Top 5 Deep Cut Cards for Immaculate Grid

The Immaculate Grid encourages you to remember all kinds of team-specific trivia otherwise lost to the sands of time. When you're steeped in card history, knowing a player often means a cardboard image also jumps to mind first. This article calls out five picks for low percentages, where to use them, and highlight cards.

Julie Wera (Yankees only, played 3B, 1927 World Champ, .300+ batting season)

That championship ring netted him a spot in TCMA's retro sets for those 1927 Murderer's Row legends.

1975 TCMA 1927 Yankees

Wera must have few photos, as TCMA rotated this pose 90 degrees for its 1979 portrait version.

1979 TCMA 1927 Yankees #5

TCMA used borders from 1920s American Caramel, yet missed that this pennant-and-megaphone design fits the Chicago White Sox instead of New York. More details on my border breakdown.

Dave Vineyard (BAL only, pitcher) & John Boozer (PHI only, pitcher, sub-3 ERA, .300+ batting season)

This intoxicating two-fer appeared like a vision from a box of vintage cards at the 2024 National show. Love to see two names like this sharing space in the excellent 1965 Topps set. Boozer turns the sought-for double-play of having good ERA and hitting seasons.

Jimmy Archer (born outside USA, position 237 Pirates, 246 Tigers, 2345 Cubs, 2 Dodgers, 23 Reds)

This peripatetic and versatile Irishman excelled wearing the Tools of Ignorance in part because an industrial accident in his pre-baseball days shortened his throwing arm. That gear also makes for a great T222 Fatima tobacco image, where he's one of four different #5 cards (set profile).

Jerry Lumpe (.300 for A's/Yankees, 10+ HRs for A's, All-Star for Tigers, World Series champ for Yankees, position 456 for A's and Yanks, 45 for Detroit)

After younger years and a 1958 championship in New York, Jerry spent his peak in KC, and then four more in Detroit, notching this low percentage All-Star appearance for the Tigers. My memorable "card" turned up this year on eBay after being extracted from an overseas baseball album and it's another #5.

Lumpe moved to KC in May 1959, so I think it came out during the 1958-59 winter league season, following his utility role on the Yanks title winner.

Bob Nieman (.300+ Orioles/White Sox/Cardinals/Guardians/Giants, homered in first MLB game, 20+ HR for Orioles, position 79 Orioles/Tigers/White Sox/Guardians, 7 Cardinals/Giants)

This guy raked everywhere that needed a bat, peaking for Baltimore before closing out in spot duty for St. Louis, Cleveland, and San Fran. His memorable 1960 Topps card features Bob's spectacular specs, looking for the world like a guy who sold insurance between innings.

People outside Fenway Park shoulda bought head insurance, as Bob homered in his first two MLB at-bats, including a blast that cleared the Green Monster and reached Landsdowne Street beyond. It's an unmatched feat in our modern game. His woeful Browns lost 9-5 anyway to the Red Sox (box score). Win or lose, welcome his specs into your heart and grid!

Based the higher-than-expected scores for guys like Billy "F-Face" Ripken and Mike "Airbrush" Laga, I suspect their noteworthy cards made them easy to remember, even for fans today! Who else do you like to use on the grid who has a distinctive card? 

Baseball TTM from Richard Billings (Dec 1972 Sport Grafica cover story)

How many of these Sport Grafica magazines are still around? At least one I picked up from eBay to feed my research into Grafica winter league photo sets. This 15-Dec issue sits about halfway through their 1972-73 season (set profile).

Richard Billings (career stats) satisfied my autograph request in less than two weeks with this handwritten letter.

Thanks for your letter. How did you get this magazine? More importantly, why would you want this magazine? I still have a couple of those magazines that I brought back from Maracaibo, Venezuela, but never really knew the translation. I appreciate you translating this for me, Rich Billings

Mr. Billings garnered this cover story thanks to his Yogi-like role as player-manager, taking over Las Aguilas de Zulia after Larry Doby failed to find success.

Expand to enjoy Google's stab at translation

A leader of men and mustaches

This writer made key points about how catchers track pitchers as they tire and why managers need great assistant coaches. Reading between the lines, Billings might've leaned on his staff's expertise in ways Doby failed to do. Its closing note about Richard's ability to motivate players and inspire positivity explains how he became a Venezuelan fan favorite across multiple seasons in Maricaibo.

Richard's onfield interview from June 1972 mentions his Venezuelan club and gives you a feel for his personality. This 1974-75 winter league "sticker" (set profile) shows some Las Aguilas uniform and ballpark.

Thanks again to Mr. Billings! Always fun to add something so unusual to one's collection.

1972-73 Sport Grafico Venezuelan Winter League Baseball #5, Manny (J. Marcano) Trillo

The deeper I look into 1970s baseball, the more its collectibles reflect an era of complex regional relationships for sports and its fans. Today's 1972-73 Venezuelan winter league set contains dozens of familiar names competing in a country far fewer Americans would visit today. Local magazine Sport Gráfico covered those leagues in detail, making them a natural fit for baseball collectibles.

At time of writing, offered at $350 OBO on eBay 

This November 1972 issue celebrates Gonzalo Marquez's productive late-season hitting for the first of Oakland's three consecutive World Championships and shows off their classic gold-and-green look. 

This set's #5 features Venezuelan native and future four-time MLB All-Star Manny Trillo.

Let's look at several nine-player sheets Gráfico printed that year, starting the 18 players from 24-Nov. Dwight Evans and Dick Pole fans, rejoice! (Also see Dewey's more colorful 1972 Topps knockoff card from that winter season.)

"Recorta por la linea de puntos" means "cut along the dotted line."

The 1972-73 set includes several umpires, distinct in their black-billed caps. #130 Armando Rodriguez officiated for two decades in Venezeula and several other pro leagues.

"Joven el deporte es vida" translates as "youth sports is life," a Gráfico motto

Note Grafico jumbled player numbers within each issue and 24-Nov ranges from #25 Pole to #138 Bumbry.

• 25 Dick Pole
• 32 Bobby Mitchell
• 41 Enrique Gonzalez
• 67 Dwight Evans
• 84 Faustino Zabala
• 94 Jim Holt
• 99 Luis Rodriguez
• 104 Juan Francia
• 109 Jose Lopez
• 113 Larry Bittner (Biittner)
• 116 Francisco Borges
• 120 Luis Rivas
• 121 Simon Barreto
• 123 Bruce Heinbechner
• 126 Iran Paz
• 130 Armando Rodriguez
• 133 Hector Artiles
• 138 Al Bumbry

More Gráfico player photos hit newsstands on January 5, 1973.

As of writing, offered at $200 OBO on eBay

Its photos include Dagoberto (Bert) Campaneris, who also starred for the aforementioned 1970s Oakland A's champions, and played all nine positions in one game on September 8, 1965 (box score).

This issue's numbers page tailed off somewhat, leaving a blank next to ex-Padres manager Preston Gomez. Number #252 went to Venezuelan star and Big Red Machine stalwart, Dave Concepcion, kittycorner from Bill "Spaceman" Lee.

It appears Gráfico pulled a number altogether to leave that blank, so I think its checklist contains 251 players. At least they kept the ocular intensity of #233 Rafael Alvarez!

That leaves 17 total players for 5-Jan's sheets.

• NNO Harold McRae
• 196 Richard Henniger
• 201 Barry Lersch
• 206 Ramon Webster
• 212 Harold Hunter
• 219 Charles Murray
• 221 Dagoberto Campaneris
• 223 Jose Carvajal
• 231 George Manz
• 232 Duriel Durand
• 233 Rafael Alvarez
• 242 Garry Raziano
• 243 Preston Gomez
• 248 Bill Lee
• 249 Emilio Rodriguez
• 251 Rafael Camejo
• 252 David Concepcion

Google's translation of this Spanish trading card catalog hints why we see that "unfinished" page.

"Series edited and produced by the magazine Sport Gráfico...inserted in the aforementioned magazine, with weekly 18 cut-out cards and 18 spaces numbered for the preparation of the album. The first came with magazine No. 387, dated 14th October, 1972, and the last one with No. 400 of 5th January, 1973. There were 14 in total for a set of 252 pieces and 13 for the preparation of the album. One was missing to complete it and that's why it remained at 234."

Date TBD for these sheets, who eBay scans are missing its dated Sport Grafico cover.

• ?? Enrique Guterriez
• 10 Alexis Corro
• 30 Ken Forsch
• 43 Graciano Ravelo
• 65 Gustaso Sposito
• 77 Olinto Rojas
• 80 Edward Janson
• 87 Juan Loaiza
• 89 Armando Chacon
• 92 Alfredo Ortiz
• 95 Urbano Lugo
• 101 Pablo Torrealba
• 107 Victor Colina
• 108 Dick Lange
• 111 Jose Martinez
• 115 Franklyn Moreno
• 118 Alberto Cambero
• 144 Virgilio Mata

My collection consists of one issue from 15-Dec, featuring Venezuelan fan favorite Dick Billings, who signed it by mail in October 2024!

This issue contains two blank album pages, #145-162.

#159 Teodoro Obregón notes his "ocho hits seguidos" (eight consecutive hits), a nice feat for any pro player.

Photo sheets from 15-December include personal faves Diego Segui and Jose Cardenal. #29 Walt "No Neck" Williams features one of this set's better portraits.

#174 Camilo Pascual continued to pitch in Venezuelan leagues after his major league career ended in 1971.

Of 15-Dec's 18 players, five in bold fit into its centerfold album. Others go with ealier or later issues.

• 13 Toby Harrah
• 28 Walter Williams
• 82 Carlos Avila
• 97 Lew Krausse
• 125 Pablo Torrealba
• 134 Diego Segui
• 139 John Lowenstein
• 145 Arquilio Freites
• 148 Leopoldo Tovar
• 160 Elias Lugo
• 161 Evangelista Nuñez
• 162 Leonel Carrion
• 165 Pancho Lopez
• 167 Jose Cardenal
• 168 Charles Day
• 172 Nelson Caras
• 174 Camilo Pascual
• 177 Ed Sprague

The cover of 19-Jan issue #402 celebrated league champs Caracas.

Album pages run #19-36, a late date for these early set numbers.

Its photo sheets include the aforementioned Richard Billings. Sorry to say the lower quality of available scans leave some names unclear.

As before, some of its numbers fit into the issue's own #19-36 number range.

• 3 V. Acosta
• 4 Richard Billings
• 8 Ely Infante
• 20 Digoberto Mendoza
• 22 Alfonso Collazo
• 26 Neudo Morales
• 31 Antonio Correa
• 34 Oswaldo Troconis
• 36 Remigio ??
• 40 Ossie Virgil
• 49 Hector Fultiro
• 50 Con. Escobar
• 61 C. Torieto
• 74 Carlde Pascual
• 75 Francisco Navas
• ?? Damaso Blanco
• ?? Nelson Garcia
• ?? Juan J. Rivas Frim

I'll update this post as more complete photo and album sheets surface. If you enjoy vintage Venezuelan ball, check out Historias del beisbol en Venezuela at Facebook, where I found Enos Cabell's .380 batting average from that 1972-73 season and plenty more.

Value: I bought my 15-Dec issue on eBay for $50, which came with two complete sheets. While I know of online scans for #5 Trillo, the card itself proves elusive.

Fakes / reprints: Modern counterfeits exist for at least one other South American set, so purchase hard-to-find type cards like these from dealers you trust.

Mailing for autographs : 1990 Sports Illustrated for Kids

My literal biggest ever through-the-mail (TTM) autograph request came back this week, being a full-page panel plucked from Sports Illustrated for Kids.

Blue Jays third baseman Kelly Gruber signed his lower-left spot and returned it with this signed index card. He also thanked me on its flipside for contributing to the charity he supports via TTM requests.

Many know SI for Kids cards today thanks to their breadth of athletes and significant cards outside America's big four sports. Key cards for their 1990 series (#109-216) include Diego Maradona and Tony Hawk.

Many SI for Kids subscribers left their nine-card sheets intact, so you can find many of them in today's hobby. Another collector gave me two for free, including the page I sent to Kelly, who seems its most accessible TTM signer. 

This autographed page will move along to a Canadian friend and longtime Jays fan soon and they can decide whether to pursue its other eight. My guess on those from easiest to hardest, with ages noted.

1. Shannon Higgins-Cirovski (nee Higgins, 56)
2. Bobby Bonilla (61)
3. Sinjin Smith (67)
4. Ronnie Lott (65)
5. Jimmy Connors (72)
6. Danny Sullivan (74)
7. Ana Quirot (61)
8. Jack Nicklaus (84)

Many TTM senders are willing to share their successes or failures, mailing address, waiting times, and other experiences at sites like SportsCollectors.net.

"It's a Nice Night for an Evening" -- 2024 Oldtime Baseball in Cambridge, MA

My high school friend Max, a youthful Steven Wright of our Seattle classroom, often said things like, "it's a nice night for an evening" and "'Do I want cherry in my Coke?' That's something a jerk would say."

"Thanks, jerk."

Max's evening aphorism came back to me on Thursday during a beautiful night at my neighborhood's annual Oldtime Baseball, which brings dozens of amateurs and former pros to a public ballfield in Cambridge, MA, for a nine-inning combo of game, fundraising, and community. Headliners included Lou Merloni and Jonathan Papelbon, who each dressed in their Red Sox finest, played an inning, and posed for photos.

This event kicked off 30 years ago during a baseball strike, with added inspiration from a large collection of classic uniforms of all leagues, eras, and teams. Their sale table of fitted hats includes a chunk of what fans saw on the field.

I like big hats and I cannot lie -- since anything smaller than 7 5/8 is right out.

You can get as close to game action as you like and we started along the third base line.

This guy in the Seattle Pilots uniform got guff from left field fans every time he took the field and it's for reasons beyond their one year of existence. (I'll explain why soon.)

Pitchers handled about one inning each and managers cycled through lots of players, with pinch-hitter announcements a regular part of the night, most of them sponsored by a local business. (I suspect raising sufficient money for their charity gets you an at-bat.)

Former Red Sox catcher Lou Merloni started the game, squatted for an inning, and gave way to younger knees like Mr. Flexible in this bullpen. We stuck around to see Papelbon, who entered in the eighth. Sure enough, his second batter was pinch-hitter and sportswriter Jared Carrabis, who started this beef about 12 hours before game time.

As predicted, here's Papelbon firing a pitch into Jared's ribs.

Jared tossed his bat, took a couple "angry" steps toward Jonathan, and they put on a brief show of invective. Papelbon's 6" height advantage made their exchange even funnier and we fans laughed it up. One of many highlights that night.

My S.O. Sunny loves to spend money on a good cause, so bid successfully on this signed celebratory 1967 photo of Jim Lonberg. Will see if can add Yaz in the future! (Carl turned 85 the same day of this game. Concidence???)

I snapped this closer photo of our aforementioned Seattle Pilots outfielder. He caught so much crap from fans because you're looking at Jeff Maier, infamous for his catch of Derek Jeter's playoff homer against Baltimore. (Maier himself played ball at Wesleyan and wore this Pilots uniform in honor of ESPN's Jim Caple, who passed away last October and sported it for Oldtime Baseball back in 2006.) He must inspire quite a range of fan reactions.

Already looking forward to our return to Gooch's Corner next year! And always bring your glove to the park!