2005 Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

 Today I'm back to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. This time, 2005 edition.

Dave Stieb is the only Jay to throw a No Hitter. 

He had plenty of one hitters as well. 

He was a trainer for over 50 years, in both minor and major league ranks. 

He also spent years with the amateur teams. 

He was given the nickname Pop for his bushy mustache. 

My roommate makes a Captain America joke every time I have a Steve Rogers card or mention him at all. 

He spent his entire career with the Expos. 

More Team Collectors

 I wanted to cover some more of the wonderful box of stuff I got from the Team Collectors group. 

Yestedray had some interesting cards and a bunch of 1978s. 

Today is just interesting cards.. 

First up is a few Bowmans. I'll admit the first thing I thought when I saw Will Robertson was 

"Danger Will Robinson!" Yeah......

John Axford. I think there were something like four copies in here, so if I didn't have before, I have now! More than enough for my collections. 

Dwight Smith Jr. I just put this one up for the look on his face. He's now an Oriole. 

Darrin Fletcher. I love the photo of his follow through. 

Speaking of follow throughs, Another Olerud. 

I loved those The Franchise cards from 1991 Score. 

Garth Iorg retired before I really got interested in the team, but he's an interesting player to get cards of. 

Juan de la Rosa, one of those guys who never really amounted to anything.. Back when the Jays used their farm to trade for pieces to win. 

Joe Biagini was an odd duck. They did a series of "Deep Thoughts" sketches with him while he was a Jay. 

Some more Bowmans here as well. 

The Navarro is here because I like the photo. I'm not sure if I actually need the card or not, but it's a cool one. 

Is it me, or does Buchholz look under the influence? 

That Conner Greene is an interesting card. I like the black parallels that the Bautista is from. The player really pops in the photo. 

Griffin Conine, one of the more forgotten second generation players the Jays have in their system. 

We have some shinies here.. Gabe Gross, Joey Hamilton, Josh Donaldson, and Justin Smoak all in the Chrome.. Though the reverse image for Smoak is interesting. 

I like the Alomar photo on that Classic card. 

Molitor played for the Jays for a couple seasons, but it's still weird seeing him in a Jays uniform. Even if it is the one that got him a ring. 

Speaking of odd in a Jays uni, Jose Canseco. 

Rob Butler is from Toronto area. 

The Tulo is one of those prismatic cards.. 

A couple Martins with some wizardry as well. 

At one point, the Jays had a Matt Morgan. .Just not the Matt Morgan who didn't do much in WWE or Impact Wrestling. 

The Singer Throwing Machine was pretty well used up when he was in Toronto. He started the first ever game and didn't make the year.. 

Now a little rant.. 

I love the fact Topps puts mascot cards in their sets. I hate when they don't use the name of the mascot. 

It's like "Hey! Let's watch MASCOT do their MASCOT thing and entertain us in this lull of the game! Oh look, Tommy Lasorda is chasing MASCOT! He wants MASCOT tossed from the Game!!" 

Of course the second two incidents I'm referring to are the Phanatic and Youppi. But if you didn't know those incidents, would you understand what I was talking about? 

Why can't Topps put, in this case, Ace, on the card? 

Anyway, rant over.. Thanks again, Team Collectors!!

Team Collectors

 Well, I got a big box of stuff in from the crew at Team Collectors. Since I'm the only Canadian in the group, one member took on the task of collecting cards to mail up to me. It arrived yesterday. 

It... Was glorious.. 

All sorts of Jays, some Expos, and a number of 1978 cards for my Birth Year Set Build. 

All sorts of goodies here. 

I think the first couple cards I scanned are from the On Demand lines of Topps, so I have to actually look them up.. 

An Alek Manoah and a Rowdy Tellez auto also made their way up here. The Tellez is one of those framed autos. The Big League looks like it's an educational issue. 

Old magazine cards with the Alomar and the Olerud. Olerud has his college positions listed. 

Tia Carrere is apparently a fan of the Jays. According to the card, started watching while filming Wayne's World. 

I loved the Score All Star cards where they did these caricatures. Shoebox Collection Bell. 

I used to not really care for the Chrome cards, but they have grown on me. Not enough to go out and overpay what they charge now, but I'm open to getting them. I love that Pillar. 

Anthony Kay is one of those Montgomery cards. Again, not too sure what those are..

Can't forget the Carter here. Another Shoebox Collection. 

Carlos Delgado in catcher's gear. How many people remember he started as a catcher, then a left fielder? 

Cavan and Craig Biggio showing their bloodline. The Encarnacion Diamond King has a raised border, almost like a picture frame. It's kind of cool. 

Dickie Joe Thon was in the Jays system for a while.. Never made it out though. 

The Batflip.. In Chrome Sepia.

I love that Opening Day photo of the Dome. 

Faces of the Franchise. This is dangerous for most teams. Some barely have three you associate with a team.. (quick, when you hear Marlins.. Who do you think of besides Jeff Conine?)

With the Jays, you have arguments for Stieb, Carter, Fernandez, Alomar, Halladay (both are shown here) 

Some relic goodness with Guerriel and Bautista. Also a Guerriel auto. 

Dave Collins as a Jay.. He was one of the three guys picked off in the Tippy Martinez/Lenn Sakata debacle.. 

It seems like Upper Deck dabbled with a chome variant as well. Both Johnny Mac and Troy Glaus are shiny.. 

1983 Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs rookies. Nice....

Some Expos, as I mentioned. Can't go wrong with a Walker. Showing some Minor League Expos here for fun. 

Matt Maysey is actually Canadian. 

Early 80s Superstar Credit Cards cards of Tim Raines.. Aren't they lovely? 

Now I just pulled a selection of notable cards rather than scan them all.. 

Honestly, going into this, I wasn't expecting the big cards to be here. So I knew I wouldn't see Eddie Murray. I figured I wouldn't see some of the other big names like Ryan, or Reggie, etc.. 

But I was surprised. Pleasantly.. 

I got one of the Dawsons I needed. I got Yaz.. I got Reggie. Palmer. Fingers.. The feathered Friends beside Yaz with the Bird and the Goose. 

The Astros card is there because I love those uniforms.. 

Jeff Torborg.. I don't know how many people remember this, but his son was a professional wrestler for a while. Dale played the Kiss Demon in WCW. 

Mark Lemongello.. He did NOT want to join the Jays. There are a number of stories out there that make you wonder if he was ever really all there..

Le Grand Orange! But as a Tiger. 

Buck Martinez as a Royal. Rod Carew!

I honestly don't remember if the Grant Jackson was part of the cards I received from the group or not (I filed them them pulled cards later to scan.. I derped) but that coat is glorious. 

Pete Falcone.. Every time I hear that name I think about the show Fugget About It. The son's name is Pete Falcone. 

Jim Rice. Another one I thought I wouldn't see.. 

Ken Brett.. He was the losing pitcher in the first ever Jays game in 1977. 

I almost fell out of my chair when I saw this card... When I said I wasn't expecting to see the big cards earlier? This was one of the big cards I didn't expect to see.. Yet.. Here it is.. 

So with the influx of 78s from the Team Collectors, my 78 build is 92% complete. When my order from Sportlots that I put in last night arrives, it'll be at 100% minus any variations that may or may not exist.. 

Thanks to all who threw in!

Sportlots and Other Stuff

 Today is a bit of housekeeping. 

I wanted to show a few things that have come in.

First, a couple single-card Sportlots deliveries. 

This is a reprint from 1988. I could get the original on COMC right now for $105 USD ungraded, or $95 for a slabbed one. 

I was interested to see how the "Fold over" worked, but I didn't want to fold over the actual card, so I did some amateur Photoshop and came with this:

I kind of figured the Gibson portion would use the legs left by Leach.. Really since this goes into my Gibson collection, I might fold it to that.. Or I might leave it as is. 

Another Sportlots purchase was this Jim McKean card. 

He was boringly nicknamed "Canadian" 

The other thing I want to show is the cards I was missing from the Canadian Baseball Hall set. I reached out to the Hall to mention I was missing some cards. They found most of what I was missing and sent them off to me. (Only Cito and Tony Fernandez elude me.. Well, and the autographs... But we'll see)

Anyway....

Hey look! Another Jim McKean! And Bill Slack. The other two I was missing will be featured when I get to those years on here.

Finally, a small PWE from a member of the Team Collectors, Tramers. 

A couple nice serial numbered Jays from sets I'd never see or get anywhere close to finding. Thank you!

2003 Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

 Today I'll cover the 2003 inductees. 

As with previous ones, click the picture to go to the Hall page for that person. It will open in a new window. 

Well, he could have JUST had his 1993 homer and be in here. 

But he ranks second on the team in Homers and third in RBIs

Next is Kirk McCaskill. 

He was actually selected in the 4th round of the 1981 NHL draft by the Winnipeg Jets. He played one season in the minors before focusing on baseball. 

He was a driving force in Quebec youth baseball. 

The Japanese-Canadian team that was effectively disbanded due to World War II. 

This is from the Hall Website writeup:

 Early in 1942, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Canadian government interned all people of Japanese descent, confiscating their property, and uprooting their lives. As a team, the Asahi never played together again. Yet, when these men, along with thousands of Japanese Canadians, were removed to prison camps, they took with them the spirit of baseball. Little by little, bats and balls appeared and these former Asahi players assembled baseball teams. Soon these men were playing against their RCMP prison guards, then with local townspeople – many of who had never seen a Japanese person before and were surprised to discover they spoke perfect English. Baseball, the ultimate symbol of North American culture, was a common bond. It helped dispel suspicions and fears and led to lasting friendships that exist today.

2004 Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

 Today will highlight the 2004 class. 

I will mention that I'm missing the card for Jim McKean. It is being sent to me, however.

The Hawk, while spending time in the Expos minor league system, played in Lethbridge and Quebec City. 

Lannin owned the Red Sox when they purchased Babe Ruth from the Orioles. He ended up selling the team because he was too much of a fan of the game. 

He was the person responsible for the hiring of Paul Beeston, Pat Gillick, and Peter Bavasi in the Jays' infancy. 

Night Owl Surprise

 A few days ago I received a surprise package from Night Owl. I wasn't expecting anything from him, so receiving it was a pleasant surprise. 

So what did he send me? 

A nice batch of Eric Gagne that I didn't have. 

Then we get into some Russell Martin.

A nice batch of cards that pad my Canadians binder. Thank you!!

A Couple Cards From Sportlots

 I just wanted to cover a couple cards I got off Sportlots before I go back to the Hall series. 

These are all reprints and are marked as such.. 

A nice George Gibson reprint. Seeing that most of his catalgoue is from the early 1900s, actually collecting all of his cards might prove to be expensive. Especially with the tobacco variations. 

Two more Dick Fowler cards. One is a reprint of his 1950 Bowman. The other is a reprint of his 1949 Bowman. 

A Few Trades

 Today I want to cover a couple trades I've made over on TCDB. 

First is from bclough69

We have Dave McKay as an A.. 

Some Alomar cards. A few Triple Play for the set

The Deion Sanders SP from Upper Deck. 

And while he looks great in it, still odd seeing Molitor in a Jays uni. 

Next, a one card tade from jsteved

Joe Carter Outfield Power. 

Phinally, *ahem* I mean, finally, a trade with Phillyman73

Some nice 2020 Jays and a Diamond King Smoak. 

I wish him the best in Milwaukee.. 

Thanks for the trades!!!

I also got one thing in the mail I purchased through Sportlots. 

It's a 1947-66 Exhibits W461 Dick Fowler

I'm noticing the early days of collectibles seemed to be all over the place with sizes. It's about a card and a half tall. I imagine they make some holders for it (I might have ordered some on accident previously) but it'll be interesting to have one on a page and that's it. 

2002 Canadian Baseball Hall Of Fame

 Today I'm going to cover the 2002 Hall of Fame Class.. 

Now.. There are two cards in the set for this year I did not receive. 

Those are 

Cito Gaston

and 

Bill Slack

I did reach out to the Hall and they are sending me a Slack, as well as some of the others I'm missing. Gaston and one other are out of stock and I need to ask again in May. 

He was instrumental in founding Baseball Canada. 

He was president of Labatt's when they were trying to help bring a team to Toronto. 

Apparently, he had mastered schedule making for the International League and worked in the same capacity for MLB. 

What's interesting is during his time in the International League, they moved their office from New York to Montreal. 

He was hired as the first Toronto Blue Jays employee. He was CEO of the team when they won the Back to Back World Series. 

I think next post will be about some trades that came in, then I'll jump back into these. 

1995-2001 Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

 As I mentioned in yesterday's post, there were no inductees in 1993 or 1994. 

So today we're going from 1995-2001. 

Again each of these years there's only a couple inductees. 

The lone 1995 inductee was Terry Puhl. 

I mean.. You have to love those Astros uniforms. 

1996

Frank O'Rourke was one of three inductees for 1996

He spent 70 years of his life in baseball in some capacity. 

Probably better known by his nickname Nig. I am interested to find out the origin of that nickname, though I feel it'll be something bordering on racist.. 

And sure enough, according to Wikipedia, he was given the nickname by newspapers due to his complexion. 

He was a large part of the growth of youth sports (not just baseball) in Windsor. Some of the players he helped along to Big League Careers are Reno Bertoia, Stubby Clapp, Joe Siddall, and John Upham.

1997

1997 seemed to be the Year of the Builder. Two made it in. John McHale and the guy below. 

McHale was responsible for turning the Expos into the team they were in the 80s and early 90s, bringing Carter, Raines, Dawson, and Rogers to the team. 

For many years in Toronto, he was known as Stand Pat. 

However, the man with the Golden Touch seemed to be biding his time for the right move. 

He found that right move, trading Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez to San Diego for Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter. 

Funny story about that: Pat called his wife and told her about the trade and she told him to "Come home before you ruin the team more" as Fernandez was her favourite player.

1998

Interesting statistic: 10% of the women who played in the AAGPBL were from Canada. 

The link in the picture has a list of the Canadian women who played in the league.

Knotty.. Another interesting nickname. Seems it came from his father. 

George was throwing a spitball and it was twisting and knotting towards the plate. 

He also was the force behind the first Canadian professional league. 

He was a big influence on Toronto youth baseball in the Leaside area. 

1999

The second manager of the Toronto Blue Jays.

He spent 28 years with the Jays front office and also did some commentary for TV. (There's a clip online of him doing the 1983 Opening Day broadcast) 

In 2003 the Jays renamed their training complex after Mattick.

He played for the Pirates and the Yankees. He made his Yankee debut the same day as some guy named Yogi.. 

He is called the Father of Canadian Professional Baseball 

2000

He was one of the people responsible for building the Expos on the field. Overall, he spent 25 years with the Expos, spent some time with the Rockies, and was an ambassador for the Blue Jays. 

2001

Dave McKay was the first Canadian to play on the Blue Jays. 

After his playing days he spent many years on Tony LaRussa's coaching staff

Gary Carter. 

What can I say about him that hasn't already been said, aside from the fact he didn't want to go into Cooperstown with an Expos logo on his hat..

Then there's this.. 

Next post will be 2002.