The Legend of Oscar Gamble

While there are many baseball cards that will forever remain etched in my memory, most of them are because the player pictured was a star. Sometimes cards were memorable because he played for my favorite team (go Reds!). And occasionally, they were memorable because they were especially difficult to find.

1975 Topps

There are some cards, however, that stand out because of the picture itself. Nearly any kid who grew up collecting baseball cards in the 1970s knows who Oscar Gamble was, though few will tell you that he was an outfielder who played for the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees (and a whole host of other clubs). No, most people who remember him will say, "he's the one with really BIG afro, right?"

Defining Gamble's afro as "big" really doesn't do it justice. The sheer magnitude of Gamble's 'fro was purely epic. His afro was so magnificent, so voluminous that he seriously couldn't run to first base or chase a fly ball without his hat flying off his head. It was as if his hat was wedged down upon his head so tightly that it would just squirt off with the slightest of provocation.

While Gamble was a decent player, his play never earned the fame enjoyed by the hair. To this day, Gamble still receives multiple autograph requests - almost always on cards showing him with his famous hair.

1976 Topps Traded

Iconic Yankees owner George Steinbrenner made Gamble shear his righteous 'do in 1976 when the Tribe dealt him to the Bombers (the Yankees have long had strict guidelines regarding the hair length and facial hair of its players). Gamble was only pictured with his afro and in a Yankees uniform on one baseball card - the 1976 Topps Traded card. Notably, however, the Yankees' hat and uni shown in the photo were airbrushed (and badly) when the Traded set was issued in 1976 after the trade. 

Gamble reportedly was told by Steinbrenner that he'd get his Yanks uni when he cut his hair. Teammate Elston Howard took Gamble for his famous haircut. 


“At times, you might try to sneak it and grow it a little longer than you should," Gamble said, "but, you got to do something about your hair if you want to wear those pinstripes. They want you to look neat in them.”

Legend has it that cutting his locks cost Gamble an endorsement deal with Afro Sheen, but that Steinbrenner paid Gamble what he would've earned for the endorsement deal.

Gamble retired after the 1985 season, having played his last game with the Chicago White Sox. He never made an all-star team or led the league in any statistical category, though I would bet that many people remember him more than they remember some of the other players who made multiple all-star teams. Cecil Cooper anyone?

Rollie Fingers and His Magic Mustache

I once tried to grow a handlebar mustache.

Well, let's say I tried to grow a mustache...any ol' mustache, with or without handlebars.

There were two problems with this plan:

1974 Topps Rollie Fingers

• Problem #1: I can't grow a mustache
• Problem #2: See Problem #1

My inspiration for becoming a handlebar-mustached hero was one Rollie Fingers, Hall of Fame relief pitcher for the Oakland A's. If you grew up watching baseball in the 1970s, you remember Rollie. He was hard to miss with his sinister facial hair and bright yellow and green uniform. The fact that he had a powerful fastball that helped close out three straight World Series victories for the A's didn't hurt either.

My facial follicle shortcomings aside, Fingers was always one of my favorite players. Because he was a relief pitcher - or "fireman" in baseball parlance - he usually didn't appear until the sixth or seventh inning when the starting pitcher's arm was starting to get rubbery. Fingers would come in with a fresh arm and fan the opposing team's sluggers, sealing the win while his mustachioed upper lip intimidated follicle-challenged guys everywhere, including your wayward blog author.

1975 Topps (left) and 1976 Topps Rollie Fingers

A few details about the cards pictured here: All three of the cards pictured here were made by Topps:

• 1974 Topps: Card #212 - Topps was relatively new to publishing game-action cards in 1974 (the first real action cards appeared in 1971). By 1974, they were starting to get it right. This card perfectly captures the fury of a major league pitcher's heater.
• 1975 Topps: Card #21 - One of the most striking (possibly garish?) cards Topps ever produced. The 1975 was a bit psychedelic in its design anyway. Add Rollie's colorful uni and wild mustache and you have an attention-getting card.
• 1976 Topps: Card #405 - I remember pulling this card out of a wax pack in 1976. I remember my dad telling me that Fingers was a great pitcher. Like me, my dad couldn't grow a 'stache to save his life and if I am not mistaken, I remember seeing a little longing in his eyes when he looked at this card.

A few details about Mr. Fingers: Born Roland Glen Fingers in August 1946, Rollie pitched for 18 years in the majors. He played for the A's from 1968 to 1976, the San Diego Padres from 1977-1980 and the Milwaukee Brewers from 1981-1985. His number 34 has been retired by both the A's and the Padres. He was elected to the hall of fame in 1992.

Fingers was a seven-time all-star, was the AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner in 1981, and was a four-time Rolaids Relief Pitcher of the Year winner.

In 1973, A's owner Charles Finley offered a $300 bonus to the player who could grow and maintain the best facial hair. Rollie ran with it...

In 1986, the Cincinnati Reds offered Fingers a contract to pitch for one more season. However, the Reds had a "clean-cut" policy, meaning the organization would not allow players to grow facial hair. Fingers turned down the job, telling the Reds GM: "Well, you tell Marge Schott to shave her Saint Bernard, and I'll shave my mustache". You just gotta love a man with principles when it comes to the sanctity of his facial hair.

Fingers still rocks his coiffed facial hair today. Check out his website: Rollie Fingers Official Website

Dick "Crash" Allen Crushes the Long Ball

Dick Allen might not be a name that immediately comes to mind when thinking of the game's power hitters. He's been shamefully neglected by the Hall of Fame. He earned a reputation (unfairly, many believe) for being a malcontent.

1973 Topps Dick Allen

I, along with many others, think Allen's difficulties were spurred mostly by the anti-black sentiments of the 1960s. He was subjected to racial slurs and taunts from some Philadelphia fans while in the Phillies farm system, which only grew worse when he was called up to the Phillies. In fact, he earned his nickname, "Crash," because he wore his batting helmet - even when fielding - because some fans often pelted him with garbage during their ridiculous, racially-charged taunts. He even endured being called "Rich" and "Richie" instead of "Dick," as he preferred. Topps didn't get around to getting his name right on a baseball card until 1973.

Nevertheless, through all of that, Allen put up Hall of Fame numbers - better than those of some players already in Cooperstown. For reasons that escape me he has never taken his rightful place among the greats of the game.

1975 Topps Dick Allen

Crash is remembered for the booming - and I mean thunderous - shots he sent over fences around the league. Willie Mays even once remarked that Allen hit the ball harder than any other player he'd ever seen. Allen terrorized pitchers and made fans in the deep seats keep their eyes peeled when Allen stepped to the plate.

"Allen was scary at the plate," said Mickey Lolich, former Tigers and Mets pitcher. "When he came up there, he had your attention. I want to forget a couple of line drives he hit off me, but I can’t because they almost killed me."

Allen was a 7-time all-star, was the league's MVP in 1972 and and was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1964. He retired with 351 total home runs, 1,119 RBIs and a lifetime batting average of .292. He led the AL twice in slugging percentage; he led the NL once in slugging percentage.

The debate over whether Allen belongs in the HOF has gotten more heated as Allen's years of eligibility have piled up. In fact, one excellent blogger has devoted a blog to the enshrinement of Allen in the HOF. Check out Dick Allen Hall of Fame.

June 12, 1972 Sports Illustrated cover

For fun, you should also check out the June 12, 1972 cover of Sports Illustrated. In it, Allen is smoking a cigarette while juggling baseballs near the team dugout. This cover certainly didn't help Allen's bad boy image. Seeing this cover made me laugh for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that it shows a professional athlete smoking on the field. We won't ever see that again.
Specific details about the cards featured here:

• The 1973 Topps Dick Allen is #310 out of a set of 660 cards. Given Allen's snubbing by the HOF and his polarizing personality, his cards have never commanded high prices among collectors. This card books at best for $1.50. 
• The 1975 Topps Dick Allen is #400 out of a set of 660 cards. It, too, has a paltry book value of just about 2 bucks.

Allen retired in 1977 after playing 15 seasons, the bulk of those with the Phillies (two stints) and with the White Sox. He also played for the Cards, Dodgers and A's before hanging up his cleats.

My Very Own Joe Schlabotnik

In 1975, I was seven and growing up in Marion, Indiana. My beloved hobby was baseball card collecting - and baseball. At the time, I played T-Ball in the local PAL league for the Marion National Bank Giants.

Rick Kughen, star player for the Marion National Bank Giants in 1975.

I remember my mother stopping at Dennison's Market after my T-ball games and buying me a red pop and five packs of baseball cards. That was my reward for a game well played. We lived just a few blocks from Dennison's, but I would manage to both down my red pop and open all five packs of cards before our Chevy Travelall reached our tiny house on Swayzee Street. My one and only goal: to find the coveted 1975 Pete Rose card - my Joe Schlabotnik.

1975 Topps Pete Rose #320

Topps packaged their cards that year 10-to-a-pack and sold them for 25 cents each. (I wish I could say that I remember those details, but I had to look them up.) I estimate that we made this Dennison's stop 25 times that year (she was a good mom who didn't always require that I have played a T-Ball game in order to have collected my red pop/baseball card bounty). That means she purchased roughly 125 packs of cards for me, meaning I had 1,250 chances to get my Joe Schlabotnik. I never did. I guess you could say that Charlie Brown and I shared at least one similarity that year.

This specific card - and this specific set of cards - is what rekindled my love of baseball card collecting. I put my collection away when I left for college in 1986 and other than hauling them around from place-to-place in the 26 years since then, I really never touched them. That is until this year when something - middle age, missing my mother, missing the simplicity of my childhood, the purity of my own children - something made me dig into those 20,000 or so baseball cards that I had stowed away in a closet.

Once I pulled them out, it was on. I found myself instantly transported back to those mid-1970s to mid-1980s days when baseball cards and playing baseball were my life. I realized that the attachment that I had to those cards of yesteryear had never gone away. It had just gone to dormant place and waited until my important parts of my life were in check (love life, children, career, house, etc.).

I have spent the last few months organizing, appraising and in general slobbering over my baseball cards. In that time, I realized just how important these cards were to who I am today. I spent some time reading the blogs of other kindred souls (see my Other Good Reads links at the right) and decided that I had a lot to say, too.

A little about this specific card and set: it is card number 320 from a set of 660 cards. This set's multi-colored borders make it one of the most coveted sets ever produced, as well as one of the hardest to find in excellent to mint condition. The colored borders nick very easily and thus, even cards that have been handled fairly carefully show their age.

A little about Pete Rose: Rose's all-time hit record of 4,256 career hits still stands today. The fact that he is not a member of the Hall of Fame is beyond me. Whatever you think of his gambling issues that resulted in his lifetime ban from the HOF, the fact remains that Charlie Hustle was possibly the greatest player to ever play the game. We have forgiven Michael Vick, Charles Barkley and other sporting bad boys. I think it's time that bring ol' Pete in out of the cold. I believe he did more for baseball, baseball card collecting and the Cincinnati Reds more than any other player in history has done.

Rose retired in 1986 and was permanently banned from Major League Baseball in 1989. In addition to holding the career hits record, Rose still holds career records in singles, games played at bats, and most winning season - just to name a few. Rose's number 14 has never been officially retired, but no other Cincinnati Reds player has worn the number since and many believe, none ever will.

Interestingly, Rose turned 71 yesterday (April 14).

The Ever Evasive Joe Schlabotnik

So why am I searching for Joe Schlabotnik? Fans of the Peanuts comics strips might remember Joe Schlabotnik as Charlie Brown's favorite baseball player. Good ol' Joe was a minor leaguer who occasionally got called up to the majors for a cup of coffee, as they say, but never became a big star. Fitting that he was Charlie Brown's favorite player.

Sadly, Charlie Brown was forever searching for that prized Joe Schlabotnik baseball card. He would open pack after pack and never find a Joe Schlabotnik card. Lucy, of course, would come along, purchase a single pack and walk away with a Joe Schlabotnik card. Poor Chuck...

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Such was the life of a kid growing up in the 1970s. If you collected baseball cards, you probably had a Joe Schlabotnik of your very own. I did. Mine was the 1975 Topps Pete Rose (a subject of my next post). No matter how many packs I opened, I never found a Pete Rose. In fact, it wasn't until this year - my 44th trip around the sun - that I finally got a copy of that card. I purchased the entire 1975 Topps set on eBay. It wasn't as exciting as finding it in a wax pack back in 1975 would've been, but it was still pretty neat. Yes, I said "neat." That's how I would've described in 1975 and that's how I still describe it in 2012.

This blog is dedicated to the baseball cards that made growing up in the 1970s and early 1980s a magical time. Baseball was pure magic then. It had yet to go corporate, big league players weren't shooting steroids and packs of baseball cards cost less than a buck each (lots less).

Posts on this blog will focus on various baseball cards - sometimes individual cards, sometimes sets, sometimes particular teams - and will touch on baseball and life in the 1970s and 1980s in the midwest. I welcome your comments on this trip down memory lane. And for those of you thinking this might be the beginnings of my midlife crisis, well, you're right. Maybe this will be therapeutic for us all.