Blow Out the Candles Dec 6

1994 Sporting News Conlon Collection #1053

Hall of Famer Tony Lazerri was born in San Francisco, CA on this date in 1903.

Frank Crosetti, Tony Lazzeri and Joe Dimaggio Setember 1, 1936

2006 SP Legendary Cuts #24

One of only eight umpires elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame, Jocko Conlan was born in Chicago, Il on this date in 1899.

1935 Diamond Stars #34

Cubs great Stan Hack was born in Sacramento, CA on this date in 1909. Stan was my Dad's favorite player when he was a boy.

Going Up. Here is a real baseball form as exhibited by Stan Hack of the Chicago Cubs at Catalina Island, Calif., where the Cubs are training in their quest for another pennant.

Actress Agnes Moorehead was born on this date in 1900 in Clinton, MA. Though she appeared in over 70 films and was nominated for 4 Oscars she will be remembered mostly (to her chagrin) for her role as Samantha's mother, Endora on the sitcom Bewitched.

George and Ira Gershwin

Born Isreal Gershovitzin in New York City on this date in 1896 was lyricist, Ira Gershwin. He wrote hundreds of songs most notably with his younger brother George. Some of his most famous: The Man I Love, Fascinating Rhythm, Somerone to Watch Over Me, They Can't Take That Away From Me, I Got Rhythm, and Summertime.

This is truly timeless music:

Old Baseball Photograph of the Day

This is Ty Cobb, apparently taken during batting practice. The way he's wearing his collar looks very uncomfortable. Can anyone identify the ballpark?

Blow Out the Candles Dec 5

1972 Topps #65

Former quarterback Jim Plunkett turns 62 today. Jim won the Heisman trophy in 1970 and was starting quarterback for two Raiders Super Bowl Champs, 1981, 1984.

Author and journalist Calvin Trillin turns 74 today.

Calvin reciting some of his political poems. Very funny.

Richard Wayne Penniman, Little Richard, turns 77 today.

A Couple of Triple Play Goofs

I like cards with players having fun. Here's a couple:

1992 Donruss Triple Play #135
The Hrbek Sneer

1993 Donruss Triple Play #263

Who was goofier than Roger McDowell? You wouldn't see Orel Hershiser doing this.

Roger McDowell was the spitter on the gravelly road.

Blow Out the Candles Dec 4

Hall of Famer Jesse Burkett was born in Wheeling, West Virginia on this date in 1868.

UNITED STATES - CIRCA 1903: Half-length portrait of Jesse (The Crab) Burkett, outfielder, St. Louis standing in the foul area near the grandstand concourse at South Side Park which was located at West 37th Street, South Princeton Avenue, West Pershing Road (formerly West 39th Street), and South Wentworth Avenue in the Armour Square community area of Chicago, Illinois, 1903. Spectators in the bleachers are visible above and behind him. in Chicago, Illinois. From the Chicago Daily News collection. (Photo by Chicago History Museum/Getty Images)
UNITED STATES - CIRCA 1905: Full-length portrait of Jesse Burkett, outfielder for the American League Boston Red Sox, batting, waiting for a pitch, Chicago, 1905. The catcher and umpire are in position at home plate at South Side Park in the Armour Square community area of Chicago, Illinois. Spectators in the bleachers are visible in the background. From the Chicago Daily News collection. (Photo by Chicago History Museum/Getty Images

1968-69 Topps #28

Detroit Red Wings legend Alex Delvecchio turns 77 today. The 13 time All-Star and 3 time Stanley Cup winner entered the Hocley Hall of Fame in 1977.

Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Favorites - M

Topps put out 150 card sets of retired players in 2003-2004-2005. Players are pictured on card designs from their playing days but with different photos than were in the originals. Here are my favorites, alphabetically.

2003 #68

1975 design. Not wild about the border colors on this one (red on orange for the team name?) but it's a nice shot of a young Bill Madlock and it's a Cubs card.

2005 #86

1964 design. Juan looks so sweet here. Not so sweet to face him in 1964. He struck out 206 and only walked 52, winning 21 and losing only 8.

2003 #1

1955 design. Great design , super great player. No complaints here. Next!

2003 #83

1957 design. Remember when the Pirates were good? Bill does. In 1957 he hit a career high .283 but it was not a good year for the Pirates in '57. They finished tied with my Cubbies at 62-92 and in last place, 33 games behind the eventual World Series Champion Milwaukee Braves.

2003 #90

1965 design. For some reason the Cardinals cards always look particularly good. That being said I like this card for the goofy looking Tim McCarver.

2003 #132

1968 design. Not my most favorite card but Willie's a Hall of Famer and I like the Giant's green on the 1968 design. This is one case where the original is actually better.

2004 #85

1968 design. Sam had an ERA of 1.81 in 1968. That was good for second in the AL behind teammate Luis Tiant but Sudden Sam went only 15-14. If I'm not mistaken he lost twelve games in which the Indians scored no more than one run.

2005 #56

1965 design. The last man to win 30 games in a season, McLain went 16-6 in 1965. Don't you love the glasses? I think Denny borrowed them from Floyd the barber.

2005 #80

1970 design. I believe it's right that the players are not the slaves of the baseball owners but I miss the days when the same guys were on your team together for a longer time.

2005 #110

1978 design. Rick was an All-Star in 1978 and the Dodgers made it to the World Series.

2005 #123

1960 design. This is the design of Topps Heritage in 2010. Personally, I like it. As for this card, you can't do any better than Stan the Man.

Blow Out the Candles Dec 3

One of America's foremost portrait painters, Gilbert Stuart, was born in Saunderstown, Rhode Island on this date in 1755. You probably have a reproduction of one of his works in your wallet right now (it's about all I have) :

Known as The Athenaeum, the 1796 portrait of George Washington was unfinished.
From Wikipedia: "Stuart painted George Washington in a series of iconic portraits, each of them leading in turn to a demand for copies and keeping Stuart busy and highly paid for years.[15] The most famous and celebrated of these likenesses, known as The Athenaeum, is currently portrayed on the United States one dollar bill. Stuart, along with his daughters, painted a total of 130 reproductions of The Athenaeum. However, Stuart never completed the original version; after finishing Washington's face, the artist kept the original version to make the copies.[16] He sold up to 70 of his reproductions for a price of US$100 each, but the original portrait was left unfinished at the time of Stuart's death in 1828.[16] The painting now hangs in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.[16]"


Charles Pillsbury, founder of the Pillsbury Co. was born on this date in 1842.

The familiar logo.

The Pillsbury Doughboy "Poppin Fresh"

Old Baseball Photo of the Day -- Joe Jackson

Click to enlarge

This is Shoeless Joe Jackson sometime between 1910 and 1915 with the Cleveland Naps.

Blow Out the Candles Dec 2

Tennis star Monica Seles celebrates her 36th birthday today. Monica won 9 Grand Slam singles titles and might have won many more if not for being stabbed in the back (literally) at a tournament in Hamburg, Germanyin 1993. She recovered from the injuries but was never the same. I loved the energy she brought to the game.

My Favorite Martian, Ray Walston was born on this date in 1914. Ray also played Mr. Applegate (Satan) in the Broadway and film versions of Damn Yankees.

Ray Walston with Bill Bixby and a young Marlo Thomas

Self-portrait

Artist Georges Seurat was born in Paris, France on this date in 1859. His most famous painting is A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884-1886).

A Simpson's homage

Ron Santo Card of the Day

Ron Santo was and still is my baseball hero. Here's a random card from my large but incomplete collection:

1973 Topps # 115

In 1973, his last year as a Cub Ron hit .267 with 20 home runs and 77 RBIs. He was the starting 3rd baseman for the NL All-Stars.