Gambo and T_Wil1 Photopack

[KenRaffensberger16]

Originally Posted by SDL

Here's another "Double B-Side"



Skeen quit before the the '64 season and Smith had two brief cups of coffee in '62 and '63.

I'm glad to see at least someone is reading & paying attention to my posts!!
Good job! - These two Sox rookies are equal in obscurity to Umbach and Hippauf.

[SNAP]

Originally Posted by tnfoto

rest in peace, mr. Cub.

amen.

[stlcardsfan]

Originally Posted by cheech411

pop ups??????? just a guess??????????????

thats what i would have guessed

[Merkle923]

That is in fact a fungo machine. The Yankees used them in spring training off-and-on from the early '60s (see below) into the '70s. Basically the same premise as today's T-Shirt launcher, so providentially put in the hands of interns and part-time workers from a team's promotions department and aimed at fans.

Below left is a shot of previous model, with Jim Hegan, Wally Moses, Frank Crosetti and manager Ralph Houk in Fort Lauderdale in a shot that dates to 1962 or 1963.

Of equal interest to the Bill Virdon weapon is the guy standing behind it in uniform 63. Unless you think that's Jorge Posada's uncle Leo (who wore the uniform number as a spring training instructor in 1975), it has to be...Bobby Cox (who wore 63 as a spring training instructor in 1974).

[lebby20]

Do any of you wonderful collectors have the TV image of Mike Pazik in the royal blue road uniform? I would greatly appreciate it!

[hobbs11]

Pete was signed in the Spring of '79 but never made it north with the rest of the Dodgers later that April...

With their late deadline, apparently o-pee-chee jumped at the chance to tweak their set after he had pitched for Oakland in '78. Either way here's a pic courtesy of kyle's cards on ebay.

Meanwhile the hunt continues for Pete in a color pic while touting a Cubs hat.....

[stlcardsfan]

does anyone know of a site that has Spring Training Non-Roster Invitees?

I have a list from 2000-2014, missing everything before that.

not sure why its so difficult to find spring training material...I guess its simply just ignored as its not the official season.

reason being is I read a newspaper article that mentioned Andy Van Slyke being a NRI in 1997 for the Cardinals...also just curious

[stlcardsfan]

2008 topps Juan Gonzalez and 1996 Topps Gregg Olson, Olson was signed and cut in spring training 1996, Gonzalez was a NRI and cut in 2008.

[Cusick]

Originally Posted by stlcardsfan

does anyone know of a site that has Spring Training Non-Roster Invitees?

I have a list from 2000-2014, missing everything before that.

not sure why its so difficult to find spring training material...I guess its simply just ignored as its not the official season.

reason being is I read a newspaper article that mentioned Andy Van Slyke being a NRI in 1997 for the Cardinals...also just curious

In the past, there didn't seem to be many publications which were sources of info on non-roster invitees. I've done a lot of work on spring roster players, and I've rarely come across yearbooks or other materials like that which mention non-roster invitees along with the roster players.

Things have improved in the current climate. The mlb.com website includes stats for the spring training games, so there are ways to find out all the players who have appeared in spring games for the major league clubs these days.

[tnfoto]

Facepack upgrade and clearer Cubs image, pictured with the 1955 Cubs.

[tnfoto]

1954 Cubs.

[Merkle923]

There are plenty of records from the '60s/'70s - they are just woefully inconsistent and incomplete.

From about 1960 through around 1968, The Sporting News did an annual round-up of them, usually in a February or early March issue - but one team or more would always read "To be determined after early camp."

The best bet is team media guides, but they too are incomplete and many teams didn't even list them (the 1969 Dodgers guide lists nobody) or left guys out - often because the process was so informal.

The most reliable sources are actually spring training scorecards and box scores. An easy solution if you can spend a few thousand bucks on each year's scorecards (and if you can find them).

[Penale52]

Pictured in the May 6, 1924 issue of the Utica Observer Dispatch

[Cusick]

Originally Posted by Merkle923

From about 1960 through around 1968, The Sporting News did an annual round-up of them, usually in a February or early March issue - but one team or more would always read "To be determined after early camp."

.

The Sporting News listed the actual spring rosters from 1925 to at least 1971, with the strange exceptions of omitting 1959 and 1965. I've created a spreadsheet which lists where each major league team's spring roster can be found in each pertinent issue of The Sporting News for each of those years. But again those are roster players -- not non-roster invitees. I recently ran across spring rosters for some of the teams in a 1972 issue of The Sporting News, but was busy on something else and did not add it to the spreadsheet.

[Merkle923]

This was from the February 21, 1962 edition of The Sporting News.

It is not complete but it's a nice start. There are also many spelling errors (and worse) - the "Bill Robertson" listed as a Met NRI was in fact named "Bill Robinson" - but these were of some use. I'll try to dig out some others I have from the '60s.

Apologies if it's gigantic but I had to compensate for illegibility.

[Cusick]

Images of this one-game major leaguers are fairly scarce, so I thought this was worth sharing, despite its portraying him as an old-timer receiving an award rather than at ball-playing age. This photo came to me courtesy of a SABR friend.

[Merkle923]

From The Sporting News, 4/24/60

[Merkle923]

Had 1961 somewhere, can't locate, 1962 posted above.

From the 2/23/63 edition of The Sporting News

[Merkle923]

From the 2/29/64 edition of The Sporting News:

[Merkle923]

From the 2/27/65 edition of The Sporting News (my notations at the bottom are three pitchers invited to Detroit camp - source was elsewhere in the same issue):