[waynetalger]

Not to be confused with Veterans Day but this past Memorial Day had me looking up a few things.

I was thinking maybe a subset with all Military Personnel who gave the ultimate Sacrifice in serving our County that played baseball from wars past to present.
Giving History on the back of the cards and what they did as a player and in the military career.

Finding actual cards are hard to find for some of them and even some never had a card.

I would rather see cards like this rather baseball cards that picture someone who never played baseball.

Cptn. Edward Bredell, Jr. Amateur Unknown Confederate Army Killed in Action Virginia Nov 16, 1864
1/Lt. Thomas W. Custer Amateur P US Army Killed in Action Little Bighorn, MT Jun 25, 1876
Pvt. William Davis Amateur 3B US Army Killed in Action Little Bighorn, MT Jun 25, 1876
Nav/Wr. John H. Shillington College - Notre Dame SS US Navy Explosion Cuba Feb 15, 1898
Seaman Leon Bonner Amateur Assistant US Navy Explosion Cuba Feb 15, 1898
GM/1C Charles F.W. Eiermann Amateur Manager US Navy Explosion Cuba Feb 15, 1898
OS William H. Gorman Amateur 2B US Navy Explosion Cuba Feb 15, 1898
LDS Charles Hauck Amateur CF US Navy Explosion Cuba Feb 15, 1898
LDS William L. Hough Amateur 1B US Navy Explosion Cuba Feb 15, 1898
F1c William Lambert Amateur P US Navy Explosion Cuba Feb 15, 1898
AP/2c Benjamin L. Marsden Amateur C US Navy Explosion Cuba Feb 15, 1898
LDS John Merz Amateur SS US Navy Explosion Cuba Feb 15, 1898
Fifer C.H. Newton Amateur 3B US Marine Corps Explosion Cuba Feb 15, 1898
LDS William H. Tinsman Amateur LF US Navy Explosion Cuba Feb 15, 1898
Leonard Weikart Minor League C US Army Illness Cuba Aug 1, 1898
Pvt. William E. "Bill" Stearns Major League P US Army Illness Washington, DC Dec 30, 1898
- See more at: http://www.baseballsgreatestsacrifice.co...FUHWp.dpuf

[Phillies_Joe]

I think it's a great idea Wayne. I'd prefer a sub-set in the Topps Flagship product, but it really doesn't matter. (they can do like 50 - 75 cards per S1, S2 and update, depending on the # impacted.....). It sure would interest me more than seeing the same Ty Cobb picture on a card for the 100th time. My only caveat would be that somehow, some form of proceeds make thier way to a veteran group/s.

[DrMitchJ]

I think it's a great idea Wayne. I'd prefer a sub-set in the Topps Flagship product, but it really doesn't matter. (they can do like 50 - 75 cards per S1, S2 and update, depending on the # impacted.....). It sure would interest me more than seeing the same Ty Cobb picture on a card for the 100th time. My only caveat would be that somehow, some form of proceeds make thier way to a veteran group/s.

Agreed! It would be an awesome subset.
Maybe some proceeds coud go to the wounded warriors program?

Man, that navy explosion in 1898 sure wiped out a lot of ball players. Was it coincidence, or were they transporting a naval baseball team to/from Cuba?

[waynetalger]

Thanks guys I will see who I can talk to at topps for this idea my next days off

Doc here is what happened
A massive explosion of unknown origin sinks the battleship USS Maine in Cuba’s Havana harbor, killing 260 of the fewer than 400 American crew members aboard.

One of the first American battleships, the Maine weighed more than 6,000 tons and was built at a cost of more than $2 million. Ostensibly on a friendly visit, the Maine had been sent to Cuba to protect the interests of Americans there after a rebellion against Spanish rule broke out in Havana in January.

An official U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry ruled in March that the ship was blown up by a mine, without directly placing the blame on Spain. Much of Congress and a majority of the American public expressed little doubt that Spain was responsible and called for a declaration of war.

Subsequent diplomatic failures to resolve the Maine matter, coupled with United States indignation over Spain’s brutal suppression of the Cuban rebellion and continued losses to American investment, led to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in April 1898.

Within three months, the United States had decisively defeated Spanish forces on land and sea, and in August an armistice halted the fighting. On December 12, 1898, the Treaty of Paris was signed between the United States and Spain, officially ending the Spanish-American War and granting the United States its first overseas empire with the ceding of such former Spanish possessions as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

In 1976, a team of American naval investigators concluded that the Maine explosion was likely caused by a fire that ignited its ammunition stocks, not by a Spanish mine or act of sabotage.

The ship's crew consisted of 355: 26 officers, 290 sailors, and 39 marines. Of these, there were 261 fatalities:

Two officers and 251 sailors and marines either killed by the explosion or drowned
Seven others were rescued but soon died of their injuries
One officer later died of "cerebral affection" (shock)
Of the 94 survivors, 16 were uninjured.

Looks like the Ships Baseball Team.

[eharris3abc]

A lot of ships had sports teams, some pretty decent athletes. When you look at the Pearl Harbor bombing there were some folks lost there as well that could have played professional sports. There was a pretty interesting display at pearl harbor on athletics and ship crews for a while, not sure if they still have it

[DrMitchJ]

In hindsight, looks like we owe Spain a little apology
Thanks for the history ... Very interesting although very tragic.

It might be an insert better suited for Allen & Ginter! ... Or maybe Panini Stars & Stripes!

[waynetalger]

In hindsight, looks like we owe Spain a little apology
Thanks for the history ... Very interesting although very tragic.

It might be an insert better suited for Allen & Ginter! ... Or maybe Panini Stars & Stripes!

That would be a huge insert set unless they string it out over the years
Civil war to WW1- 16 players
WW1- 60 players
WW2-- 235 --2 Major leaguers, 144 minor leaguers, 27 semi pro, 51 college, 11 amateur
Korea--23 with 1 being in Majors, 19 minor, 1 semi pro, and 2 amateur
Vietnam-- 13 9 in minors, 1 college, 4 amateur
Post Vietnam--7 1 minor and 6 college

for a total of 354 baseball players.

on a side note
There were 11 Australians in WWII that were killed and should be remembered since they were in the allie force but Memorial Day is solely a US remembrance day.

and a 2nd side note
Japan lost 72 pros and 11 others

[DrMitchJ]

That would be a huge insert set unless they string it out over the years
Civil war to WW1- 16 players
WW1- 60 players
WW2-- 235 --2 Major leaguers, 144 minor leaguers, 27 semi pro, 51 college, 11 amateur
Korea--23 with 1 being in Majors, 19 minor, 1 semi pro, and 2 amateur
Vietnam-- 13 9 in minors, 1 college, 4 amateur
Post Vietnam--7 1 minor and 6 college
for a total of 354 baseball players.

That would be a massive insert sub-set. They'd have to break it up, or put it in the flagship series 1, 2 & update. Obviously, some players would not make the cut. But in 2011 they did that massively huge insert set of Kimball cards (150?) ... It's able to be done.