A Giant Project Update #11

This is the giantest of Topps Giant updates. It has taken me awhile to assemble this set. Long than I thought, but I think that it actually helped to collect the tough short-prints and expensive Hall of Famers first. Since my last update in February, I have been able to find another 8 cards to cross off the checklist. Yes, there are short-prints in this post and Hall of Famers, but most were nowhere near the cost of the Mantle and Mays cards.

After my last post, I was closing in on the 2/3 mark for the set with 37 of the 60 cards. In the last month, I have brought that total up to 45. 

A quick look at the new cards.

First up is Kansas City A's infielder Wayne Causey. 

This was one of the short-prints that I still had leftover on the checklist. Causey was a glove-first, light hitting utility infielder. There are multiple Hall of Famers in this post and Wayne Causey cost more than all of them combined. If I were not putting together the set, this is a card I would 100% not purchase. At those moments where I thought about quitting on this set, Wayne Causey always flashed through my head.  

"Would I buy a really expensive Mark Lemke card?"

I will get back to you. 

Wayne Causey's career year involved him finishing twelfth in the American League batting average leaders. I am not really sure that is the type of statistic and brag you want on the back of your baseball card.  I guess it's better than saying he finished 21st in MVP voting that season. I think Topps could have squeezed it in: 

"Wayne just missed out on the American League MVP in 1963, finishing just a mere 243 points behind Yankees catcher, Elston Howard" 

Yes, this card cost a fraction of Wayne Causey.

Frank Robinson.  

This Frank Robinson guy seemed really good. I am not going to go look it up, but the Reds would be foolish if they ever traded him.

 

Pete Ward is an interesting player. He won the 1963 American League Rookie of the Year Award. Ward was a legit hitter with a .290s average, 25-30 doubles, and roughly 25 home runs in his first year or two in the Majors. He hurt his back and neck in a bad car accident after his second year and was never quite the same. Still, the guy is in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. 

Ward still stuck around the Majors for a decade after injury, mostly with the White Sox. He played his last season as a left-handed bat off the bench for the Yankees. The back undersells his father a bit, which is the reason why I knew of Pete Ward before buying the card. 

Way back in the day, there was an antique store in my wife's hometown in northern Michigan that had a spattering of sports cards and memorabilia. It was next to the town's incredible coffee shop. One of the items in the store was an autographed photo and old O-Pee-Chee card of a Montreal Maroons hockey player, Jimmy Ward. I am not good with old hockey players, but the price for the two items was outrageous. 

I went home and Google searched the guy.  

Not mine, nor the items at the store, but he was a member of the popular 1934-1935 Montreal Maroons Stanley Cup winner.   

The card below is from Google. I don't buy hockey cards for hundreds of dollars. Nothing says popular Canadian sports star like appearing in an advertisement for syrup. Pretty dapper guy for a professional hockey player from the old days when they did not wear helmets. Although, maybe there is a reason his mouth is shut. 

Back to baseball cards.  

Not a Hall of Famer, but definitely a great of the era. I think he might have been one of the few players to appear for both the Minnesota version of the Washington Senators and the Texas Rangers version of the Washington Senators.  

The back describes his skill on the mound. His playing numbers are solid. 

Camilo was also a notable scout for the Mets, A's, and Dodgers following his retirement. Camilo convinced Cuban refugee Jose Canseco to sign with the A's, while also suggesting the team draft USC infielder/pitcher Mark McGwire. He also found a 15 year-old Tampa high school pitcher, Dwight Gooden, for the Mets. The majority of Latin American Dodgers players from the 1990s and early 2000s were discovered and signed by Camilo Pascal.  

Next. 

Heard this guy ended up on the Reds at some point. 

I hope the Orioles got a good return.  

The card is off-center. Although, in the grand scheme of things, this is a really inexpensive Roberto Clemente card. I might revisit this one at some point in the future. For the moment, I will take it.  

I feel the need to make a post ranting about Topps use of "Bob" in Roberto Clemente cards. 

Another really inexpensive Hall of Famer.  

Finally a Topps Giants card talking about an established Major League players Minor League career. This set has tons of cards were parts of the back are taken up by their Minor League numbers. This is the first card in this post. The PCL was serious baseball. The Sally League? Yikes. Someone was reaching.  

Final card.  

Dodger great Tommy Davis.  

Yes, Tommy Davis has two batting titles and helped get the Dodgers to the World Series, but here is something about his time with the Spokane Indians. 

 

Eight more cards crossed off and I am at 75% of the set. Two Hall of Famers left and no short-prints. 

1 Gary Peters
2 Ken Johnson
3 Sandy Koufax SP
4 Bob Bailey
5 Milt Pappas
6 Ron Hunt
7 Whitey Ford
8 Roy McMillan
9 Rocky Colavito
10 Jim Bunning
11 Roberto Clemente
12 Al Kaline
13 Nellie Fox
14 Tony Gonzalez
15 Jim Gentile
16 Dean Chance
17 Dick Ellsworth
18 Jim Fregosi
19 Dick Groat
20 Chuck Hinton
21 Elston Howard
22 Dick Farrell
23 Albie Pearson
24 Frank Howard
25 Mickey Mantle
26 Joe Torre
27 Ed Brinkman
28 Bob Friend SP
29 Frank Robinson
30 Bill Freehan
31 Warren Spahn
32 Camilo Pascual
33 Pete Ward
34 Jim Maloney
35 Dave Wickersham
36 Johnny Callison
37 Juan Marichal
38 Harmon Killebrew
39 Luis Aparicio
40 Dick Radatz
41 Bob Gibson
42 Dick Stuart SP
43 Tommy Davis
44 Tony Oliva
45 Wayne Causey SP
46 Max Alvis
47 Galen Cisco SP
48 Carl Yastrzemski
49 Hank Aaron
50 Brooks Robinson
51 Willie Mays SP
52 Billy Williams
53 Juan Pizarro
54 Leon Wagner
55 Orlando Cepeda
56 Vada Pinson
57 Ken Boyer
58 Ron Santo
59 Johnny Romano
60 Bill Skowron SP