1972 Cards That Never Were, HOF Edition...

[clydepepper]

I'll voice my wish again that somehow these great images you've created can be translated to regular card stock.

I'll also repeat that I'd be a strong buyer of those.


Thanks for all we have seen thus far.

[JollyElm]

We all know how awful most of the 1961 Minnesota Twins cards look due to Topps not having pictures of the players in their new uniforms after the Washington Senators relocated to the Gopher State, so kids only had a bunch of hatless headshots and airbrushed caps coming out of packs that summer. After over sixty years of suffering, I am now happy to say Harmon Killebrew has a new lease on life cardboard. I even airbrushed (well, photoshop did) the Senators out of the jersey and cap on one of these guys to make it even more Toppsian. Enjoy...

1961harmonkillebrew01sm.jpg1961harmonkillebrew02sm.jpg
1961harmonkillebrew03sm.jpg1961harmonkillebrew04sm.jpg

[Harliduck]

Those are insane Darren...WOW. PM sent...and THANKS. As a Killebrew massive fan those fix the embarrassment of a 61 Topps card ALL the Twins/Senators got as you mentioned. Don't know how you do what you do so well, but that's art right there...

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

I'll voice my wish again that somehow these great images you've created can be translated to regular card stock.

I'll also repeat that I'd be a strong buyer of those.

Thanks for all we have seen thus far.

I can't even imagine having the time or energy to create the backs. That, my friend, would be an added nightmare!! Unless...these could be considered rare, one-sided, proof cards.

[tjenkins]

The Killebrews are awesome, as a big collector of his I wish they had made those cards. You do a great job!

[JollyElm]

I stumbled across a few color images of Jackie Robinson with his historic #42 in plain view, so I was able to create a few more of his cards for the "By The Numbers..." section, but it was full, so place them here I will...

1972jackierobinson03.jpg1972jackierobinson02.jpg1972jackierobinson04.jpg

[JollyElm]

Time to give a shout out to the resident 'Red Hed' we have here at net54, so I present what coulda/shoulda/woulda been Red Schoendienst cards in the 1972 set...
(Yeah, I dare anyone to try to correctly spell that last name even one time fast*!!!)


1972redschoendienst01.jpg1972redschoendienst04.jpg
1972redschoendienst02.jpg1972redschoendienst03.jpg


*Not even sure if I spelled it right!!!

[HittinLikeCarew]

These are amazing! Great job!

[stlcardsfan]

Those are awesome, Darren. Red was a beloved figure in St. Louis. Have a quick story told to me and another guy personally by Red in a suite at a Cardinals game about 15 years ago. There was a 1956 baseball card of Nelson Burbrink in a glass display case in the suite and I asked Red if he remembered him (of course he did). When I mentioned it was a '56 card he said "that was the year I got traded" and told us this story:

In the 1956 season Red and Stan Musial would drive to the ballpark together during home games. Their wives would then drive down together and they would then ride home with their wives after the game.

Red picked up Stan one day and Stan was in a foul mood. Red asked what was the matter and Stan said "Lane (the Cardinals GM at the time) called me and said he was going to trade me". The GM was known as "Trader Lane" at the time. Stan then said he called Gussie Busch, Chairman of Anheuser Busch who bought the team in 1953, and told him to call Lane and tell him he was crazy to trade him.

Apparently that happened and Busch called off any trade of Stan the Man. Red said as he was driving home he thought to himself "well if Lane was going to trade Stan he would also trade me". Sure enough, the next day, on the trading deadline, Red was traded to the NY Giants. Exactly one year later, also on the deadline, he was traded to the Milwaukee Braves which he helped win a World Series against the Yankees. He then contracted tuberculosis and was out a year, then traded back to the Cardinals before the 1961 season where he finished his career as a player, then became their manager as you beautifully depict above, winning a World Series against the the Red Sox in '67 and losing to the Tigers in '68.