#tbt: Gray Hair?

You may recall that I had a chance to meet Andrew McCutchen last September.  I showed off the custom dreadlock card that Tanner Jones made for me.  Brad from Brad's (Phillies) Blog met up with me at the show and filmed the entire meeting which I pinned to my Twitter.  The whole interaction can be revisited here on my blog.

Well as weird as it is to have a piece of cardboard with a piece of dreadlock in it, I wasn't done.  I asked Tanner to make another custom for me so that I could send it off to another McCutchen collector who has sold me A LOT of low number Cutch cards over the years.  In addition to that custom I asked Tanner if he could create a t206 style dna relic card.

As a Pirates fan there is no more desirable card than a t206 Honus Wagner card.  It is a holy grail of anyone who collects sports cards.  It makes it more special for a Pirates fan though.  I will never own an original, but did have a chance to hold one at a Chantilly show a few years ago which I wrote about on my old blog here.

Back in 2002 Topps released a bat relic card inside a framed Honus Wagner mini that resembled the legendary t206 card.  It is one of my favorite cards in my collection.  I showed it way back in 2013 on the old Pirates Treasure Room blog.

I asked Tanner to recreate something similar using a strand of the dreadlock I gave him for the custom and he created an awesome Cutch card in that t206 style sporting a Homestead Grays uniform.

Here is what he came up with.  This card is fricking awesome!!!

Cutch is one of the premier black baseball players in the game today.  It may not be a coincidence that his prime years were with the Pirates, a team housed in Pittsburgh. 

For the better part of a decade, the Homestead Grays of Pittsburgh, dominated the Negro Leagues.  I have talked before about Hall of Famers and Negro League legends like Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, and Cool Papa Bell. 

A pitcher who played the twilight of his career with the Grays may have actually been the best pitcher in Negro League history though.  And in case you're wondering, his name isn't Satchel Paige.

" Smoky" Joe Williams was born in 1886 to an African American and Comoche Indian parents.  He began his baseball playing career in 1907 with the San Antonio Black Bronchos. 

Not much is known of his stats, but it has been said that he struck out 27 batters in a 12 inning game and that he threw a no hitter against the New York Giants in an exhibition match.  His barnstorming exhibition games had him defeating many Hall of Famers like Waite Hoyt andGrover Alexander.

In his only matchup versus Paige, Williams bested him 1-0 as a 43 year old while Paige was just breaking into his prime.

In 1952 the Pittsburgh Courier named Williams the greatest Negro Leagues pitcher.

Williams was finally elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.

Remembering John Kennedy

Today's black card for my Black History Month posts is this 2019 Gold Label black parallel frame autograph.

I have a few other of the parallels including base, red, and blue.

It's Presidents Weekend so I thought I would connect this card to a name similar to a former president.

John Kennedy, not the president, was the Phillies first black baseball player.

He appeared in only 5 games in his career and received only 2 At Bats.  He was primarily used as a pinch runner or shortstop defensive replacement in the 1957 season.  He didn't get a hit and scored only 1 run.

More of Kennedy's displacement in the Phillies organization can be found here.

The Phillies were one of the last three organizations to have a black baseball player on their team.  MLB put out an article in 2017 about the number of black players on each team.  That article can be,seen here.  It's sad that so few black athletes are playing baseball these days. 

In the 80s/90s they were plentiful with names like Gwynn, Henderson, Jackson, Griffey, Thomas, Sheffield, and Bonds. 

We are stronger together than we are alone...

As stated for my Black History month event I will highlight an impactful black athlete in professional football each Sunday for February.  

Today I have chosen a man who has an award named after him not only for contributions made on the football field, but for what is achieved in the community also.  

Today we will talk about Walter Payton

Payton played his entire 13 year NFL career with the Chicago Bears.  He was a member of the Super Bowl XX (20) Championship team.

He lead the league in rushing a few times and was a top 10 rusher every year making 9 Pro Bowl Selections.  

In 1999, the NFL Man of the Year Award was changed to the Walter Payton Man of Year Award.

Payton was diagnosed with a rare disease and in his final months leading to his death he began to publicly push for organ donations and made a few commercials avout the subject despite his cancer being too far for a transplant to actually take place.

In the final months leading to his death he published an autobiography called Never Die Easy.

His charity continues to work for Payton's vision by raising awareness of organ transplants and donations.  In addition to that his foundation works to provide toys to underprivileged children in the Chicago area. 

Many who receive the Walter Payton Award claim it is the greatest achievement a player can get.  (Arizona Cardinals Wide Receiver can be seen crying for receiving the Award in 2016)

Odd fact: When Cutch first started playimg for the Pirates he would be often miscast as Larry Fitzgerald who was a standout at University of Pittsburgh.  The two have become friends over the years.

Cutch received the Baseball Equivalent to it in 2015 when he got the Roberto Clemente Award.

The Andrew McCutchen black card I chose to showcase today is a 2014 Bowman Black Parallel.

The design of the card looks great, but the back is the reason I chose this card to discuss a football player today.

In the up close section you will see that Cutch is a fan of professional football.

Spring is (not) in the air

It's under 20 degrees today which can be expected for New Jersey in the middle of February. 

And yet teams are reporting for Spring Training.

 This 2015 Spring Fever LCS exclusive set is a fun set to collect.

I found this funny tweet that local radio nitwit Howard Eskin reported about Lawrence Mccutcheon being ready for Spring Training.

Cutch had a funny response which was a followup to the Phillies poking fun at Eskin

Of course there actually was a Lawrence Mccutcheon.

Mccutcheon was a 5 time Pro Bowl running back with the Los Angeles Rams.  He played with the,Rams from 1971 to 1979.  He also spent brief stints with the Broncos, Seahawks, and Bills.

Mccutcheon set a postseason record by rushing for 202 yards on 37 carries.

In Super Bowl 14 he threw a 24 yard pass.

So while Lawrence Mccutcheon is a real person, I doubt he will be playing Left Field for the Phillies this year.

#tbt: the BUCK stops here

Some of the more famous Negro League players command very expensive autographs.  Josh Gibson is in the high 4 figures/low five figures numbers due to how scarce his autograph is.  Satchel Paige easily commands $500+ for a certified autograph.  Jackie Robinson is typically in the $1K+ range.

Then there's Buck Leonard.

His on card autograph fetches barely $20 many times.

He played his entire Negro League career with the Homestead Grays, batting forth behind Josh Gibson. The Grays won 9 pennants in a row behind the duo of Gibson and Leonard.  Leonard batted .391 in 1948, winning the batting title.  Many years Gibson and Leonard were battling each other for the Home Run title.  Many have heard that Gibson was known as the Black Babe Ruth, but it is less familiar that Leonard was known as the Black Lou Gehrig. The pair became known as Thunder Twins.

He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972.

He was an honorary captain at the age of 88 for the 1994 All-Star which was held in Pittsburgh, home of the Grays.

He was number 47 in The Sporting News list of top 100 players in Baseball History. 

You can read the article MLB wrote about him here.  Former MVP Ryan Howard goes into details about the Negro League star.

Merchandise of Buck is far cheaper for such a legendary player compared to his contemporaries.

Today's Andrew McCutchen card features a pinstripe from a previous Negro League Homestead Grays throwback uniform.

Harriet Tubman

Today's Black History Month post will be about Harriet Tubman.

We all are likely aware of Harriet's brave battle to lead nearly 70 slaves to freedom using "the Underground Railroad".

She served as a scout for the Union Army during the Civil War and would later become an activist for women's suffrage.

She was recently honored with a statue in Maryland and as discussed on the back of the above Allen & Ginter card she will eventually appear on the $20 bill replacing Andrew Jackson.

Details of the bill can be found here.  2030 looks to be the goal for the printed bill since 2020 looks to not be an option anymore.

Above is an early mockup.

Today's McCutchen card is a 2017 Allen & Ginter X card.

A "Flood"ed Day in Cutchstory

It rained all day yesterday and rather than blogging, I focused on catching up on Netflix shows.  My latest binge watch is Locke and Key based on the IDW Graphic Novel of the same name.

Cutch made his debut June 4, 2009.

On the same day in 1967, Curt Flood record 227 games without an error ended. During those games he had 568 chances, a major league record.

To baseball fans Curt Flood is remembered for several things.
1)His 1964 Topps card is highly overpriced due to one collector Supercollecting only that card.  An article about it can be found here.

2)He was a three time All-Star and 7 time Gold Glove winner in Centerfield for the St. Louis Cardinals.

3)He helped bring about the ability for modern day free agency.

It is because of number 3 that I am writing about him today as part of Black History Month.

Flood challenged the initial reserve clause stating that "I do not believe I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes."

His fight in 1970 for free agency was groundbreaking.

Flood was eventually black balled from Major League Baseball because he stood up and said he wasn't happy to have been traded to Philadelphia.  He took the battle to the Supreme Court and ultimately loss.  It was until over 20 years later after his last game that changes were made regarding what the definition of the reserve clause meant and how long the initial team to sign the player for gets the rights to said player.  In 1998 the Curt Flood act was formed, but it is often referred to as 10-5 rights.  This means any player with more than 10 years in the league with the 5 most recent years being with the same team can choose not to be traded due to MLBPA rights.

Flood passed away January 1997 which was prior to legislation being implemented regarding antitrust laws for MLB.

He was elected to the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2015, a second year induction to the building erected in 2014 to celebrate the All-Time greatest Cardinals players. He finished a career with 7 straight gold gloves, a .293 average and over 1800 hits.


Today's Cutch related card is this 2016 MLB Debut card

Heisman Heritage: The Express

With football season officially over now (Congratulations Kansas City Chiefs) I wanted to look back at some famous black athletes who impacted the NFL.  This will be done each Sunday for the rest of the month.

Today's black card as part of my new monthly series for Black History Month is a 2011 Topps Heritage Black Chrome Refractor.

 Black Refractors of Pirates players are an annual treasure hunt for me each year in Topps Heritage.

The 2011 Heritage product is based on the 1962 design.

1962 was a significant year in that it saw the first African-American athlete to win a Heisman Trophy to be drafted in the NFL.

 Ernie Davis attended Syracuse University and was the first Heisman Trophy Winner to not be white.

 In 1961 the Elmira Express lead all college backs in yards.

The following year he was drafted 1st overall by the Washington Redskins then was traded to the Cleveland Browns.

During the summer of 1962, Brown was diagnosed with Leukemia.  He past away in 1963 at age 23 without ever appearing in a game.

The Browns have retired his number 45 jersey.

Today he is forever enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.

 A statue was resurrected as a remembrance for the great and courageous Brown.

A feature length film starring Rob Brown and Dennis Quaid was created to tell the tragic and inspiring story of Ernie Davis.

Happy Belated Hammerin'

Hank Aaron recently celebrated his 86th birthday.  In addition to his birthday making National headlines he stated that any players involved in the 2017 Houston Astros cheating scandal should receive a lifetime ban from baseball.

This is a radical idea, but at the root of it falls in line with similar bans.  Chris Correa, former scouting director of the St. Louis Cardinals was permanently banned for having the scouting database of the Houston Astros.  That ban was deemed necessary because it ultimately jeapordized the integrity of the game.

Hank Aaron, the former Home Run King, was the league's first 3,000 hit and 500 HR member.  He was one of the greatest players of all-time.

I remember doing a project in 5th grade where I had to write about and present a person for Black History Month.  I chose Hank Aaron.

I will not go into his accomplishments as they are long and plentiful.

I've done a few Heritage Comparisons of the League Leaders cards you see on this post. They can be viewed here.