Familiar Faces / Strange Places: Ty Cobb / Athletics

Ty Cobb is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. When the first Hall of Fame class was elected in 1936, he received the most votes of any player, receiving 222 out of a possible 226 votes. Fellow inductees Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner got seven less votes than Cobb. He played his last game in the majors in 1928, and he still holds the career record for highest batting average and most batting titles.

He spent the first 22 years of his unbelievable career in Detroit. In 1926 he was coerced into retirement because of some gambling allegations. Once his name was cleared, he was allowed to be a "free agent" and sign with anyone he wanted. He chose the Philadelphia Athletics. He spent two seasons in Philly before calling it quits for good, hitting an incredible .357 at age 40 and .323 at age 41.

Some interesting things about Cobb. He never won a World Series. His Detroit Tigers won three consecutive AL crowns (1907-08- 09) but lost all three World Series match ups (including two to the Cubs). In 1909 he won the AL Triple Crown, his HR title consisted of 9 inside the park home runs. He won the first AL MVP award, in 1911, when he hit .420 -- it ended up to be his only MVP.

Custom Cover: MLB11 The Show

I was playing around with photoshop and a template for the soon to be released MLB - THE SHOW video game. I am not 100% pleased with the result, the source Dick Allen image is not sharp enough to get the desired effect, but I thought I would share anyway. I will be attempting more in the future, let me know if you have any requests.

The Duke of Flatbush

Edwin Donald "Duke" Snider

1926 - 2011

"On this day, we have lost a giant...." Vin Scully

Familiar Faces / Strange Places: Don Sutton / Astros

I never really had a strong feeling either way about the Astros tequila sunrise uniforms. I always thought they looked a little funky, but since my team wasn't wearing them, I really didn't care that much.

I have to admit, every time I see Don Sutton wearing the orange sherbet rainbow, it looks a little strange to me. I grew up with Sutton in the classic Dodgers uniforms, but before the start of the 1981 season he signed as a free agent with Houston. He spent a season and a half in the Astrodome, accumulating, like he did his entire career, decent stats -- and then he was sent to the Brewers in August of 1982 for the stretch run of what would turn out to be the only AL pennant won in Milwaukee.

Sutton, who never finished higher than 4th in any Cy Young Award voting during his 23 year career, won 324 career games and was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.

1983 Spring Training video

I found this today. Home movie footage from the Phillies 1983 Spring Training in Clearwater. Lot's of Phils stars, including Joe Morgan, Pete Rose, Tug McGraw, Steve Carlton, Dick Ruthven, Larry Christenson and Garry Maddox. I find it interesting that players (except a few shots of Pete Rose) wore their normal game home jerseys while they prepared for the season. Times sure have changed.

Wallpaper: Halladay Playoff No No

The 2011 Phillies play their first spring "game" today against a college team (Florida State). Imagine how much fun it will be for those kids to face one of the Phils aces? The first real spring training contest will be on Saturday against the Yankees. Before we launch into another baseball season, it is fitting that I recall one of the best moments of the past season and in baseball history.

iPad app - Pennant

HT to deal at Phungo for his post and alerting me to the availability of this app. A couple hours later I was reading the new Sports Illustrated, and there was an article about it.

I love my iPad. I use it for many things, and today that list just got bigger. There is a new iPad app available that basically provides a visual/interactive history of baseball. These guys have taken the data from retrosheet and display it in a fun and easy manner. You can look at any post-1950 season: any team, any game. Here is a link from the app creator. There is a video which will give you a good idea.

What is Pennant?
Pennant is an interactive history of baseball like none other seen before. Using Pennant's rich interface fans can browse and view data from over 115,000 games that have taken place from 1950 to 2010. Seasons, games and events are graphically represented in a clear, easy to interpret manner that takes them beyond the numbers.

The screen-shot I have included is Dick Allen's first career home run from April 1964.

Familiar Faces / Strange Places: Rickey Henderson

Rickey Henderson was the best leadoff hitter and base thief in baseball history. His career spanned 25 seasons, most notably with the Oakland Athletics. He has two world series champion rings (1989 with Oakland and 1993 with Toronto), one MVP award (1990 with Oakland) and is the career leader steals and runs scored. He leads the next closest player (Lou Brock) in career stolen bases by an unbelievable 468 steals. He was easily and deservedly elected to the Hall of Fame in his first season of eligibility.


The last couple seasons of Rickey's baseball career were nomadic to say the least. In 2000 he played for the Seattle Mariners, in 2001 he played for the San Diego Padres, in 2001 he played for the Boston Red Sox, and finally in 2002 he played in Los Angeles for the Dodgers. I couldn't pick which one of these uniforms he looked stranger in, so I selected them all.

One of my favorite recent additions to the baseball-reference web site is the inclusion of uniform numbers with each player. I have not done the research, but I am willing to guess Rickey also has the most circled numbers in baseball history.

Mike Schmidt 1981 All Star Game HR

I was organizing some old DVDs I have last week and ran into the 1981 All Star Game. This was a strange game because the players were just returning from an mid-season extended strike. The original game on July 14 was canceled. Instead, the game was played on August 9th and marked the start of the "second half" of the season.

The American League led the majority of the game and held the National League in check. Until the eighth inning when Rollie Fingers walked Ozzie Smith. With Mike Easler at bat, Ozzie stole second as the throw went into center field, Smith took out for third. He was caught in a rundown and tagged out. The American League seemed to still be in control, but then Easler walked. In classic National League fashion, Mike Schmidt stepped up to the plate and pounded the ball, hitting the two-run game-winner. Gary Carter was named MVP because he hit two home runs.



This video clip is filled with Hall of Famers and interesting players. In addition to Mike Schmidt, Mike Easler (in the Pirates all yellow combination) as the baserunner in front of Schmidt. Eddie Murray is at first, Rollie Fingers pitching, Bo Diaz catching, Dave Winfield in center field. Shots of the NL dugout include Bill Buckner (Cubs), Ozzie Smith (Padres), Vida Blue (Giants) and half of Bill Madlock. Dusty Baker greets him at the plate. Back in the dugout you quickly see Andre Dawson, Bob Knepper, Tim Raines, Lee Elia's back and Manny Trillo.

My cards: 2010 Chance Ruffin

As a kid I was an avid baseball card collector, I still have most of my card collection now 30-40 years later. In case you don't already know, I am also a serious baseball photographer. I shoot a lot of college and minor league games during the summer. Recently (the last couple of years) my images have been picked up by the baseball card companies. I still get a kick in seeing an image I created show up on a 2.5 x 3.5 piece of cardboard with a chance of it being in someone's attic or basement decades from now.

To the left is an image I took and to the right is a card of a Detroit Tigers draft pick named Chance Ruffin (yes, he is Bruce Ruffin's son). The original image I took had him in his Texas Longhorns uniform. Topps air-brushed a Tigers uniform on him.

Familiar Faces / Strange Places: Jose Canseco / Expos

Once considered the prototype of the modern day major league star, Jose Canseco burst upon the baseball scene as the American Rookie of the Year in 1986. Two years later (1988) he won the American League MVP and became the first player ever to record 40 home runs and 40 steals in one season. His Oakland Athletics team won three straight AL pennants and the 1989 World Series... but then it seemed wheels came off the tracks.

In August of 1992 he was traded to the Rangers. The next season he was allowed to pitch in a meaningless blow out loss to the Red Sox and injured his elbow, requiring Tommy John surgery. After a stop in Boston and a failed return trip to Oakland, he had a very productive season in 1998 with 46 HRs and 29 steals in Toronto. His accomplishments were lost in the HR derby media circus surrounding former teammate Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa that season. He next went to Tampa (where he made an all star appearance) and the New York Yankees (Where he got a second ring). By 2001 he was basically done when he was cut by the Angels in spring training and ended up playing half of a season for the White Sox. The next spring he was wearing an Expos uniform, but failed to make the club when the season began.

His 462 career home runs rank him 32nd on the all-time list. Instead of being a baseball legend and hall of famer -- Canseco turned out to be the "canary in the coal mine" for the steroid era of major league baseball.

Familiar Faces / Strange Places: Ryne Sandberg / Phillies

For Phillies fans, this is definitely one that got away.

He was a 20th round pick in the 1978 MLB draft. He steadily worked his way through the Phillies minor system playing in Helena, Spartanburg, Reading and Oklahoma City in four seasons. By 1981 he was ready for the majors and got a september call-up, but the Phillies did not have any room in their championship lineup for him. In January 1982 frustrated by their inability to get Larry Bowa to sign a new contract, the Phils traded Bowa and Sandberg for Cubs shortstop Ivan DeJesus. The Phillies scouts at the time told GM Paul Owens that Ryne "wouldn't be any more than a utility infielder". It turned out to be one of the worst deals in major league history.

The primary players in the deal, Bowa and DeJesus played out the rest of the careers in mediocrity. However, Sandberg established himself as a Cubs legend. He won 1984 National League MVP award. He made 10 consecutive All-Star appearances and won nine consecutive Gold Gloves from 1983 to 1991. His career .989 fielding percentage is a major league record at second base. He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.

Latest eBay acquisition

I wanted to close out the week with sharing one of my recent eBay acquisitions. I was high bidder on this original slide a couple of weeks ago.

That 40 once bat looks like a club.

As always I will be adding this to the Dick Allen Hall of Fame photo store.

Familiar Faces / Strange Places: Bobby Bonds / Cubs

My original idea for a Bobby Bonds strange places card was to show him on the White Sox. He only played 26 games for the 1978 Sox, so there isn't many photos of him in that uniform. As I was searching, the Sox image I discovered had already been done by my friend Steve at WHITE SOX CARDS. On to my second idea...

Blessed with a dreamy combination of power and speed, his career started with seven solid seasons as a San Francisco Giant. He was touted as "the next Willie Mays" and made two all star teams and won three gold gloves. Then he became a baseball nomad... Following the 1974 season Bonds was traded to the Yankees for Bobby Murcer in the first-ever even swap of $100,000 superstar players. He spent one year in New York before being sent back west, to the Angels for Mickey Rivers and Ed Figueroa. Two seasons later it was the White Sox, followed by the Rangers, Indians, Cardinals, and finally 45 games Cubs in 1981. He never came close to being Willie Mays, but he did retire with 332 home runs and 461 steals... and he was also Barry's Dad.

Wallpaper: 1981 Phillies - YES WE CAN

I discovered this image a couple of weeks ago in a book my daughter gave me. It just beings back so many vivid memories and shows so much joy, I wanted to share it. It may be one of the best baseball photos have ever seen. In preparation for the new baseball season, I currently have it as my desktop background.

The was taken on October 10th, 1981. George Vuckovich has just smacked a pinch hit walk-off HR against Jeff Reardon to beat the Expos in Game 4 of the strike seson created National League East Divisional Series.

Sadly, the Phillies would be shut out in Game #5 by Steve Rogers and the Expos the next day, eliminating them from repeating as World Champs.

Familiar Faces / Strange Places: Steve Carlton / Indians

Before there was Brett Favre, there was Lefty.

Steve Carlton was one of the best lefthanded pitchers in the history of baseball. His career is highlighted by 10 all star games, 2 (or 3?) world championships, 4 Cy Young awards, and entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Following two decades of brilliance in St. Louis and Philadelphia, it was clear to just about everyone but Carlton himself that he was out of gas. The Phillies released him and his 6+ ERA in June 1986. The Giants and White Sox gave him a shot later that summer and got below average results. Not willing to give up, Lefty signed with the Indians in the spring of 1987, pitched in 23 games (he started 14 times) before the Tribe traded him to Minnesota, where he went 1-5 for a team that won the World Series, without Carlton on the post-season roster. Since he was on the team, he got a World Series ring and a trip to the White House. Interestingly, when Carlton was photographed with his teammates at the White House, newspapers listed each member of the team with the notable exception of Carlton. Instead, Carlton was listed as an "unidentified Secret Service agent." The Twins brought him back in 1988 but he lasted only a month (0-1 16.76 ERA in four games) before the Twins released him, ending his MLB career.

Do you think he can still play third ?

Via Sportsline.com

JUPITER, Fla. -- The deadline for Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals to reach a new contract agreement passed Wednesday at noon with no announcement from either side.

The Cardinals scheduled a news conference for 12:30 p.m. ET at their spring training complex.

Pujols, a nine-time All-Star, is the only player in major-league history to hit 30 or more home runs each of his first 10 seasons -- all coming with the Cardinals, the franchise he has said in the past he wants to remain with for the rest of his career.

But the sides failed in recent months to reach common ground, raising the possibility the three-time NL MVP might be on the cusp of his final season in St. Louis.

Familiar Faces / Strange Places: Ron Santo / White Sox

In December of 1973, after fourteen seasons, ten all star games, and borderline hall of fame stats with the Chicago Cubs -- Ron Santo was traded south to play for the White Sox. In exchange, the Sox sent catcher Steve Swisher, future Cy Young awardee Steve Stone, and two other prospects north for the washed-up Santo. The plan was to insert him as their Designated Hitter in a lineup that already featured Carlos May, Bill Melton and Dick Allen. The only problem was that Ron Santo did not want to be a DH, he wanted to play in the field. The Sox already had Melton at third, so manager Chuck Tanner had to juggle him around. Tanner even tried to turn him into a second-baseman, which didn't work. Santo played 117 unhappy games (61 in the field) with the Sox, hitting .221 with 5 HRs, both were career lows. He retired the following off-season.

For the record, this was a black and white image I colorized. I could not find any decent Ron Santo on the Sox color pictures. If you have one and/or know where I can find one, let me know.

Familiar Faces / Strange Places: Dave Parker / Brewers

As a kid growing up in the 1970's - Dave Parker was an imposing figure and an incredible ballplayer. He was the NL MVP in 1978, a perennial all star, and a key member of the 1979 Pirate World Series Championship team. He was the first ballplayer in history to sign a contract for more than $1 million per year. Just as it appeared he would go down as one of the all-time greats -- injuries and off-field drug issues slowed him down. He left Pittsburgh to play a couple years with the Cincinnati Reds where he made two more all-star appearances and finished 2nd in the 1983 MVP voting. He was also a member of the Oakland Athletics Bash-Brothers 1989 Championship team. He spent one year (1990) in Milwaukee and played 153 games as the Brewers DH. He finished his career the next season as a member of the California Angels and the Toronto Blue Jays and retired.

Despite posting comparable statistics to Hall of Fame members Tony Perez and Andre Dawson -- Dave Parker has never received more than 24% of the vote from the Hall of Fame voters.

Spring has sprung

Today it begins. Pitchers and catcher reported to Spring Training today, starting what appears to be a very enjoyable summer of Phillies baseball. If you have never been to Spring Training, I highly recommend it. The atmosphere in Clearwater is great. Even if you don't go see a game at the stadium, most days you can watch the minor league Phils practice at the complex right next to the stadium. I have been 3 or 4 times and have enjoyed it every year.

It is a long season...and many strange things can and will happen. But if Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, and Hamels can stay healthy AND the bullpen, offense, and defense perform as expected, it should be a very memorable season. I can't wait.

If you have not noticed, I have started posting things that don't specifically have to do with Dick Allen. I will continue to post DA items and stories as I run into them -- but I am going to expand the focus of my blog a bit to include more things about the Phillies and my passion for baseball photography.

Familiar Faces / Strange Places: Willie Mays / Mets

In May of 1972 the New York Mets traded pitcher Charlie Williams and $50K to the San Francisco Giants for 41-year-old Willie Mays. At the time, the Giants franchise was in financial trouble and team owner Horace Stoneham could not guarantee a post-playing career job for the future Hall of Famer. The Mets offered Mays a position as a coach upon his retirement.

In his Mets debut (May 14, 1972) Willie Mays hit a home run to beat his former team. He played in 133 games for the Mets. His final major league game was Game 7 of the 1973 World Series.

Familiar Faces / Strange Places: Pete Rose / Expos

Thanks for all the nice comments about the new project. Please keep the ideas coming. There are so many choices. Also, if you have a clear picture of a suggested player, please feel free to send it over to me. The hardest part about this project is finding decent images to work with.


Here is another iconic baseball star in a strange uniform. Following the Phillies loss to the Orioles in the 1983 World Series Pete Rose was granted an unconditional release in late October 1983. Phillies management wanted to retain Rose for the 1984 season, but he refused to accept a more limited playing role. On January 20th, 1984 Rose signed a one-year contract with the Montreal Expos. His time in Montreal was highlighted on April 13, 1984, the 21st anniversary of his first career hit, Rose doubled off of the Phillies’ Jerry Koosman for his 4,000th career hit, joining Ty Cobb to become only the second player to enter the 4000 hit club. He played in 95 games before he was traded back the Reds to be a player/manager. Only his 1984 Topps Update and 1985 Donruss cards show Rose as an Expo.

Familiar Faces / Strange Places: Reggie Jackson / Orioles

I have decided to embark on a new on-going project called Familiar Faces / Strange Places. Baseball history is filled with situations where a player makes a name in one city, only to find himself in a strange uniform for one reason or another. Using my favorite baseball card template (the 1974 Topps design is the best in history) I plan on displaying these strange but fun oddities.

Before he was a Yankee, Reggie Jackson was a Oriole. Already a baseball superstar as a member of the Oakland A's with three championship rings, his road to glory in New York City went thru Baltimore. Traded on April 2nd, 1976, he was in the final season of his contract and free agency had just begun. The owner of the Athletics, Charles Finley, was not going to spend the money to keep his dynasty together and began selling and trading his players at will. Reggie played the 1976 season with the Orioles and, shortly afterwards, signed as a free agent with the Yankees.

Chuck Tanner

More sad news... Chuck Tanner died today. He was 82. Chuck is best known for leading the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates to the World Series title. I will always remember him as Dick Allen's favorite baseball manager, I saw today that someone called him "The Dick Allen whisperer". Tanner had over 1,3000 wins as a manager of four different major league teams.

A couple of interesting things about Chuck Tanner:
* He hit a HR on the first pitch he saw in his first MLB at bat, he was pinch hitting for Warren Spahn.
* As the manager of the Oakland Athletics, he was traded to the Pirates for catcher Manny Sanguillen.
* His mother died the day of Game 5 of the 1979 World Series. He stayed with the team, telling them ""My mother is a great Pirates fan, She knows we're in trouble, so she went upstairs to get some help." The Pirates came back from a 3-1 deficit to win the championship.

"Everyday was a great day, When we won, we beat the greatest players in the world. The second greatest thing was that you lose because you've had the chance to play against the best players in the world."

God Bless his family ... Thanks for the memories Mr. Tanner. Rest in Peace.

Dick Allen Baseball Card Project: 1963 "call-up" card

Based on a suggestion from our friend deal at PHUNGO, I created a 1963 Topps Phillies Dick Allen "call up" card. For this project, I spent the time to colorize a clean "early career" photo I had found via the New York Times.

Late in the 1963 season, after enduring a brutal minor league season in which he broke the Arkansas baseball color barrier, the Phillies called up a 21 year old Dick Allen. His first game was in Milwaukee against the Braves on September 3rd, 1963. He started in left field. After striking out in his first major league AB and grounding into a 5-4-3 double play in his second AB -- Allen doubled to left in the 7th inning for his first career hit. The Phillies won 2-0.

He played in a total of 10 major league games that season, starting 5 of them in the outfield and one at third base. It was the first time he had ever played third in his professional career. They next season he was starting at third for the Phillies.

Edit: I was not 100% happy with the unused sky space at the top of the card, so I added a "future star" feature on an alternative version.

Studio 42 intro

I re-watched the Dick Allen / Bob Costas MLB Network interview from 2009 and was motivated to post this introduction segment.

Woodie Fryman

Sadly, one of Dick Allen's former teammates died this weekend. Lefthanded pitcher Woodie Fryman was 70 years old.

Fryman played with the Phillies from 1968 to 1972. He was acquired from the Pirates along with Don Money for Jim Bunning. He won 12 games and pitched over 200 innings in both '68 and '69, and finished the 1968 season with an impressive 2.78 ERA. He made the National League All-Star team in 1968. Woodie was the Phils only representive in Houston for that mid-summer classic. He did not get the call to play from NL manager Red Schoendienst.

Interesting note on Woodie: during his 18 year career, he was twice traded for future MLB Hall of Famers. First in December 1967 when the Phillies got him for Jim Bunning and again in December 1976 the Expos sent him the Reds in exchange for Tony Perez.

Rest in peace Woodie.

Update galley

I have updated the MISC STUFF gallery today.

This is a collection of magazine covers and other random odds and ends from Dick Allen's career. There are some real gems in here, including a copy of the Topps Baseball card contract Dick Allen signed after the 1974 season. As always, if you have anything to share, please send it my way.

Enjoy.