[zeprock]

Today I'm wrapping up another decade and showing off nine 1969 cards from my collection.

       
1969 Topps #50 Roberto Clemente/UER
1969 Topps #95 Johnny Bench
1969 Topps #100 Hank Aaron


1969 Topps #120 Pete Rose
1969 Topps #190 Willie Mays
1969 Topps #200 Bob Gibson


       
1969 Topps #260 Reggie Jackson RC
1969 Topps #500A Mickey Mantle UER (When I began collecting cards in the early 70s, I kept all my my cards divided by teams. Mantle had retired and was no longer on a team so I put his card in my Mom's typewriter and typed "* RETIRED *" right across the front of it. Yeah, I even added the asterisks on either side to really make it look nice. I've long since upgraded the card and I don't type on them anymore.)
1969 Topps #533 Nolan Ryan (I had a VG version of this card for years and in 1987, I traded it along with my 10-speed bicycle to the local sports anchor at the tv station I worked for and received this Near Mint card in exchange. I'm not sure why he agreed to the trade other than he really wanted a bicycle but I'm glad he did.)

[rob024420]

1969 Topps #500A Mickey Mantle UER (When I began collecting cards in the early 70s, I kept all my my cards divided by teams. Mantle had retired and was no longer on a team so I put his card in my Mom's typewriter and typed "* RETIRED *" right across the front of it. Yeah, I even added the asterisks on either side to really make it look nice. I've long since upgraded the card and I don't type on them anymore.)


HAHAHAHAHA WOW! Such an awesome story!

[zeprock]

The Dodgers pitching staff in the late 1960s was led by Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and then . . . ? That's right! Claude Osteen! Oh, and Don Sutton. Sutton would eventually join Koufax and Drysdale in the Hall after compiling more than 300 victories and 3500 strikeouts over a 23-year career. As of this posting I have 170 different Beckett recognized cards of Don. Here are nine from my collection.

       
1967 Topps #445 Don Sutton
1971 Kellogg's #31 Don Sutton (Another card pulled from a box of Frosted Flakes.)
1972 Topps #530 Don Sutton


2001 Topps American Pie Rookie Reprint Relics #BBRRDS Don Sutton Jsy
2002 Upper Deck All-Star Salute Game Jersey #SJDS Don Sutton
2005 Sweet Spot Classic Materials #CMDS1 Don Sutton Astros Jsy

       
2009 SP Legendary Cuts Legendary Memorabilia Violet #DS Don Sutton
2012 Leaf Best of Baseball Autographs #DS1 Don Sutton
2012 Panini Cooperstown Signatures #51 Don Sutton/788

[zeprock]

Earlier in this thread I showed some of my baseball-related postage stamps. Today I am posting some baseball stamps. These are not postage stamps and most came as inserts or oddball issues. Here's a selection from my collection.


1961 Topps Stamps #24 Frank Robinson (These stamps were issued in attached pairs and inserted into regular packs of 1961 Topps baseball cards.)
1962 Topps Stamps #143 Hank Aaron (For the second consecutive year, Topps issued these as inserts in two-stamp panels and inserted them in regular packs of Topps cards.)
1969 MLB PhotoStamps #209 Lou Brock (These stamps were issued by the Major League Baseball Players Association in uncut sheets of twelve stamps each.)
1969 Topps Stamps #23 Johnny Bench (Topps issued these in five cent wax packs and they came in strips of twelve.)


1970 MLB PhotoStamps #103 Bill Mazeroski (The MLBPA followed up their 1969 set with a nearly identical set in 1970.)
1971 Dell Today's Team Stamps #336 Carl Yastrzemski (These were issued in books containing 24 stamps each. I bought this Yaz at a card show for $1 even though a previous owner had it laminated.)
1974 Topps Stamps #132 Orlando Cepeda (Topps issued these in 12 stamp sheets packaged along with an album to put them in.)
1982 Fleer Stamps #42 Nolan Ryan G10 (These were issued by Fleer in strips of ten and released in packages with Fleer team logo stickers.)

   
1982 Red Sox Herald Stamps #7 Wade Boggs (This stamp was issued by the Boston Herald newspaper and is one of many Red Sox stamps they issued.)
1983 Fleer Stamps #77 Rickey Henderson (These were issued in sheets of 72 stamps each and could be obtained from Vend-A-Strip dispensors.)
1996 Pro Stamps #41 Mike Piazza (This set was issued by Chris Martin Enterprises and distributed in sheets of six stamps each. A collector could receive more stamps and become an official Pro Stamps Club member by mailing in the form found on the back of the stamp sheets.)
2003 Merrick Mint Stamps #NNO Ken Griffey Jr. (The Merrick Mint distributed these stamps in nine-stamp sheets. Each stamp has a corresponding player card to affix the stamp to.)
2014 Panini Golden Age Star Stamps #3 Kaline/Hunter/Yastrzemski/Horton (An insert from Panini's Golden Age line, these came in sets of four stamps each depicting four athletes, historical events or celebrities.)

[zeprock]

A ten-time All-star and two-time World Champion, Kirby Puckett averaged nearly 200 hits per season throughout his career. He was batting .344 during the Grapefruit League in 1996 when he woke up without vision in his right eye. Three surgeries later it became apparent he would not see correctly again and he retired. He suffered a massive hemorrhage stroke and passed at the age of 45 in 2006 becoming the second youngest Hall of Famer to die after induction (only to Gehrig). David Ortiz wore number 34 in Puckett's honor throughout his MLB career. I currently own 695 unique Beckett recognized cards of Kirby. Here are nine from my collection including a rookie, some inserts, parallels and game-used.

       
1985 Leaf/Donruss #107 Kirby Puckett RC
1993 Pinnacle Team Pinnacle #9 K.Puckett/A.Van Slyke (Pittsburgh's Andy Van Slyke is featured on the opposite side of this card.)
1993 Score Franchise #9 Kirby Puckett


1994 SP Previews #CR3 Kirby Puckett
1995 SP Championship Classic Performances Die Cuts #CP8 Kirby Puckett
2002 Sweet Spot Classics Game Bat #BKP Kirby Puckett DP

       
2003 Finest Bat Relics #KP Kirby Puckett K
2007 SP Legendary Cuts A Stitch in Time Memorabilia #KP Kirby Puckett
2017 Donruss Stat Line Career #184 Kirby Puckett/318

[rob024420]

Kirby was on his way to being one of the greatest of all time. Too bad no one got to see how the story finished. Retired and gone waaayyy to soon.

[zeprock]

My obsession with baseball cards began in 1970. My cousin had cards and my schoolmates had cards and we loved to play ball during recess and I got caught up in it too. I  spent all my money, much to my Mom's chagrin, at the local convenience store and bought enough packs to put that entire set together. That summer I got my first job delivering Grit newspapers, TV Guide and The Weekly Shopper door to door on my bicycle. I had a basket on the front, three on the back and I carried two over the shoulder bags and rode to parts of five different towns in rural Maine delivering. What a summer! One day I rode my bicycle seven miles round trip through the Maine countryside with my allowance and paper route money in my pocket to buy a full box of Topps at five cents per pack. I would sit in my bedroom for hours on end sorting by teams and shoving stick after of stick of gum into my mouth. Only we didn't have sheets and binders for storage back then. We had rubber bands. I still have that complete set, trading for the last card, Rico Petrocelli, with one of my fellow Cub Scouts way back in the day.

1970's design is one of my favorites. I've taken a lot of flak because it is "boring" with it's gray borders but I like the large photos and many of the player's poses plus complete stats on the backs. In 2019 the design was re-released as Topps Heritage and I saw a lot of posts on how people loved it. To date, 68 cards depict Hall of Famers not counting the team cards. Also cards of Pete Rose, a Munson rookie and the Miracle Mets. Here are nine cards from my favorite set. 1970.

       
1970 Topps #189 Rookie Stars/Thurman Munson RC/Dave McDonald RC (We all know Munson's story but what about the man he shared his rookie card with? Dave McDonald spent 8 years in the minor leagues before the Yankees gave him a September call-up in '69. He was traded to the Expos the next spring and spent another year in the minors before debuting with them in 1971. His MLB totals were 62 at bats, 9 hits, one home run, 6 RBI and a lifetime batting average of .145. He went back to the minors until retiring in 1974. By the way, his 1970 rookie card books around $100!)
1970 Topps #350 Roberto Clemente
1970 Topps #500 Hank Aaron


1970 Topps #580 Pete Rose
1970 Topps #600 Willie Mays
1970 Topps #630 Ernie Banks

       
1970 Topps #660 Johnny Bench
1970 Topps #700 Frank Robinson
1970 Topps #712 Nolan Ryan

[kerryandbeth]

A ten-time All-star and two-time World Champion, Kirby Puckett averaged nearly 200 hits per season throughout his career. He was batting .344 during the Grapefruit League in 1996 when he woke up without vision in his right eye. Three surgeries later it became apparent he would not see correctly again and he retired. He suffered a massive hemorrhage stroke and passed at the age of 45 in 2006 becoming the second youngest Hall of Famer to die after induction (only to Gehrig). David Ortiz wore number 34 in Puckett's honor throughout his MLB career. I currently own 695 unique Beckett recognized cards of Kirby. Here are nine from my collection including a rookie, some inserts, parallels and game-used.

       
1985 Leaf/Donruss #107 Kirby Puckett RC
1993 Pinnacle Team Pinnacle #9 K.Puckett/A.Van Slyke (Pittsburgh's Andy Van Slyke is featured on the opposite side of this card.)
1993 Score Franchise #9 Kirby Puckett


1994 SP Previews #CR3 Kirby Puckett
1995 SP Championship Classic Performances Die Cuts #CP8 Kirby Puckett
2002 Sweet Spot Classics Game Bat #BKP Kirby Puckett DP

       
2003 Finest Bat Relics #KP Kirby Puckett K
2007 SP Legendary Cuts A Stitch in Time Memorabilia #KP Kirby Puckett
2017 Donruss Stat Line Career #184 Kirby Puckett/318

Hey, my all-time favorite player finally came up!  Nice.

[kerryandbeth]

Kirby was on his way to being one of the greatest of all time. Too bad no one got to see how the story finished. Retired and gone waaayyy to soon.

I have only cried 3 times in the past 15 years...and one of those times was the day Kirby died.

[zeprock]

Ron Santo was a nine-time All-star and five-time Gold Glove Award winner who played his entire career in Chicago. He became notable for his heel clicks after Cubs victories. Santo spent 20 years in the broadcast booth after his playing days were over until losing his nearly lifelong battle with diabetes in 2010. He was posthumously enshrined in the Hall of Fame two years later via the Veteran's Committee. I currently have just 63 Beckett recognized cards of his including these vintage from his playing days.

       
1962 Topps #170 Ron Santo
1964 Topps #375 Ron Santo
1965 Topps #110 Ron Santo

        
1967 Topps #70 Ron Santo
1968 Topps #235 Ron Santo
1968 Topps #366 Ron Santo AS

       
1969 Topps #570 Ron Santo
1970 Topps #670 Ron Santo
1972 Topps #555 Ron Santo