Wednesday, June 16, 2021

just for the thrills of it

i've decided to go ahead and complete the 1961 topps baseball thrills subset. it's a 10-card subset in one of the later series of the set, and includes some interesting players and accomplishments. i coveted the lou gehrig card from a young age, and finally added it to my collection in the early 2000's. the most recent card i've acquired from the set is the mickey mantle card, but i still have a few to track down.  here are the cards i have

403 - brooklyn-boston play 26-inning tie
i have one of these in my dodger team set since leon cadore is featured
of course, the dodgers weren't the dodgers in 1920, they were the robins. still, a 26 inning tie is something to be marveled at, even 50 years ago. while it is still possible, it is highly unlikely that there will be a 26-inning game today given the fact that extra innings begin with a runner on second. i don't care for that rule.

404 - hornsby tops nl with .424 average
nevermind that it looks like hornsby is playing at wimbledon, this was one of the first cards from this subset that i obtained
hornsby's .424 average is the highest in the post-dead ball era. he is still the only national league player to win five batting titles in a row - tony gwynn came close by winning four in a row in the 1990's.

405 - gehrig benched after 2,130 games
like hornsby's card, i coveted this one from the day i first learned about it until the day i picked up this copy. i don't exactly recall when i added this card, but it was around 2000 or so.
i find it interesting that these backs feature text that was meant to reflect the real-time occurrence of these events. it is somewhat sad to read this one knowing that it wasn't going to be just "a day or two" - gehrig would never play in another game.

406 - mantle blasts 565 ft home run
i wrote about this one not too long ago...
so i don't have much to add, other than i recently checked to see what the longest homerun hit in the "statcast" era was, and it looks like there have been a couple of 505 foot dingers.

407 - jack chesbro wins 41st game
quick - who did chesbro pitch for?
i wouldn't have known it was the yankees except for the fact that he won 41 games and as such was someone that i read about as a young fan. chesbro is the only man to win as many as 41 games after the 19th century. there was only one other (ed walsh) to win 40, and the next highest total for a pitcher since 1900 is 37 by christy mathewson in 1908.  speaking of whom...

408 - mathewson strikes out 267 batters
i am a fan of christy mathewson, but this card confused me when i first learned about it, and it confuses me still
267 strikeouts was something that a national league pitcher had not accomplished since mathewson in 1903 when this card was issued (sandy koufax broke mathewson's league record in 1961 as a matter of fact), but that is not the point of this card. it is strange to me that this was considered for the subset when mathewson's american league counterpart that same season, rube waddell, struck out 303 batters. i guess the thrill is greater in new york than it is in philadelphia.

here's the full subset checklist, with the cards i own in strikethrough text

401 - babe ruth hits 60th homer
402 - larsen pitches perfect game
403 - brooklyn-boston play 26-inning tie
404 - hornsby tops nl with .424 average
405 - gehrig benched after 2,130 games
406 - mantle blasts 565 ft home run
407 - jack chesbro wins 41st game
408 - mathewson strikes out 267 batters
409 - johnson hurls 3rd shutout in 4 days
410 - haddix pitches 12 perfect innings

half of the set features yankee players. go figure. anyway, i have six of these cards which means i am over halfway there! i'll share the others (assuming i complete this endeavor) in the future.

12 comments:

  1. So both starting pitchers pitched all 26 innings? Dang.

    Yes, the new rule is stupid.

    Mathewson was a first ballot Hall of Famer. Waddell needed the Veterans Committee.

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    1. you are probably right about why topps went with mathewson instead of hubbell for this subset.

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  2. I own a few of these, but don't have the Hornsby, which in my opinion is the best looking card from the set.

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    1. each of these cards have their own appeal, for sure. are you going to try to complete the subset too?

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  3. That's a cool looking set, even if it's Yankee-centric

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    1. matt, your comment could apply to a great many sets!

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  4. Don Larsen did the show autograph circuit for a while, it was an easy call to select #402 for him to sign. One of the highlights of my '61 set!

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  5. I should really put some effort into adding a few more of these into my collection as well. I love the few little "throwback" subsets Topps added to a few of their '60s and '70s sets.

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    1. I am hoping for an all time record holder subset in next year's heritage.

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  6. These are really cool. I've seen the Gehrig before, but never thought to look up the other cards in this subset. Best of luck tracking down the final four.

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    1. Thanks Fuji. The Ruth will probably be the toughest to find at a decent price.

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