Sports Collectibles Radio Show on ESPN

There is a show on ESPN radio at 7:00 am Central Time on Sundays
.  I don't hear it often but maybe I will start tuning in more.  My brother mentioned that he was listening and they mentioned Kellogg's cards.  I appreciate when someone has a good idea for me to discuss.

Here is a link to yesterday's show - http://tcrowntom.com/espn1000radioshow.html.  At about 17:30 into the show a caller asks about Kellogg's cards.

Those who don't collect these cards only want to discuss how valuable the 1971 set is.   It is always mentioned that this set was not available through a mail-in promotion.  The real issue seems to be for those who do collect.  We can't find enough of these cards in great condition.

Cubs vs. Indians - Kellogg's Cards

1970 Cubs - Banks, Williams, Santo, Hundley, Beckert

1971 Cubs - Banks, Williams, Beckert, Kessinger, Hickman

1972 Cubs - Williams, Beckert, Jenkins

1970 Indians - McDowell, Gaylord Perry, Tiant

1971 Indians - McDowell, Fosse, Tony Horton, Gaylord Perry

1972 Indians - McDowell


I didn't realize that Sam McDowell was included in the first three sets.  Glenn Beckert and Billy Williams also got into the first three sets.

Others shown at least from 1970 - 1972 - Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Dave McNally, Tony Oliva, Pete Rose, Tom Seaver, Reggie Smith, Willie Stargell and Mel Stottlemyre.

Update - I forgot Roberto Clemente.  Did I miss anyone else?

If I'd been asked to name these 15 players I would have probably gotten half of them correct.

That's only 14 players from 1970 - 1972 to make the cut each year.  Tomorrow I will see how many of these guys were dropped in 1973.

Busy Day - Last Day of Sports Collectors Daily for a While

Today I spent over five hours at a cross country meet, five hours in my car and four hours at a football game.  Now I'm suffering in front of the television like other Cub fans.  So, it's Sports Collectors Daily to the rescue.  I think that this is their most recent post.

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/1977-kelloggs-baseball-cards-set/


I don't see the Ron Cey error card often.

Another Long Day at School - Help! Sports Collectors Daily

4:30 check-in today at school for a news event.  I'm feeling it now.  I've got to stay up for the World Series and to get ready for tomorrow's meet.  So, let's check out SportsCollectorsDaily for their information on the 1976 Kellogg's set.

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/1976-kelloggs-baseball-cards/

Another nice effort by this site.  They are only up to 1977 so I won't be doing many more of these soon.

Another Quick Day with Sports Collectors Daily

Busy day again today even without a baseball game.  Sports Collector's Daily is only up to 1977 so I can't use this easy out every day.  I'm up to 1975 and I like their set reviews.  Here it is.

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/1975-kelloggs-set/

This is not one of my favorite sets.  Why?  I don't see lots of them with nice coloring.

This Rose proof card certainly doesn't look like actual 1975s.

Another Busy Day and the Easy Way Out of a Post - Sports Collectors Daily

A rainy practice today, traffic was horrible and I'm playing soccer mom today.  Oh, and there is a baseball game I'd like to watch.  So, I'm taking the easy way out for another post.  I do like what Sports Collectors Daily is doing with Kellogg's sets.

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/1974-kelloggs-set-3d-baseball-cards/

The first Kellogg's set that I finished.  I don't remember how I did that.  I didn't buy a factory set and neither did my friends.  I did start going to card shows in around 1975 or 1976 but I never bought newer cards at those shows.

More From Sports Collector's Daily - 1973 Set Information

This site has done a great job talking about each Kellogg's set.  Here is the 1973 set information.   Keeping these links around makes it easier for me to research these sets.

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/1973-kelloggs-baseball-card-set/

More From Sports Collector's Daily - 1972 Set Information

I remember getting some of the 1972s as a kid.  This site has written about some of the sets so far.  I've decided to add good links so that there is a nice place to find everything related to Kellogg's cards.  I will continue to link to their articles on each set.

Check this out for the 1972 information - http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/1972-kelloggs-baseball-set/

1970 Rose PSAs- Topps vs. Kellogg's

I wanted to see how many 1970 Pete Rose cards were graded by PSA.  This Kellogg's card is a Mint 9.

For 1970 Kellogg's Rose, the PSA's population report shows 387 9's, 58 10's and 756 total cards graded.

For 1970 Topps Rose, the PSA population report shows 99 9's, 13 10's and 2,022 total cards graded.

For the 1970 Topps Rose All-Star card, the PSA population report shows 9 9's, 0 10's and 523 total cards graded.

Of 175,515 cards graded in the 1970 Topps set, only 2,110 got grades of 10.  That's 1.2 percent.

For Kellogg's cards 4,182 got grades of 10 out of 28,822.  That's 14.5 percent.  Quite a difference from the Topps cards.

Why are there more Kellogg's cards getting 10s? Is it the borders, the lasting colors, the unopened packs and sets that were opened later?  What else?

Are You Sad That Ron Santo and Ernie Banks Missed the Cubs Making the World Series?

I've always admired the passion that Banks and Santo had for the Cubs.  They were both involved with the organization for most of their lives.  Both passed away in recent years.  I'm sure there will be many news stories about how they missed out on the Cubs making the World Series.

It certainly would have been great television to see Banks and Santo being interviewed after the game.  While many of us loved those players, our relationship with them was not the same as how we enjoyed the Cubs with our friends, co-workers and relatives.  My first thoughts when the game ended were not elation.  Instead, I thought about the family and friends that I've enjoyed Cub games since LBJ was president.

My brother passed away over a year ago.  He is the primary reason that I became a Cub fan when most of my family, friends and neighbors on the Southside were Sox fans.  It's not just that I wanted him to experience a World Series.  I would want him to experience this moment - with me.    

When A Door Closes A Window Opens...Right?

On this day in 1986 a door closed.  Pete Vuckovich was released by the Brewers and he never played again in the majors.

The window opened with him playing Clu Haywood in the movie Major League.  He has also worked almost every job in baseball including announcer, coach, scout and assistant to the GM.

We may hear lots about this movie during the upcoming World Series since the Indians are playing.

Cubs vs. Dodgers - Kelogg's Cards Again

Looking at more Kellogg's cards.  Let's try 1973-1976.  These are the ones I collected as a kid.

1973 Cubs - Williams, Jenkins, Santo

1974 Cubs - Monday, Santo, Williams

pretend this is a 1973.  I'm watching baseball.

1973 Dodgers - Sutton, W. Davis, Osteen

1974 Dodgers - Brewer, W. Davis, Mota

same excuse.  

There are six Cub cards of which five are Hall of Famers.  The sixth one is a fan favorite of bother teams - Rick Monday.  

The Dodgers have one Hall of Famer in their six cards.  

Advantage Cubs.  

Not Just Another "W"

The Cubs need a "W" today.  I was looking through the Kellogg's database and found only one Cub player whose last name began with a "W".  Of course that is my favorite childhood Cub - Billy Williams.

I was impressed that he only struck out only one for every nine at-bats in his career.  Even though that would be quite impressive today, that was not a big deal when he played.  The player with a Kellogg's card and the least likely to strike out was a huge surprise to me.  Can you name him?


There are no Dodgers who can be found with a Kellogg's card and their last name beginning with a "W".

Another Proof Sheet That Won't Be on My Wall

I really like the 1972 Kellogg's Baseball card set.  A Football set with the same design would have been nice.  Here is a sheet from that set that was sold at auction a while back.

That's quite a sheet.  There is Rose, Mays, Brock and a few of my favorite Chicago players.  Not only that, there are four cards of each of these guys.  

One-third of the set (18 of 54 cards) are on this sheet.  I think I've got photos of the other sheets.  I will post them at some point.  

Players Officially Released on This Day in 1978

The following players were released today in 1978.  None played again in the big leagues.

Davey Johnson

Cookie Rojas

Clay Carroll

I was surprised to find out the Carroll was released by the Pirates and the other two were released by the Cubs.  This was a time when I was closely following the Cubs and I don't remember that.  Why?

Rojas had last played in 1977 with the Royals.  So, even though a Cub through all of 1978 he didn't play for them.

Davey Johnson played 24 games for the Cubs in 1978.  The Cubs got him on August 6th that year and soon after that I was busy with school and the Cubs were finishing with a losing record.

Clay Carroll pitched twice for the Pirates in 1978.

How Does Everyone Find Time to Sort Cards?

I don't like starting something that I can't finish.  I've gotten some cards over the past three months that I haven't sorted.  This usually starts after my trip to the National in August.  Whatever I get there sits in a pile that grows slightly until late December when I get some time off from school.

Kellogg's sets are small, but I'm quite concerned with leaving them out since they can still crack and curl I guess no matter how long they've resisted both of those.

I'm looking forward to completing some Kellogg's sets, upgrading some cards from the older sets and creating a few want lists so that I can maybe start making trades.  I hope to have time for that in a few months.

I've also found that the thinner Kellogg's cards are much slower for me to sort than Topps cards.  My kids are also not interested in helping me with this.  Even if they were, I'd be worried about my cards having Doritos or Oreo residue all over them.

I Was Home for 15 Minutes in the Last 18 Hours

Why?  Hosting a high school event followed by a drive to South Bend for a football game made for a long day.

There have been a bunch of players born in South Bend but none have gotten onto a Kellogg's baseball card.

Cubs vs. Dodgers - Kellogg's Cards of Course

1970 Cubs - Banks, Williams, Santo, Hundley, Beckert

1971 Cubs - Banks, Williams, Beckert, Kessinger, Hickman

1972 Cubs - Williams, Beckert, Jenkins

1970 Dodgers - Sutton, Singer, Haller, Crawford

1971 Dodgers - Sutton, Davis, Osteen, Grabarkewitz

1972 Dodgers - Davis, Parker, Osteen

The 1970 Cubs include three Hall of Famers while the Dodgers have just one.  The Cubs win 2-1 in 1971 and 2-0 in the 1972 set.  The Cubs dominated these match-ups.  How did they compare from 1973 to 1983?  Stay tuned.  

Back to my busy weekend of coaching and hosting a tournament.

Here is an Easy Question

I was reading about Eddie Collins today.  It turns out that he has won six World Series rings.  

no picture until tomorrow because I forgot my computer at work.  The week has been that busy.

All of the players with more rings than Collins have one thing in common.  Can you name what these 12 guys had in common?

Happy Birthday to Glenn Beckert

I've got a busy week with hosting a conference championship, two days of parent-teacher conferences and going to a college football game.  So the posts might be short and unimaginative for a few days.

But, it is Glenn Beckert's birthday.  Happy birthday to him.  I do love that he got into the Kellogg's card sets from 1970 to 1972.

I liked his Kellogg's cards and it was disappointing to see his 1974 Topps card that said Padres on the front but depicted him in a Cubs uniform batting at Wrigley Field.  Beckert played in 1974 and a few weeks in 1975 before his career ended.

The Cubs got Jerry Morales who was one of my favorite Cubs.  He played seven years with some really bad teams.  They were so bad that I remember him as a home run hitter.  His season-best home run total was only 16.

Not Today Reggie

On this day in 1978 Reggie Jackson was struck out by Bob Welch.  Nothing more needs to be said.  I'm going back to watching the playoffs.

Old Article About the 1991 Kellogg's Cards

Here is a nice article about the 1991 set.  

1991 Kellogg's Cards - Baltimore Sun

The checklist is interesting.  How did they end up with Boog Powell and Don Baylor and 13 Hall of Famers?

Boog got five votes in 1983 and then he was off the ballot.

Don got 12 votes in 1994 and 1995 and then he was off the ballot.

Were they trying to get someone else but they couldn't reach a deal?

The team needed someone who could play second base.  Any ideas of players from the same era as these guys?

Kellogg's Pack Questions

I've been trying to collect the unopened packs for every Kellogg's card that was given away in that manner.  I've got probably at least half of them.  Things move slowly then I might find a large lot.  I haven't gotten a large lot in a while since I am on small budget.  Those 1971s might never find their way into my collection, especially if I try to get the variations.

I have hundreds of packs like the ones shown year.  When I thought about one thing it surprised me to learn that none of the packs have the horrible curl that is seen with opened Kellogg's cards.  A few have a manageable curl but that's it.  

Can anyone tell me if they've seen unopened packs with bad curling?

Unopened 1-Card Packs and PSA?

I picked up another 1971 Kellogg's single-card pack this week.  I've been struggling to post pictures so I will show a 1978 pack with Nolan Ryan.  

Neither the 1971 nor the 1978 Ryan pack are in perfect shape.  In both instances there is some discoloration and the edges are not perfect.  Both are flat packs.

Over the years I've purchased some PSA cards, but I've never sent anything for grading.  How do they do packs?  What matters on this type of pack - color, flatness, borders, etc?  

What I Don't Ever Get When I Buy a Kellogg's Card Lot

I haven't been buying any sizable lots of Kellogg's cards recently.  They just haven't been available as frequently.  When I have purchased these lots a few things are always missing.

1.  Nice 1971 cards.  No surprise with this.

2.  Nice 1975 cards.  No surprise here either.

3.  Nice George Brett cards including unopened cards.  Why is that an issue?  I've gotten unopened cards of Nolan Ryan and nice cards of Rose, Jackson and others.  What is everyone doing with the George Brett cards?

This lot was an exception since it only contained Brett cards.  I just don't find them from the earlier years.

On This Day in 1984

******* Steve Garvey.

There will never be a school named in his honor in Chicago.  **** Steve Garvey.

I had a great job in the summer of 1984.  Whenever the Cubs had a home game, remember there were still no lights, we'd work straight through lunch until game time.  We didn't do much work after that since we were all Cub fans.  Going to a college that started classes near the end of September made the season even more enjoyable.

The Baltimore Orioles Stole Only 19 Bases This Season

While driving home yesterday I heard that the Orioles stole 19 bases as a team this season.  The team should get that many each year on failed hit-and-run plays.  I decided to check out some stolen base stats for players that appeared on Kellogg's baseball cards.

Here are some career stolen base and other numbers to compare to the 2016 Orioles.  

Harmon Killebrew stole 19 bases in his career spanning 22 seasons.

John Mayberry (20 SB) and Boog Powell (20 SB) got more than the O's this year.  Powell stole 18 of those bases in 14 seasons with the Orioles.  

Willie McCovey, listed as the fourth slowest player in MLB history by thebleacherreport.com, swiped 26 bases in his career.

The team leader for the Orioles this year, Joey Rickard, had four steals.  At age 47 Julio Franco stole six bases, so I hope that Joey doesn't get a bonus for leading the team in that category.  

  

Post-Season Homer Run Answers

I found two players who had Kellogg's cards in addition to having more career post-season homers than homers in the regular season.  It probably doesn't surprise anyone that both were pitchers.

The first pitcher had 442 plate appearances in the regular season and no home runs.  He hit a homer in the NLCS in 1975 for the Reds in one of his 28 post-season plate appearances.  Don Gullett hit this homer in an 8-3 win against Pittsburgh.

Gullett hit the only home in the game.  Who didn't homer - Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, George Foster, Ken Griffey, Willie Stargell, Richie Zisk, Dave Parker, great hitting pitcher Ken Brett and Bob Robertson, mentioned in recent posts.

The second pitcher was from the AL.  He had 1,017 plate appearances without hitting a homer in the regular season.  He homered in only 20 plate appearances in the post-season.  Mickey Lolich's homer in the 1968 World Series helped him to get the win on his way to being World Series MVP.

I love the 1972 Kellogg's set, but some of the cards have an odd look.  Under the red stripe that says "Pitcher" the dark corner always makes me think that something got cut out from the card.

Players With More Post-Season Homers Than Regular Season Homers

Only three players have had more career post-season homers than regular season homers.  One was Joe Blanton who hit a World Series homer in 2008.

Who are the other two and why do I care?  First, I've been spending time keeping my database analysis skills strong by coming up with odd questions like this.  I get this all from combining Sean Lahman baseball data with Kellogg's data.  I've added two tables to the Lahman tables.  The first table lists all players with a Kellogg's card.  The second table lists every Kellogg's card.

The answer is not Ozzie Smith or others who hit a homer during the playoffs without hitting one during that regular season.  This is more narrow.  I'm looking for the two other players who hit more post-season homers than regular-season homers in their careers.

Nolan Ryan is also not the correct answer.  However, I did learn that Nolan Ryan has more career playoff hits (3) than playoff wins (2).   

Both players that I'm looking for managed to also get at least one Kellogg's card.  Hint - no old-timers like the ones from the last question.