Brooks Robinson and the Baltimore Orioles

[Kurri17]

Yes, the A's of '71 thru '76 after which they had pretty much been dissolved were to me as the Orioles were to you. Joe Rudi and Campy were my favorites. Rudi was a quiet, classy guy who was I believe an underrated player, and man Campy was a spark plug for that team. I loved Hunter, Bando, Tenace, Green,and Holtzman as well, and heck, there were so many others who contributed. Was never a big Reggie fan, obviously enjoyed his contributions, but not his demeanor, and still feel Campy should have won the MVP over Reggie in the '73 Series.

Yes, it is probably the older collector base which admired Brooks. I just checked our local shop, the only real shop in our entire region I think, and he has more Brooks cards than I ever remember him having. Guess sales are slowing. But threads like yours help keep the memories alive. I have a small collection of Brooks' cards, and hope to slowly acquire a few more as the years go on.

Originally Posted by Mark70Z

Rob,

Hope you enjoy. The Oakland Athletics did really well in the early to mid 70’s when Brooks’ career was basically winding down. Those A’s teams had some great players and some unique personalities over the years. Who were your favorites?

I’m sure Brooks is still relatively popular in Arkansas since that’s where he was from originally. He probably isn’t as popular as he was during his playing days, but still is admired.

[Mark70Z]

Originally Posted by Kurri17

Yes, the A's of '71 thru '76 after which they had pretty much been dissolved were to me as the Orioles were to you. Joe Rudi and Campy were my favorites. Rudi was a quiet, classy guy who was I believe an underrated player, and man Campy was a spark plug for that team. I loved Hunter, Bando, Tenace, Green,and Holtzman as well, and heck, there were so many others who contributed. Was never a big Reggie fan, obviously enjoyed his contributions, but not his demeanor, and still feel Campy should have won the MVP over Reggie in the '73 Series.

As a fan of the defensive part of baseball I thought Rudi’s catch in 1972 was one of the greatest outfielder catches. From what I can recall he hit well in clutch situation and did well overall especially in the postseason. He almost won a few MVP awards. I agree he was underrated. Would like to see you post your favorite Rudi card or if you collect memorabilia maybe a favorite A’s item.

I was definitely a fan of Campy. Man, he was a slick fielder and a very good base stealer. Loved getting his cards when I was growing up. Possibly post your favorite Campy item?

Did anyone like Reggie?!? Ha!

[campyfan39]

I collected with my late father for years and we would go to shows in Raleigh where they used to have great autograph guests. Brooks was probably the kindest, most engaging player we ever met.
Killebrew would be the only other one that I can think of that was so kind and patient. (My wife likes Spahn the best because he went on about how pretty she was haha)
Great thread.

[cardsagain74]

Brooks was the first card show autograph I got too. Seems like he did a ton of them in the past.

Did seem like a good guy, but I imagine his auto is more plentiful than junk era wax

[Mark70Z]

Originally Posted by cardsagain74

Brooks was the first card show autograph I got too. Seems like he did a ton of them in the past.

Did seem like a good guy, but I imagine his auto is more plentiful than junk era wax

Would really like to see any Brooks autograph if you still have any in your collection. Brooks would sign just about everything and has been doing so throughout the years so his auto is plentiful. NOW, the hard part is finding early autographed items. Have you ever seen a vintage single signed baseball of Brooks? That’s a needle in a haystack (at least to me it is).

[JollyElm]

Remember these '1972 In Action cards that never were' creations, where you provided me with one of the photos?

1972brooksrobinson1.jpg

1972brooksrobinson2.jpg

1972brooksrobinson3.jpg

[Mark70Z]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

Remember these '1972 In Action cards that never were' creations, where you provided me with one of the photos?

Of course I remember and they were "all" great looking and are well worth viewing "again". I think my favorite is the third picture the one that Brooks threw Lee May out in the first game of the 1970 World Series. Think the shots from the '70 Series all look so cool with the baseball bunting in the background. Wish Brooks had an in-action card in '72, but I'm sure yours still would have looked better than a Topps version.

Now, do "you" remember the Brooks variations you helped me with?!? Think it's so awesome how you put the pictures on top of one another and went back and forth so you could view the variances.!

[cardsagain74]

Originally Posted by Mark70Z

Would really like to see any Brooks autograph if you still have any in your collection. Brooks would sign just about everything and has been doing so throughout the years so his auto is plentiful. NOW, the hard part is finding early autographed items. Have you ever seen a vintage single signed baseball of Brooks? That’s a needle in a haystack (at least to me it is).

I still have the card somewhere tucked away (think it was a '77 topps). Will have to try and dig it up.

Should have had him sign an official ball instead, but I remember scrambling to come up with anything relevant once I saw him signing that day

[Mark70Z]

Originally Posted by campyfan39

I collected with my late father for years and we would go to shows in Raleigh where they used to have great autograph guests. Brooks was probably the kindest, most engaging player we ever met.
Killebrew would be the only other one that I can think of that was so kind and patient. (My wife likes Spahn the best because he went on about how pretty she was haha)
Great thread.

So glad to hear about positive experiences when meeting Brooks. I’m with you regarding Killebrew, at least in my experience, one of the great players and just a genuine nice guy. Spahn didn’t talk about what a fine looking fellow I was so he was just ok at signings ; )

[Kurri17]

Originally Posted by Mark70Z

As a fan of the defensive part of baseball I thought Rudi’s catch in 1972 was one of the greatest outfielder catches. From what I can recall he hit well in clutch situation and did well overall especially in the postseason. He almost won a few MVP awards. I agree he was underrated. Would like to see you post your favorite Rudi card or if you collect memorabilia maybe a favorite A’s item.

I was definitely a fan of Campy. Man, he was a slick fielder and a very good base stealer. Loved getting his cards when I was growing up. Possibly post your favorite Campy item?

Did anyone like Reggie?!? Ha!

I am a fan of the defensive side of the game as well, and Rudi's catch is often seen alongside some of Brook's highlights among the great plays in WS history. I appreciate the suggestion to show some Rudi or Campy, but I don't want to take away from the topic of this thread. Plenty of Brooksie's out there to keep this going I bet. Did get me thinking though, I need to go take some pics of my A's collection. And, I do love that WS card shown above, big fan of the WS subsets (which I am working on completing) and that is a great one. Also love the '72 ALCS card featuring him.

[Mark70Z]

Originally Posted by Kurri17

I am a fan of the defensive side of the game as well, and Rudi's catch is often seen alongside some of Brook's highlights among the great plays in WS history. I appreciate the suggestion to show some Rudi or Campy, but I don't want to take away from the topic of this thread. Plenty of Brooksie's out there to keep this going I bet. Did get me thinking though, I need to go take some pics of my A's collection. And, I do love that WS card shown above, big fan of the WS subsets (which I am working on completing) and that is a great one. Also love the '72 ALCS card featuring him.

Rob,

Really my “intent” of starting a Brooks and Orioles thread was to not only discuss and show the O’s stuff, but “anything related”. The O’s and the A’s are part of the battle in the AL and Rudi and Campy and the rest of the A’s were part of that history. Personally I’d very much enjoy seeing A’s items from that era as well.