the cuts are legendary in the next installment of sheets from the steve garvey binders

the first five cards of sheet 64 in the steve garvey binders feature a photo (well, two photos) of him wearing the dual-ear flap batting helmet.  if i were to ever have a conversation with garvey, i would ask him about wearing that type of helmet that was usually reserved for switch-hitters and amateurs.  here is sheet 64:

those cards are:

1. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts baseball chronology materials relic
2. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary materials relic /225
3. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary materials relic /199
4. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary materials relic /99
5. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary materials relic /15
6. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts memorable moments materials relic /225
7. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts when it was a game silver /550
8. 2006 upper deck ultimate collection ultimate ensemble signatures quad auto (with ron cey, don sutton, and dusty baker) /25
9. 2007 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary materials relic /199

looks like padre relics on cards 1 and 6 (which are dodger cards), which always bugs me a bit.  there are a number of other parallels, and a relic version of card 7, that i am missing from the 2006 legendary cuts set.  the 2007 legendary cuts set has two versions of the legendary materials cards for garvey - one is a padres version and the other is the dodger version that i have.

here are the backs:

moving on to sheet 65:

those cards are:

1. 2007 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary materials dual relic /125
2. 2007 upper deck sp legendary cuts masterful materials relic
3. 2007 upper deck sweet spot classic /575
4. 2007 upper deck sweet spot classic classic memorabilia relic
5. 2007 upper deck sweet spot classic classic memorabilia patch relic /55
6. 2008 dodger pocket schedules (with james loney)
7. 2008 donruss threads
8. 2008 donruss threads century proof silver parallel /100
9. 2008 donruss threads jerseys relic (yellow swatch) /150

so there is the padre version of the legendary materials card, although it is the dual relic version.  there are also quad relic versions of both the dodger and padre cards, but i don't have either.  i was disappointed back in 2007 to see garvey as a padre in the sweet spot classic base set and jersey insert checklist, but at least they got the relic swatches matched up with the team this time.  and, at least they had garvey as a dodger on the signature cards in the set (more on those in a future post).

i suppose that the pocket schedule really belongs in the oddball binder, but it fits nicely here in a 9-pocket page, so here it remains.  there are a number of versions of the schedules with then-current dodgers and past dodgers matched by position as is the case with loney.

here are the backs:

you can see on the back of card 8 that i have the /100 version of the donruss threads parallel, and that i am still looking for the /250 version.  that card is target number 1 on the nefarious 9.

2006 brings some epic cards in the steve garvey binders

my second primary steve garvey binder begins with cards from 2006.  here is the 62nd sheet of cards from the binders, but the first in binder number 2:

those cards are:

1. 2006 fleer greats of the game
2. 2006 fleer greats of the game pewter parallel
3. 2006 fleer greats of the game auto
4. 2006 fleer greats of the game autographics auto (print run of 50)
5. 2006 fleer greats of the game dodgers greats
6. 2006 fleer greats of the game dodgers greats memorabilia relic
7. 2006 topps triple threads relic /18
8. 2006 topps triple threads relic autograph /18
9. 2006 topps triple threads relic combos (with rickey henderson and tony gwynn) /18

so, upper deck bought the rights to fleer and issued the greats of the game set in 2006.  there are 26 different cards available for steve garvey from that issue (many of which are 1/1 printing plates), and i am missing most. some of those are also rare bat barrel cards, but others are a /299 copper parallel and /50 dodgers greats auto cards.  speaking of the dodgers greats cards, i appreciate the dodger stadium at sunset inset photo.

on to triple threads. garvey has two triple relic cards. the one i have the "base" version of spells out "mvp".  the other spells out "lad".  likewise, the relic/autograph cards have two versions (mvp and lad), and we'll see a version of the other on the next sheet.  as for the combos card with rickey and gwynn, beckett tells me that the rickey relic is from his cleats.  that beats the garvey bat and gwynn jersey pieces for sure.

here are the backs:

this is sheet 63:

those cards are:

1. 2006 topps triple threads relic autograph gold /9
2. 2006 topps triple threads relic combos autograph (with don mattingly and dan johnson) /18
3. 2006 upper deck artifacts awesome artifacts jumbo relic /45
4. 2006 upper deck epic epic endorsements auto /45
5. 2006 upper deck epic epic foursome fabrics relic (with gil hodges, pee wee reese, and jackie robinson) /10
6. 2006 upper deck epic epic triple materials relic (with eddie murray and don mattingly) /49
7. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts /550
8. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts bronze parallel /99
9. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts chronology gold /550

so here i have the gold version of the "lad" triple threads auto/relic, as well as the "base" version of the don mattingly/dan johnson auto/relic.  there was a bit of prospecting going on with these triple threads combo cards at the time, which was not the case with upper deck's epic release as they used steady eddie murray to take johnson's place on the sixth card of the sheet.  just next to that one is a pretty cool card.  i don't fully understand the use of garvey as a fourth to gil hodges, pee wee, and jackie, but i am not complaining.  and, for all the ebay 1/1 geeks, my version is 06/10 which is garvey's jersey number.  one card from that set that i would love to have is a true 1/1 bat barrel card featuring garvey, manny mota (!), steve yeager, steve sax. that would truly be epic for this dodger fan.

elsewhere on the sheet, i am a bit embarrassed that i only have one card from 2006 upper deck artifacts as there are a number of other garvey relic and auto cards out there from that set.

here are the backs:

the back of that artifacts jumbo relic that i do have, however, let's us know that the card features game worn pants, which is the bottom of the relic hierarchy.

still more to come - stay tuned!

black armbands for ray chapman

ray chapman was the shortstop for the cleveland indians from late in the 1912 season through august 16, 1920.  the schedule that day in august saw the indians play the yankees, and chapman was beaned in the head by yankee starter carl mays.  although he was initially able to walk to first base, chapman soon thereafter collapsed on the field and was taken to the hospital.  he passed away the next day, becoming the only major league player to die from being hit by a pitch, and one of two to have died directly or indirectly (the philadelphia athletics' doc powers died in 1909 from post-surgical infections brought on after being operated on to fix internal injuries he suffered after crashing into an outfield fence during a game) from injuries sustained on the field.

according to the hall of fame, many teams added black armbands to their uniforms in honor of chapman, including the indians, red sox, tigers, and yankees in the american league, along with the reds, robins, cubs, and giants in the national league.  i have in my memorials binder a few cards showing the armband, such as this 2002 upper deck sp legendary cuts ty cobb card

the tigers went away from the old english 'd' from 1918 through 1920, and 1920 is the only season that they wore a black armband (according to the hall of fame), so i am confident that the armband cobb is sporting is in honor of chapman.

[edit - i later came across a 2004 topps tribute card of cobb

that shows the armband more prominently than the legendary cuts card, so i've swapped it out in my collection.]

similarly, the uniform that babe ruth is wearing on this 2011 topps stickers foil sticker

includes the black armband that the bronx bombers wore for chapman.  i know this because the jersey features the 'new york' lettering that the team wore on their away jerseys from the beginning of ruth's tenure with the team in 1920 through 1926. the club went back to 'new york' on the away grays during the last few seasons of ruth's yankee days (1930-1934), but the placement of the 'y' was different.  besides, the only other time the yankees wore a black armband while ruth was a member of the team was at the end of the 1929 season to mark the passing of manager miller huggins, which came during the time that the team's away jerseys said 'yankees' on the front.

[edit - i was happy to see topps use this image on a regular sized card in 2021 archives

so i've swapped it out in my collection.]

also from the yankee team of 1920 comes the photo of hank thormahlen that was used on his 1990 target dodger 100th anniversary set

thormahlen actually looks like he's wearing two black armbands, and i don't know why.  he was a pitcher with the yankees from 1917 through 1920.  thormahlen actually relieved carl mays later in that fateful game and threw a scoreless 9th inning.

chapman's team, the indians, wore the armband for the remainder of the season and postseason, as they advanced to the world series against the brooklyn robins.  you'll notice in the photo linked above that, while the indians wore the armbands in the fall classic, the robins did not, or at least did not for the entire series.  i would guess that it was more likely that the non-cleveland teams wore the armband for a short time during the month of august.

anyway, this 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts card represents the armband worn by the tribe in my collection. it features their ace - hall of famer stan coveleski

who is also wearing the armband on his 2006 upper deck classics card

coveleski was the starter for the indians in the game in which chapman was beaned, and he beat the yankees with a complete game for his 19th win of the season.  coveleski went on to beat the robins three times in the world series by completing each of his three starts, one of which was a shutout.

in 2010, the indians broke out the 1920 uniforms, complete with the black armband, to celebrate the 90th anniversary of their first championship.  here's a shin-soo choo toppstown card from 2011 topps that shows the throwback uni

so, i've got 3 of the 8 teams that reportedly wore the armbands in my collection, and i'm on the lookout for the others although i'm not holding out hope.

dead end trade legacies for the team of my youth

generally speaking, when i refer to the team of my youth, i am referring to the 1977 and 1978 dodgers.  more specifically, i am referring to this lineup:

sp - don sutton

c - steve yeager

1b - steve garvey

2b - davey lopes

3b - ron cey

ss - bill russell

lf - dusty baker

cf - rick monday

rf - reggie smith

rp - charlie hough/terry forster

back then, the dodgers' general manager was al campanis.  he's one of the few baseball gm's to be featured on cardboard, by the way (this is a 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts card)

campanis subscribed to branch rickey's theory that it is better to trade a player a year too early than a year too late, and thanks to the dodgers' bountiful farm system, there was usually someone ready to take up the slack once a player was dealt away should the return package have been lacking.  campanis also once traded away his own son!

anyway, wrigley wax recently ran a series of posts regarding the 'trade links' of several former cubs players, and i thought i would do what any self-respecting blogger would do and steal that idea for my own posts.  unfortunately, while campanis made a lot of deals, most of the team of my youth was kept until their usefulness in trades was diminished or free agency beckoned.  let's see about what i will call the 'trade legacies' of the team of my youth.

let's start with don sutton, seen here on a 1969 mlb photo stamp.

sutton was a product of the dodger farm system, and following the 1980 season (a season in which he led the national league in era) he signed a free agent deal with the astros.  dead end.

steve yeager was also a product of the dodger farm system.  he was traded to the seattle mariners in december of 1985 for ed vande berg, as hinted at on their respective 1986 o-pee-chee cards.

vande berg was released by the dodgers a year later.  not much of a legacy.

steve garvey, yet another dodger home grown talent, took his skills south to san diego as a free agent following the 1982 season. dead end.

davey lopes, still another dodger organization developed player, was traded after the 1981 world series to make room for steve sax.  here's his 1982 o-pee-chee card showing him 'traded to a's'.

however, the dodgers received a minor leaguer named kelvin hudson who was out of the organization by 1984 and not by trade as far as i can tell.

ron cey, like all the players discussed above, came up through the dodger organization, and like garvey, left after the 1982 season.  however, cey was traded to the cubs for a minor leaguers dan cataline and vance lovelace.  this is cey's 1983 o-pee-chee card showing the damage done to the dodgers' hot corner.

lovelace eventually made it to the majors with the angels, although they acquired him from the dodgers via the rule v draft, and cataline peaked a double-a and was not, as far as i can see, ever traded out of the dodger organization.  i believe lovelace is currently the dodgers' vp of player personnel.

bill russell was drafted by the dodgers, developed by the dodgers, and he retired as a dodger.  the dean of dead ends, as far as trade legacies go.

the outfield is a little more interesting even though none of the three primary outfielders were traded by campanis.

dusty baker was acquired via trade.  the dodgers sent lee lacy, tom paciorek, jerry royster, and jimmy wynn to the braves for baker and ed goodson in november of 1975.  unfortunately for the purposes of this post, baker left the dodgers via free agency prior to the 1984 season.  another dead end.

rick monday was also acquired via trade.  in january of 1977, the dodgers received monday and mike garman from the cubs in exchange for bill buckner, ivan dejesus, and minor leaguer jeff albert.  monday was released by the dodgers during the 1984 season, effectively ending his career.  dead end.

reggie smith came to the dodgers in a trade with the cardinals.  in june of 1976, the dodgers sent joe ferguson and two minor leaguers (bob detherage and freddie tisdale) to saint louis for smith, who remained with the dodgers until after the 1981 world series when he left as a free agent.  detherage is an interesting case, however.  if you will pardon the tangent, he was drafted by the dodgers in 1972.  after he was traded to the cardinals, the redbirds sent him (along with ferguson) to the astros in november of 1976 for larry dierker and jerry davanon.  in 1977, he was the player to be named later in a deal that the astros made with the dodgers late in the season involving danny walton and alex taveras.  detherage remained in the dodgers' system until sometime in the 1978 season when he was released.  he did all this without making it to the big leagues, although he finally received a call-up from the 1980 kansas city royals.

back to the trade legacy at hand, charlie hough was a dodger draftee who pitched his way up in the organization until he had his contract purchased by the rangers during the 1980 season.  as for terry forster, he signed with the dodgers as a free agent after the 1977 season, and left as a free agent five years later.  nothing to see here.

the most interesting trades involving members of the team of my youth might be the rick rhoden for jerry reuss deal, or the bob welch (and others) for jesse orosco, jay howell, and alfredo griffin, or even the glenn burke for bill north deal.  unfortunately, all of those players acquired by the dodgers were either released by the team or left via free agency.  yes, free agency killed the trade legacies!

so, this idea didn't really pan out for me.  i have a similar idea regarding legacies that won't dead end - i'll roll out one of those posts soon.  

gathering garveys - real, recycled, and otherwise

i've been working on getting the contents of my steve garvey binders scanned, as i plan to show the entire garvey collection on the blog yet this year.  during that time, i've put some cards away that had been in boxes rather than the binder, and i've also picked up a few new cards for the collection.  some, as you will see, are real cards, one is a recycled card, and some don't really exist.

2006 upper deck legendary cuts legendary materials platinum /15

this is a newer pick up to go along with my 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary materials silver /199

and of course the 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary materials bronze /225

there is also a gold /99 version, but i don't have that one.  i do have garvey's base card from the set - he got a numbered short print

i think there is a /99 version of this card, too.  i've added the missing jersey card to the nefarious 9, by the way.  

here's the recycled card i mentioned.  it's a 1975 topps mvp subset card featuring jeff burroughs of the rangers along with the 1974 nl mvp steve garvey

that embossed logo in the upper right means that this card was re-issued in 2014 topps as part of the 75th anniversary buyback inserts

here are some oddballs that are somewhat new-ish to my collection - first up is a 1982 permagraphic card

these are reminiscent of credit cards, and i think were only produced in 1981 and 1982.

1987 ralston purina cookie crisp

i think these were only available on sheets.  they differ from the regular ralston purina cards in that they don't have any text there in the upper right corner.

1996 danbury mint 22k gold card

i took this guy out of it's plastic case.

garvey has been absent from the recent topps archives sets, but he was included in the past.  here's his 2002 topps archives reserve card

which is just a really shiny version of his 1977 topps card.  i preferred getting new garvey cards, like this 2003 topps retired black parallel

here's an on card auto from 2003 upper deck sp authentic.

this card was part of the sp chirography set, in which there was a 'dodger stars' subset.  lots of good autos for dodger collectors like me, and believe me, i collected them.

these next two cards fall into the 'otherwise' and 'don't really exist' categories i alluded to earlier.  they are both part of the digital app/game called 'bunt' that topps started last year.  i just pulled the images from the web.  this one is from 2013

here's the back

and this one is from 2014

with the back

according to topps, over half of garvey's hits were solo home runs.

thankfully, topps is also making real cards featuring the garv in 2014, even if this 2014 topps museum collection /25 bat relic

is pretty much identical to the 2013 version

and then there is the garvey card that panini released as part of the 2013 panini elite extra edition bloodlines insert set

steve is on the back, and his son ryan is on the front

steve garvey is his padre, after all.

get ready for garvey overload over the next few months.  the binders are coming...

karma karma karma karma karma camilli

it used to be that the only dolph camilli card i had was this 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts card

that was until i picked up his 1961 fleer card

after it enjoyed a lengthy stay on my nefarious 9 list.  camilli was the dodgers' first baseman from 1938 to 1943, winning the league's mvp award in 1941 after hitting 34 homers and driving in 120 runs.  the photo on the card does in fact feature him in a dodger uniform; it's obvious thanks to the 'b' on his hat.  the patch on his arm gives it away too - and dates the photo to 1938.  that was the season that the dodgers wore a patch to advertise the world's fair that was coming to new york in 1939.

in his final season with the dodgers, camilli played alongside a youngster named gil hodges.  about 18 years later, his son doug was suiting up for the dodgers alongside hodges.  that's pretty cool, just like that 1961 fleer card.