Forget about who did it or any Oliver Stone conspiracy nonsense and just embrace the notion that things were awful without him but they could have been even worse if he'd stuck around. Be careful what you wish for is all I'm saying.
Nine players on the field, nine pockets to a page. Coincidence? Probably.
Showing posts with label JFK. Show all posts
Showing posts with label JFK. Show all posts
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Has anyone ever wondered...
...that maybe JFK had it coming?
Friday, July 4, 2014
Third Times The Charm.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Freedom.
As every media outlet in the universe has no doubt let you know, today is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
You will be inundated with remembrances, retrospectives, theories, and conspiracies about every aspect of this event. As I have said before, I do not want to lament anyone's death, I would rather celebrate how they lived. And boy, did JFK live. Plus, what gets lost most of all in the canonization of the man and the lunatic myth-making of his death is all the actual stuff he did. I think if you asked the average American about any of the legislation his presidency passed, most would give you a look akin to a dog being shown a card trick.
One thing JFK actually did was set the standard for the current Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is the highest civilian award in the United States. Earlier this week, President Obama awarded this year's recipients and one of them was Mr. Cub Ernie Banks. He is the ninth Major League baseball player to receive this medal. As a change of pace today, let's look at all those winners, shall we?
Ernie Banks 2013
Poor Ernie not only never got to play in the postseason, he had to receive his medal from a White Sox fan...he probably deserved better than that.
Stan Musial 2011
Musial was in the navy in WWII (as you can see in the card in the middle first row) and you would be hard pressed to find a better ambassador for baseball than The Man.
Buck O'Neil 2006
OK, I take that back, Buck O'Neil might be the best ambassador for baseball ever. He played in the Negro Leagues from 1937 until basically the Negro Leagues stopped being a thing. He then was a scout for the Cubs (and helped them sign the aforementioned Ernie Banks) and was even the first African-American coach in the majors. But Buck O'Neil became an icon late in life thanks to Ken Burns' documentary series Baseball. If a 20+ hour film can have a star, Buck was it. His knowledge and enthusiasm for baseball permeate the whole project and every moment he is on the screen is a joy.
Frank Robinson 2005
Frank Robinson is simply the most underrated baseball player of all time. His numbers somehow get lost in the shuffle, even though they are gargantuan. He also was the first African American manager in the majors when he took the reins of the Indians in 1975. Plus, if you ever want to ask a tricky trivia question, hit them with "Who was the first black manager in the National League?" because the answer is also Frank Robinson.
Roberto Clemente 2003
I have covered Roberto Clemente before on this blog. If you don't understand why Roberto would get this award, you don't understand either.
Hank Aaron 2002
For all the scrutiny today's athletes say they have to endure, did any man have to put up with more nonsense while just trying to play a game than Hank Aaron? And given those circumstances, could he have acted more humble and classy? I think not. America owes a huge apology to Hank Aaron and I like to think this award was part of that.
Ted Williams 1991
I snarkily celebrated Teddy Ballgame recently but really, to be honest, there is no way to overstate Williams' credentials as an American Badass: Maybe the greatest hitter of all time. Maybe the greatest fly fisherman of all time. Flew combat missions in two different wars. Used his Hall of Fame speech as a call to have Negro League players enshrined. I mean, John Wayne based his voice and cadence after him for crying out loud. What is more American than that?
Jackie Robinson 1984
That it took until 1984 to give Jackie Robinson this honor is kind of outrageous, don't you think? Shouldn't he have been on the short list, like, the very first year?
Joe DiMaggio 1977
It proves that people were always kinda overestimating the value of Joe DiMaggio as he was the first baseball player to receive the Medal of Freedom. That said, you have to remember that sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Dividing The Myth, The Man, and The Player out of Joe D is almost impossible, so you kinda just have to go with it - and it seems history and pop culture always have when it comes to him. Plus, you gotta figure since he was married to Marilyn Monroe for a short time, he and JFK had a lot more in common than we'd all care to think about.
You will be inundated with remembrances, retrospectives, theories, and conspiracies about every aspect of this event. As I have said before, I do not want to lament anyone's death, I would rather celebrate how they lived. And boy, did JFK live. Plus, what gets lost most of all in the canonization of the man and the lunatic myth-making of his death is all the actual stuff he did. I think if you asked the average American about any of the legislation his presidency passed, most would give you a look akin to a dog being shown a card trick.
One thing JFK actually did was set the standard for the current Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is the highest civilian award in the United States. Earlier this week, President Obama awarded this year's recipients and one of them was Mr. Cub Ernie Banks. He is the ninth Major League baseball player to receive this medal. As a change of pace today, let's look at all those winners, shall we?
Ernie Banks 2013
Poor Ernie not only never got to play in the postseason, he had to receive his medal from a White Sox fan...he probably deserved better than that.
Stan Musial 2011
Musial was in the navy in WWII (as you can see in the card in the middle first row) and you would be hard pressed to find a better ambassador for baseball than The Man.
Buck O'Neil 2006
OK, I take that back, Buck O'Neil might be the best ambassador for baseball ever. He played in the Negro Leagues from 1937 until basically the Negro Leagues stopped being a thing. He then was a scout for the Cubs (and helped them sign the aforementioned Ernie Banks) and was even the first African-American coach in the majors. But Buck O'Neil became an icon late in life thanks to Ken Burns' documentary series Baseball. If a 20+ hour film can have a star, Buck was it. His knowledge and enthusiasm for baseball permeate the whole project and every moment he is on the screen is a joy.
Frank Robinson 2005
Frank Robinson is simply the most underrated baseball player of all time. His numbers somehow get lost in the shuffle, even though they are gargantuan. He also was the first African American manager in the majors when he took the reins of the Indians in 1975. Plus, if you ever want to ask a tricky trivia question, hit them with "Who was the first black manager in the National League?" because the answer is also Frank Robinson.
Roberto Clemente 2003
I have covered Roberto Clemente before on this blog. If you don't understand why Roberto would get this award, you don't understand either.
Hank Aaron 2002
For all the scrutiny today's athletes say they have to endure, did any man have to put up with more nonsense while just trying to play a game than Hank Aaron? And given those circumstances, could he have acted more humble and classy? I think not. America owes a huge apology to Hank Aaron and I like to think this award was part of that.
Ted Williams 1991
I snarkily celebrated Teddy Ballgame recently but really, to be honest, there is no way to overstate Williams' credentials as an American Badass: Maybe the greatest hitter of all time. Maybe the greatest fly fisherman of all time. Flew combat missions in two different wars. Used his Hall of Fame speech as a call to have Negro League players enshrined. I mean, John Wayne based his voice and cadence after him for crying out loud. What is more American than that?
Jackie Robinson 1984
That it took until 1984 to give Jackie Robinson this honor is kind of outrageous, don't you think? Shouldn't he have been on the short list, like, the very first year?
Joe DiMaggio 1977
It proves that people were always kinda overestimating the value of Joe DiMaggio as he was the first baseball player to receive the Medal of Freedom. That said, you have to remember that sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Dividing The Myth, The Man, and The Player out of Joe D is almost impossible, so you kinda just have to go with it - and it seems history and pop culture always have when it comes to him. Plus, you gotta figure since he was married to Marilyn Monroe for a short time, he and JFK had a lot more in common than we'd all care to think about.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Check This Box.
I subscribe to the same theory about politics as some do religion, and it goes something like this:
Religion is like a penis.
It's fine to have one.
It's fine to be proud of it.
But please don't whip it out in public and start waving it around.
And please don't try to shove it down my children's throats.
This time of year we all get sick of the politics, sick of the partisan fighting, sick of the attack ads, sick of the canned pandering, even sick of people being sick of politics. It is just one of those things; it's why you don't talk about it in polite society. And I completely understand those who hate the political process. But it is quite easy to avoid it. You don't have to watch the debate. You can change the channel if commercials come on. You can change the subject if someone starts a conversation about it. Most of us know how we feel without the constant bombardment. And I respect all that. But there is one thing you must do and that is be part of the process one way or another. That means you should get out and vote - or even don't vote - and do so for a reason. A lot of folks with say "you have to vote!" but I disagree. If your reason not to vote is grounded in logic (ie, I hate these candidates) and not ignorance, I am with you. We all wish the election cycle would shorten and the rhetoric would improve. We all would like the candidates to not start at the extremes and work towards the middle. In the end, we all get the candidates we deserve. This is part of the process. And a messy process it is. I vote in every election I can - primaries, school board, dog catcher, whatever. But to each their own.
OK, that rambling rant is now over - for now. What I am gonna do here is pull out my presidential themed cards. First is not only my favorite page of political cards, but one of my favorite pages in my entire collection:
This is from the 1956 Topps Presidents set. Since these cards are well loved, I picked them up for a song a long time ago. These cards are fantastic. Those beards are fantastic. Why don't more candidates wear awesome hipster style facial hair? I would totally vote for the first one who has a handlebar mustache and a sweet set of mutton chops. My hat is now in the political ring.
We now jump ahead five decades to some more recent offerings:
Much like most people seemed to warm up to Jimmy Carter years after he left office, I have grown fond of George Bush senior in recent years. He was a pretty interesting dude, I just don't think he ever should have been president (and the less said about his kid, the better). The ones on the bottom there are from the last presidential cycle.
Here is more of a mishmash of political cards:
These also have more of a sports theme. Those cards of the presidents throwing out the first pitch are from the 1994 Baseball set from the Ken Burns Baseball documentary. I have this whole set in piecemeal form, it was just broken up and I have been too lazy to put it back together again (cue Humpty Dumpty reference). On this page you also will see more than a few JFK cards. This will at least begin to tell you where my political leanings go.
In 2007 and 2008, Topps was obsessed with these political cards, I assembled a little frankenpage of them here:
You have presidents and signers of both the Declaration of Independence and Constitution on this page. You also have Bill Clinton yet again throwing out the first pitch in a Cleveland Indians jacket. Is that the only team he threw out the first pitch for? Here is a good piece of trivia, William Howard Taft was the first president to throw out the first pitch at a major league game. And John Hancock is on here twice, because he should be. Most people know about his huge signature, and those people usually even know why. But if you don't know how badass John Hancock was overall, go look him up, don't worry, I'll wait.
OK, so I have kept things pretty straight and narrow, but here, I am gonna get back up on my soapbox and shove it down your throats a little:
I am unabashedly and unapologetically liberal. Socially, economically, and morally, all of my leanings go very left. I got up and out of the house this morning at 8:30 to vote and I voted for Barack Obama. Has he been perfect? No. Does he deserve four more years? Yes. He has stuck by his guns and stayed true to most of his promises. I would like to see him finish the job. I lived in Massachusetts for 12 years. I saw Mitt Romney at the embryonic stage of his political career when he ran against Ted Kennedy. Back then he ran as a pro-choice, pro-gun control, pro-health care candidate. He did the same when he ran for governor years later (and won). Now, on the national stage, he has switched (or as the GOP loves to say, flip flopped) to reflect the more radical edges of his party. No one really knows who Mitt Romney is. Well, except for all that pro-business corporate pirating he does...on that, he has never wavered. The republicans have nominated the very kind of candidate they used to eviscerate. For this reason alone, I could never vote for them or him. Back in the 1960's, the democrats were highjacked by the very liberal factions of the anti-war hippie types. Now, the GOP has been taken over by the far right tea party lunatics and I believe until they get their house in order and refocus on what has been their very conservative yet very populist platform (see: Ronald Reagan), they will be doomed to lose as the democrats were in the 1960's (I mean, they lost to Richard Nixon twice). Anyway, that is my two cents about this election. I promise not to have any more political content until next November.
Religion is like a penis.
It's fine to have one.
It's fine to be proud of it.
But please don't whip it out in public and start waving it around.
And please don't try to shove it down my children's throats.
This time of year we all get sick of the politics, sick of the partisan fighting, sick of the attack ads, sick of the canned pandering, even sick of people being sick of politics. It is just one of those things; it's why you don't talk about it in polite society. And I completely understand those who hate the political process. But it is quite easy to avoid it. You don't have to watch the debate. You can change the channel if commercials come on. You can change the subject if someone starts a conversation about it. Most of us know how we feel without the constant bombardment. And I respect all that. But there is one thing you must do and that is be part of the process one way or another. That means you should get out and vote - or even don't vote - and do so for a reason. A lot of folks with say "you have to vote!" but I disagree. If your reason not to vote is grounded in logic (ie, I hate these candidates) and not ignorance, I am with you. We all wish the election cycle would shorten and the rhetoric would improve. We all would like the candidates to not start at the extremes and work towards the middle. In the end, we all get the candidates we deserve. This is part of the process. And a messy process it is. I vote in every election I can - primaries, school board, dog catcher, whatever. But to each their own.
OK, that rambling rant is now over - for now. What I am gonna do here is pull out my presidential themed cards. First is not only my favorite page of political cards, but one of my favorite pages in my entire collection:
This is from the 1956 Topps Presidents set. Since these cards are well loved, I picked them up for a song a long time ago. These cards are fantastic. Those beards are fantastic. Why don't more candidates wear awesome hipster style facial hair? I would totally vote for the first one who has a handlebar mustache and a sweet set of mutton chops. My hat is now in the political ring.
We now jump ahead five decades to some more recent offerings:
Much like most people seemed to warm up to Jimmy Carter years after he left office, I have grown fond of George Bush senior in recent years. He was a pretty interesting dude, I just don't think he ever should have been president (and the less said about his kid, the better). The ones on the bottom there are from the last presidential cycle.
Here is more of a mishmash of political cards:
These also have more of a sports theme. Those cards of the presidents throwing out the first pitch are from the 1994 Baseball set from the Ken Burns Baseball documentary. I have this whole set in piecemeal form, it was just broken up and I have been too lazy to put it back together again (cue Humpty Dumpty reference). On this page you also will see more than a few JFK cards. This will at least begin to tell you where my political leanings go.
In 2007 and 2008, Topps was obsessed with these political cards, I assembled a little frankenpage of them here:
You have presidents and signers of both the Declaration of Independence and Constitution on this page. You also have Bill Clinton yet again throwing out the first pitch in a Cleveland Indians jacket. Is that the only team he threw out the first pitch for? Here is a good piece of trivia, William Howard Taft was the first president to throw out the first pitch at a major league game. And John Hancock is on here twice, because he should be. Most people know about his huge signature, and those people usually even know why. But if you don't know how badass John Hancock was overall, go look him up, don't worry, I'll wait.
OK, so I have kept things pretty straight and narrow, but here, I am gonna get back up on my soapbox and shove it down your throats a little:
I am unabashedly and unapologetically liberal. Socially, economically, and morally, all of my leanings go very left. I got up and out of the house this morning at 8:30 to vote and I voted for Barack Obama. Has he been perfect? No. Does he deserve four more years? Yes. He has stuck by his guns and stayed true to most of his promises. I would like to see him finish the job. I lived in Massachusetts for 12 years. I saw Mitt Romney at the embryonic stage of his political career when he ran against Ted Kennedy. Back then he ran as a pro-choice, pro-gun control, pro-health care candidate. He did the same when he ran for governor years later (and won). Now, on the national stage, he has switched (or as the GOP loves to say, flip flopped) to reflect the more radical edges of his party. No one really knows who Mitt Romney is. Well, except for all that pro-business corporate pirating he does...on that, he has never wavered. The republicans have nominated the very kind of candidate they used to eviscerate. For this reason alone, I could never vote for them or him. Back in the 1960's, the democrats were highjacked by the very liberal factions of the anti-war hippie types. Now, the GOP has been taken over by the far right tea party lunatics and I believe until they get their house in order and refocus on what has been their very conservative yet very populist platform (see: Ronald Reagan), they will be doomed to lose as the democrats were in the 1960's (I mean, they lost to Richard Nixon twice). Anyway, that is my two cents about this election. I promise not to have any more political content until next November.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Complete Set Sunday - Topps American Pie
Complete Set Sunday examines the completed sets that got to stay in my collection and why - a pretty self explanatory exercise. Today's edition, brought to you on an early Monday morning (oh well), will look at 2001 & 2002 Topps American Pie.
I have seen more than a few debates on card blogs over the years about who exactly the audience for pop culture cards is. Lemme tell ya, I am. The trivia nerd and history buff who loves pictures of stuff on cardboard. I mean, I love to see Gary Carter or David Wright on a card, but to mix it up and put Marilyn Monroe? or Jimi Hendrix? or General Ambrose Burnside? Now you're talkin'!
Topps has a long history with non-sports cards. Be it movie tie-ins, or wacky stuff like Garbage Pail Kids or Mars Attacks, or the Beatles, or Evel Knievel, or Charlie's Angels...they have all had Topps sets. So in 2001, when Topps decided to meld baseball and pop culture, I was intrigued. When I got a JFK piece of Berlin Wall in the second pack I ever opened, I was hooked. I immediately bought a box of the stuff and gobbled up packs when I was in the mood.
It very nicely wove pictures of 60's and 70's baseball icons - mostly new pictures too, diving into those Topps Photo Archives we keep hearing about but seem to see less and less of over the years...
...with people and events from the same period. It was a well designed and well executed set with a specific audience (the Baby Boomers). I never did get the Elvis leather jacket piece I craved (and it is always too pricy on ebay) but I have always been pleased with this set.
Oh and it turns out, not only is the "Sunday" part a lie this week, the "complete set" part is too. I discover every year or two when I look at this set that I am missing a few cards. Those three devious cards have been added to my newly updated wantlist.
Anyway, 2002 brought a second American Pie set, and as usual with Topps, they got more and less specific at the same time and thus the message was muddled. The baseball part they got right, once again going with rarely seen pictures of retired stars.
They all got little subsets too, like Courage and Perseverance and Innovation and why they chose those players for that description was written up on the back. It was a nice little hook.
The Pop Culture followed the same idea, with the little subset concept, but the choices were not as focused as the year before and all over the place...and with the Bazooka Joe card, a little self serving.
But overall, the 2002 set had some nice stuff and the inserts were once again interesting (if difficult to come by) and I put the whole set together to live side-by-side with the year before. But then 2003 brought a new wave of faux-vintage baseball sets - Fan Favorites, Retired - so American Pie got cut and didn't return until last year. When I sold off my sets, I decided to keep them and they have been in the same binder since I put them together. I liked the quirky choices and the different subject matters, so they got to stay.
2011 was a tough year all around in my life and I did not do a lot of collecting. But I did notice one day shopping at Target that they had brought back American Pie. I went on ebay and checked out the cards. Instead of building a set, I plucked off a couple lots and made a few themed pages:
Cool People:
Music: (dig that Zappa card)
And, um, other stuff I thought was neat:
The only real problem with this set was the lack of baseball players, it was just pop culture, which has been a real hit or miss category for the last few years, ie., Donruss Americana, Upper Deck A Piece of History, just to name a couple. I thought Topps did this kind of set much better with American Heritage, combining people with classic Topps baseball designs:
I should probably just break down and put this set together and include it in a future edition. Plus, the obligatory Chrome parallels are numbered to /1776; if only Topps would add nice little touches like that to sets more often.
I have seen more than a few debates on card blogs over the years about who exactly the audience for pop culture cards is. Lemme tell ya, I am. The trivia nerd and history buff who loves pictures of stuff on cardboard. I mean, I love to see Gary Carter or David Wright on a card, but to mix it up and put Marilyn Monroe? or Jimi Hendrix? or General Ambrose Burnside? Now you're talkin'!
Topps has a long history with non-sports cards. Be it movie tie-ins, or wacky stuff like Garbage Pail Kids or Mars Attacks, or the Beatles, or Evel Knievel, or Charlie's Angels...they have all had Topps sets. So in 2001, when Topps decided to meld baseball and pop culture, I was intrigued. When I got a JFK piece of Berlin Wall in the second pack I ever opened, I was hooked. I immediately bought a box of the stuff and gobbled up packs when I was in the mood.
It very nicely wove pictures of 60's and 70's baseball icons - mostly new pictures too, diving into those Topps Photo Archives we keep hearing about but seem to see less and less of over the years...
...with people and events from the same period. It was a well designed and well executed set with a specific audience (the Baby Boomers). I never did get the Elvis leather jacket piece I craved (and it is always too pricy on ebay) but I have always been pleased with this set.
Oh and it turns out, not only is the "Sunday" part a lie this week, the "complete set" part is too. I discover every year or two when I look at this set that I am missing a few cards. Those three devious cards have been added to my newly updated wantlist.
Anyway, 2002 brought a second American Pie set, and as usual with Topps, they got more and less specific at the same time and thus the message was muddled. The baseball part they got right, once again going with rarely seen pictures of retired stars.
They all got little subsets too, like Courage and Perseverance and Innovation and why they chose those players for that description was written up on the back. It was a nice little hook.
The Pop Culture followed the same idea, with the little subset concept, but the choices were not as focused as the year before and all over the place...and with the Bazooka Joe card, a little self serving.
But overall, the 2002 set had some nice stuff and the inserts were once again interesting (if difficult to come by) and I put the whole set together to live side-by-side with the year before. But then 2003 brought a new wave of faux-vintage baseball sets - Fan Favorites, Retired - so American Pie got cut and didn't return until last year. When I sold off my sets, I decided to keep them and they have been in the same binder since I put them together. I liked the quirky choices and the different subject matters, so they got to stay.
2011 was a tough year all around in my life and I did not do a lot of collecting. But I did notice one day shopping at Target that they had brought back American Pie. I went on ebay and checked out the cards. Instead of building a set, I plucked off a couple lots and made a few themed pages:
Cool People:
Music: (dig that Zappa card)
And, um, other stuff I thought was neat:
The only real problem with this set was the lack of baseball players, it was just pop culture, which has been a real hit or miss category for the last few years, ie., Donruss Americana, Upper Deck A Piece of History, just to name a couple. I thought Topps did this kind of set much better with American Heritage, combining people with classic Topps baseball designs:
I should probably just break down and put this set together and include it in a future edition. Plus, the obligatory Chrome parallels are numbered to /1776; if only Topps would add nice little touches like that to sets more often.
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