It took six ballots, but Billy Williams was finally elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987—eleven years after he played his last game. Many thought the decade-long wait was an unjustified limbo for an 18-year big leaguer who recorded 2,711 career hits, a .290 lifetime batting average, 426 home runs and .853 career OPS. That’s more career hits than Mickey … [Read more...] about The Humblest Hall of Famer – 6 Career Chronicling Cards of Billy Williams
1969 Topps
Original Drawings Reveal What Topps Did to Jim Lemon’s Weird 1969 Card
Jim Lemon had enjoyed a nice, long career as a big league player and was getting his chance to manage the Washington Senators. Little did he know in January of 1969 that he’d not only be fired a few weeks before the start of spring training but his misfortune would be subject to a rather cruel taunt from Topps. Collectors who pulled his card from packs in the third … [Read more...] about Original Drawings Reveal What Topps Did to Jim Lemon’s Weird 1969 Card
Vintage Pack Facts: 1969 Topps Baseball
It was the end of the decade...and the end of an era for those who could always count on tossing a nickel on the store counter for a pack of baseball cards. Football season brought more cards per pack but the price of had doubled for good. Expansion had come to baseball in 1969 and Topps' seven series roll out included 664 cards, making it the largest set to … [Read more...] about Vintage Pack Facts: 1969 Topps Baseball
Cartes de Baseball: Collecting the Original Montreal Expos
Major League Baseball stepped outside of America's borders as part of its expansion plans in the late 1960s and the Montreal Expos came into existence along with the San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals, and the ill-fated Seattle Pilots. Topps was on top of getting fans in most of these markets cards featuring players from the new teams into their flagship 1969 set, but … [Read more...] about Cartes de Baseball: Collecting the Original Montreal Expos
Topps’ “Other” 1969 Baseball Sets Were Small, Tall
Fifty years ago, collectors were beginning to pull the first of what would be Topps' biggest set to date at 664 cards. Baseball was expanding and so, too, were the number cards you needed to make a set. Still issued by series, the collecting would continue for the next several months but in addition to its standard bubble gum card set with the famous (or infamous) … [Read more...] about Topps’ “Other” 1969 Baseball Sets Were Small, Tall
1969 Topps 1st Series Wax Box in Heritage Auction
It was the last year of nickel wax packs, spread out over a season in which we the Cubs' dreams of glory were swiped away by a scrappy bunch of New York Mets. There was turmoil everywhere you turned but for youngsters, escape from the noise was just one piece of bubble gum away. While most of those first 1969 Topps packs to roll off the production … [Read more...] about 1969 Topps 1st Series Wax Box in Heritage Auction
1969 Topps Supers a Rare Test Issue
Topps has some excellent regular issues in the 1960s. One overlooked set, though, is the 1969 Topps Supers test issue. The cards are not only appealing, but much more difficult to find than the standard Topps issues from that time period. 1969 Topps Supers Basics The 1969 Topps Supers are a drastic change from the company's regular issue produced that year. The 1969 Topps … [Read more...] about 1969 Topps Supers a Rare Test Issue
1969 Topps Lou Brock: The Card That Started it for Me
1969 was a lot of things to a lot of different people. The moon landing. The ongoing war in Vietnam. Woodstock. Joe Namath and the Jets. For me, it was the year I discovered baseball cards and one in particular that brought them to life. When I opened one pack, staring at me was a guy named Lou Brock. At age seven, I really didn't know much about him, even though … [Read more...] about 1969 Topps Lou Brock: The Card That Started it for Me
Ramblings: Baseball Card Stories, 1969 Topps Edition
With the great reaction we received from some of our favorite 1964 Rookie Stars cards last week, I figured we could do a quick follow up and write about some of my favorite cards from the 1969 Topps set. This time, I’m not just limiting myself to a small subset but roaming through a set with over 700 different possible topics to write about. I’ve discussed one or two of these … [Read more...] about Ramblings: Baseball Card Stories, 1969 Topps Edition
Ramblings: One Team, Two Manager Cards Just Part of Senators/Rangers Saga
A week ago today, the Texas Rangers announced that manager Ron Washington was stepping aside to deal with a “personal issue”. In politics as in sports, when something is announced on a Friday evening, that usually means the story is designed to be publicized as little as possible. Now, in the world of 2014 with the Internet and the constant 24/7 news cycles this is harder to … [Read more...] about Ramblings: One Team, Two Manager Cards Just Part of Senators/Rangers Saga