Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Favorites -- S

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.

Ron Santo is my favorite player and had a card in each set. It's just a happy coincidence that he is the first "S".

2003 #145

1966 design. A classic shot. The bear cub patch these days looks a lot meaner than the one here. It hasn't help them get to the World Series. Ron had some nice (non-steroid) guns.

2004 #19

1961 design. 1961 was Santo's first card. In his first full year, 1961, he hit .284 with 23 HR's and 83 RBI's.

2005 #124

1965 design. Is that a golf glove on his left hand?

2003 #87

1953 design. I remember Red as the Cards manager, but in 1953 he hit a career high .342.

2004 #139

1957 design. The longtime Indians announcer won 38 games before being hit in the face by a line drive in May 7, 1957. Score rejects the theory that the injury and fear of being hit again had anything to do with his lack of success in the years that followed citing an elbow injury in 1958. He last pitched in 1962 for the White Sox, finishing his promising career with a 55-46 record.

2004 #17

1967 design. It's hard to find fault with the 1967 set. Boomer hit .303 in 1967 helping the Sox reach the World Series, which they unfortunately lost to the Cardinals.

2003 #135

1969 design. Tom Terrific. Miracle Mets. Please don't tell Mr. Santo that Seaver's here.

2004 #15

2000 design. The legendary Bob Sheppard was the public address announcer for the New York Yankees for more than half a century. Reggie Jackson called him "the Voice of God".

2003 #66

1960 design. I love this shot of Moose with the two bats and the trees in the background.

2004 #120

1955 design. Terrific looking card. Duke hit 42 home runs and drove in 136 in 1955. Incidentally, the Dodgers won the World Series that year.

2004 #104

1984 design. Rick looks a little like he's modeling for a Cubs apparel catalog here but he was 16-1 in 1984. How did the Cubs lose three in a row to the Padres? I still have a jacket like Rick's.

1968 Topps Football Stand-ups

Another great Topps insert, these were in packs of 1968 football cards. I apparently could not resist making them do their thing. I have a vague memory of them displayed together on top of my dresser.

2002 Topps Super Teams Relics

One focus of my return to collecting has been autographs and relics from the great World Series teams of my youth. Topps 2002 Super Teams falls nicely into this category.

#STR-RH

#STR-TM

#STR-DM

#STR-BC

#STR-SBB

Here's the story of a man named Gordie

Inserted into packs of 1971-72 Topps hockey packs were little comic strip biography booklets of NHL stars. There were 24 in all. Here's Mr. Hockey:

1971-72 Topps #70

Welcoming Hawk to the Club

This was the header on yesterday's Chicago Tribune.

SHORPY Shot of the Day -- Donkey Boys

Click photo to enlarge

The two young men here are Donkey Boy 1 and Donkey Boy 2 (it's on their hats). It's 1904 and they are giving donkey rides in Central Park, New York City.

1973 Topps FB -- John Riggins

1973 Topps #245

John Riggins is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

John Riggins is a member of the White Afro Hall of Fame (unofficial).

2007 Goudey

I hated 2009 Goudey overall. I bought a blaster and left it at that. I did pick up the Ron Santo cards in the set, with the exception of the Sport Royalty auto.

I liked the 2008 set but didn't care for the "Derek Jeter says", "Ken Griffey says" thing.

My favorite is still the 2007 set. I like the simplicity of the design. I like the various backgrounds. I don't mind that they are odd sized. In fact that's part of the charm for me. It makes them seem more authentic, even though I know they're new cards.



Upper Deck announced some basic info on the 2010 set today but did not include pictures. I look forward to seeing them.

1971 Topps Coins

In 1971 you got 10 cards for 10 cents and on top of that in each pack you got one of these great coins. There were 153 coins in all. I have around 60. I think all my doubles are of players like the great Lew Krausse. Here are the best ones.

Roller Derby Queen

I don't really have a post ready for this morning but I found this video. Can you guess which blogger was the inspiration?



Roller Derby Queen
by Jim Croce

Gonna tell you a story that you won't believe
But I fell in love last Friday evenin'
With a girl I saw on a bar room T.V. screen

Well I was just gettin' ready to get my hat
When she caught my eye and I put it back
And I ordered myself a couple o' more shots and beers

The night that I fell in love with a Roller Derby Queen
Round and round, oh round and round
The meanest hunk o' woman
That anybody ever seen
Down in the arena

She was five foot six and two fifteen
A bleached-blonde mama
With a streak of mean
She knew how to knuckle
And she knew how to scuffle and fight

And the roller derby program said
That she was built like a 'fridgerator with a head
Her fans call her "Tuffy"
But all her buddies called her "Spike"

You know that I fell in love with a Roller Derby Queen
Round and round, oh round and round
The meanest hunk o' woman
That anybody ever seen
Down in the arena

Round and round, go round and round
Round and round, go round and round
Round and round

Well I could not help it
But to fall in love
With this heavy-duty woman
I been speakin' of
Things looked kind of bad
Until the day she skated into my life

Well she might be nasty
She might be fat
But I never met a person
Who would tell her that
She's my big blonde bomber
My heavy handed Hackensack mama

You know that I fell in love with a Roller Derby Queen
Round and round, oh round and round
The meanest hunk o' woman
That anybody ever seen
Down in the arena

Round and round, go round and round
Round and round, go round and round
Round and round