Get Well Soon Rusty

A few days ago there were a number of reports that the legendary redhead, and fan favorite Rusty Staub is very ill.  He never played for the Cubs and had more hits and RBI against my favorite team than any other in his career.  Maybe that's why, though I hated to see him come up with the game on the line, I also came to admire him.  Post baseball, Rusty has become a legend in New York City for his charitable work. This afternoon I finally saw an update out of Montreal with news that Rusty is out of critical condition and is doing better.  Our thoughts are with him and his family for a full recovery.

Blow Out the Candles April 1

Hall of Fame knuckleballer, Phil Niekro is celebrating his 73rd birthday today.

 1969 Topps #355

Phil won 318 games in his 24 seasons (16th all-time). 268 of them were with the Braves.  His 3342 strikeouts is 11th all-time and only three men pitched more innings in their careers than Phil's 5404 (Cy Young, Pud Galvin and Walter Johnson).

1965

Phil pitching a no-hitter against the padres on August 5, 1973.

Phil pitching at Wrigley in the 80's

"Trying to hit him was like trying to eat Jell-O with chopsticks."

--Bobby Murcer

Phil was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997.

The great Rusty Staub is 67 today.

 1964 Topps #109

Rusty a .279 lifetime hitter with 2,716 hits is the only major leaguer with 500 hits with four different teams, (Astros, Expos, Mets and Tigers)

"Le Grand Orange"

This is a great video if you have time to watch it.

Blow Out the Candles April 1

Hall of Fame knuckeballer, Phil Niekro is celebrating his 72nd birthday today.

 1969 Topps #355

Phil won 318 games in his 24 seasons (16th all-time). 268 of them were with the Braves.  His 3342 strikeouts is 11th all-time and only three men pitched more innings in their careers than Phil's 5404 (Cy Young, Pud Galvin and Walter Johnson).

1965

Phil pitching a no-hitter against the padres on August 5, 1973.

Phil pitching at Wrigley in the 80's

"Trying to hit him was like trying to eat Jell-O with chopsticks."

--Bobby Murcer

Phil was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997.

The great Rusty Staub is 67 today.

 1964 Topps #109

Rusty a .279 lifetime hitter with 2,716 hits is the only major leaguer with 500 hits with four different teams, (Astros, Expos, Mets and Tigers)

"Le Grand Orange"

This is a great video if you have time to watch it.

Card of the Day -- A Classic from 1964

Some cards just seem like classics to me and this is one.  It's Rusty's 2nd Topps card and first on his own.  

1964 Topps #109

Here's Rusty in 1962 having just turned 18.

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!