#18 - John Candelaria
20-5 in 1977 - wow! 2.34 ERA - wow! The first Pirate since Bob Friend in 1955 to win the NL ERA title. I've got a lot of Bob Friend cards from the 1950s, but I never guessed he'd be mentioned on a Kellogg's card. I bet Bob didn't either.
Lew Alcindor is also mentioned since Candelaria finished second in career scoring in the Catholic school basketball league.
He won his first career game against Tom Seaver.
This could be a record for the most players mentioned on the back of the card.
He became the first Pirate to throw a no-hitter in Pittsburgh. How could that be?
Not on the card - according to multiple sources, the first Pirate no-hitter was in Pittsburgh by Nick Maddox in 1907.
Not on the card - Bob Friend had a son who played on the PGA Tour.
Not on the card - I didn't know that he ended up playing for eight different teams.
#17 - Mickey Rivers
Two cards in a row where the player's nickname is mentioned in the text. He hit .326 in 1977.
His base running is mentioned, but not how many steals he had. He led the league with 70 in 1975 and he swiped 267 in his career.
Not on the card - he was traded by the Angels to the Yankees for Bobby Bonds.
#16 - Jose Cruz
Jose likes swimming. He had career highs in almost every category in 1977. He is the eldest of three MLB brothers. St. Louis continues to regret his sale to Houston.
Tommy Cruz played three games for St. Louis in 1973 and four games for the White Sox in 1977.
Hector Cruz also debuted in the big leagues in 1973 with St. Louis. He played 11 games that season and stayed with the team until 1977. He lasted in the majors until 1982.
Jose was with the Cardinals from 1970 - 1974. What about 1973? Did the brothers play together?
In his debut Tommy pinch-ran in the 8th inning but he was replaced by Jose in the field. Jose drove in the winning run in the 9th inning.
Hector didn't play in any of the games where Tommy played. They couldn't match the Alou brothers who did for an entire outfield in a game. Plus, two Alous got a Kellogg's card and only Jose Cruz got one for his family.
Both families had the next generation make it to the majors - Jose Cruz, Jr. and Moises Alou. Mel Rojas is a cousin of Moises Alou.
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