1975 Kellogg's and PSA

Over 10,000 1974 Kellogg's baseball cards have been graded and over 8,500 1976s have been graded.  Why is 1975 only at 5,000 even though 1975s are much more expensive?  1975s seem more prone to discoloring or cracking. 

PSA 8-9-10

1974 over 9,600 of the 10,000 graded cards are 8s, 9s or 10s.  96%.  34% are 10s.

1975 over 4,500 of the 5,000 graded cards are 8s, 9s or 10s.  90%.  20% are 10s.

1976 over 8,200 of the 8,500 graded cards are 8s, 9s or 10s.   96.5%.  41% are 10s.


The 1975s don't seem to be very easy to find in nice condition or in unopened packs.

I doubt that I will ever attempt to get a nice set of these cards.  Even if I find 1975s that are flat and without cracks, they still tend to lose that bright color quickly.   

1975 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs #19 - 21

Back for more reading with the 1975 Kellogg's baseball card backs.

#21 - Cleon Jones

Not much to say on this card since he'd already played 12 years.  Knee surgery didn't affect his results last year.  The Mets are said to be hopeful that 1975 will be his best year yet. 

Not on the card - he only played 33 games in 1975 and 1976 before his career ended.  He was released in July of 1975 by the Mets and he closed out his career with the White Sox. 

#20 - Lynn McGlothen

I didn't know that he can to St. Louis in the trade that also brought Reggie Smith to town.

He won 16 letters in high school.  Wow!

He had a knee operation that limited him to six games in 1973.

Not on the card - baseball-reference.com lists the trades with Boston differently.  It mentions the Smith was acquired on October 26th. 

Sadly, he died within two years of his last MLB appearance. 

#19 - John Hiller

Hiller just completed nine years with the Tigers.  He missed 1971 because of a heart attack.  He must have been 27 at the time of the heart attack. 

He set a record for most wins by a relief pitcher with 17 wins in 1973.  He also set the MLB saves mark with 38. 

Not only did he have heart problems he had surgery in 1972.  The card doesn't mention what kind of surgery which is odd since knee surgeries have been mentioned on some 1975 card backs 

Not on the card - he's Canadian

How I Spent My Allowance

This was a great thing to see in the mail today.  If I get another one I'm likely to cut the Tom Seaver cards out.  Why?  These boxes are cheap and those Seaver cards don't really look at all like that in the All-Star set.  

I could also cut the smaller cards, but that isn't a priority.  Has anyone cut apart any of these boxes?

Getting Closer to Print Run #1 From 1979 Kellogg's

Now that I've gotten the Davey Lopes card from print run #1 I'm down to needing just Yaz and George Brett.  Here is a picture of the Lopes.  The back isn't great, but since I don't ever see this card I'll take it.

Update - I just noticed that the Freddie Patek in the same lot was also a variation that I needed from print run #2.  

I Couldn't Resist Buying This

A lot of my favorite card from the first Kellogg's set that I assembled.

I didn't even get the cards yet and the image above is poor but I was just excited to be adding these to my collection.

Yes, it hurt that he got traded after the 1974 season. 

What Does 1,000 Mean in Baseball?

When someone gets a hit every time he is said to be batting 1,000 which is really 1.000.  This is my 1,000th post.  I still don't have my files copied from my old hard drive to the new one, so I am still short on pictures.  I'm too lazy to take new pictures for this post.

Only one player has exceeded 1,000 stolen bases.  Just ask him and he will tell you that he's the greatest ever.  Just don't expect Rickey Henderson to throw a ball into the stands at an All-Star game.

I found some stats for players that were 1,000 but they didn't appear on a Kellogg's card.  For players on a Kellogg's card there were a few close calls.

Tommy Agee managed to get 999 hits in his career.  Too bad he didn't get one more hit off of Tom Bradley who didn't get a Kellogg's card, but he gave up 999 hits.  They both were in the NL in 1973 but they didn't face each other.

Sam McDowell gave up 999 runs in his career.

Boog Powell recorded 999 walks in his career.   He batted 58 times against McDowell and received eight walks.  One bases-loaded walk off McDowell would have gotten both to 1,000.

Steve Rogers gave up 1,001 earned runs in his career.

In the 14 years from 1970 - 1983 only one MLB team didn't win 1,000 games.  Can you name that team?  Since the answer is only one team, Toronto and Seattle who both entered in 1977 are excluded from this.

Five other teams averaged less than 75 wins per season during that time.  Can you name them?  One surprised me a bit. 

1975 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs #22 - 24

Three more 1975 Kellogg's baseball card backs. 



#24 - Steve Busby

He tossed no-hitters in both of his full seasons in the majors.  His manager thinks he's got a chance to be as good as Tom Seaver.

Not on the card - he had another strong season in 1975 but he didn't keep the no-hitter streak going.  That was about it for him after an injury in 1976.  The rotator cuff tear wasn't as easy to fix as it is today. 

#23 - Bill North

Nice to see that North listed some different hobbies - reading and pool.  He led the AL in steals in 1974.  The paragraph mostly focuses on his stolen bases in the minors as well. 

He was injured, so he missed the 1973 post-season. 

There is a surprising formatting issue on the card - "led the loop in SB      with 42".  I will check to see if that was changed. 

#22 - Fergie Jenkins

Jenkins had six 20-win seasons in a row with the Cubs, but after a losing season in 1973 he was traded to Texas.  In his first season with the Rangers he had his highest victory total - 25.   He led the league with 29 complete games in his 41 starts. 

Not on the card - he averaged eight innings per start.  You won't see that in the majors today. 

Not on the card - the Cubs got Bill Madlock in the trade with Texas.  After three years and two batting titles, Madlock was traded for Bobby Murcer.