Mortality

 The dean of the (dwindling) population of card bloggers, Night Owl, has been musing recently on topics that derive from the advance of time and our position in that flow. He and I are of the same generational cohort.  My 60th birthday approaches rapidly, but I cannot really wrap my mind around it. I am healthy, active, and at the peak of my professional career (which is a source of great satisfaction.) I don't feel 60 and I don't expect I will in a few short weeks when that number becomes reality.

But there are events that give me pause to consider the advance of time.  Today brought one of those events: the death of Bernie Parent.

It has been a while since I followed hockey.  But, following it was part of my childhood, and it was mostly driven by collecting NHL stickers that were given away at my local Loblaws grocery store in 1974 and 1975. Bernie Parent was 80 years old. I struggle more that he was that old than I do with my own age. I suppose it may have something to do with having moved my mother into assisted living recently and seeing the recent decline in her health. Anyways, before this post becomes even more maudlin, I'll sign off.

What I am listening to: Landslide by Fleetwood Mac

1961 Fleer Autograph Project - Part 50

It's been a minute since I posted. So, without any extraneous commentary, let see who our next subject is in my continuing series about my signed 1961 Fleer set: 

Hall of Fame member Waite Hoyt.

Let's learn a little about "Schoolboy" Hoyt:

1. Born in Brooklyn in 1899, poor grades initially kept him out of scholastic baseball but not the amateur newspaper leagues where he gained a reputation as a hard thrower. Eventually getting his grades in order, where he continued to burnish that reputation.
2. While his first professional tryout was with the hometown Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the Federal League and he tossed batting practice the National League Robins, his first professional contract came in 1915 with the NY Giants. At the tender age of 15, he was the youngest player ever to sign a pro contract.
3. He started his pro career with the Lebanon team in the Penn State League, which folded before the season completed.
4. He made his major league debut on July 24, 1918 when he pitched the 9th inning against St Louis, striking out two of the three batters he faced, and popping out for the first out in the bottom half of the inning.  Sometime subsequent, John McGraw demoted him to Newark of the International League.  Hoyt refused to report and chose instead to play semi-pro ball in an industrial league in Baltimore. Despite the Giants machinations, Waite had no intent of returning to the minors and, eventually signed with the Boston Red Sox, with who (whom?) he pitched for the next two seasons.
5. He debuted with the BoSox on July 31, 1919 pitching a 12-inning complete game victory against Detroit, giving up 10 hits but only one run and holding Ty Cobb to a triple in 5 at bats.
6. Pitching ineffectually over the next two season, he was traded to the Yankees after the 1920 season, rejoining Boston teammate Babe Ruth. It was with the Yankees that Hoyt enjoyed the most success of a 21-year career that saw him suit up for 7 different major league teams.
7. When asked about his success, Hoyt quipped "The secret was to get a job with the Yankees and joyride along on their home runs.”
8. There is actually a lot of truth to that. Other than 1927, Hoyt never led the Yankees staff in wins and was generally a steady, if not spectacular pitcher.
9. He was pretty good in the post season, putting up a 6-4 record with a 1.83 ERA across 6 World Series with the Yankees and one with the Philadelphia Athletics.
10. As a 21-year-old, in the 1921 World Series between the Yankees and his former team the John McGraw led Giants, Waite threw 3 complete game (earned run) shutouts. His record was 2-1 in a series that the Bombers lost three games to five.
11. During his time with the Yankees, Hoyt was a prolific drinker and ladies' man whose proclivities were likely overshadowed by his larger-than-life teammate, Babe Ruth
12. In the off-season, he had experiences in both vaudeville and his fathers-in-law's mortuary business. This earned him the nickname as the "The Merry Mortician."
    
13. After the death of Miller Huggins, Hoyt clashed with new manager Bob Shawkey and was traded to Detroit. For the remainder of his career, he bounced around to 5 teams occasionally flashing brilliance but mainly putting in workmanlike performance. Through this time, he lost discipline resulting in weight gain, alcohol abuse, and divorce.
14. He ended his career back home in Brooklyn with the Dodgers in parts of the 1937 and 1938 seasons.
15. With a background in vaudeville, he launched a post playing days career in radio. First with a pregame show for the Yankees and, in 1942, as the play-by-play announcer for the Cincinnati Reds.
16. While is drinking continued early in his announcing career. However, in 1945, after a bender he checked into a rehab program and became a vocal advocate of Alcoholics Anonymous.
17. He retired from broadcasting in 1964, was elected to Cooperstown in 1969, and remained living in Cincy until his death in 1985.

What I am listening to: The Thrill is Gone (Live) by BB King and Gary Moore

1961 Fleer Autograph Project - Part 49

 I am back!   I was back in Ohio for a while to help my mother out while my sister was on vacation and I'm going back in a few weeks to help her move into an assisted living apartment.  I am finally seeing daylight ahead as I work past some of the issues that plagued me year to date.  I still have to make some repairs to my farm truck and put up some hay for winter, so I don't expect to actually go to a card show until October, but it is nice to be able to put a marker on the calendar.

                                              

Next up in this series is Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell.  Hubbell, who died in 1988, was a prolific signer and his signed cards are one of the more affordable ones in 1961 Fleer.  My version is not the most attractive and probably could stand to be upgraded, but it isn't a priority.  So, what do we know about Carl:

• He was born in Carthage, MO but grew up in Meeker, OK (about a 45-minute drive from my home) on a pecan farm. Although he passed away in Arizona, he returned to Meeker for his final resting place.
• Coming out of high school he started work at oil company and playing in the Oklahoma State League for the Cushing Refiners.  The league was considered Class D but doesn't appear to have been part of affiliated ball as there is no record of it at Baseball Reference. 
•  B-R shows Hubbell's minor league career starting in 1924 with 2 appearances each with the Class C Bartlesville/Ardmore Bearcats and the Class A Oklahoma City Indians.
• After a 17-13 season with OKC in 1925 his contract was purchased by the Detroit Tigers.
• His career almost derailed during the 1926 training camp when Detroit manager Ty Cobb told to stop throwing a reverse curve screwball for fear of a serious arm injury.  Carl was generally ineffective after giving up his signature pitch.  Despite creditable year with Decatur in 1927, he was sold to the Texas Leagues Beaumont Exporters.  
• The Beaumont manager allowed Hubbell to start throwing the screwball again and after putting up a 12-9, 2.97 record in 21 starts for the Exporters his contract was purchased midseason by John McGraw and he reported to the NY Giants.  He finished out the season with a 10-6, 2.83 record.
• This started a 16-year major league career, all with the Giants. While he was a great pitcher under McGraw, Hubbell blossomed underneath Bill Terry (subject of entry 31 in this series) who took over the Giants during the 1932 season.
• Hubbell ripped off 5 consecutive 20-win seasons from 1933 to 1937, which saw him winning the NL MVP in both 1933 (23-12, 1.66) and 1936 (26-6, 2.31)
• The 1933 season saw the Giants defeat the Washington Nationals in the World Series. In the series, Hubbell pitched two complete game victories in which he gave up no earned runs.
• In 1934, Hubbell surely gave one of the all-time great pitching performances in first inning of the All-Star Game by striking out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Jimmie Foxx on 11 pitches.
• Subsequent World Series appearances in 1936 and 1937 saw Carl throw an additional 4 complete games, though the Giants lost in both years to their crosstown rival Yankees.
• Starting in 1938 the strain of the screwball on Hubbell's arm began to take its toll and while still a workmanlike starter, he was only slightly better than a .500 pitcher.
• Following his playing career, Hubbell was the Giants farm director from 1944 through 1977 and a scout for an additional 11 years until his death as a result of a car accident.

Coming up: a series of 7 more Hall of Fame members.

What I am listening to: Glory Box by Portishead

Pet Collection Yet Again

 It has been a bit of a year here with our animal family.  We lost our 18-year-old cat Squeak (not unexpectedly) and my formerly feral cat Chester (quite unexpectedly) We have also been fighting a case of EPM (Equine Protozoal Myoencephalitis) with our senior horse Clyde.  We have not been able to resolve it but have determined that a continual treatment with anti-protozoals keeps the symptoms at bay  As it is, he is happy and active, so we'll just ride it out until infirmity wins out. 

It is a bit of a bummer, but having lived in the country for nearly 25 years, I have created a rule known as the Law of Conservation of Cats which states that the loss of a cat will invariably lead to another showing up in short order.  And so, recently, a small Manx cat showed up.

Meet Stubbs. He is still a kitten and is very friendly. So friendly that we think he may have been dumped out here.  After some initial upset, he has paired up with our other barn cat, Stripe.

I am working on the next installment of the Fleer Autograph Project, but it is taking time.  After months of regular rain, the weather has finally turned continuously sunny, and I am trying to catch up on my yardwork and pasture management.  But it is coming!

What I am listening to: I Never Cared for You by Tami Neilson

RIP - Cobra

 I just heard that Dave Parker died today at the age of 74, a month short of his Cooperstown induction.  His death came a bit over 13 years after being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.

Parker was a giant to me. He was at the top of his game at the time I was closely following the baseball season as a teenager.  He was MVP in the magical (to me) 1978 season that saw an early glimpse of the "We are Family" Pirates. In 1978, the Pirates didn't hit my radar. I was engrossed in the AL East, that saw transcendent seasons from Boston's Jim Rice and my Yankees Ron Guidry.  A race that culminated on the first Monday in October as Bucky "Fucking" Dent and my Yankees dispatched the Bosox in a one game playoff.  The Pirates didn't really occupy any space in my brain until the following year, with the Pirates seven game World Series victory over the Orioles.

This passing has given me a pause since my father had Parkinson's Disease. It is a cruel disease, slowly robbing the person of their coordination and, in the later stages, of their memories.  My family has never been particularly warm and close.  And living half a continent away, I didn't get to experience my father's slow decline. Since I didn't get back to visit but a couple times a year, the progression of the disease was more jarring to me. And, in the end, robbed us of a proper goodbye as he knew he had a son that lived in Oklahoma but he didn't recognize me for being that son.

I don't offer this looking for sympathy. What is done is done and I have made my peace.  I offer it only to say I am pleased that Parker was lucid enough to see his election into Cooperstown, even if he didn't make it to the induction ceremony. Certainly, not being able to attend the ceremony is a loss for him and the world. But, when I think of deserving inductees (specifically but not exclusively Ron Santo) that never even got to experience the joy of knowing they were elected, I take solace in knowing Parker was able to hear and understand the honor bestowed to him.

What I am listening to: Temporary Nature (of any Precious Thing) by Lucinda Williams

1961 Fleer Autograph Project - Part 48

Has it really been two months since I posted?  Yes, it has. Does it seem like I always start a post that way? Yes, it does.   I haven't done anything hobby-wise in over three months and probably won't for at least as long going forward.  Do you ever have one of those years where it seems like you have one problem after another?  That has been 2025 for me. A lot has gone wrong in 2025. Nothing existential, but expensive. But all y'all have your own lives and struggles and aren't here to listen to me whine. So, let's get on with it.

This is the 48th signed 1961 Fleer card in my collection. I have a total of 72 and of the 24 I haven't yet posted, 18 are in the Hall of Fame, including today's subject, Redlegs great Ernie Lombardi.  

So, what random, interesting things did I learn about him:

1. Lombardi had a 17-year career - 10 with Cincinnati, 5 with the NY Giants, and 1 each with the Brooklyn Robins and Boston Braves
2. Between 1928 and 1930, he hit .370 while playing for the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League.
3. He caught Johnny VanderMeer's back-to-back no-hitters, which we covered briefly in Part 39 of this series.
4. In 1938, he was the NL MVP. That season, he hit .342 with 19 homeruns and 95 RBIs. Modern statistics give his MVP season a total 4.8 WAR, far less than Bill Lee, Arky Vaughn and Mel Ott, all of who had greater than 8.0 WAR. 
5. Considered one of the slowest ballplayers, he also led the league by grounding into 30 double plays that year, an NL league record that stood for 70 years until 2008 when it was broken by Miguel Tejada.
6. Inducted into the Cincinnati Reds HOF in 1958, he was consistently overlooked by Cooperstown.  Indeed, he vowed to not attend the ceremony if ever elected. His eventual induction, championed by Birdie Tibbets, came in 1986, 9 years after his death.
7. He did not believe in signing autographs. It wasn’t until a youngster asked if he was illiterate that Lombardi, to dispute the point, signed the scrap of paper.
8. There is a picture of Lombardi holding seven baseballs in one hand. 
9. Lombardi struggled to find his place after his career ended and even attempted suicide in 1953.
10.  In 2004 a full-size bronze statue of Ernie was dedicated outside Great American Ballpark, joining those of Frank Robinson, Joe Nuxhall, and Ted Kluszewski at the entrance to the ballpark.

What I am listening to:  John Moreland

Revisiting an Old Friend

 Despite primarily being a vintage collector, I do have several modern sets that I dearly love.   2004 Fleer Greats of the Game is one. The Tristar Obak sets, issued between 2009 and 2011, are three more. Tristar played the variation game in these sets, including cards with different geometric shapes around the card number. But, I don't play that game, so I mainly collected the base set and the T212 mini parallels to a subset of the base cards.  I managed to complete both the 2010 and 2011 sets. But the high number short prints in the 2009 set were elusive.  They were rarely available and unreasonably expensive when they were.  Progress ground to a halt and, eventually, I forgot about the set. I can't even remember the last time I added one of these cards.  It could have been as long as 10 years ago, but I really don't know.

Recently, as I have had to curtail my hobby spending due to necessary adult obligations I decided to see if I could cheaply complete off a few side projects that captured my attention for a while, then fell of the radar.  I didn't complete 2009 Obak, but I did find three reasonably priced short prints of the seven I need.

Yeah, I'm being lazy by scanning all three at once and not editing to show them individually.  But, it is a beautiful day and I've got yardwork to do.

Of these three players, only Tony Sanchez made it to the majors, appearing in 52 games over the course of 4 seasons.  Donavan Tate made it as far as A+ and Matt Hobgood to AA.

What I am listening to: I am a Man by Spencer Davis Group