Greg Maddux was "Big" in 1990

This card was part of a 330 card set put out by Topps in 1990. Unlike some larger cards, Donruss Action All-Stars comes to mind, these cards will fit in penny sleeves and top loaders.

Not a bad looking card

Interesting choice of fonts and colors

I'm Not Too Impressed by 2008 Topps Football

Jewel also had these blister 2 packs of 2008 Topps football. Compare them to Upper Deck's offering from my previous post. Glad I only got one.


Here's my favorite 9 including two "All Day"s.

(click to enlarge)

I Like 2008 Upper Deck Football

A few days ago my wife and I went grocery shopping at our local Jewel. While on our way to the dairy aisle I spotted a few carts of clearance items one of which had --- CARDS!!! The best thing I picked up turned out to be three 18 card blister packs of 2008 Upper Deck Football (two bucks a piece). I don't think I've bought a pack of football cards since the 1990's but these are really nice. UD had some really great photography in 2008. Last year I posted about their outstanding hockey set and I think the football set is close. The shots are varied and interesting and the sharpness and colors are great.

Here are my favorites which amount to about half the cards from the three packs. What do you think? (Click to enlarge them)

Sweet Lou Quote of the Day

In a topsy-turvy start of the season, managerLou Piniella has given notice that "business as usual" no longer will be an operative phrase in the Cubs' organization.

Whether it was removing Alfonso Soriano for defensive purposes, sitting Aramis Ramirez in back-to-back games or moving Carlos Zambrano to the bullpen, the players' hefty salaries did not factor into the decision-making process.

"They're high-paid players because they've had a lot of success," Piniella said. "I recognize that. But the payroll of the team doesn't change one way or another whether you use them in one way or another. The payroll stays the same. Now they should pay the manager more for doing these things."

Hey Buddie!

1993Classic Best #64, Mike Buddie

Good Luck, Blackhawks!

The Blackhawks were upset by the Nashville Predators last night in game one of their Stanley Cup Playoff series. Maybe another autograph post will bring them good luck. Here's three current players, Adam Burish, Kris Versteeg and Brian Campbell.


I made this 8x10 glossy, with the logo from the web, and had it signed at a book event.

"Thank You, Thing!"

1993 UD #405

Bend it Like Howard?

Early 90's Upper Deck had some great shots. Here's one of Thomas Howard making contact with the ball. That's one "whippy" bat!

Nice shot on the back of Thomas in a cool retro uni having fun in the dugout. Can anyone identify the player with the glasses?

Rusty! Rusty!

I'm not sure why I like Rusty Staub. He always killed the Cubs. He had more hits, RBI's and total bases against us than any other team in his long career. Maybe it's his name, RUSTY STAUB. I didn't even know what his given name was until I looked it up. It's not even on the back of this card. Of course he has one of the great nicknames of all time, "Le Grand Orange". Rusty never looked all that threatening to me on the diamond and yet he got the job done. Maybe that's another reason I like him.


I love the cartoon here. Who knew they gave out such an award!

Card of the Day

Today's card of the day is from 1930. Put out by W.D. & H.O. Wills, it's part of a 50 card set that includes, planes, trains, ships, cars and motorcycles.




Would you like me to post more of these or other cigarette cards? Kindly let me know either way by voting (upper right sidebar). Thanks.

Is This a Verontal Card?

1992 Score #311

This is a vertical card. Wait, it's a horizontal card. No, not exactly. I guess it's a "verontal" card. One thing we know for sure is that it's a Jeff Reed in pain card. Hope he was "OUT" Jeff.

Card of the Day

1992 Topps Stadium Club #376

For a shot of a guy bunting, this card rocks. There's just so much movement and anticipation here, the pitcher falling toward first, the batters' front foot poised in mid air, the ball approaching the bat, the catcher and umpire focused on the ball and even some admittedly lame looking fans looking on. Nice shot!

Card of the Day

1991 Topps #225

Looks like Topps said, "Let's see just how tall we can make this guy look!"

Note the writing on Randy's glove to the left of the Rawlings logo, "BIG UNIT".

Randy was just 24-24 with 349 strikeouts at this point, early in his career. He had thrown his first no-hitter the season before. His next wouldn't come for another 14 years, a perfect game for the Diamondbacks in 2004.

Card of the Day

1980 Topps #383

First of all, "ED OTT", "ED OTT". Sounds like a wrestler turned baseball catcher doesn't it?

Then there's that very yellow 1970's Pirates uniform. ED OTT does not look comfortable.

ED OTT does have a very nice signature. He certainly makes the most out of five letters.

ED OTT looks kind of lonely in front of those empty stands.

C'mon Leaf, It's Albert Belle not Brett Butler!

Here's Albert Belle's 1992 Leaf card, #350. In 12 major league seasons Albert had 1726 hits of which 389 were doubles, 21 were triples, and 381 were home runs. He was credited with with a grand total of 4 sacrifice bunts. So what is he doing on this card --- yes, bunting. Way to go Leaf!

Ministry of Silly ...

Ministry of Silly Pitching Motions

Ministry of Silly Walks

Opening Day is Here!!

Today is finally Opening Day. The Cubs play the Braves in just over three hours. I feel all tingley.

1989 Topps #721

Does anyone know much about Ron Tingley. He must really love baseball. He played professionally for 20 years, mostly in the minors. He lifetime minor league average was .261 but in 563 at bats in the majors he fell short of .200 by 5 points.

Here's a short article about Ron that appeared in the LA Times in 1993:

His Sit-Com Better Than Starting Role

MIKE PENNER

May 31, 1993|MIKE PENNER

Oh, yeah, life as a designated sitter is just a never-ending laugh riot.

Ron Tingley runs his at-batless streak to seven weeks and, in Chicago, out of exasperation, he tells reporters, "I feel like calling the American Embassy and saying, 'Let me out. I've been held hostage long enough.' "

Everyone laughs.

Ron Tingley makes his initial plate appearance of the 1993 season, on May 24, basically because the Angels and the Seattle Mariners are required to play 14 innings and need every spare part they can locate, and the next day, the wiseacre who types out the Angels pregame notes informs the media that Tingley "received a congratulatory phone call from the White House after last night's plate appearance."

Everyone laughs.

Ron Tingley delivers his first hit of the 1993 season, a second-inning single against Baltimore left-hander Jamie Moyer Sunday, and an Angels publicist tells the press box, "That hit by Tingley ends an 0-for-10 stretch."

"Is that months?" somebody yells back.

And everyone laughs again.

On his own, Ron Tingley is a funny enough guy. His viewfinder is a bit nicked and cracked after 16 years of knocking around the bushes--so long that five of his 13 minor league stops no longer have teams--and the result is a delightfully skewed take on a game he has spent a good while observing.

Add in his present circumstance--third-string catcher on a team that has chosen to subsist on John Orton and Greg Myers alone--and the fodder for punchlines runs from here to the handsome new lounge chair in the Angel bullpen, which, Tingley says, was a gift from the ever-thoughtful Anaheim Stadium grounds crew.

"It has my name on it," he says proudly.

Thus begins Tingley's stand-up routine about sitting down.

How does one occupy the time when one goes two months between at-bats?

Tingley: "You contemplate suicide."

Or you read. You have lots of time to read.

Tingley: "Just three weeks ago, my hometown paper was running a Tingley Watch--'When would that first at-bat come?' Eventually, it was down to me and a shortstop with Toronto (Alfredo Griffin). Who would go the longest before getting his first at-bat? Then, (Dick) Schofield went down and I was declared the winner. I was the sole survivor.

"Darn the luck. I was ready to battle all year."

The first at-bat came last Monday, followed by three more Sunday. So, after so many weeks, how does it feel, at last, to face live pitching?

Card of the Day

Anyone want to tell me what's going on with Kent?

1988 Fleer #318

Also, Chicagoans kind of keep track of guys who have played for both the Cubs and White Sox. Do Phillies and Pirates fans do the same thing?

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!

1960-61 Stanley Cup Champs Blackhawks Autographs

The Blackhawks have been limping toward the Stanley Cup playoffs, 4-4-2 in their last 10 games. Overall they've had a great season at 48-22-7. Hopefully they'll get hot and accomplish what the gentlemen from 1960-61, below, did -- that is bring the the Stanley Cup to Chicago.

2005 UD Signature Decades The 1950's Part 2

The 1950's