Bob Lemke's Blog

Friday, December 9, 2016

Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico customs added to '56-style Flags of the World

I was a pre-teen when Alaska (1959) and Hawaii (1960) became the 49th and 50th U.S. states. I remember it as being a big deal.

While the 1956 Topps Flags of the World bubblegum card issue of 80 cards did not include cards of those then-Territorial possessions of the U.S., I felt that creating customs of the two would make a nice addition. They represent the 8th and 9th customs I have made to enhance Topps' original checklist.

Here's the way the checklist currently stands:
Flags of the World
81 Islamic State
82 Iran
83 Scotland
84 Wales
85 England
86 Northern Ireland
87 Alaska
88 Hawaii
89 Vatican
90 Puerto Rico

What the heck . . . since I made custom Flags of the World cards for the then-U.S. Territories of Alaska and Hawaii, I decided to complete the trilogy with a card for Puerto Rico.

You can order these cards. Unless otherwise noted, all of my custom cards are available to collectors for $9.95 each, postpaid. Complete checklists of all my custom baseball, football and non-sports custom cards were published on this blog in late May (football), July 6 (non-sports) and Sept. 19 (baseball). To order, email me at scbcguy@yahoo.com for directions on paying via check/money order, or to my PayPal account.

Friday, December 2, 2016

Winston Hill added to '69-style Jets

It being football season and all, when I found a couple of nice Topps Vault photos of New York Jets Super Bowl III lineman Winston Hill, I pushed a 1969-style card to the top of my to-do list.

Actually I never need much of an excuse to create a custom of one of the 1968 Jets; they were my favorite team back in the day.

For a lineman, Hill appeared on more than a typical number of Topps cards from that era. He's in Topps sets from 1965-67 and 1972-76. I can't explain the gap from 1968-71.

I like working in the 1969 Topps format. Hill represents the third member of the SBIII champions that I have memorialized in the style. Earlier I created Johnny Sample and Vito Parilli.

If I had been on the fence about doing a Winston Hill card, there was no doubt one would be forthcoming after I read in several of his obituaries that he had operated a couple of barbecue restaurants in Colorado in retirement.

You can order this card. Unless otherwise noted, all of my custom cards are available to collectors for $9.95 each, postpaid. Complete checklists of all my custom baseball, football and non-sports custom cards were published on this blog in late May (football), July 6 (non-sports) and Sept. 19 (baseball). To order, email me at scbcguy@yahoo.com for directions on paying via check/money order, or to my PayPal account.

Friday, November 25, 2016

Ralph Branca, Bob Addis drop off 1952 Topps survivors' list

The recent deaths of Ralph Branca (Nov. 23) and Bob Addis (Nov. 15) brings the total of surviving players who appeared in the 1952 Topps baseball card set to 41. Branca was card No. 274 in the set, pictured as a pitcher with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Addis was No. 259, pictured as a Chicago Cubs outfielder.

Branca pitched 12 years in the major leagues: Brooklyn Dodgers (1944-53, 1956), Detroit Tigers (1953-54) and N.Y. Yankees (1954). His lifetime big league record was 88-68 with a 3.79 ERA. He was a three-time All-Star while with the Dodgers.

Best-known for giving up the Bobby Thomson home run that put the N.Y. Giants int the 1951 World Series, Branca pitched in two World Series, 1947 and 1949.

Around the turn of the century, Branca was a popular autograph guest at card shows, often appearing with Thomson.

Addis was drafted by the Yankees in 1943, and after two years in the military during World War II played in their minor league system through 1947, when the Dodgers took him in the post-season minor league draft.

After the 1949 season he was traded to the Boston Braves, with whom he made the majors in 1950. He played sparingly with the Chicago Cubs in 1952-53, and ended is big league days with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1953. He was a lifetime .281 hitter

Addis was 91 at the time of his death, Branca was 90.

Addis' baseball card appearances with the major gum companies were limited to 1952-53 Topps and 1953 Bowman color. Branca appeared on Topps cards 1951-52, and Bowmans 1950-53 (b/w). He also appeared in many post-career issues.

Here's the current list of living players from '52 Topps.

PLAYER 1952 TOPPS BIRTH TEAM

` CARD NO. DATE

Wally Westlake 38 11/08/1920 SLC
Eddie Robinson 32 12/15/1920 CWS

Sam Mele 94 01/21/1922 WSH

Gil Coan 91 05/18/1922 WSH

Red Schoendienst 91 02/02/1923 SLC

Solly Hemus 196 04/17/1923 SLC

Bob Kuzava 85 05/28/1923 NYY
Ed Fitz Gerald 236 05/21/1924 PIT

Charlie Silvera 168 10/13/1924 NYY

Irv Noren 40 11/29/1924 WSH

Wayne Terwilliger 7 06/27/1925 BRO

Bobby Shantz 219 09/26/1925 PHA

Ned Garver 212 12/25/1925 SLB

Bob Borkowski 328 01/27/1926 CIN

Randy Jackson 322 02/10/1926 CHC

Howie Judson 169 02/16/1926 CWS

Bob Miller 187 06/16/1926 PHI

Bobby Morgan 355 06/29/1926 BRO

Johnny Groth 25 07/23/1926 DET

Roy Sievers 64 11/18/1926 WSH

Carl Erskine 250 12/13/1926 BRO

Carl Scheib 116 01/01/1927 PHA

Charlie Maxwell 180 04/08/1927 BRS

Cloyd Boyer 280 09/01/1927 SLC
Bob Kelly 348 10/04/1927 CHC

Tommy Brown 281 12/06/1927 PHI

Dick Gernert 343 09/28/1928 BRS

Joe Presko 220 10/07/1928 SLC

Bob Ross 298 11/02/1928 WSH

Curt Simmons 203 05/19/1929 PHI

Ted Lepcio 335 07/28/1929 BRS

Ike Delock 329 11/11/1929 BRS

Del Crandall 162 03/05/1930 BOS

Vern Law 81 03/12/1930 PIT

Johnny Antonelli 140 04/12/1930 BOS

Dick Groat 369 11/04/1930 PIT

Bob Friend 233 11/24/1930 PIT

Willie Mays 261 05/06/1931 NYG

Tony Bartirome 332 05/09/1932 PIT

Dick Brodowski 404 07/26/1932 BRS

Bobby Del Greco 353 04/07/1933 PIT

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Custom '56 Paige breaks silence

A follower of my blog recently wrote to inquire about the now six-weeks' absence of new postings; he was concerned about my health.

I appreciate the concern for the fact is my health has played the major part in the lack of new material in this space.

However, I have not totally abandoned the creation of new custom cards. In the coming days I'll share my latest with you.

The first is an addition to my "Donovan's Drive-Ins" series of minor league players in the 1956 Topps format.

Rather than rehash the "back story," I'll give you this link: Donovan's backstory .

With the number of Satchel Paige photos I have in my "futures file," I doubt that I'll ever run out of Paige custom-card ideas.

While the triptych cartoons on the backs of 1956 Topps make creating new cards challenging, the set was one of my favorites, so I'll continue to turn them out.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Dexterity needed to recreate 1951 Wheaties boxes

Many regular readers will have noted that my blog output has been diminished the past several months. Realistically, I don't look for it to pick up any time soon.

My good friend, mentor and office mate Chet Krause died at the end of June. The office building where he let me maintain a retirement office is in the process of being sold, so I'll be vacating by mid-November, when I return to my Pennsylvania home for the winter.

Much of the past couple of months I was laid low by a nasty bacterial infection of the chest that has been plaguing our little town. Osteoarthritis in both hands, wrists and elbows continues to take a toll on my mobility in those joints.

To try to test the limits of what seems to have become the new normal in my dexterity, I've spent the past couple of days cutting, folding and pasting replicas of 1951 Wheaties single-serving boxes which featured on their backs one of six star athletes: Ballplayers Stan Musial, Ted Williams and Bob Feller, golfer Sam Snead and John Lujack (football) and George Mikan (basketball).

It takes lots of exacting cuts and folds to recreate
the original format of 1951 Wheaties
single-serving boxes.

For some time I've had images of complete, unfolded boxes of Musial and Williams in my card-creation file. Even today, 65 years after they were made, the 1951 Wheaties singles are not all that scarce, even in complete-box form.

I'm only partially satisfied with my efforts to replicate the boxes. The intricate cuts that would allow the boxes to present a more original appearance are more of a challenge than I had hoped. But even at that, they don't look too bad sitting on a shelf across the room.

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

'66 #1 draft pick Chilcott custom card

In the second-ever "regular" June draft of high school and college players, June 6-7, 1966, Lancaster, Calif., prep star catcher Steven Chilcott was the first player picked overall.

In explaining why the Mets picked Chilcott over Reggie Jackson, team president George Weiss said the catcher filled the Mets’ “greatest need.”

Chilcott was a left-handed hitter, variously reported as 5'11" to 6’1”, 180-185 lbs. playing for Antelope Valley High School. He caught for the first time as a high school senior; previously he had been a third baseman. However that didn’t stop him from winning all the honors in each of his three varsity seasons. He was voted Player of the Year in a seven-team league in 1966, compiling an average of .506 on 42 hits in 83 appearances. He had 26 extra-base hits, nine doubles, six triples and 11 home runs. He drove in 33 runs.

Chilcott had also starred in football as a passing quarterback. He received numerous college football scholarship offers, including the Air Force Academy and UCLA.

Ex-Mets manager Casey Stengel and area scout Nelson Burbrink were assigned to get Chilcott’s signature on a Mets contract.

Stengel had only seen Chilcott play once, in a game on April 25, when he went 4-for-4. “One look is enough for me,” Stengel said. “This boy has all the tools to become a major league hitter.”

Chilcott signed June 30 for $75,000 (Reggie got $85,000)and was assigned to Marion, Va., in the Rookie Appalachian League. Between Marion and Auburn of the Class A New York-Pennsylvania League, Chilcott batted .176 with little evident power. He went to the Florida Instructional League following the 1966 season, where he batted .186.

Chilcott spent the 1967-69 seasons with Mets Class A teams at Winter Haven (1967, Florida State League) and Visalia 1968-69 California League). He hit a combined .273, but again showed no power. While at Winter Haven he dislocated his shoulder diving back into second base on a pick-off attempt. His career cratered.

He reached as high as AAA ball in the Mets and Expos organizations in 1970, but batted barely over .200.

He returned to Class A Visalia in 1971 trying to make it as an outfielder, batting a respectable .265 with a career-high 17 home runs.

His pro career ended in 1972 in the Yankees organization. At Class A Ft. Lauderdale in the Florida State League he hit .462 in a big week, but when he was advanced to Class AA Elmira, he sank to .146 and ended his pro playing days.

Chilcott is one of only two #1 overall draft picks who never made it to the majors (the other was Yankees pitching prospect Brien Taylor in 1991).

Thus its not surprising that Chilcott never had a Topps baseball card.

When I found a nice color pose of Chilcott in the J.D. McCarthy photo archives, I knw I could fill in that gap.

I originally intended to do my card in the 1967 format, perhaps even with a Topps rookie team trophy. That plan was thwarted, however, when I was unable to come up with a facsimile autograph for the card front. The 1968-style card you see here was my fall-back position. I didn't think it to much of a stretch to believe that after hitting .290 in the minors in 1967, Topps could have made his part of its '68 set.

You can order this card. Unless otherwise noted, all of my custom cards are available to collectors for $12.50 each, postpaid for one or two cards; $9.95 each for three or more (mix/match). Complete checklists of all my custom baseball, football and non-sports custom cards were published on this blog in late May (football), July 6 (non-sports) and Sept. 19 (baseball). To order, email me at scbcguy@yahoo.com for directions on paying via check/money order, or to my PayPal account.

Thursday, September 22, 2016

1958-style John DeMerit created

There's really no reason Topps couldn't have made a 1958 card of Milwaukee Braves bonus baby John DeMerit.

There were '58T cards for Bob Hazle and Hawk Taylor. Taylor, another bonus player, made his debut on June 9; Hazle's first game with the Braves was July 29. DeMerit debuted June 18.

A recently discovered photo of DeMerit allowed me to fill in that '58 gap.

Back on Mach 27, I detailed the story behind my first John DeMerit custom, in the 1960 Topps style. I'll link it here: John DeMerit.

Regular readers may have noticed a decline in the number of entries to this blog and on my custom-card creation. That's likely to continue for a couple of months.

The death of my friend and mentor Chet Krause in late June means I'm going to lose my office in downtown Iola when the building is sold by the Foundation that was his beneficiary. Eventually I'll set up a home office, but that won't take place until after my annual removal to Pennsylvania for the winter.

In the interim, I've been working hard at helping dispose of the last of Chet's numismatic holdings, so I haven't made time for a lot of custom-card work.

Monday, September 19, 2016

Checklist of baseball custom cards, pre-war

Until now, there has been no place where all of my custom cards could be found in checklist form. It is my intention to update this posting as new cards are created. Similar checklists for my other baseball, non-sports and football custom cards will also be posted.

Custom card availability. Unless noted, all of my custom cards are available to collectors for $12.50 each, postpaid for one or two cards; $9.95 each for three or more (mix/match). To order, email me at scbcguy@yahoo.com for directions on paying via check/money order, or to my PayPal account.

1911 T205 Gold Border
Honus Wagner (green, no cap)
Honus Wagner (green, w/cap)
Honus Wagner (orange, w/cap)
Honus Wagner (blue w/cap)

1912 T202 Triplefolders
The Red Sox Outfield (Speaker, Hooper, Lewis)
Wagner Safe at Third (Wagner Carey)

1912 Tuxedo Tobacco (Fantasy)
Walter Johnson
Christy Mathewson
John McGraw

1920s Tiger Tobacco (Fantasy)
Ty Cobb

1934 Goudey
97 Henry "Prince" Oana, Phillies

1935-36 Diamond Stars
119 Babe Ruth
241 Walter Johnson, Indians
242 Satchel Paige, Pittsburgh Crawfords

1940 Play Ball
241 Dizzy Dean, Cubs
242 Rudy York, Tigers
243 Lou Novikoff, L.A. Angels
244 Pee Wee Reese, Louisville Colonels
245 Phil Rizzuto, K.C. Blues
246 Sammy Baugh, Cardinals