CLOSED...1961 Topps $15 Auction...Day 36

[HercDriver]

Day 22 brings two more gems to the party...Ron Kline and Rip Repulski. I was going to write something about cool baseball nicknames, like Johnny "Ugly" Dickshot. But when I looked up Repulski, I noticed that he was born and died in Sauk Rapids, MN. Going to Google Maps, it's a town of about 12,000 people by St Cloud, MN. That must have been cool, having a big leaguer in a small town, where kids could listen to his stories at the diner after church on Sunday. I looked up my hometown of Freeport, IL, and only found one guy, who pitched in four games, in 2002-03. For those four games, he earned $500K. I'm guessing Rip didn't make $500K and had way better stories to tell. My dad grew up near Quincy, IL, where the Reuschel brothers were baseball kings. He was about the same age, and played against them in high school, if I remember right. My brothers and I always watched Cubs games, and we'd tell our friends that my dad was pals with the Reuschel boys. That was pretty cool, until this card came out in 1977:



Seriously? Could there be a worse card than that? Those uniforms the Cubs had back then were appalling. They couldn't even get the names with the right brother. And it looks like two N54 members just signed up for Cubs Fantasy Camp. Ugghhh...I hate that card. Anyway, we stopped telling people our dad was friends with them after that. I'm not sure how I got onto that this morning, but then again, my mind is not too clear, after waking up to the sound of the dog barfing next to my bed. Somehow it got me here. Oh yeah...Sauk Rapids, MN. RIP, Rip. Time for more coffee...have a great day!

Card Tracker:
79 cards, at 63 cents each, shipped.

[xplainer]

Originally Posted by HercDriver

Day 22 brings two more gems to the party...Ron Kline and Rip Repulski. I was going to write something about cool baseball nicknames, like Johnny "Ugly" Dickshot. But when I looked up Repulski, I noticed that he was born and died in Sauk Rapids, MN. Going to Google Maps, it's a town of about 12,000 people by St Cloud, MN. That must have been cool, having a big leaguer in a small town, where kids could listen to his stories at the diner after church on Sunday. I looked up my hometown of Freeport, IL, and only found one guy, who pitched in four games, in 2002-03. For those four games, he earned $500K. I'm guessing Rip didn't make $500K and had way better stories to tell. My dad grew up near Quincy, IL, where the Reuschel brothers were baseball kings. He was about the same age, and played against them in high school, if I remember right. My brothers and I always watched Cubs games, and we'd tell our friends that my dad was pals with the Reuschel boys. That was pretty cool, until this card came out in 1977:



Seriously? Could there be a worse card than that? Those uniforms the Cubs had back then were appalling. They couldn't even get the names with the right brother. And it looks like two N54 members just signed up for Cubs Fantasy Camp. Ugghhh...I hate that card. Anyway, we stopped telling people our dad was friends with them after that. I'm not sure how I got onto that this morning, but the again, my mind is not too clear, after waking up to the sound of the dog barfing next to my bed. Somehow it got me here. Oh yeah...Sauk Rapids, MN. RIP, Rip. Time for more coffee...have a great day!

Card Tracker:
79 cards, at 63 cents each, shipped.

I too, am enjoying the stories. But, if you throw in the Reuschel card, I might pull the trigger.
That is my golden era. Mid 70s to mid 80’s.
Born 1963.
And, yeah, it does look like a fantasy camp photo.
-Jimmy

[HercDriver]

I lived for those Cubs teams, running home from school to watch on WGN and listening to the radio in my room when they played on the West Coast. I remember Rick Monday saving the flag, Jerry Morales and the basket catch, the greatest catching platoon in MLB history of Steve Swisher and George Mitterwald, Jose Cardenal's afro coming out of his hat, Larry Biittner pitching an inning or two, Pete LaCock...just saying Pete LaCock in a French accent, the Lee Elia tirade, Jack Brickhouse before Harry, the 23-22 loss to the Phillies in OT, the debut of the kid from Mount Joy, PA who brought the split-finger fastball to MLB and made it to the Hall. And when Rick Reuschel was on the mound we had a chance. Ray Burris, Steve Stone, Steve Renko, and Bill Bonham were not in the same league as Reuschel. That's what we had. The Reds had Bench, Perez, Morgan, Concepcion, Rose, Griffey, Geronimo, and Foster. And we had Swisher/Mitterwald, and the hope that Rick Reuschel might win us one game out of the three. It's funny how you think as a kid...like you still have a chance, just because the math says so. Thanks for reading...and no, I'm not sure where that card is today, or I would just send it to you!

[xplainer]

Don’t forget, that LaCocks dad was Peter Marshall, of Hollywood Squares fame.
The late, great Ernie Johnson used to reminded us on the Braves network of that, when he could. Also, that Mike Lumm was from Honolulu.
That was my personal heyday of baseball.
Sidenote. Born and grew up in Tampa. Home to the Reds spring training at Al Lopez Field. I saw them all. Rose, Bench, Concepcion. Billingsly, Geromino, Morgan, Perez and Sparky and all those guys. I did not know what I was witnessing at the time.
Today, I understand. Some of the best players ever.
I saw On tv or in person, Clemente, Hank, Mays and everyone from 72 on. Carlton’s season, greatest ever. Some many great players I got to see.
I appreciate it now. Then it was the norm.
Ok...done.

[HercDriver]

It turns out that you are limited to 20 pictures in any message, so I had to trim a couple off the top. It also turns out that it's snowing up in the hills and I have the day off...so going to go throw myself down the slopes of Beaver Creek today, for a bit. But before I do, I better post some more cards! I finally made it to that spot in the stack that has the cards we all hate, pretty much universally...manager cards. Ugghhh...what a horrible thing to find in your pack of cards, when you are looking for a Mantle, Banks, or Mays. I mean heads of dudes are horrible, but heads of managers are even worse. It's not like you could even trade them to anybody. When I met my wife, she used to tell me that some baseball player lived next to her grandma, but she couldn't remember who. When I finally made my first trip to Philly to meet her grandparents, it turned out it was Mickey Vernon, mowing his lawn. I never went over to say hello, and I've always regretted it. My wife had another run-in, after we were first married. She worked for a charity in St Louis and had a big lunch to raise money one day. She came home and said she sat next to an old Cardinal player, who was really nice and talked her ear off the whole time. She pulled out a ball and told me that he was signing a few, and gave her one. Yep, Stan Musial. When we went to a game one day, I pointed to the statue and asked if she recognized him. Nope. Haha...I said, "you had lunch with him!!" I didn't post the batting leaders card of 1960 in this auction, but if I had, Dick Groat would have been your winner. Who do you think was second? Second in the league, ahead of Mays, Clemente, Boyer, and all those big names...who would that be? Norm Larker. Really?!? Norm Larker? The Dodgers were so impressed, they let him go to the Colt 45's in the expansion draft of '62. If only you would have beat out a few more infield rollers, Normy...

Did Ed Hobaugh play Ice Man in Top Gun? Or did Val Kilmer play Ed Hobaugh on the Senators? Hmmm...

Card Tracker:
86 cards total, clocking in at 56 cents each, shipped

[obcmac]

Pointing out that in addition to Rip, St.Cloud also boasts t206 subject Jake thielman as well as two fine obc'ers...t.elliot and myself (though I no longer live there). Ted Williams also dated a girl from Sauk rapids I believe. In more modern times...Jim Eisenreich also hailed from there....the more you know.

Mac



QUOTE=HercDriver;1851887]Day 22 brings two more
gems to the party...Ron Kline and Rip Repulski. I was going to write something about cool baseball nicknames, like Johnny "Ugly" Dickshot. But when I looked up Repulski, I noticed that he was born and died in Sauk Rapids, MN. Going to Google Maps, it's a town of about 12,000 people by St Cloud, MN. That must have been cool, having a big leaguer in a small town, where kids could listen to his stories at the diner after church on Sunday. I looked up my hometown of Freeport, IL, and only found one guy, who pitched in four games, in 2002-03. For those four games, he earned $500K. I'm guessing Rip didn't make $500K and had way better stories to tell. My dad grew up near Quincy, IL, where the Reuschel brothers were baseball kings. He was about the same age, and played against them in high school, if I remember right. My brothers and I always watched Cubs games, and we'd tell our friends that my dad was pals with the Reuschel boys. That was pretty cool, until this card came out in 1977:



Seriously? Could there be a worse card than that? Those uniforms the Cubs had back then were appalling. They couldn't even get the names with the right brother. And it looks like two N54 members just signed up for Cubs Fantasy Camp. Ugghhh...I hate that card. Anyway, we stopped telling people our dad was friends with them after that. I'm not sure how I got onto that this morning, but then again, my mind is not too clear, after waking up to the sound of the dog barfing next to my bed. Somehow it got me here. Oh yeah...Sauk Rapids, MN. RIP, Rip. Time for more coffee...have a great day!

Card Tracker:
79 cards, at 63 cents each, shipped.[/QUOTE]

[HercDriver]

Four more cards added today, including two more beloved skippers! Well, Solly Hemus may not have been beloved by all, since he wasn't exactly known for his racial diversity policies. Gus Triandos showed up today and reminded me of a good friend of mine who passed away years ago, way too early. One of his big collecting pleasures was his Gus Triandos shrine, so Gus always makes me smile. When I looked up his bio, Wikiedia says he is #6 on the all-time list of catching base stealers, so I went to Baseball Reference to see who the others were. Well, that Wikipedia article was a bit erroneous, as Gus was #69, actually. I know...it's on the internet, so how can it be wrong? Anyway, you'll be interested to know, only 13 catchers have managed to throw out over 50% of the runners in their career, and it's a wide smattering of eras, albeit nobody of recent stock. For your viewing pleasure, here's the 13:

Roy Campanella (57%)
Gabby Hartnett
Buddy Rosar
Al Lopez
Mickey O'Neil
Hank Gowdy
Ray Mueller
Jimmy Archer
Sam Agnew
Ray Schalk
Patsy Charity
Ray Mancuso
Paul Richards

Interestingly, two of those guys are on the same scan as Triandos, now as managers. George Mitterwald is #226, just thought you should know. And no active catcher is even close, with Yadier Molina topping the list at 41%. Have a great day!!

Card Tracker:
90 cards, at 56 cents each, shipped

[HercDriver]

Ahhh...the Topps All Rookie Team Trophies!! Now those were cool when you were a kid. This was just the second year of the trophies, and the first one where it looked pretty much like a normal card, with the trophy in the corner. The 1960 ones were more like the All-Star cards, and aren't nearly as cool as a full picture. Topps has been releasing the All-Rookie team ever since then, and has managed to pick out 23 future HOFers in the process. One of them showed up 1961, the Cubs third baseman, Ron Santo. Billy Williams also appeared for the first time in 1961, but his trophy didn't show up until next year. One oddity of the 1961 set was they totally forgot to put the trophy on Frank Howard's card, even though he was selected as an outfielder that year. Coker was the Wally Pipp of the Reds, as he was the last catcher to start for the Reds, before another trophy winner, Johnny Bench, debuted the next game. Have an awesome day!

Card Tracker:
92 cards, at 54 cents each, shipped

[HercDriver]

Today, I bring you one of the most futile hitters in MLB history, Bob Buhl. At least for one inglorious season, anyway. In 1962, Buhl went 0-70 at the dish. Yes, 0-70!! And if you add in 1961 and 1963, his streak was actually 0-87. Yep, eighty-seven at bats, no hits. Wow!! Do you know what his batting average would be when he finally got that hit? A 1-88 batting average is .011. He actually had 76 career hits, so he had some idea how to swing, but if you look at his stats, some of his seasons were appalling. He had BAs of .032, .057, and .060 in his three worst seasons. He did manage 14 hits in 1960, for a .157 BA. I guess it was enough to impress the Phillies, who traded away Fergie Jenkins to get him. I’m not sure which Phils/Cubs was worse, that one, or Ryne Sandberg for Ivan DeJesus. I looked at Buhl’s 0-70 season, and it looks like he struck out 36 times. So he put the ball in play 34 times and couldn’t find a gap. They must have perfected the Buhl Shift that year. At least he walked six times, so he could say he knew who the 1B coach was. Have a great day!!

Card Tracker:
95 cards, averaging 53 cents each, shipped

[jimmysuitcase]

that no one with a sense of nostalgia is going to nab this lot so long as there is the chance that you will continue journaling these gems! Sure, the cards keep edging closer and closer to being a great deal, but these posts are priceless.

Of course, maybe that was your plan all along...go the distance!

[HercDriver]

Haha...thanks for that! Flying Seattle to LAX to Tampa today, so will add the next one tonight. Have an awesome day!