Gambo and T_Wil1 Photopack

[Merkle923]

To finish off the Barr-Farnham Washington Senator postcard album from 1909:

Cliff Blankenship played only 95 games over the course of three major league seasons, but as noted earlier his inactivity led to the Senators obtaining the services of Walter Johnson. The light-hitting catcher (his career OPS was .501) also managed to get into two top 1909 baseball card sets (American Caramel and Ramly Cigarettes) and two more minor league cards as player-manager at Tacoma (Obaks) and Salt Lake (Zeenuts).

[Merkle923]

Considering Blankenship was only 27 when manager Joe Cantillon sent him west in 1907, he had a pretty successful scouting trip. Not only did he net the Senators "The Big Train," but on the way out to Idaho got to watch - and recommend - Wichita's centerfielder, Clyde Milan (Milan cost Washington $1,000; Johnson, about $100).

Milan would only be part of the Senators on-and-off for the next 45 seasons. He was an active player until 1922, stealing 495 bases despite never once leading the league in swipes. He managed the Senators in '23, was a coach in 1928 and 1929, and returned in that capacity from 1938 through his death during spring training 1953.

[Merkle923]

One of six ballplaying brothers from Cleveland - and the one who lasted the longest - Jim Delahanty's career stretched from the year the American League started until the year the Federal League ended.

He played for eight different major league teams and in a move that might sound like it came from 2009 instead of 1909, was dealt by the tail-end Senators to the front-running Tigers for top catching prospect Red Killefer and veteran Germany Schaefer...on August 13th!

Delahanty went on to lead the Tigers with a .346 average (including five doubles) in the '09 World Series in which Ty Cobb fizzled.

[Merkle923]

Mike Kahoe couldn't hit, to such a degree than in his eleven partial seasons in the majors he couldn't clear the .200 mark in five of them.

Kahoe spent nearly all of 1909 with Washington but got into just four games before being released at the end of August, thus ending a two-year stretch as Walter Johnson's personal catcher.

And below his image, the price card included in the back of the Barr-Farnham album. Lord only knows how many of them they sold, but very few have survived.

[cheech411]

[ATTACH[/ATTACH] diabetes

[bobb49]

Much thanks to Rico for the post of Bill Posedel. He was in his last year as pitching coach for the Giants in 1960. I have suffered for years with his "head only" picture on those ridiculous 1960 Topps coaches cards and a bad yearbook shot. I am glad he showed up in TV and someone posted him.

[Merkle923]

Mock the artwork all you want - you're right. But if somebody hadn't decided to make those cards (which kids hated) Topps might have never photographed a coach.

In the archives I found no shots, for instance, of any coach on any 1957 team - even though Topps got virtually every player who passed through the Polo Grounds, Ebbets Field, and Yankee Stadium.

The first photos of coaches date to 1959 (a few) and Spring Training 1960 (all) and led to the Topps policy of basically photographing everybody in a uniform.

[Merkle923]

Does anybody have the original Topps Vault image (probably dating to Spring Training 1975) from which Bob Lemke made his faux-card? (That 'card' image is shown just large enough to emphasize that the watermark is still visible). Murph is looking for it...

[keonleafs]

Originally Posted by Merkle923

Does anybody have the original Topps Vault image (probably dating to Spring Training 1975) from which Bob Lemke made his faux-card? (That 'card' image is shown just large enough to emphasize that the watermark is still visible). Murph is looking for it...

In folder BN 496. Topps folders available on John's great Baseball Birthdays site, and pics almost all identified by Rico and the Gang

[rico43]

We have wrapped TV Folders BF, BG, and BJ. We are trying to do as much as we can without saturating this tread -- we were warned once -- but these are the final images -- all pitchers -- we will be posting for a few weeks.

These will WRAP a big folder -- ET. These may be minor leaguers, not necessarily (of course).

ET632


ET645


ET702


ET704


ET711


Thanks for your times, space, patience and understanding. This is a project that has come together a little better with every contributor. Currently, someone is going through all my threads and finding numbers I skipped by accident or have left to others.

[keonleafs]

ET645 is Mack Payne, accordingly to Amazin69, here http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...6-post258.html

[rico43]

Working my way through both HH folders, came across this head shot from the 1969-71 Braves pinstripe era. While he did not break in until 1977, Junior Moore was already working his way through the system. Color photos of Junior seem to be somewhat scarce, but this much younger Junior (is that redundant?) seems to be just that, a color shot. Is this (HH359) not Junior Moore?

[Merkle923]

From the top

Paul Pelz 1974
Mack Payne 1970
Bill Olsen 1971
Mickey Thomason 1971
Erskine Thomason 1973

HH359 is Bobby Mitchell, not Junior Moore. This is Robert Vance Mitchell (1970), the Yankees/Brewers outfielder, who was with the Braves for Spring Training 1970 before being returned to New York: http://www.baseball-reference.com/pl...itchbo02.shtml

[rico43]

My disappointment over the Moore/Mitchell info is surpassed by my awe and appreciation of your ability to draw on so much of this information for us. I am trying very hard not to saturate this board with requests that I can pin down myself. I am taking a break from the TV quest for awhile. Look forward to all you bring to the board.

[rico43]

Originally Posted by Merkle923

From the top

Paul Pelz 1974
Mack Payne 1970
Bill Olsen 1971
Mickey Thomason 1971
Erskine Thomason 1973

HH359 is Bobby Mitchell, not Junior Moore. This is Robert Vance Mitchell (1970), the Yankees/Brewers outfielder, who was with the Braves for Spring Training 1970 before being returned to New York: Bobby Mitchell Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

I doubt seriously that I could ever intentionally post the images of five more obscure players than these. Holy smokes.

[KenRaffensberger16]

Special thanks to Rico 43 for his posting of the photo of the Phillies' Erskine Thomason. (ET711 - the last of five photos in section 26033). Even as someone who specializes in collecting Phillies photos, I find that good photos of Thomason are rare.
He pitched one inning of relief in his first and only major league game on September 18, 1974. (Age 26 at that time; age 67 today - a lifelong South Carolinian.)

[BklynJace]

Just had to say how much I love that every team and fanbase has its Erskine Thompsons, who are remembered with faint amusement/bemusement but ultimately real affection.

[SDL]

Are there any TV images of Al Downing as a Brewer? Thanks

[SDL]

Originally Posted by rico43

I doubt seriously that I could ever intentionally post the images of five more obscure players than these. Holy smokes.

If you read The Sporting News in the 70s from cover-to-cover, you'd see those names in the Minor League section; certainly in the minor league stats.

I do remember those names.

Also, I went to school with a girl whose last mane was Peltz. I'd see Paul's last name (spelling is different, I know) and I'd think of that person who was in Science class with me. Also knew a Thomason as well. Sometimes those "obscure names" can stick with you for non-baseball reasons.

[Merkle923]

Thanks for the kind words. I don't have a photographic memory, but I do seem to have a polaroid camera in my mind that takes a shot every 30 minutes or so (unfortunately they're not labeled).

More interestingly on the point of selecting five obscure players, that grouping of Pelz/Payne/Bill Olsen/the Thomasons barely scratches the surface. Erskine Thomason actually pitched for the Phillies in 1974.

This underscores something I try to convey but really can't. The Topps photo archive was almost like the Domesday Book, the attempt to make a list of everybody living in England in 1086. By the mid-'60s, the Topps mandate was: if he's been in a major league uniform, we want a shot of him. Or a minor league uniform with a major league hat.

As examples, I came across images of guys who are to Erskine Thomason what Erskine Thomason is to Steve Carlton. There's a print somewhere of a guy at a '60s Giants camp simply marked "Johnny Richards" on the back. Took me about a year to identify him as Jhonnatan Richards Minor & Mexican Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com - who was in camp for a few days with the '65 Giants but whose only professional games were at the Astros' farm in Cocoa and a few years later with Yucatan of the Mexican League!

If you've read the minor league photo thread you'll know the story of Walt Adey (http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...ml#post3773942) whose image was posted by Topps but never sold on eBay, presumably because they couldn't figure out who he was!

My notes show a '60s Cardinal player - probably 1964, maybe '62 or '63 - named Randy Speck. Posed as a first baseman. Nobody named Speck to be found in the Cards' system between 1960 and 1965. Nor anybody named Randy. Or Randall. Or Randolph (if you have any guesses on who this guy could've been, let me know. I assume it was some high schooler they signed over the winter and then dropped after spring training).

And just to show that Topps wasn't the only outfit photographing any thing that held still long enough to smile, there was a catcher named Nate Markham. This is a J.D. McCarthy photo that the great Detroit photographer took in spring training, 1966. There was also a folder of Markham at Topps, featuring other images also taken at Houston's 1966 camp.

Problem was, Markham never played a game for a Houston affiliate - but he was in the Giants' system in 1965: Nathan Markham Minor Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com Apparently his career consisted of the following:

1. Sign with Giants
2. Hit .207 in rookie ball
3. Get drafted by the Astros and invited to camp
4. Get photographed by Topps
5. Get photographed by J.D. McCarthy
6. Get released at the end of spring training.

Lastly, and to provide at least one illustration: There were two unidentified young Yankee players, late '70s early '80s, in a Topps folder with Mike Ferraro (as a coach) and a couple of non-roster guys. Took me two years of asking Yankees of the era before finding that one of them was named Kevin Shannon. Later I tripped across a Ft. Lauderdale team picture which clearly showed the other one. His name was Mark Thiel, and he and Shannon were minor league catchers who were unofficially in big league camp just to warm-up pitchers on the back fields. Between them they played 352 minor league games, only 28 above A-ball. Topps still photographed them.

This is Shannon. The guy over his right shoulder - a spring training instructor - was much easier to identify.