Great Old Ballcards

WILLIE McCOVEY and GREG LUZINSKI were two of the most powerful home run hitters to ever play in the big leagues. Prior to the beginning of the 2001 major league season, McCovey was tied with Ted Williams for 11th place on the all-time homer list with 521 roundtrippers. McCovey, the unanimous pick as the 1959 National League Rookie of the Year, went on to win the 1969 National League MVP award after hitting .320 with league-leading totals in homers (45) and RBI (126). He also led the NL that season in on-base percentage (.458) and slugging percentage (.656). McCovey and Willie Mays clouted 800 home runs for the San Francisco Giants from 1959-1971, making them one of the top power hitting duos in history. Luzinski also was part of a powerful homer hitting duo along with Mike Schmidt on the Philadelphia Phillies as the pair clouted a total of 503 homers between them from 1972-1980. For a complete list of Baseball Todd's top 10 all-time power hitting duos, click on McCovey's 1964 Topps card or Luzinski's 1972 Topps card now.

Lefthanded pitcher MEL PARNELL was a mainstay of the Boston Red Sox staff during the late 1940s and 1950s. He is the second winningest pitcher in Bosox history behind only Cy Young and Roger Clemens (each with 192 victories). In 1956, he hurled a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox near the end of his stellar career. Click on the 1955 Topps card of Parnell above to read a story written by Baseball Todd which appeared in the March 1997 issue of Baseball Digest.

Former St. Louis Cardinals lefty HARRY BRECHEEN became the first southpaw in World Series history to win three games in one Series when he turned the trick against the Boston Red Sox during the 1946 fall classic. Brecheen later became a well-respected pitching coach with the Baltimore Orioles after his playing days. Click on the 1954 Topps card of Brecheen above to read a story written by Baseball Todd which appeared in the September 2000 edition of Baseball Ink magazine.

DARRELL PORTER and BOBBY MURCER hold the distinction of playing baseball at an Oklahoma City hotbed for baseball talent - Southeast High School. Former Texas Rangers catcher and designated hitter Mickey Tettleton also played at Southeast. Porter originally signed with the Milwaukee Brewers but eventually moved on to the Kansas City Royals and then the St. Louis Cardinals. With Kansas City, he was an American League All-Star. With St. Louis, he was a World Series MVP in 1982. Murcer played a few seasons with the San Francisco Giants and later the Chicago Cubs during the middle stages of his illustrious baseball career. But, it was with the New York Yankees where he earned a reputation as a hard-hitting outfielder. Both are on the bench for Baseball Todd's all-time Oklahoma All-Star team. For a complete look at Baseball Todd's all-Okie team, click on Porter's 1974 Topps card or Murcer's 1976 Topps card now.

Slugger JIM GENTILE once hit two grand slams in one game (in consecutive innings) for the Baltimore Orioles. He did it against the Minnesota Twins during the 1961 season in which he hit a total of five bases-loaded homers to tie Ernie Banks' major league record (which since has been broken by Don Mattingly in 1987). Gentile, who also finished second in the American League in RBIs behind Roger Maris during the '61 campaign and was third that year in MVP voting, also played for the Kansas City A's, Houston Astros, and Cleveland Indians in his 9-year major league career. Click on the 1965 Topps card of Gentile above to read a story written by Baseball Todd which appeared in the August 1999 issue of Baseball Digest.

Former New York Yankees great TOM TRESH won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 1962 and played with some of the greatest Yankees ever - including Mickey Mantle, after whom Tresh named his only son. For a complete story about Tresh (which was written by Baseball Todd and published in the December 2000 issue of Baseball Ink magazine), click on the 1966 Topps card of Tresh above.

JOHNNY BENCH is one of Baseball Todd's favorite all-time players and was a 10-time Gold Glove catcher with the Cincinnati Reds during the 1970s. A two-time National League MVP winner, Bench is one of the best players ever to come out of the state of Oklahoma. For Baseball Todd's all-time Oklahoma all-star team, click on Bench's 1970 Topps card at left. Meanwhile, TONY OLIVA won three American League batting titles with the Minnesota Twins and was voted AL Rookie of the Year in 1964 when he set an AL record with 217 hits during his freshman season in the big leagues. Somehow, Oliva has been overlooked for the Hall of Fame - something that frustrates Baseball Todd. For a list of those players Baseball Todd feels worthy of induction into the Hall of Fame (yet aren't there yet), click on Oliva's 1971 Topps card at right.

Former National League catching great ERNIE LOMBARDI won two NL batting titles and was appropriately nicknamed the "Schnozz" during his playing days. Baseball Todd also thinks he would make a good Santa Claus during the Christmas season. For a complete off-the-wall list of those players who would make the best Santa Clauses at the local mall, click on Lombardi's 1934 Goudey card at left. Meanwhile, ROGER MARIS set the then-major league record in 1961 of hitting 61 homers in one year - breaking the legendary Babe Ruth's hallowed standard. Maris was tormented during the season as he chased Ruth and battled teammate Mickey Mantle for the record. Recently, actor/comedian Billy Crystal got behind the camera and directed the acclaimed HBO movie "61*" about that storied season and Maris' pursuit of the legendary Ruth. Click on the 1963 Topps card of Maris at right for a review of the movie provided by guru Baseball Todd.

Former major league outfielder DALE MITCHELL was a former college baseball player at the University of Oklahoma in the 1940s. His exploits at OU (including a .507 batting average in 1946) were just a hint of things to come on the major league level, where he hit .312 in an 11-year big league career with the Cleveland Indians and Brooklyn Dodgers. For Baseball Todd's top 10 greatest Sooner baseball players who became major leaguers, click on Mitchell's 1956 Topps baseball card above for a complete look.

Click on the 1955 Topps baseball card of HAL NEWHOUSER (above) to link to another one of Baseball Todd's exclusive features - "The Triple Combo." Since 1900, there have been only 18 instances where a major league pitcher has won 25 or more games, struck out 250 or more batters, and recorded an ERA of 2.50 or less in a single season. Newhouser was one of those pitchers - back in 1946. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Newhouser was a southpaw who dominated the American League in the 1940s. He won back-to-back MVP awards for the Detroit Tigers in 1944 (29-9, 2.22 ERA) and '45 (25-9, 1.81 ERA). And, even though Newhouser didn't win MVP honors in '46 (Ted Williams won that year in the AL), it was arguably his best year. Traded to the Cleveland Indians in 1954, Newhouser ended his career with a 207-150 lifetime record with 3.06 career ERA. He was elected into the Hall of Fame by the veterans committee in 1992 and died in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., in 1998.

These are two great cards from the 1941 Play Ball set - CHUCK KLEIN and HAL TROSKY. Klein was a reknowned slugger in the 1930s for the Philadelphia Phillies. Twice (in 1929 and '30) he hit better than .330 with 40 or more homers and 130 or more RBI in a single season. Hal Trosky was also a heavy hitter during the same era as Klein. He was on the way to a probable Hall of Fame career before severe migraine headaches got the best of him. He reached the .330-40-130 level in 1936 with the Cleveland Indians. For a complete statistical listing of those players who have reached the .330-40-130 levels in the same season, click on either of the two cards now to see Baseball Todd's "High Octane Hitters" link. Pretty interesting stuff!

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