Top 5 Indianapolis Indians Number Fives

I started this blog post with a mission: finish out the Indianapolis Indians type posts. They're a minor league organization with major league commitment to card quality, especially during the 1970s, a decade of typically poor card stock and middling black-and-white photos. So I checked my type list, warmed up my keyboard, and Googled 'topps harry spilman.' This is a "tobacco card" I expected to write about in support of 1979's type card.

But surprise surprise, it turned out I'd already profiled Spilman's spot on the 1979 Indianapolis AAA roster. Huh. OK, maybe I forgot one of the other four guys with big league dreams. But no, they were all there.

1976 team set #5, Joe Henderson:

1977 team set #5, Tom Hume:

1978 team set #5, Mike LaCoss:

1979 team set #5, Harry Spilman:

Badass cards photos aren't just for MLB players. Spilman says, 'toss that 85 fastball up here and I'll prove it doesn't belong in the park.'

1980 team set #5, Joe Price:

Huh, I've already covered them all. Oh well.

TRIVIA: All of these guys made the jump from Indianapolis to the bigs as Cincinnati Reds. Mike LaCoss had the longest career (14 years) and also made an All-Star team in 1979. Many years later, he also did the Ice Bucket Challenge.

For reasons unknown, Indianapolis put extra effort into their 1970s team sets, printing in full color where most teams settled for black-and-white. I surmise someone in Indy's promo department had latitude to fund the sets and they might've done well at the souvenir stands.

Value: While all future MLB vets, none of their minor league cards command above-average prices, so would run $2-3 bought individually.

Fakes / reprints: Haven't seen any in the marketplace, but sometimes you forget that you already blogged about Harry Spilman once, so then you try to do it again. It worked out OK.

1967-68 Coca-Cola Minnesota Twins Baseball Crowns #5, Jim Perry

1960s-70s hurler Jim Perry won 215 career games, placing him in the top 100 all-time, but it's vogue in some baseball circles to re-examine the single-mindedness of wins and update how we value the men credited with them. For example, where does a starter like Jim, pitching in the era of 4-man rotations and multiple expansions, rate compare to today's 6-7 inning pitcher? And did he prove most deserving of the "win?" Whatever you think of Ws and Ls, SABR's Origin of the Modern Pitching Win does a great job laying out the "long, tortured history" of these stats.

But! No amount of words can wipe the name Perry from our statistical record, especially when younger and winning-er brother Gaylord joins the conversation. Between Jim (215) and Gaylord (314), 529 opponents hit the showers in defeat. That's a lot of smiling in the Perry households.

Today's type "card" is what it looks like, a soda bottle cap that sealed 1960s glass bottles of Coke or its related brands. You can also discern right away that the undersides of these Coke crowns are so small, you barely have room for a face and a name. "M5" tells you this is cap #5 from the M(innesota) team set and "P" tells you Perry is a pitcher.

Jim's floating head style reappears on cards and collectibles from time-to-time. The easiest place to find them on cards are Topps league leaders and some teams. The Cubs, for example, often omitted an "annual photo" -- and no group photo meant floating heads. Chicago looked like this for much of the 1970s.

1977 Topps #518, Chicago Cubs

My ode to the floating head, that side effect of too little space for too much baseball player.

Fly free, fly clear. Look to horizons unconsidered, celebrate your lightness of being. Be yourself, be alive, be unexpected. Be Joe Pepitone's sideburns.

Coca-Cola put a lot of floating heads under bottle crowns in 1967 and 1968, matching collections of teams and all-stars to promotional posters like this one. Buy enough soda and you could swap crowns for (cheap) baseballs or ball caps.

I cross-posted this poster from The Fleer Sticker Project's terrific profile of Coke's promotion and its hand-in-glove arrangement with 1967's "Dexter Press photos." You should read it and feel completely informed.

Value: Perry cost me $3 on eBay. High grade stars cost somewhat more, but dinged-up crowns can be a cheap (25 cents) way to start 1960s oddball collecting.

Fakes / reprints: It'd be tough to fake Coke's crowns and none are pricey enough to merit the effort.

1961 Topps Check List : The Last Inning

Back in August 2013, I broke down each 1961 Topps checklist, linking their action photo to specific 1960 contests. To catch you up--and remind myself--here's the full list, with an example shot of Ernie Banks sliding into second.

1961 Topps #361, Series 5 Check List

To refresh our minds and set the context, here are the games I matched to each photo.

• #17 Checklist 1 : June 9 (Cubs / Pirates)
• #98 Checklist 2 : July 24 (Cubs / Braves)
• #189 Checklist 3 : August 30 (Cubs / Reds)
• #272 Checklist 4 : June 9 (Cubs / Pirates)
• #361 Checklist 5 : August 27 (Cubs / Phillies) -- the Banks card above
• #437 Checklist 6 : August 9 (White Sox / Yankees)
• #516 Checklist 7 : August 31 (Cubs / Braves)

I spent a lot of time breaking down game action and checking box scores, but somehow forgot a photo on the card backs. Thanks to OldBaseball.com buddy Aaron for reminding me to flip over any 1961 checklist for another action shot.

The number circles vary from black to white, but the picture stays the same, checklist to checklist.

Where to begin.

That's a lefty fielder in his light (e.g., home) jersey cocked to throw next to a prostrate player with grayish jersey and black sleeves alongside an umpire in long sleeves. That's likely first base, given the outfield tarp behind all three.

UPDATE: I revised my concept of this play since original posting, as the outfield tarp makes this play at first base and not home plate, something I should've realized first time around.

So how much can we glean from a single, grainy snapshot? Let's start with the other checklists.

1961 Topps #17, Series 1 Check List

In my earlier post, I concluded Topps used two photos from the same game. Both of these Cubs vs. Pirates checklists appear to hail from an 11-3 Pittsburgh win at Wrigley Field on June 9, 1960.

1961 Topps #272, Series 4 Check List

If Topps used another photo from June 9 for the back, you need three matching elements.

1. Lefty Chicago first-baseman or pitcher covering first
2. Something that explains guy on his backside (runner slid, pickoff, sacrifice, etc.)
3. Pittsburgh runner attracting a throw at second

Let's save time by diving into the June 9, 1960 box score. Lefty Ed Bouchee played first for Chicago that day--so far, so good.

Not much happened early on, but that day's last inning is what we want. Pittsburgh started with two walks, followed by a Cubs error, as 3B Frank Thomas threw wide on a sacrifice attempt, gifting the Pirates a run and putting guys on second and third. Rocky Nelson walked, loading the bases. Then a strong candidate for our play happened.

Bill Virdon at-bat:  Reached on E3 (Ground Ball); Hoak Scores; Mazeroski to 3B; Nelson to 2B

It's not hard to imagine the Cubs 1B fumbling a grounder and then losing a race to first for the putout. If Virdon slid to avoid colliding with Bouchee (who was a big guy), Ed could've fired to second trying to catch Rocky Nelson, frozen mid-throw for the moment you see. Everybody safe and one fielding error to Chicago, immortalized hazily on a Topps card.

Trivia: if that's the play, our first base umpire is none other than HOFer Jocko Conlan.

Here's a better look at the real, chaw-filled Ed Bouchee. He's wearing a green warmup jacket under that jersey; it must've been a damp day.

1961 Topps #196, Ed Bouchee

Bonus trivia: Topps pulled Ed's card following an 1957 offseason arrest, so he's the "missing number" from 1958's checklist. As service to history, Bob Lemke created a custom 1958 #145 of Bouchee.

Bonus bonus trivia: Later in that same 9th inning, Bill Virdon scored with this Baseball-Reference play-by-play description: Virdon Steals Hm (uk-PR); Skinner Steals 2B.

I asked Baseball-Reference what "uk-PR" meant and they discovered it's a processing error for Retrosheet's event code "SBH(UR)" which means "steals home (unearned)." From what I can tell, it's triggered when runners steal home with two outs in the inning, as did Virdon. They plan to fix the processing error itself in the near future, which will fix other in-game "uk-PR" labels on the site. The more you know!

1976 Caruso Phoenix Giants Baseball #5, Skip James

In my last post (Carlos Lopez), I lamented how card maker Caruso picked green bunting for a 1976 bicentennial team set, when the situation obviously called for red. Ugh.

It's only now that I realize: I'd forgotten about this post from 2013.

Orange bunting and beige player.

I also forgot this other post from 2013.

Red bunting! But green player.

Is Caruso never going to put all the pieces together for today's PCL team, starring Skip James?

No, they will not. Red bunting and yellow player.

1976 Hostess, Garvey/Rader/Blue

Unlike the forthrightly patriotic 1976 Hostess, "red, white, and blue" never quite happened for Caruso. On behalf of America, I will accept it and move on.

Skip served five years in the Phoenix heat and had already been a Giants 1975 type card. After two brief stints with SF, he emigrated to Japanese pro clubs in the 1980s, like a growing number of guys who couldn't find steady MLB work. I haven't heard if Pacific Coast players were more likely to try Japan than their Atlantic equivalents, but can see how it'd be easier to transfer fan interest overseas, given the larger Japanese communities in PCL cities.

Value: This Caruso #5 cost $12 from eBay, a purchase I waited a long time to pull the trigger on. Phoenix's team set includes a young Jack Clark and more future MLB players, so can cost more than others, maybe $25+.

Fakes / reprints: Haven't seen any Caruso reprints in the marketplace, though it's possible Jack Clark's card got this treatment during his heyday.

1976 Caruso Salt Lake City Gulls Baseball #5, Carlos Lopez

With my lengthy history as a Mariners fan, I should've gotten to know Carlos Lopez by now, but for some reason I haven't. I might've even known off the top of my head that he played 99 games for their 1977 expansion squad and was traded thereafter in a swap for pitcher Mike Parrott, but I didn't. Hmph.

1978 Topps #166, Carlos Lopez

Given this limited knowledge, my thanks to the 1978 Baseball blog for the (above) happy-go-lucky scan of Carlos Lopez and check out that powder blue Seattle expansion uni. The only way to make Carlos any bluer would be to print him entirely in blue ink. Which is what (below) today's type card did.

1976 Caruso SLC Gulls #5, Carlos Lopez (blank back)

Caruso printed a lot of 70s team sets and some render better than others. All that stars & stripes bunting is a fine nod to the 1976 USA bicentennial, but you need red bunting with the white card and blue player to complete its "AMERICA!" effect. All that green bunting puts me off my hot dogs and apple pie.

As a player, Carlos Lopez did a lot more than pose in blue and green. He played at least 17 seasons of pro baseball, starting as a fresh-faced Mexican Leaguer in 1969, "peaking" in the US as an Angel, Mariner, and Oriole (1977-79), and returning to the Mexican League for his 30s (1980-1985). His known career stats tells a story lived by many Latino players, who traveled far from home to follow their horsehide dreams.

Seattle Police postcard, Mike Parrott

Compared to Carlos, I know a lot more about aforementioned trade-mate Mike Parrott, who's still coaching in the PCL and "putting sanity to the test," as pitching coaches do in a league known for its hitter-friendly environments. Check out that linked article for a nice look at Mike's state of mind after 40+ years in pro ball.

Value: After years of watching eBay for Caruso singles, I nabbed Carlos in early 2019 for $2 + shipping. None of the 1976 SLC Gulls became a MLB star, so others should cost about the same.

Fakes / reprints: Caruso cards use thin white stock and were sold at ballparks in bagged, complete team sets. Haven't seen any Caruso fakery in the marketplace, but minor league cards of future star players are vulnerable to it, so be aware of that chance, if you prefer to purchase type cards of well-known players.

Fall 2015 Baseball Collectors Album

I end up downloading a lot of baseball pictures, and cards, and pictures of cards while planning posts here or on the Twitter @Number5TypeCard. Today's post spills those photos onto the blog table like a family album of summer and fall recollections.

World Wide Gum, a Canadian affiliate of Boston-based Goudey Gum, marketed their 1936 baseball set as "Play Ball Bubble Gum" and this is one of their ad placards. Still boggles my mind that a photo card + gum + wrapper + distribution could generate a profit on 1 cent.

Another 1930s throwback, this pair of fuzzy eBay scans come from the Goudey's obscure 1935 Knot Hole League Game set; see my relevant post for more. Fronts had the Cards/Tigers matchup from the 1934 World Series and backs had in-game plays. You were supposed to obtain enough of them to flip through a full game and keep score on the front. This flip game carried over to Goudey's 1936 set of black-and-white player photos.

"CAUGHT NAPPING BY A SIZZLING STRAIGHT PITCH." Vin Scully might still say this during broadcasts.

Play result cards for two 1933-34 Goudey Varsity Football, an older cousin to the Knot Hole League game set. Not easy to find, whether singles or lots.

This is a modern, made-for-collectors homage to the late-40s PCL team sets sponsored by San Francisco men's clothier Sommer & Kaufmann. It's not really a reprint, as those sets covered 1948-49 and I believe this is based on 1950 team photos of the SF Seals.

More pitchers from the Sommer & Kaufmann set. Give me a high leg kick over a static pose any day.

Rick(e)y Henderson's minor league RC is one of the hardest on my type list and this one auctioned for over $3K. I'd expect to spend $1K+ for one at any grade.

Found this terrific Wheaties panel of a leaping Joe DiMaggio right after the Supermoon Eclipse happened in late Sept. I love the moon-like color and composition here.

I tracked down a scan of this special 1962 Venezuelan #200 of "Little Louie" for context in my post on the last Venezuelan type I needed, 1968 NL HR Leaders #5. His regular Topps card is #325, but the Venezuelan set stopped at #200 that year, so the printer moved their local hero to an accommodating spot.

HOF Tris Speaker in a Boston uniform, but printed after his move to Cleveland. Note backwards photo and "IFC ©" in the lower-right corner, one of many peccadilloes for the 1916 W516 strip set. Still not satisfied that I (or the whole hobby) has an authoritative understanding of this set and its variations.

Bowman box panel for their early-1950s baseball packs. In this context, "inferior substitutes" meant that upstart Topps Gum company. Don't be deceived by kids wanting their big cards and star players! Buy more Bowman!

Grabbed this scan of Manny Mota as support for my 1951 Bowman #5 profile of Dale Mitchell. Many was great and this is a great card. Respect to the photographer for using a fill flash and killing the midday shadows under his helmet. Also check out that NL Centennial (1876-1976) patch on his sleeve.

Dale Mitchell Jr. holding his dad's 1953 Topps card, also for that 1951 post.

This is technically a #5, but it caught my attention for the HEY LADIES look. Not many cards with branded tank tops out there.

1930s Goudey Premium of Bill Swift. Cool work on the inverse text over his jacket and jersey.

TRIVIA: Two men named Bill Swift have played Major League baseball. They were both right-handed pitchers and finished with nearly identical records.

• Bill Swift, 1932-43: 95-82
• Bill Swift, 1985-98: 94-78

Baseball history: always new things to learn.

1968 Topps Venezuelan Baseball #5, NL HR Leaders (Hank Aaron, Jimmy Wynn, Ron Santo, Willie McCovey)

Hank Aaron, Jim "Toy Cannon" Wynn, Ron Santo, and Willie McCovey? This who's-who of late-60s power hitters holds a special place in my heart as the last vintage Venezuelan on my #5 wantlist. It's got tape stains, missing paper, and creases, but you can't tell me it ain't beautiful.

It was such a pitching-friendly era, these guys were the only four to hit 30+ homers in the National League that year. Most credit tall pitcher's mounds with those late-60s depressed power numbers, enough that 1969 saw a lowering of the mound to 10", the height still used today. More details on the mound's history at "Why are pitcher's mounds higher than the rest of the baseball field?"

Most surprising player in a high spot on that HR leaders list? HOF speedster Lou Brock, who managed a career-best 21 big flies that year, even as he led the NL with 52 steals.

Venezuelan backs don't scan well, so here's a closer look at the printing credit, "Hecho en Venezuela, C.A. Lithoven."

Topps executives kept tabs on the Central & South American baseball market throughout the 50s and 60s, so I assume their periodic licensing to local printers like Lithoven made financial sense, especially as more native sons entered the MLB, spurring more national interest. Their 1962 set, for example, included Venezuelan-only cards for Elio Chacon (see my 1962 set profile) and Luis Aparicio (below).

The 1968 Venezuelan set tops out at 370 cards, a few hundred less than America's version, with Mickey Mantle, Nolan Ryan (RC), and Johnny Bench (RC) being the biggest names.

The Topps Archives article El Fin de Invierno includes more scans and info about this final Topps parallel, but the short story is that no Venezuelan set attempted the match USA's card size and presentation after 1968. A few 1970s sets copied American player fronts, but as knock-offs rather than the real thing.

One question never answered about Topps Venezuelan sets is why they skipped years through the 1960s. Rumors persist--with me as a willing participant--that many Topps unsold packs found their way to Caracas, Venezuela candy stores in the years between their licensed printings of 1960-62-64-66-68. Reselling leftovers to a baseball-hungry country seems a lot more likely than dumping stock into a nearby waterway, as the story of 1952's high numbers goes (here's a version with Sy Berger commentary). We might never know for sure, as few Venezuelan collections survived to the present day.

Value: After failing to win an earlier #5 at auction for $120, I pulled the trigger on a Buy It Now listing for the same price. That seems high in retrospect for its low grade, but anything in nice shape would sell for many times that.

Fakes / reprints: Venezuelan are in demand from speciality collectors and used lower-quality materials, so are at higher risk of counterfeiting than USA-made cards. Try to buy type cards from experienced foreign collectors or dealers and get to know the different back colors and other printing peccadilloes so you're adding the right thing to your collection.

1977 Cramer Pacific Coast League Baseball #5, Bob Knepper

Do you like orange? Here's future big leaguer Bob Knepper, modeling a Dutch-orange hat against orange trim and orange borders. His card background shows a Southwestern staple, well-watered grass that ends at a fence line. This hints at an interesting question: do water costs pinch the ability of desert teams to compete with those in temperate cities?

Water issues didn't slow Phoenix in 1977, who finished with the PCL's best record, if by foggy statistical means. On one hand, the Giants' 732 BB and .382 OBP led the league. On the other, second place Salt Lake City (150) more than doubled Phoenix's league-worst homer total (67). Despite posting also-ran ratings in both hitting (.796 OPS) and pitching (6.02 runs/game), Phoenix overachieved with a .579 winning %, perhaps due to superlative work by manager Rocky Bridges.

Teams who get on base but can't hit homers usually blame the ballpark. Phoenix's 345-410-345 dimensions back that up, as do their league-leading triples (84), where long flies bounced off walls instead of over them. Bridges could've adapted his team's performance for the surroundings, working free bases where he couldn't expect big flies and turning them into enough runs to win more games than the average roster, but that remains speculative until we can enjoy fuller season-by-season histories for teams like the AAA Giants.

The MLB version of Knepper went on to become Houston's top lefty, winning 93 games as an Astro (1981-89) and garnering two All-Star selections. He also sparked 1988 controversy with a Sports Illustrated interview that criticized one of pro baseball's few female umpires, earning blowback of his own. Beyond those particular comments, S.I.'s piece dives deeper into the flip sides of loneliness and family, something all traveling athletes must deal with. It's worth a read for its "pre-Internet-ness," compared to today's always-on, media-aware careers.

Value: This #5 cost $2 at the 2015 National, unburied from stacks of fellow minor leaguers.

Fakes / reprints: I doubt you'd make money reprinting minor leaguers like Knepper, but future HOFers from similar sets could be replicated, given its thin stock and today's scanning technology. If you have the means, stick to established dealers for top "pre-rookie" minor league type cards.

1886 N48 Allen and Ginter's 'Dixie Cigarettes' Lady Baseball Players #5

I recently came across my second 19th century type card, a woman in hazy sepia pretending to catch a ball dangling on a string. While unusual in style, I didn't realize they created un scandal in their time, likely because women weren't socially accepted as "athletic."

Those pants! So form-fitting! Her black stockings and shoes cut quite a figure, and passersby responded, for good or ill, when cigarette sellers hung Allen & Ginter's promotional cabinet cards (below) in their sidewalk windows.

Despite the quality difference, a close look shows both photos are the same woman, who herself appears in most of their 1886 studio photos, occasionally with an "opponent" in matching uniform.

Compare the "cabinet" (above) and cigarette card (below) to see how Allen & Ginter rendered the same picture with varying print quality. Their flashy "real photo" cabinet would draw attention to shop windows and in-pack cards would adapt the image for non-photo printing, this one with a branded "Sub Rosa Cigarettes" foil stamp.

While 19th century women's teams played ball in many cities, it's no accident that Allen & Ginter used these uniformed women to promote Dixie, Sub Rosa, and Virginia Brights, as these were A&G's female-targeted brands. Some kept a blank obverse to save print costs, but others continued their "unexceptionably fine" quality pitch onto card backs.

For some history of a real 1890s women's team, see Baseball History Daily's post sub-titled A Riot in Cuba.

In 1886, Allen & Ginter covered a range of topics on tobacco cards, but when competitor Goodwin & Co. used their Old Judge brand to show off almost every ballplayer of the day starting in 1887 (OJ details at PSA), other brands followed suit and got the base-ball rolling for a nearly uninterrupted run of sports-first sets that continues to the present day.

Value: While more affordable than 19th century male stars of the same vintage, low grade Allen & Ginter cards are always pricy and this #5 cost $130. Larger cabinet cards run much more, especially when the photo presents well.

Fakes / reprints: Haven't seen any fakes or reprints of the women's ballplayers, but they're of an era always vulnerable to counterfeiting. If you're looking for a 19th century type, stick to experienced dealers who know their cards or get something already graded.