What Happened to 1976 Kellogg's Cards #1, #2 and #3?

It is known that the first three cards in the 1976 Kellogg's set are in shorter supply.  Unlike other years, these cards are included in their own sheet.

What I have heard is that these three cards were not available in cereal boxes.  It seems as though one needed to buy the factory set to get them.  That would explain the proof sheet shown above.

Of the 14 main Kellogg's sets, only in 1973, 1975 and 1976 did the first three cards not include a future Hall-of-Famer (or Pete Rose).  I'm inclined to believe that there were three other players who were supposed to be included in the set.  But for that to be true those players would probably appear on the proof sheets that were auctioned last year.  Any help would be appreciated.

Some Players not in the 1976 set

Hank Aaron who they didn't get into a regular set for some rea$on.

Mike Schmidt led the NL in homers in 1975 but didn't get a 1976 Kellogg's card after being in the 1975 set.  He also wasn't included in 1977.

Tony Perez surpassed 100 RBIs but he was excluded.

Rusty Staub also surpassed 100 RBIs.  He was traded in December of 1975 so maybe that kept him out of the set.  He was not in any Kellogg's set.

George Brett batted .308 and led the AL in hits.

Mike Torrez won 20 games in 1975 but he never appeared in a Kellogg's set.  He was traded in early 1976 in a deal that sent Reggie Jackson to the Orioles, but Reggie appeared in his A's uniform in the Kellogg's set so Torrez could have been included as an Oriole.

Rich Gossage led the league in saves, had lots of strikeouts and an ERA of 1.84.

Happy Birthday to #7 on the All-Time Winning Percentage List

I was checking out the all-time leaders in winning percentage today.  The list only includes pitchers with at least 100 career decisions.

Here are some of the top pitchers on the list.

1.   Albert Spalding.  252-65.   Yes, the sporting goods guy.   He only played for seven years.  Why?

2.   Spud Chandler.  109-43.

3T. Whitey Ford.  236-106.  

3T. Dave Foutz.  147-66.  He's listed as a batter first since he played even when not pitching.

5.   Bob Caruthers.  218-99.

6.   Pedro Martinez.  219-100.  

Others

10.  Smokey Joe Wood

11.  Babe Ruth

12.  Clayton Kershaw

16.  Christy Mathewson

19.  Roger Clemens

22.  Sandy Koufax

24.  Ron Guidry

25.  David Price

Number 7 on this list has some impressive statistics.  If you've read my other posts, this player must appear on a Kellogg's card.  No, this player doesn't appear in the All-Time Greats set.

He played for only nine years but compiled a record of 109-50.  He added 11 saves over the years.

He pitched in the post-season in five different years and he was on the roster in another season.  He was a member of six World Series teams including teams that won in 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978.  

He didn't pitch in the 1978 post season and he never appeared in another game after July 9, 1978.  

By now you probably know that he was a Red and then a Yankee.  

This sheet shows Gullett's 1976 Kellogg's card along with Steve Hargan and Claudell Washington.  More on that tomorrow.

Don Gullett had a nice career in many ways.  Unfortunately he never pitched after the age of 27 due to shoulder problems.  

He had a complete game win in Game 1 of the NLCS against the Pirates in 1975.  He was also 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs and a homer.  He joins a unique list of guys who homered in the post-season but never during their regular season careers.  He had 442 plate appearances in the regular season without hitting a homer.

Hank Aaron sure liked facing Gullett.  Aaron hit 7 homers in 26 official at-bats against Gullett.

A Book That I am Now Planning to Read - It is Already in My Garage

In 1963 on this day Rogers Hornsby passed away in Chicago.  He has the highest career average for a right-handed hitter with his .358 average.  He also had the highest average in a season after 1900 when he hit .424.

I know that I have a book in the garage about him.  After what I learned today I'll certainly be reading it soon.

Hornsby was buried in a place near Austin, Texas called Hornsby Bend, Texas.  Is anyone else born in a town that matches their name?

Hornsby wasn't well-liked as a player or as a manager.  Maybe that is a big reason why he played for some many teams and coached/managed at a lot of places as well.

I like this quote that I found that was attributed to him -

"I don't want to play golf. When I hit a ball, I want someone else to go chase it."

I guess that he never would have liked being a caddie either.   I will be thinking about that when I read the book.  

The "Original Padre"? I Guess I Should Check the Other Teams Too

So, Ollie Brown was the Original Padre since he was their first player selected in the 1968 Expansion Draft.

Bob Bailor was the first Blue Jay selected.  The first Expo and Pilot drafted both appeared on a Kellogg's card so I will save them for another day when I mention all of the first picks.

Back to Ollie Brown who passed away in 2015.  His brother Oscar played for the Braves for five years.  Another brother, Willie, played for the Raiders and coached in the NFL.  I remember Willie the most.

I remember getting Topps cards of Ollie and Willie as a kid, but I really don't remember Oscar.  Sorry about that Oscar.

Ollie played from 1965 -1977, so the Padres at least picked someone who lasted.  He played four seasons with the Padres.  He had 20+ homers in two of those seasons and he finished with 102 career home runs.

What Do Lefty Grove, Roy White and Bruce Sutter Have in Common?

This is my 300th post.  I always liked how Topps gave card numbers ending in "00" to star players.  That's not what the three players listed in the title have in common.

Lefty Grove won exactly 300 games in his career.

Bruce Sutter saved exactly 300 games in his career.

Roy White got exactly 300 doubles in his career.

Thanks to these guys for making my post easier to do.  We'll see in a few months if there is anyone with exactly 400 of something.

Ted Turner Knows How to Make News - Sports, TV, Wives and More

Gary Matthews signed in as a free agent with Atlanta after the 1976 season.  On this day in 1977 Braves owner Ted Turner was suspended for the 1977 season for tampering in the free agent signing of Matthews.



Mathews had a nice career, as did his son.  Matthews Sr. was Rookie of the Year and he had 7 post-season homers in 19 games.

After Turned decided to manage one game in 1977 Commission Kuhn ruled that anyone who is a team owner couldn't manage a team.  He must have been appealing the suspension at this point in May of 1977?

Turner took a new path after the suspension.  He went on the skipper the USA victory in the America's Cup Yacht Race.

Matthews became a leader for the 1984 Cubs, leading the league in walks, sacrifice flies and on-base percentage.

Not Many A.L. Pitchers Were Able to Do This But Paul Lindblad Did.

Paul Lindblad passed away on this day in 2006 from Alzheimer's disease.

He played 14 years, all in the A.L.  Lindblad was a workhorse who pitched in 655 career games mostly in relief.

In 1975 he was a pitcher in a combined no-hitter.  The other pitchers were Vida Blue, Rollie Fingers and Glenn Abbott.  He pitched one inning retiring the side in order.  Fingers pitched the last two like relievers normally did back then.  Today many closers get one inning only.

In over 1,200 innings no one hit more than four homers off of him.  No Hall of Famer hit more than two homers off him.  Al Kaline and Carlton Fisk managed two homers each while Rick Reichardt had the most of Lindblad with four homers.  Reichardt hit two of them in consecutive innings in 1967.

As I said, Lindblad only played in the A.L.  I noticed on his stats that somehow he managed to give up one home run in Shea Stadium.  Does anyone know how this is possible?

Give up yet?  Here is a big hint.  When Joe Dimaggio played his final Old-Timer's Game it was also at Shea Stadium.

Need another hint?  Lindblad had one career homer and it was at Yankee Stadium in 1967.


It turns out that Thurman Munson was the one to hit a home run off of Paul Lindblad at Shea Stadium.  The Yankees played home games there in 1974 and 1975 because Yankee Stadium was being renovated.  Since we didn't have cable TV that wasn't something we heard about every day.  I'd forgotten that.

Lindblad and Munson are cards #52 and #53 in the 1976 Kellogg's set.  They are next to each other in nine-pocket pages.