[zeprock]

The next player's name that came up on the randomized list of players that I collect is Hall of Famer Willie McCovey. "Stretch" was a Rookie of the year, a 6-time All-star, 3-time Home Run Champion and 2-time RBI leader as well as a MVP. Bob Gibson called him "the scariest hitter in baseball". In 2002 I was visiting Cooperstown with my fishing buddy. We were on our way to Sodus Bay on Lake Ontario to reel in some King Salmon and we had a day to kill. It was Hall of Fame weekend and I thought I saw him in the Hall. He was in a wheelchair but I wasn't positive it was him and I didn't approach him. I learned afterwards that he was indeed confined to a wheelchair.

Willie will always be special to me as he was the first card I ever had. I wrote this when he passed in October of 2018 but it bears worth repeating here.

My 1970 Kellogg's 3-D Willie McCovey fell out of my Corn Flakes box into my cereal bowl 50 years ago and changed my life. It was fascinating. I liked it. I liked it a lot. I wanted more. It set off a chain reaction that kept me searching for baseball cards. I went to stores and bought them. I traded with my schoolmates. I begged for them for my birthday. 50 years later I am still clamoring for them. I have 1/1s. I have autographed cards from more than 125 different Hall of Famers. I have bat cards of Mantle, Aaron, Mays and Ted Williams. I have certified and in-person autographs on cards, some I met in person, some through the mail. I have cards with jersey swatches, pieces of outfield walls, dugout benches, baseballs, bats, spikes, caps, stamps, medallions, etc. I have cards that are CDs and contain highlights. I have metal cards, plastic cards, wood cards, mini cards and giant cards. None of them make me feel like I felt when that 1970 Kellogg's 3-D Willie McCovey literally fell in front of me. That card sent me on a 50 year obsession that I have enjoyed most every minute of. My wife and kids have been instructed to slip it into my shirt pocket when they eventually put me away for good. It's going with me.

I currently have 302 unique Beckett recognized cards of Willie McCovey. Here are nine from my collection.

       
1960 Topps #554 Willie McCovey AS
1961 Topps #517 Willie McCovey
1965 Topps #176 Willie McCovey

       
1967 Topps #480 Willie McCovey
1971 Kellogg's #33 Willie McCovey
1976 Topps #520 Willie McCovey Autographed (In person autograph not obtained by me.)

       
2006 SP Legendary Cuts Legendary Materials Bronze #WM Willie McCovey Jsy/99
2011 Topps Triple Threads Unity Relics #TTUS97 Willie McCovey
2013 Topps Chasing History Relics #WM Willie McCovey S2

[zeprock]

Working my way up through the years brings me to 1974 for today's post. I was in high school at this time starting my sophomore year near the end of the season. This was the year that Topps put an end to their releasing cards in series making all 660 cards in the set available in packs from day one. Here are nine cards from my collection, all from 1974.


1974 Topps #1 Hank Aaron 715 (Topps anticipated the inevitable with this card as Aaron had yet to become the Home Run King at the time of this card's design and printing. After enduring a long off season of hate mail and death threats, he broke the Babe's record on April 8th.)
1974 Topps #20 Nolan Ryan
1974 Topps #80 Tom Seaver

       
1974 Topps #130 Reggie Jackson
1974 Topps #250B Willie McCovey WASH (Topps anticipated again and this one backfired. Most people thought the Washington Nationals would be inaugurated in 1974 as it looked for sure that the Padres were moving there to take the place of the Senators who had left to become the Texas Rangers just a couple of years prior. At the last minute McDonald's co-founder, Ray Kroc stepped in and bought the team for $12 million, $3.2 million more than George Steinbrenner had paid for the Yankees just the year before. Kroc kept the team in San Diego and Topps backpeddled and re-released all of the Padres cards with their correct city and name on them but many had already gotten out. So, long before Harper and Strasburg were born, here is a card of Hall of Famer Willie McCovey as a Washington National.)
1974 Topps #252 Dave Parker RC (Rookie card of "The Cobra".)

       
1974 Topps #283 Mike Schmidt
1974 Topps #300 Pete Rose
1974 Topps #456 Dave Winfield RC

[cweiland]

Those are some nice looking cards.  Thank you for the pics and the fun facts Mark.  Nice collection.  I enjoy reading these posts.

[zeprock]

Those are some nice looking cards.  Thank you for the pics and the fun facts Mark.  Nice collection.  I enjoy reading these posts.

Thank you Caryn. My wife has been after me for years to write a book about my love of collecting baseball cards. Maybe this is a rough draft.

[zeprock]

Hall of Famer Bob Gibson is up next. Bob was one of the scariest pitchers to take the mound during my lifetime and he pretty much did it all. He led the NL in Victories, Strikeouts and ERA, won 9 Gold Glove Awards, was an 8-time All-star, a couple World Championships, won a MVP and two Cy Young Awards and threw a no-hitter. He spent his entire MLB career with the Cardinals but did you know he also was an outstanding basketball player and played professionally with the Harlem Globetrotters? I currently own 352 different Beckett recognized cards of "Gibby". Here are nine from my collection including a slew of vintage, a couple autos and a jersey swatch.

        
1960 Topps #73 Bob Gibson
1961 Topps #211 Bob Gibson
1963 Fleer #61 Bob Gibson

       
1964 Topps #460 Bob Gibson
1966 Topps #320 Bob Gibson
1971 Topps #450 Bob Gibson

       
1994 Nabisco All-Star Autographs #1 Bob Gibson
2001 Greats of the Game Autographs #34 Bob Gibson
2003 SP Legendary Cuts Historic Swatches #BG Bob Gibson CO Jsy/350

[DrMitchJ]

Re: Bob Gibson
I believe it was Willie Mays who had invited Bob Gibson to his home for dinner. Bob showed up and was wearing glasses. Discovering that Bob really needed glasses to see, but never wore them on the mound, made Willie very concerned, saying (paraphrasing) I was always scared standing in the box with you on the mound, now I’m terrified! (Or something to that effect)
LOL

[seniordiamonte]

Thank you Caryn. My wife has been after me for years to write a book about my love of collecting baseball cards. Maybe this is a rough draft.

Please add me to the "pre-order list" once you write that book!

[zeprock]

It's grocery day again. Here are nine cards from my collection, all of them originally came from the supermarket.

       
1963 Jello #43 Early Wynn (This card looks almost identical to it's Post Cereal counterpart with the major differences being a slightly smaller card size and the red stat line is a bit shorter. This card was printed on the back of a Jello box.)
1984 Expos Stuart #17 Pete Rose (This card was issued by Montreal-based Stuart Bakery and inserted in specially marked packages of their snack cake line. The backs are printed in both English and French.)
1988 Chef Boyardee #7 Cal Ripken (I obtained this complete set of cards by sending in enough proof-of-purchase seals from Chef Boyardee products back in 1988. The cards came in a large perforated sheet which I put through a paper cutter to make individual cards.)

   
1993 Humpty Dumpty Canadian #15 Ken Griffey Jr. (Cards from this mini set were inserted in bags of Humpty Dumpty potato chips in Canada. The backs also have the player's name, position, biography and statistics in both French and English. Each card came individually sealed in cellophane to protect it from the greasy product.)
1993 Pacific Ryan Farewell McCormick #20 Nolan Ryan/A Lone Star Legend (This set, very similar to the Ryan 27th Season set was produced by Pacific for McCormick & Company, an American food company that manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavoring products for the industrial, restaurant, institutional, and home markets. In 1993 they paid tribute to Nolan Ryan's career and these cards were actually given away to fans attending a Texas Rangers game at Arlington Stadium during Nolan Ryan Appreciation Week.)
1995 Stouffer Pop-ups #1 Yogi Berra (This pop-out card was distributed by Stouffer's Frozen Foods and is part of a five-card set.)

       
1998 Hamburger Helper #4 Barry Bonds (This is one of an 8-card set that was cut from the back of a Hamburger Helper box. It was given to me by a co-worker back in 1998. I went to the local Shop n' Save to find more but had no luck. My co-worker lived on Campobello Island in Canada and was here on a work visa and I don't know if she got it in Canada or Maine but never did come across another.)
2001 Skippy Derek Jeter #2 Derek Jeter (This disc came attached to the lid of a jar of Skippy Peanut Butter. I love peanut butter and grew up on PB&J sandwiches. There were four discs in the set and you could go to a website and sign up to be entered into a sweepstakes to go to New York, attend a game and meet Derek in person.)
2005 Upper Deck Sunkist #3 Roger Maris (This is one of a 5-card set produced by Upper Deck and inserted into packages of Sunkist oranges.)

[zeprock]

As Babe Ruth's career began to wind down, it was Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx who took over as the premier sluggers of their day. Foxx was a four-time Home Run leader, three-time RBI leader and two-time Batting Champion as well as being a World Champion twice, a winner of the Triple Crown and a three-time MVP. Pretty impressive! Some called him "The Beast" due to his muscular physique. Others referred to him as "Double X". He was the second member of the 500 home run club after Ruth. Foxx died at the age of 59 while choking on his dinner. I currently have 176 different Beckett recognized cards of Foxx in my collection. Here are nine of them.

       
1961 Fleer #28 Jimmie Foxx
1961 Golden Press #22 Jimmy Foxx/(Jimmie)
2002 UD Piece of History 500 Home Run Club #HR2 Jimmie Foxx

       
2003 SP Legendary Cuts #59 Jimmie Foxx/1299
2009 Topps Legends Chrome Target Cereal Gold Refractors #GR10 Jimmie Foxx
2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary #315B Jimmie Foxx SP

       
2011 Topps Update #US309B Jimmie Foxx SP
2012 Panini Cooperstown #169 Jimmie Foxx SP
2015 Panini Cooperstown Names of the Game #20 Jimmie Foxx

[cweiland]

Nice. The 1961 Golden Press is my fav. Didn't know that was how he passed away. Sad for sure. Thanks for sharing the pics and info.