Gambo and T_Wil1 Photopack

[tnfoto]

Facepack upgrade and 1920 Braves uni, as pictured in the 13-Sep-1920 Boston Herald.

[Marisfor HOF]

I received a request from one of our members to post this photo again with the player list. I don't know the name of the batboy/mascot.

[Merkle923]

Originally Posted by Buccos.com

1. Thanks, Merkle923 and Braves70, for providing me with perhaps the sharpest images I've seen in years. Though I'm a collector of just Pirates images, here I am downloading guys like Bob Terlecki and George Manz, and researching their careers.

2. I already asked for all my most wanted Pirates images earlier, except five, so here goes:

Joe Page, a Pirate for two months in 1954.
Don Money, hopefully on a Pirates ToppsVault image in 1966 or '67.
Jim Foor, 1973 Pirates.
Chris Zachary, 1973 Pirates.
Wayne Simpson -- ToppsVault 1974 or '75?

Thanks,
Jay

First, from me, you're welcome. Secondly, I've never seen a Page shot, nor Foor, Simpson, or Zachary with the Pirates. I can tell you with some assurance that Topps missed them (in Pittsburgh uniforms anyway). Same with Money, who would not have been in the Bucs' big league camp either year.

I do have a Morey of Zachary in a Charleston uni when it was the Pirates' farm club that somebody might be able to photoshop for you, and a B&W minor league publicity shot of Money, attached.

[Merkle923]

Anybody who spends any time collecting or just enjoying baseball photography of the last 50 years (or longer) knows about the list of "you'll never find them in color" guys. They're not just the ones there the briefest, sometimes they're just guys who repeatedly fall through the cracks - like Al Schmelz of the 1967 Mets.

With them virtually all of September, pitched two innings on the 7th and one more on the 24th, both appearances at Shea Stadium - and everybody missed him. Topps got other Mets' September call-ups like Joe Grzenda and Joe Moock, but not Schmelz. He evidently just missed the last road trip to Chicago (ending September 3) so George Brace didn't get him. Topps did the Mets in spring training in 1967 (it's where they got Tom Seaver, who by the way pranked them and pretended to be left-handed) yet didn't take any shots of him. Topps didn't do them in spring training in 1968 (the fledgling MLBPA held out on them, successfully forcing a union-wide contract) - so they missed him.

Sure he's in the Mets' spring training team pictures of 1967 and 1968 but you'd need a Stanford super-computer to make either of those images look at all good.

So tonight I'm wasting some time labeling a bunch of 1968 "TV Slides" baseball distributed to the media in an early innovative publicity outreach and I see one of a group shot of Mets that I somehow overlooked when I bought the collection.

It's a casual shot of a remarkable group: ten members of the '68 Mets pitching staff. The faces of three of them are blocked or cut off, and six of them are pretty obvious. In the foreground is Alvin Jackson, back from two years in St. Louis. Sprawled on the grass at the right is Dick Selma, a year away from being the delight of the Bleacher Creatures at Wrigley Field. Back of Selma is "kewpie-doll-faced" Bill Short. To the left of Short, his number 36 visible, is Jerry Koosman, and to his left, staring straight at th camera, are the late Danny Frisella, and Tom Seaver.

And who's the guy on the far left? The big fair-haired guy with the tan? You can't see his number. If he's wearing a glove it's not on his right hand. So he's probably a righty, yet clearly not Don Cardwell, John Glass, Cal Koonce, Hal Reniff, Steve Renko, Nolan Ryan, or Ron Taylor - seven of the other eight righties in camp that year. Even if he is a LHP, the only possibilities are Bob Hendley, Tug McGraw, Ron Paul, Les Rohr, and Don Shaw - and I don't think he's any of them.

I think he's the only other pitcher in the 1968 Mets' camp I haven't yet mentioned. I think the guy on the far left…is Al Schmelz.

[Merkle923]

The guy at the left in the above referenced picture, isolated and improved (a little bit) by the computer - and a shot of Schmelz from the '67 Mets spring training team picture.

Thoughts?

[Buccos]

That's an excellent shot of Zachary, thanks.

If that's your only Money shot, so to speak, this may be more to your liking. I found it on Ebay a few years ago.

[Merkle923]

Money in the bank.

[Buccos]

Off to get signed:

[lebby20]

Young Richie Zisk and Gene Clines in the vest unis 1971 spring training(?), Hoyt Wilhelm (Brace) from1969, Nice Rick Reichardt I picked up from Steve when he was doing his baseball photography website, and 1969 Winston Llenas. The Llenas is from the original negative I bought from the Vault. (As are the 4 others) I then resold the image and the buyer emailed me to see if he could pick it up in person and not pay shipping. He only lived 10-15 minutes away from me. When he arrived at my house it was Llenas's minor league roommate Ted Kubiak. He bought the negative (slide) to send to Llenas who was running a night club in the Dominican Republic at the time. Kubiak was still working in the Indians Minor leagues.

[FatJack]

Originally Posted by Merkle923

The guy at the left in the above referenced picture, isolated and improved (a little bit) by the computer - and a shot of Schmelz from the '67 Mets spring training team picture.

Thoughts?

As a lifelong Mets fan, I'm not sure I've ever seen Al in profile before. That said, based on the Wiz card and a photo of an older Al Schmelz at fantasy camp, I think you nailed it. The jaw and ears are definitely a match. Either that or its Gary Busey in The Al Schmelz Story.

[Buccos]

I'm looking up Schmelz, and I see he played in the Pirates system (AA York) for half a season in 1969. Great post Fred, you're making me work.

[okcochise]

Lebby just posted some great photos of some Angels and some Pirates. Thanks to him, here is another great image. I have included some cards as well.

[tnfoto]

The Jack_Martin image in the Facepack and on Martin's B-R.com page actually pictures one-game major leaguer Billy G. Martin. I have replaced it with this confirmed image.

[Braves70]

5 Philadelphia Phillies from the late 1950s and Topps Vault

Ted Kazanski (1958) / Solly Hemus (1958) / Don Cardwell (1958) / Frank Baumholtz (1957) / Ben Flowers (1956)

[Braves70]

Orioles players from 1973

Earl Williams (1973 Photo) / Doug DeCinces (1973 Topps Vault) / Al Bumbry (1973 Topps Vault) / Elrod Hendricks (1973 Topps Vault) / Paul Blair (1973 Topps Vault)

[jeffersons34n2]

Originally Posted by Braves70

Orioles players from 1973

Earl Williams (1973 Photo) / Doug DeCinces (1973 Topps Vault) / Al Bumbry (1973 Topps Vault) / Elrod Hendricks (1973 Topps Vault) / Paul Blair (1973 Topps Vault)

That's awesome!!! Would love to see any images of my father Jesse Jefferson withile with the Orioles like this. Elrod " ELLIE" Hendricks was a very close friend of the family and my dads good buddy, they were like brothers.

[jeffersons34n2]

Originally Posted by Braves70

1975 Orioles from Topps Vault

Jim Northrup / Tim Nordbrook / Don Baylor / Paul Blair / Jim Hutto

Haven't seen many photos of my father Jesse Jefferson#38 from '73-'75 with the Orioles in the away uniforms. Other than his baseball card. Appreciate it.

[Merkle923]

Up with another 100 or so color slides/transparencies from the sports photographer Marvin Newman. 50s-60s stuff. Gorgeous, and very few watermarks (albeit all the usual suspects).

Seller's ID is Hyee_Auctions.

[okcochise]

Yeah, there are some great images there. The Aaron I posted is about the crispest color photo from that era I have seen. I really like that Wilhelm too.

[tnfoto]

Clearer version of the image in the Facepack and on Karst's B-R.com page, as pictured in the 03-Mar-1914 Philadelphia Inquirer during his tryout with the A's.