1967 Topps Jim Piersall Los Angeles Angels

Today's entry from my 1967 Topps Autographed Baseball card set is about a player who had excellent ability on the baseball diamond but sometimes was his own worst enemy due to his on-field antics. It is Jim Piersall, outfielder of the Los Angeles Angels. Card number 584 in the 1967 Topps Baseball card set of 609 cards.

This autographed baseball card was obtained with a through the mail request to Jim Piersall at his home in Illinois on July 13, 2009. To my amazement, Mr. Piersall returned the card with a nice blue sharpie autograph 4 days later. A super fast turnaround, thank you Jimmy Piersall!

Jim "the Waterbury Wizard" Piersall played 17 seasons in major league baseball from 1950 to 1967. He was drafted and played for the Boston Red Sox from 1950 to 1958. He also played for the Cleveland Indians, the Washington Senators, the New York Mets and finally ending his career with the California/Los Angeles Angels. Jimmy Piersall's career statistics include a .272 batting average, 1604 base hits with 104 home runs, 591 runs batted in and 115 stolen bases. He was selected to the American League All-Star team in 1954 and 1956 and won the Gold Glove Award in 1958 and 1961.

Jim Piersall suffered from bipolar disorder during his playing days and that led to many interesting behaviors during his playing days. He was one of the few Americans whose battles with mental health issues were well-known in the 1950's. He eventually figured out that his issues would give him the freedom to act zany, which endeared him to fans. Some of the episodes included fighting with opponents and teammates, frequent ejections over arguing, stepping up to bat wearing a Beatles wig and playing "air guitar" on his bat, he led cheers for himself in the outfield during breaks in play, and "talked" to Babe Ruth behind the center field monuments at Yankee Stadium. Jim Piersall's life in baseball was portrayed in the movie "Fear Strikes Out" starring Anthony Perkins in 1957.

To learn more about Jim Piersall life, go to his biography at wikipedia.org and baseball-reference.com.

Looking for great Sports memorabilia, apparel and collectibles, check out Dugoutdug Sports Collectibles for your favorite players and teams.

1967 Topps Willie Davis Los Angeles Dodgers

After hearing the news today that Willie Davis has passed away, I felt is was appropriate to share with you his 1967 Topps Autographed Baseball card from my collection. Willie Davis was a long-time member of the Los Angeles Dodgers and card number 160 in the 1967 Topps Baseball card set. He passed away today at age 69 in his home in Burbank, California.

This autographed card was purchased through a seller on ebay.com and includes a beautiful blue signature. I purchased the card on August 4, 2009 and received it several days later.

Willie Davis played 18 seasons in the Major League, the first 14 with the Dodgers, then he played for the Montreal Expos, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and finally the California Angels. During his career Willie amassed 2561 hits given him a .279 batting average, hit 182 home runs, drove in 1053 runs, and stole 398 bases. He was named to two National League All-Star teams (1971 and 1973), won 3 Gold Glove Awards (1971, 1972, and 1973) and was a member of two World Series Championship teams with the Dodgers in 1963 and 1965.  

To learn more about Willie Davis and his career, go to his biography at baseball-reference.com and read this excellent story from the LA Times.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Willie Davis.

Looking for great Sports memorabilia, apparel and collectibles, check out Dugoutdug Sports Collectibles for your favorite players and teams.

1967 Topps Don Kessinger Chicago Cubs

Today's entry was inspired by watching him play in the 1969 baseball game yesterday that was shown on MLB Network against the Philadelphia Phillies. It is Don Kessinger, shortstop for the Chicago Cubs, card number 419 in the 1967 Topps Baseball card set.

This autograph was obtained by sending a through the mail request to Don Kessinger to his home in Mississippi on July 2, 2009 and 17 days later, he returned the card signed with a beautiful blue sharpie autograph. Thank you Mr. Kessinger.

Don Kessinger played 16 seasons in the major leagues from 1964 to 1979. He played 11 years for the Chicago Cubs, 2 seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals and 3 for the Chicago White Sox, where he was the player-manager in 1979. Don Kessinger played 2078 games, accumulating 1931 hits, 14 home runs, 527 runs batted in and a career .252 batting average. Don made the All-Star teams in 6 different season from 1968 to 1974 and won the Gold Glove Award for shortstops in 1969 and 1970. Don Kessinger managed the Chicago White Sox for 131 games in 1979 before resigning as manager and retiring as a player. He was replaced by Tony LaRussa.

After leaving the Chicago White Sox, Don Kessinger went back to his alma mater, The University of Mississippi and managed the baseball team for 6 seasons and now he has his own real estate business.

Looking for great Sports memorabilia, apparel and collectibles, check out Dugoutdug Sports Collectibles for your favorite players and teams.

Jim Fregosi 1967 Topps California Angels

 

Today's entry for the 1967 Topps Autographed Baseball card collection is Jim Fregosi, shortstop for the California Angels. Card number 385 out of 609 different cards in the set.

Jim Fregosi signed this card at his home in Florida after I sent him the card through the mail on July 6, 2009. He returned the card signed with a blue autograph 10 days later. Thank you Mr. Fregosi. Looking to send items to be signed by players, to go sportscollectors.net for current addresses.

Jim Fregosi played 18 seasons in the major leagues from 1961 to 1978. His career started with the Los Angeles/California Angels where he was a 6 time all-star. In the trade bringing future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan to the Angels, Fregosi went to the New York Mets in 1972. He also played for the Texas Rangers and Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1967, Jim Fregosi won a Gold Glove Award in 1967 as a shortstop. Jim Fregosi's career statistics include .265 career batting average, 151 home runs and 706 runs batted in. Jim Fregosi is one of 28 players (including Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig and George Brett) in major league history to have a hit for the cycle more than once. Hitting for the cycle means having a single, double, triple and home run in the same game. He accomplished the feat on July 28, 1964 and May 20, 1968.

As the California Angels were looking for a manager in 1978, the Pittsburgh Pirates released Fregosi and he became manager at age 36. Jim managed the Angels until 1981, then he also managed the Chicago White Sox from 1986 to 1988, led the Philadelphia Phillies from 1991 to 1996, winning the 1993 National League Pennant, and the Toronto Blue Jays from 1999-2000. His career managerial record is 1028 wins versus 1095 losses.  To learn more about Jim Fregosi, go to his biography at wikipedia.org.
 
Looking for great Sports memorabilia, apparel and collectibles, check out Dugoutdug Sports Collectibles for your favorite players and teams.