I am always on the lookout for new cards of Durham Bulls players. There are plenty of easy and obvious targets out there, but every once in a while there is a name on a checklist that surprises me. When the 2021 Topps Heritage set was released, I was really happy to see Jake Cronenworth had an autograph in the set. Unfortunately, that card is also selling for a ton of money at the moment. Luckily, there was also a surprising name in the mix on the Topps Heritage checklist.
This guy.
Phil Regan was a starting pitcher for the 1957 Durham Bulls. It was a great year for the team. Future Tigers outfielder Bubba Morton broke the color barrier for the Bulls franchise, and the team won the Carolina League championship defeating the High Point Hi-Toms led by Dallas Green. It's hard to believe 64 years later, players on the team are still appearing on baseball cards.
Sure, Regan played on some good teams with the Tigers, Dodgers, and Cubs, but look at the second line of the stats.....
This card is exactly the same as the actual 1972 Topps Phil Regan card. I never realized that this set had Minor League playing stats for veteran players. A bit of a rarity, but I checked out a few other former Durham Bulls players and they also had their Minor League stats listed. Might have to go find the former Durham Bulls in this set at some point.
A. This card is awesome. I need to try and hunt down a few of these signatures, because combined with this design they look fantastic.
ReplyDeleteB. I remember reading about Regan on a blog before. Maybe a Dodger collector blog? But probably one of the Cub collectors.
I like the older players that Heritage includes on the autograph checklists who have a good story, but weren't stars or even necessarily notable players. Regan was never a great player, but he's popular. I wouldn't be surprised if he appeared on both a Dodgers and Cubs blog.
DeleteGreat looking card! Is Heritage not calling these Real One Autographs anymore?
ReplyDeleteI think they still are called that, but I did not call it that in the post. My other card writing gig requires all those details, sometimes I skip them here.
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