox card offers one mediocre option. So many shadows! Such red background!

Did someone realize there had to be a better way? Perhaps Topps hoped a larger, headshot format could satisfy fans, at least in regional markets, even as they dropped team cards from 1969's otherwise huge base set of 664 cards.

No logo-less caps here!

Also consider how 1969 marked the end of Mantle's career, a mainstay for Topps since 1952. He appears on the Yankees poster, its stamps and albums, rub-on decals, Super baseball, 4-in-1 stickers, and base card #500, all of them released after his April retirement announcement.

I wrote before about how superstars like Stan Musial & Ted Williams inspired Topps to make major set changes, like launching All-Star cards in 1958. If Mantle's gotta go out, these serve as terrific salutes!

Contemporary legend Hank Aaron missed out on that capstone, apart from being a post-retirement figure on 1977's Brewers team card. Just one more way Mantle stands out in Topps history.

In summary

I think 1969 team posters served at least three purposes for Topps.

• Test alternative looks for team photos in lieu of cards in their base set
• Help fans in expansion cities get familiar with new rosters
• Give more Mick to Yankee fans during an otherwise moribund era for their franchise

Peccadilloes of offseason transactions like Bill-for-Zoilo show how Topps did their best to match current lineups to a production schedule that took several months to prepare 1969 releases. All these extra sets helped dust off dozens (hundreds?) of hatless photos from company archives, distinguishing that year from any other in hobby history. Thanks again to Roy's work for inspiring further research. If any other details stand out to you, let me know in the comments.