My first baseball cards of the 1982 Cardinals came two years later when my father bought me a team set of the team at a flea market in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I lived there for a year, but the flea market was a regular stop for baseball cards. I also dabbled in football cards at that time, but the Cardinals (football version) were painful.
The cards are sort of in rough shape. The six year old me handled my cards a lot....
Over the last twenty years, or thereabouts, I have also managed to assemble the a sort of "FrankenSet" of autographs of the different Cardinals World Series and National League Championship teams. Ozzie Smith, Vince Coleman, Willie McGee, Jack Clark, Bruce Sutter, Scott Rolen, Pujols, Jim Edmonds, Chris Carpenter, John Tudor....I could make a huge long list. There is only really one significant player missing from my collection of certified autographs.
and there was also this guy.......
who was a pretty important player on the 1982 squad. He was one of the better offensive players on that team during the regular season and hit over .300 in both the NLCS against the Braves and in the World Series against the Brewers.
"Silent" George Hendrick was traded to the Cardinals in 1978 from the Padres. He was always a pretty good player up to that point in his career, but George bounced around from the A's to the Indians to the Padres, but found a home for awhile in St. Louis. He played with the Cardinals through the 1984 season and was then traded to the Pirates for John Tudor.
Cardwise there are plenty of George Hendrick cards out there, but there is only one certified autograph of him. I have known about his 2001 Topps Archives autograph since it first appeared in 2001. For many reasons it is just appearing in collection now.
"Silent" George Hendrick was traded to the Cardinals in 1978 from the Padres. He was always a pretty good player up to that point in his career, but George bounced around from the A's to the Indians to the Padres, but found a home for awhile in St. Louis. He played with the Cardinals through the 1984 season and was then traded to the Pirates for John Tudor.
Cardwise there are plenty of George Hendrick cards out there, but there is only one certified autograph of him. I have known about his 2001 Topps Archives autograph since it first appeared in 2001. For many reasons it is just appearing in collection now.
First, it is possible to find copies of this card, but no I am not willing to spend $20 to $30 on a George Hendrick autograph. As far as I can tell this card is not a short print, but there always seems to be just a single copy, sometimes two, floating around on Ebay and COMC. I know that I could have actually had this card long ago, but I was patient and stuck it out....probably should have just caved long ago.
In terms of the card, of course I wish he was a Cardinals player on the autograph, but I understand the concept behind the 2001 Archives set was that it featured every player's first and last card. George Hendrick was not on the A's for very long, but he did win a World Series with the 1972 team. Conversely, he ended his career as a part time player on the late 1980s Angels teams. A's it is.....
In terms of the card, of course I wish he was a Cardinals player on the autograph, but I understand the concept behind the 2001 Archives set was that it featured every player's first and last card. George Hendrick was not on the A's for very long, but he did win a World Series with the 1972 team. Conversely, he ended his career as a part time player on the late 1980s Angels teams. A's it is.....
When your team's best hitters hitting less than .200 one's heart sinks-could you imagine Silent George in this media age?
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