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Use the menu below if you'd like to search for posts that relate to your interests. Note - this was just created on 12-30-20 so I will need to link the posts in the coming weeks. Until then, you can scroll down to the labels on the right to find the same information.


Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Time For A Commercial Break

A long time ago I purchased a 16mm commercial for Kellogg's 1970 Football cards.  I brought it to a photo store and they converted it for me.  Here is a clip from that commercial.

I haven't tested it on different computer platforms so please let me know if it doesn't work on a given system.  Maybe I will then figure out why and re-format the clip.






Update #1 - I realize that the quality doesn't reflect how nice the video is.  I will try to save a higher quality version and post it tomorrow.  

Monday, May 30, 2016

1983 Kellogg's Card Backs #01-09

What's next with the stories on the back of these Kellogg's cards.  I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I do.

Hobbies are quite boring except for the California guy who mentioned surfing and horses.  That would be George Brett.



#09 - Carl Yastrzemski

The George Blanda of baseball has played more games than any AL player.  He was leading the league in homers at age 42 last season.

#08 - Rickey Henderson

While he stole 130 bases in 1982 to see the MLB record, Henderson was slowed in the last month of the season by a sore shoulder.

Not on the card - maybe that's when he got the chip on his shoulder that remained throughout his career.  



#07 - Fernando Valenzuela

He was booed at Dodger Stadium since he held out for a big contract after his rookie season in 1982.  There is plenty of speculation that he was born before the 1960 date listed on this card.

#06 - Pete Rose

Rose is chasing Cobb and it says on the back - "No one, of course,  is betting against Charlie Hustle".

Not on the card - nothing else needs to be said about that card back.

#05 - Hal McRae

He had three undistinguished years with the Reds.  Then the word mediocre is mentioned twice.  "Without a doubt, there is no one better suited for the role as DH...".

Not on the card - that's a lot of negativity.  Is the writing saying he can't use a glove?

#04 - George Brett

In 1981 he hit .314 and people wondered what was wrong with him.

Not on the card - His middle name is Howard and McRae's is Abraham.  I wish I knew this when I caddied for Howard Abraham which was probably from 1980 - 1984.  Maybe I can add one of my favorite caddie story involving him some day.

#03 - Reggie Jackson

It starts with a Steinbrenner reference even though Reggie is an Angel.

#02 - Rollie Fingers

He missed the last month with an injury so he had to watch the stretch run of the season, the playoffs against the Angels and the World Series loss to the Cardinals.

#01 - Rod Carew

He hasn't won a batting title since 1978.  He is the all-time leader in total all-star votes and he's the active career leader in batting average.



Sunday, May 29, 2016

1983 Kellogg's Card Backs #10-18 - Topps Didn't Leave Blank Lines Did They?

What's next with the stories on the back of these Kellogg's cards.  I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I do.

Quite a variety of hobbies in this group including motorcyles, art, fashion, music, reading, golf and sports.



#18 - Bill Madlock

Like George Hendrick's cards, Madlock's has a blank line in the middle of the stats because he was traded mid-season.  He nearly won his fourth batting title in 1982.  He was a longshot who made it.  



#17 - Garry Templeton

He hit a career-worst .247.  He is intent on "rediscovering his skills in 1983".  How would his friends and fans like to read that one.

#16 - Harold Baines

Bill Veeck makes it onto another card.  He discovered Baines when Harold was a 12-year-old in Little League.

#15 - Dave Winfield

George Steinbrenner is mentioned as is Winfield's 23-million dollar contract.

#14 - Robin Yount

Yount led the league in almost everything, but one Canadian writer kept him from being a unanimous MVP by voting him fourth.

#13 - Jim Rice

Not much other than the facts about Rice's success.

#12 - Buddy Bell

Bell keeps getting better as the team keeps getting worse.  The Rangers have yet to make the playofss.

#11 - Eddie Murray

The Orioles are already worrying about re-signing him after the 1985 season.

Not on the card - he stayed with Baltimore through the 1988 season.

#10 - Rich Gossage

Steinbrenner is mentioned twice in the article.  Gossage was a starter with the White Sox in 1976 and that was a disaster.



Saturday, May 28, 2016

1983 Kellogg's Card Backs #19-27 - Would Ted Williams Sit Out The Last Game?

What's next with the stories on the back of these Kellogg's cards.  I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I do.

Hobbies on this pages are mostly music and the other standard ones mentioned.



#27 - Leon Durham

Since he was traded to the Cubs for Bruce Sutter, Durham had the pressure to deliver in a city yearning for a winning team.  He finished third in the NL in batting.

#26 - Andre Thornton

The Phillies, Braves, Cubs and Expos all regret giving up on Thornton early in his career.

#25 - George Hendrick

Hendrick hopes that St. Louis will be his last team.

Not on the card - he was traded to the Pirates and later to the Angels.

#24 - Johnny Ray

Some cards start with the players full name in the text.  "Johnny Cornelius Ray...".  Why only some did one writer use this style and other writers not use it?  The jury is still out on the Ray for Phil Garner trade.

#23 - Willie Wilson

He sat out the last day of the 1982 season and it paid off when he won the batting title over Robin Yount.  Wilson batted .332 to Yount's .331.

Not on the card - as mentioned on an earlier card back, the Brewers won their last game of the season to make the playoffs.  Yount went 3-for-4 with two homers, a triple and a hit-by-pitch.  Yount's average was .328 before the final game.  

#22 - George Foster

He has been reminded often that 1982 was his worst season in the majors.  He vowed to return to form in 1983.

Not on the card - He did fare better for the Mets for three more years, but not nearly at his former numbers.

#21 - Ozzie Smith

"He is poetry in motion".

Not on the card - Does Don Baylor know that?



#20 - Pedro Guerrero

Tommy Lasorda got him playing time at second base when Davey Lopes was injured.   Pedro's success hitting allowed Lasorda to find him an outfield spot when Lopes returned to action.

#19 - Pete Vuckovich

He listed now hobbies.  What about acting.  He was great in the movie Major League.




Friday, May 27, 2016

1983 Kellogg's Card Backs #28-36 - A Relief Pitcher Walks Into a Bar....

He we go again.  I want to finish this set off.  I like the randomness of the stories listed on the back of these 1983 Kellogg's cards.

Lots of hunting, fishing and sports for hobbies on this page.  A few others will be mentioned below.



#36 - Dave Stieb

The sporting news named him the AL's Pitcher of the Year, but he didn't win the Cy Young Award.

#35 - Jack Morris

He signed a long-term deal with the Tigers and management apparently wants him to retire in a Tiger uniform.

Not on the card - He eventually signed as a free agent with the Twins late in his career.

#34 - Neil Allen

He was on the verge of being demoted to the minors when he inherited the closer role due to an injury.

Not on the card - he never made an All-Star team.  Shouldn't that have kept him from getting a Kelloggg's card?

#33 - Len Barker

He threw the 11th perfect game in baseball history in 1981.

#32 - Dan Quisenberry

At least on the back of the card his name is spelled correctly.  An injury in college turned him into a side-arm pitcher.  That was good since he didn't have a major-league fastball.



He listed stand-up comedy as his hobby.

#31 - Nolan Ryan

Nothing out of the ordinary.  It mentioned that he's thrown five no-hitters.

Not on the card - two more no-hitters and one big hit on Robin Ventura.

#30 - Lonnie Smith

Another mention of Cardinal GM Whitey Herzog and his desire to trade for Smith.

#29 - Don Baylor

Baylor is pictured as an Angel but the back mentions his signing with the Yankees.  The Yankees logo is also displayed on the back.

Has anyone read his poetry?  He listed it as a hobby.

#28 - Cecil Cooper

He's been close to winning an MVP award.  Someday he'll win one.

Not on the card - in 1983 he was fifth in the MVP voting.  He didn't get any more votes in the years after that.





Thursday, May 26, 2016

1983 Kellogg's Card Backs #37-45 - Rock Stars?

Nine more with some interesting comments.  Since the front has only the last name (Harrah) and the bold name on the back is their given name (Colbert Dale Harrah), one must read the text to find out the name of some players (Toby).  I'm not a fan of that.  



#45 - Steve Carlton

Carlton won his record fourth Cy Young Award in 1982.

#44 - Toby Harrah

He listed motorcycles as a hobby.  He might not have had a clause in his contract about that hobby but today's players certainly would have a clause like that to protect the team.

#43 - Britt Burns

A newspaper story about then high-school ace Britt Burns got passed along to Bill Veeck by a long-time friend.

Not on the card - odd that he's next to a motorcycle enthusiast.  I heard Burns got injured falling off of a stationary bicycle.

#42 - Larry Gura

Nothing of note on this card.  When traded to Texas he never got into a game.  On think that the same thing was mentioned on his 1981 card.

#41 - Floyd Bannister

He's pictured as a Mariner but the back shows him as a member of the White Sox.  The bio questions why 16 teams would try to sign him as a free agent when he never had a winning season as a pitcher.  The rationale - he struck out lots of guys and he pitched on bad teams.  He was the first player drafted in 1976.

#40 - Lance Parrish

He turned down a football scholarship to UCLA.  The Tigers signed him as a third basemen.  He spent one off-season as a bodyguard for rock star Tina Turner.   Where was Ike that winter?

#39 - Jim Palmer

The only game Jim would like to have back is season's final game where he lost to Don Sutton and the Brewers who then advanced to the playoffs and World Series.

Not on the card - the Brewers and Orioles had 94 wins going into that last game against each other.  Palmer gave up four run in five innings as the Brewers won 10-2.

#38 - Jim Sundberg

"Call Scotland Yard.  There is a mystery to be solved.  ".  The card asks why Sundberg has been named an all-star only once when he's got six Gold Gloves.  At the end of the story it says "Sundberg is still waiting for his second invitation."

Not on the card - he was an all-star as a rookie in 1974 and he did get the nod again in 1984 as a Brewer.  He didn't win another Gold Glove since Bob Boone moved to the AL and Lance Parrish won a few with the Tigers.

#37 - Bruce Sutter

He had 194 saves in his first six seasons.  He was the winning pitcher in the 1978 and 1979 All-Star Games.  He also picked up the Save in 1980 and 1981.




Five guys from this group listed hunting as a hobby.




Wednesday, May 25, 2016

1983 Kellogg's Card Backs #46 - 54. Whitey Herzog Actually Said That?

Continuing backward through the set nine cards at a time.  Card backs are not written like this anymore.  These are great.



#54 - Bob Horner

He's averaged a homer every three games during his first five years.  That is noted as being similar to Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Joe Dimaggio and Ted Williams.  At age 25, he's averaged 27 homers per years while playing in only 110 games per season.

Not on the card - he only played five more years and he finished with 218 career homers.

#53 - Kent Hrbek

Lots of text since he only played in 1981 and 1982.  In 1981 he invited his Class A-level teammates to his apartment for spaghetti and beer and to watch the MLB All-Star Game.  A year later he was an all-star for the Twins.  His only rookie year disappoint was losing a close race to Cal Ripken for the Rookie of the Year Award.  Home towns are not listed but it mentions that he great up a few miles from where the Twins play their home games.

I doubt the beer comment would be listed today.  When was the last time something like this appeared on a baseball card of any type?

Not on the card - baseball-reference.com confirms he's from Minnesota.  Wade Boggs was third in the ROY voting that year.

#52 - Dale Murphy

In only his third year as an outfielder he won a Gold Glove.  He was the team's first MVP since Hank Aaron.

Not on the card - he repeated as MVP in 1983.

#51 - Fred Lynn

He became the first player from a losing team to win the MVP in the ALCS.  He was 11-for-19.

#50 - Greg Luzinski

He was a big contributor to the Phillies 1980 World Series title, their first team title.

Not on the card - it wasn't uncommon for someone to play their last game at age 33 back then.  I didn't realize that about him.  Today's players keep going since the money and conditioning are so different than 1984 when Luzinski retired. I'd also forgotten that he's from the Chicago area.

#49 - Keith Hernandez

"During his first four full seasons in the majors, the name Keith Hernandez probably would have been linked with mediocrity in a word-association game."  That was the first line in his bio.  Really.  That changed for the 42nd round draft pick in the last few years.  GM Whitey Herzog insists every year at the winter meetings that Hernandez is untouchable.

Not on the card - I don't know when this card reached someone's hands, but Hernandez was traded on June 15th, 1983 to the Mets for Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey, whose name I don't recognize.  Allen is also in the 1983 Kellogg's set.



#48 - Jack Clark

Clark was criticized by team management for his slow start in 1982.  He pitched five games in the minors which resulted in an ERA of 6.00.  The card states that the Giants were happy that he never pitched again.  Nice.

#47 - Greg Minton

He bounced back and forth between the majors and minors until suddenly he started getting everyone out.

#46 - Gorman Thomas

His hobbies are drag racing and rock music.  I didn't find out anything else about these hobbies of his.
Not on the card - he was traded after the 1983 season to the Mariners.

Four guys from this group listed fishing as a hobby.





Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Why Discuss Card Backs from 1980s Kellogg's Cards?

There are a few reasons to talk about the backs of the Kellogg's cards from the 1980s before showing 1970s backs.




1.  I read the 1970s ones immediately after getting the card from Frosted Flakes.  In the later years I ended up buying the sets from someone at a flea market.  Then I didn't spend time reading each card back.

2.  Some of the years have lots of text and 1981 - 1982 certainly have lots to add about players, even if they've had long careers like Yaz, Rose, etc.

3.  The 1981s that I mentioned a while back proved to be a fun project for me so I might as well continue it.

I'm now going to go through the 1983 set.  The cards are small and the backs are oriented vertically, so reading it is a challenge for me.  The set contains 60 cards and I will once again go through them one nine-card sheet at a time.  Today, I will read cards 55 - 60.  If there is repeating information from another year I will still mention it if it is interesting.  Maybe the kid who got this card didn't have the earlier one?

Card #60 - the last card in the last regular-issue Kellogg's set.  Bobby Grich ended up being the last card.  I wonder when Kellogg's decided to halt production before the 1984 set.

Grich's card says he is the exception to the rule that power hitters are born not made.  He had low homer totals for nine years and then hit 30 homers in 1979.  In the strike-shortened 1980 season he tied for the league lead in homers.  I couldn't believe it so I looked it up.  He did, but he only finished 14th in the MVP voting.

Card #59 - Bill Buckner

He finished in the top five in batting in the NL for the third consecutive season.  His limp is a result of an ankle injury as the result of an attempted stolen base in 1975.  Stolen bases still don't appear as a statistic on the card backs.  

Not on the card - if his ankle were injured today he'd be back without the limp.  He stole 183 career bases with a career high of 31.

Card #58 - Mike Schmidt

Lots of details about his home run titles, RBIs, playoff and All-Star Game success.  It then mentions that he'd like to remain a Phillie for his entire career.  He signed a mult-year contract worth one million dollars per year at the end of 1981.


Not on the card - he did remain a Phillie.  Now a player who makes that kind of money only comes into the game when the team is winning big or losing big.

Card #57 - Dave Concepcion

Shortstops are generally stereotyped as good-field, no-hit role players.   He is mentioned as an exception to that.

Card #56 - Carlton Fisk

Tony LaRussa called Fisk "the manager on the field".  He cam back to hit his famous 1975 homer in a season shortened by a broken arm.

Not on the card -  he broke his arm during a spring training game.

Card #55 - Gary Carter

He became the highest paid player in baseball history when he signed for $15 million over seven years.  He turned down lots of college scholarship offers to sign with Montreal in 1972.


Of the six players listed today, three of them listed hunting as their hobby.  Two listed golf and one listed sports and woodworking.  Tomorrow there will be more varied hobbies with cards #46 - 54.


Monday, May 23, 2016

Kellogg's Hockey Cards Are Now On My List

Today I picked up a few of the Kellogg's Hockey cards produced by Score.  There are 24 cards including a mascot card.  The 1991-92 cards also came with a collecting album.

According to hockeydb.com (Hockeydb.com Checklist) the set was available in boxes of Corn Flakes cereal in Canada.  It is also mentioned that there was a mail-in offer which I assume was for the complete set and the collecting album.

The cards have text in both English and French.  Isn't that the law in Canada?

More later.

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Which Baseball Players Had the Biggest Financial Impact Outside of the Game?

I was wondering which players had the most economic impact outside of the game of baseball?  Why did I think about that?  I looked at a list of players born on this day and a player on the list had a great impact outside of baseball.

Here are the hints to his identity, besides today being his birthday/

1.  He went to high school and college in the same city
2.  He played for six teams over 26 seasons.
3.  He was traded for a player to be named later.
4.  He missed a season with an injury to be named later.
5.  As a pitcher he gave up more than 300 homers.
6.  He throws left-handed, assuming that he still throws sometimes now that he's 73 today.
7.  He had Kellogg's cards in three different seasons.
8.  His Kellogg's cards showed him on the White Sox, Dodgers and Yankees.
9.  He won 20 games in a season three times.
10.  His last name is more common as a first name.

Did you figure it out?



The surgery named after him has become some doctors full-time work.  There are now pitchers who've had the surgery more than once.  
    

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Babe Ruth Again - I Couldn't Resist This One

On this day in 1930 Babe Ruth had his first three-homer game in a regular season game.  He did this in his first three at-bats.  So what does he do in the ninth inning?  He steps up to bat right-handed.  After two strikes he goes back to batting lefty and strikes out.  Is that legal today?  I should look it up but I'm busy until tomorrow.


The Yankees ended up playing three doubleheaders in a four-day stretch.  Ruth hit eight homers in those six games - over four days.


Friday, May 20, 2016

Babe Ruth is Always A Good Choice

Whenever I'm too busy with work I can always count on "On This Day in Baseball History" to help me with a quick post.

On this day in 1919 Babe Ruth hit the first of his 16 career grand slams.  The store display below shows his reaction after that homer.  Or is he calling his shot at Wrigley Field in the World Series

Ruth also pitched a complete game and moved his record to 3-0 with the win.  George Sisler was 3-for-4 off of Ruth.

How many hot dogs did he eat that day?




Thursday, May 19, 2016

Yaz Does It Again

On this day in 1976 Carl Yastrzemski passed Ted Williams for the most games played for the Red Sox.  He did it in style by going 4-for-4 with three homers.  That's a nice day at work.


Dwight Evans also went on to pass Ted Williams on the Red Sox games played list.  Williams is still third today.  David Ortiz will not be passing Williams this year.


Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Proof That Twins Steal More Than Others

On this day in 1969 Rod Carew and Cesar Tovar stole five bases between them in an inning.  What?  Tovar got two and then Carew stole second third and home.



Carew stole home seven times in the 1969 season, one shy of Ty Cobb's record.

Stolen bases are certainly happening less than in 1969, so these numbers are impressive.

Ty Cobb leads with 54 career steals of home.  Here are the other Kellogg's card players on the all-time list.

#4.  Honus Wagner - 27

#8.  George Sisler - 20

#11. Tris Speaker - 18

#14. Rod Carew - 17

#18. Lou Gehrig - 15

#32. Babe Ruth - 10

#32. Paul Molitor - 10

Gehrig?  He only stole 102 bases in his career and he was caught 100 times.  Now I want to know who got caught stealing home the most.


Tuesday, May 17, 2016

I Need More Help With Kellogg's Cards From Japan

So far I've picked up a few Kellogg's baseball cards from Japan.  All are in the original wrapper.  Now I've got to get some from each year that they were issued.  Here are the years that I've purchased so far.

Since I don't collect new cards much, I will need to do some research to see if Upper Deck and Topps used the same cards from their regular sets and put them in the Kellogg's sets.  That project will need to wait until school is out.

2007 Kellogg's  - Upper Deck

The 2007 issue is shown below.  I like how the name is encased in a banner.   I like the vertical border better than the 2008 border shown below. 


2008 Kellogg's - Upper Deck 

The 2008 issue moved the dark border to the top and bottom of the card.  The player name is larger but I think it is not bright enough.  


2010 Kellogg's  - Topps

These cards look a lot like a Topps insert card from a few years ago.  I don't collect newer cards enough to know what year that was.  I do like the design of these cards.  



Sometime soon I will show the backs of the cards.  Maybe someday I will even get the translation.  If is the same as their regular-issue card then it won't matter I guess.

Monday, May 16, 2016

Rosemont Card Show Yesterday

I was excited to check out Rosemont's (IL) new addition to the show schedule.  The same people that run the March and November shows, formerly known as the Sun Times Show, were running this one.  That gave me the impression that it would be another large show like those two.  Not quite.

When I walked in it was easy to notice that the room was about one-fourth of the size of the other large shows.  Admissions was still $10 so I had hopes for a similar show before starting out in the room.  It only took me about 40 minutes to walk around the room including when I looked at many rows twice.

On a positive note, there was ample time to look at everything in the room.  There was a bit of all of the usual stuff - old, new, miscellaneous, supplies and autographs.  I found a few dealers with Kellogg's cards, but I didn't see any unique items.

One dealer had a 1981 Kellogg's factory set.  That's the one that everyone seems to have.  I like the set, but it is certainly over-produced like most of the other 1981 baseball cards.   I didn't buy the set since it was quite pricey.


Two dealers had some 1971 Kellogg's cards, football and baseball.  I bought some cracked football cards since they were $1 each.  Do the football cards have any variations?

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Happy Birthday to My Wife's Favorite Player

Today George Brett turns 63.  He still looks better than me but at some point maybe that will change since I am significantly younger than George Howard.

He has been my wife's favorite player since she played 3B in high school.  Even though I've only watched it once, we have a VHS copy of his Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Once I get to making Kellogg's cards that don't exist, a 1976 Brett will be on my list.  His early Kellogg's cards seem to be a challenge to find without cracks.


Tomorrow I will cover the Rosemont show that I attended today.  

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Missed a Card Show Today, Even Though I Drove Past It - Maybe Tomorrow

After spending a day in the cold at a track meet I ended up deciding against stopping at the Rosemont card show even though I had to drive past it on my way home.  I am hoping to head to the show on Sunday.

The show always has lots of autograph guests, but that doesn't interest me at all.  I'm hoping that I can find something to ad to my Kellogg's collection.  Mostly I need unopened materials, factory sets, advertising items and other one-of-a-kind items.


I don't expect to see something as nice as this 1971 sheet, that I do not own, but anything unique would be fun.  Look for updates tomorrow or my usual disappointment. 

Friday, May 13, 2016

Kellogg's Cereal Box Dream #25 - ?

Rod Carew hit .318 in 1972 to win the AL Batting Title.  It was his second title and his career average moved up to .309.  He didn't steal much or drive in runs and he had yet to exceed 177 hits in a season.  Even though he was a good player he didn't seem like Hall-of-Fame caliber.  



1973 Kellogg's Rod Carew #51


1975 Rating                    -- 7  comment -- A good hitter.

2016 Rating                    -- 9  comment --   A Hall of Famer and a card that I don't find easily.  


Carew's career really picked beginning in 1973.  He hit over .300 from 1973-83 and won five more batting titles.  He moved his career average up to .328 by the time he retired.  He ended up stealing 353 bases.  In six seasons he finished in the top-10 of the MVP voting, winning it in 1977 when he hit 16 homers, drove in 100 runs and batted .388.  

Thursday, May 12, 2016

My Friends and I Use Homers and Strikeouts to Determine Someone's Age

When I was born Roger Maris held the record for homers in a season.  Sure that could make me a wide range of ages since Maris held the record for a long time.  What makes it fun is that a few of my friends who are a few years older than me were born before Maris broke the record.  So, when I introduce them to baseball fans it is fun to say "I'm not saying Tony is old, but when he was born Babe Ruth held the record for homers in a season".  My parents were born with Ruth as the record holder so my friend is definitely old.




My kids were born with McGwire and then Bonds as the record holders.

What about strikeouts.  When I was born the record for strikeouts in a game was 18 by Bob Feller and Sandy Koufax (twice).  Don Wilson also notched 18 K's later.

I vaguely remember Steve Carlton getting the record to 19 in 1969.  I really remember when Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan joined him a few years later.

Roger Clemens (twice), Kerry Wood and Randy Johnson bumped that number to 20.  I don't remember this, but five Dodger pitchers combined for 20 K's in 2012.  Max Scherzer matched them yesterday.


Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Who Is Hiding Behind Tommy Harper?

Tommy Harper is card #74 of 75 in the 1970 Kellogg's baseball card set.


From what I have seen in the past, I expected to see card numbers that were fairly close to #74.  Since the card was near the end of the set, I wondered whether I might get low numbered cards as well.  

Here are some of the cards I thought I could get in this pack:

#61 Harmon Killebrew
#71 Bob Gibson
#72 Joe Morgan

#02 Pete Rose
#04 Willie McCovey
#07 Tom Seaver
#08 Don Sutton
#12 Willie Mays

The pack came with very few surprises.  I didn't get any low numbered cards.  Here is the breakdown of the pack.

#74 Tommy Harper
#69 Willie Horton
#65 Mickey Lolich
#63 Tony Oliva
#61 Harmon Killebrew
#62 Don Wilson
Braves sticker
Cubs sticker

As I've seen before, these packs offered cards close in number to the card shown on top.  The range in numbers was only 61 to 74.  I've seen similar ranges in the handful of packs that I have opened as well as things I've found online.  Has anyone seen anything different from this pattern?

The cards all have a bit of a curl, but the color is great and the corners are perfect.  The Killebrew card was the only one that helped me to upgrade my set.  

Another Cub Birthday - Here's The Proof

Happy Birthday to Jim Hickman.  Okay I missed by a few hours since I felt sick last night and I fell asleep after a late work day.


I really like this proof card.  Why?  First, I rarely see any 1971s with bright colors and nice corners.  Second, there is no cracking.  But, the biggest reason I like this proof card is that it is unique.  I've mentioned before that the clouds are different on his regular Kellogg's card from 1971.

I bought some of these proofs last years from Beckett Auctions.  The source pulled his remaining cards late last year.  I'm hoping that they become available again this year.  Does anyone know anything about these proofs and how I might find them for sale again?


Monday, May 9, 2016

Eddie Murray Sure Did Like Playing Against the White Sox

On this day in 1987 Eddie Murray hit homers from both sides of the plate against the White Sox.  While that itself has been done before, Murray managed to do that in consecutive games against the White Sox.  No one had done that before.  I'm not sure if anyone has done that since.

Murray hit 35 homers against the White Sox.  He only managed more against division rivals Detroit (38) and Minnesota (44).


Sunday, May 8, 2016

Can Anyone Guess The Contents of This 1970 Pack?

I had Harper on the mind today after watching today's Cubs-Nationals game.  Quite a box score for Bryce Harper - seven times up, zero official at-bats, one hit-by-pitch and six walks (3 intentional).  The Cubs walked him 13 times in the four game series.




The only Kellogg's baseball cards of a player named Harper both are for Tommy Harper.  Harper is the only player to appear on a Kellogg's card with the Pilots and then the next year with the Brewers.
Don Mincher was the only other Pilot in the 1970 Kellogg's set.  He also appeared in the 1971 set, but as a member of the Oakland A's.  Neither Harper nor Mincher appeared in another Kellogg's set.

Harper broke into the majors in 1962 and retired in 1976 while Mincher's career was from 1960 - 1972.

Back to the pack.  Tommy Harper, #74 of 75 in the set, is shown on the top of the six-card pack.  What can I expect to find inside?

If the top card isn't cracked will any of the other cards be cracked?

Answers sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday.  With my busy schedule I probably won't be adding pictures for now.  Once school and coaching end I'll find more time to add more new photos.

Any guesses?  The person with the most correct guesses will get a free 1970 Kellogg's card - my choice.  Please follow my limit of one guess per person.










Saturday, May 7, 2016

1992 Kellogg's Basketball Checklist and Trading?

I'm trying to sort out some of my extras to start doing some trading.  In an earlier post (Who Wants To Trade Kellogg's Cards) I listed some cards that I have available to trade.

I've added more items to this list.  I recently picked up a few extra Kellogg's Basketball card sets from 1992.  The players in the 18-card set are listed below.  I'm up for trading individual cards or an entire set.

1.   Kenny Anderson
2.   Clyde Drexler
3.   Waymon Tisdale
4.   Horace Grant
5.   Kevin Johnson
6.   Karl Malone
7.   Larry Bird
8.   John Stockton
9.   Doug Smith
10. Mark Price
11. Hakeem Olajuwon
12. Charles Smith
13. Bernard King
14. Tim Hardaway
15. Spud Webb
16. Mark Macon
17. Scottie Pippen
18. Gary Payton  

Players are shown with their college affiliations.  The statistics on the back only include their college numbers.  This makes sense since the set is called College Basketball Greats.  I will discuss these players in detail in the future.

Friday, May 6, 2016

A Happy Birthday to Wille Mays

Happy Birthday to Willie Mays who turned 85 today.

I saw him at card shows a lot years ago, but I've never been one to pay for autographs, so I never had a conversation with him.  



I started getting lots of Kellogg's cards in 1973, so I didn't get many of his cards until I was older.  I did get a lot of his 1970's Topps cards as a kid.



I do like having all of the stats on the back of his 1972 Kellogg's card, but he only gets two lines of text for me to read.  

Mays can be seen on some of the Kellogg's advertising and I think I heard to he was on a TV commercial for Kellogg's cards.







Thursday, May 5, 2016

I Could Find Something New About Cobb, Ruth and Gehrig For Almost Any Day of the Year

When searching for something to include I always find stuff about Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth.  Cy Young is another one who I see often in the blurbs that I find.  Once I'm through with school I will spend more time on the actual cards.  I've gotten a few new ones to show but I'm so busy with teaching and coaching that I don't get everything done.

Cobb appeared twice in the archives on this day.  In 1925 he went 6-for-6 in a game with 3 HRs and 16 total bases.  That's great, but that doesn't surprise me.  What does surprise me is what he did on this day in 1922.  On that day, Bob Fothergill became the only person to pinch-hit for Ty Cobb.

It's amazing to think that this guy pinch-hit for Cobb.  So what if he struck out.  He had over 1,000 career hits but not many before this game since his debut was just a few weeks earlier.

There's more.  Not only was this guy the only one to pinch-hit for Cobb, the manager that decided to put Fothergill in the game was Detroit manager Ty Cobb.   Baseball sure was interesting in those days.


Wednesday, May 4, 2016

I'll Take the 5th Over the 4th Anytime

This morning one of my students greeted me with "May the 4th be with you".  Now my son is watching one of the Star Wars movies that I have never seen.  Did I mention that it came out about 35 years ago?

Kellogg's made plenty of 3D baseball cards of players of hispanic heritage.  I don't think they made any named Hans, Solo, Luke, Skywalker, Yoda, Darth, Vader or Princess.  Did they get close?  Maybe someone who has seen the movies will have an idea.  That rules me out.

Jorge Orta and Fernando Valenzuela were both born in Mexico.





Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Only Seven Non-Japanese Players Are Featured in the 2007 Kellogg's Japanese Set

Three of the ten players in the 2007 Kellogg's set from Japan are Japanese players - Iguchi from yesterday's post, Hideki Matsui and Kenji Johjima.  It is quite interesting to see how they chose the other seven players.

Justin Verlander pitched twice in 2005, losing both starts.  In 2006 he was the AL Rookie of the Year with a 17-9 record for the Tigers.  Maybe it says all of that on the back of this card, but I'm going to need to find a translation for all of the text on these cards.




I was surprised to see Kellogg's take a chance on a guy like this, especially when the set is only 10 cards.  More on that after I do some research.  Does he have some connection to Japan?


Monday, May 2, 2016

Finally Can Talk About My New Kellogg's Cards and a 20-year+ Career

It took me a while to get this post going.  It's exciting to add a few new cards to my collection.  I added some unopened packs of 2007 Kellogg's cards from Japan.


From what I've found so far, there are 10 cards in the 2007 set.

  1. Hideki Matsui
  2. Kenji Johjima
  3. Tadahito Iguchi
  4. Ryan Howard
  5. David Wright
  6. David Ortiz
  7. Ivan Rodriguez
  8. Alex Rodriguez
  9. Albert Pujols
  10. Justin Verlander



Tadahito Iguchi was a well known player for the White Sox.  Was he one of the best players in the league to warrant being included in a small set?  No, but he was born in Tokyo, Japan and he played for the World Series Champion White Sox in 2005.

Iguchi began playing professionally in 1997 and much to my surprise he's still playing in Japan almost 20 years later at age 41.


Sunday, May 1, 2016

A Big First for Yankees Today

On this day in 1920 Babe Ruth hit his first career homer as a Yankee.  Also on this day in 1951 Mickey Mantle hit his first career homer.


The coaching season is starting to wind down so I may get into more details with my posts soon.