The Greatest Game Ever Played

 

Blue and gold upper border of the photo representing, of course, the Otto-Eldred HS colors

The title of this essay may indeed be a high-rise stretch of hyperbole, but you have to admit it is an attention-grabber and it may not be a complete exaggeration for every reader.

Posting this story on January1, 2021 is actually by design. Six months from now will mark the golden jubilee of the 1971 Babe Ruth game between Eldred and Otto. 

It is the lead-up to this contest, the actual seven inning game and the aftermath, the continual residual effect this meeting had on its participants.

It was a game where every player knew the name of each opponent on the other side. The fans of either team did also. These kids all attended Otto-Eldred High School. Many took the same classes, shared a table at lunchtime, rode the same bus and were teammates in other sports or were in the band or chorus together.

This was an unusual circumstance, but not unique. In fact, within this Babe Ruth League, there were at least two teams with a similar  makeup, Crosby and Smethport teams. Players on both teams attended  Smethport High School.

Smethport had won the league title in 1969. The McKean All-Star team in 1969 included: Eddie Swanson,  Lanny Colosimo and Rob Maynard of Smethport, Eldred's Dick Windsor, Steve Milne, Jim Pransky, Bruce Fowler and Mike Miller, Crosby's Rob Flickinger and Eddie Faes and Rew's Francis Ritz. 

The '69 McKean BR League consisted of teams from Smethport, Crosby, Otto, Hamlin, Eldred and Rew.

 Eldred was 11-1 in 1970 to take the crown. Their only loss was an early season 6-4 defeat by Limestone.

The loss to Limestone is one of the many mysteries not completely uncovered in researching this piece. Why, when and how was Limestone in the league? 

I'm sure the players didn't care. We just played whoever was on the schedule. There was no exhibition season or in-season scouting. Let's just play.

The clearest memory of that loss came shortly after we arrived at our opponent's field. Coach Ed Harrington had a station wagon, usually some off-beat color, that he drove to all of our games carrying several players and all of the equipment.

We stepped out of our rides, tucked our shirt-tails in and put on our baseball shoes and searched for the ball bag to start warming up for our contest.

No ball bag, no helmet bag, no catchers' equipment and no bats. Our arsenal of tools was all back in Eldred.

Coach Harrington, usually  soft-spoken, composed and not one to be upset easily, especially to our group of players who were talented and even at 14 or 15 always ready to play ball, had only one question to ask.

"Boys, I'm usually a mild-mannered man, but how in the world did you forget the damn equipment? asked our skipper.

We had to borrow Limestone's gear to compete, but after loading the bases with no one out in the first, our confident team felt we were in the process of putting the pre-game antics behind us. 

I was the runner on second base and when our cleanup hitter hit a ball over my head in to what I thought was an outfield gap, I sprinted toward third. The look on my teammate's face as I neared the bag was my first clue I had made a mistake.

The centerfielder made a fine catch and threw to second for a double play (our runner on third never tagged, probably still shocked by my base running faux pas).

Despite the headline being partially cut off, believe me it says Limestone and Foster win in Babe Ruth loop. We lost 6-4 despite two doubles by my teammate, Lenny Oszustowicz.

It was our only loss of the year and we beat them decisively in our final game of the season to capture the league championship. 

This is our 1970 Championship team. Missing from this photo are the Lathrop brothers, George (c) and Marty(rhp. /inf.)

Our Otto friends joined the McKean Babe Ruth League in 1969. They played all their games on the road with no home field available. A young team with no home field and playing in a very competitive league went through some major growing pains.

Smethport won the league with an 18-2 mark and Crosby, Hamlin and Eldred all had winning records while Otto suffered 17 losses, but...

One of their wins came against Eldred, an upset capped off by a one-hop groundball back to the Otto pitcher, Ned Van Epps, who joyfully ran the ball over to first himself. 

It was an unexpected and somewhat shocking loss for Eldred, but at the same time, there honestly was a part of us who were happy that our friends, classmates and teammates in every other area of our sporting life were happy. 

That was a refreshing part of the rivalry. As each school year was nearing its end, we kidded some about playing each other that summer, but there was no boasting, trash talking or bets made. Make no mistake, every player desperately wanted a win over their schoolmates. There were limited bragging rights at stake, probably among other students and our parents more than the players.

Okay, the greatest game ever; unique because of the opposing players and the young baseball rivalry among friends. Also, both teams had some outstanding players and despite Otto's only third year in the league, they had already established themselves as one of the league's top teams.

One of the major reasons of Otto's rise so quickly was the return of Kerry Snow and his family to Duke Center, Pa. Tom Snow, a fine athlete during his high school career at Otto High (before the consolidation) had moved his family to Louisiana for work reasons, but they returned when Kerry was in eighth grade.

1981 was the second year for Otto's baseball field-a baseball diamond they created. Steve Hepfer, the team's first coach, and several adults and players lobbied for town council approval and ground was finally broken. Trees had to be cleared. The infield was leveled, protective screens, a set of bleachers and an outfield fence were added. 

The field did have a noticeable lean toward the third base side to the point where you could only see the left fielder from the waist up. There were still a row of trees not far from the third base line.  Otto's home field was only a long fungo from the Otto pool that all O-E kids were very familiar.

Otto- Eldred High School with the ball field only 300 or 400 yards away behind the school.

It was the only pool in the area. Eldred students paid a dime (or some kind of minor fee) to ride the seven miles to the school and summer swimming. Except, half of the boys never went swimming.

We did take our towels with our swim trunks wrapped inside, but they never tasted the summer air and sunshine. The Eldred boys primarily played tether ball, watched girls and walked across the tar/oil covered parking lot to the concession stand, undoubtedly ruining a pair of sneakers each summer. Then after two hours we went home for a regular routine.

Take our towel and swim trunks, wet them with a hose or under the sink, hang them on the outdoor clothes line and never refer to our day at the pool. At least, some of us did that. At least, many of us did that.

I still get an occasional e-mail from an ex- teacher or friend who says it was the best game he ever saw. Some of the players, almost 50 years later feel as I do, but surprisingly some have little recall about the game. Fairly, it was nearly 50 years ago, but also as an athlete you always do not remember a special game, sometimes it's a heart-breaking loss that sticks with you.

I remember many games that ended in disappointment; a last minute loss, a below average performance, a loss that would have allowed us to advance in a playoff setting. Others might remember their only home run or an end-of-the quarter half court shot. There are no rules, only one's sense of recall.

We  shared little with college or professional teams. We followed the standings, but our league's more closely, as did our parents, girlfriends and fans.

The Eldred at Otto matchup was a 6:00 start. Pransky versus Snow. It's a natural instinct and it happens at college and pro levels all the time. If the crowd size is 10,000, there will be 20,000 people who will say they were there. 

Just a hypothesis, but there might have been 120 fans there. Parents, students, fans of O-E sports and people who might have gone swimming as their first objective, but filed over to the baseball field. I'm certain there were many who claimed they were present.

I don't know who was the home plate umpire. It might have been Kenny Kervin, whose brother, Mike, was a player, maybe in this game. Larry Burgoon was the head coach with Ron Bacha as Tom Snow as assistants. Ed Harrington manned the Eldred bench alone.

Both teams were talented ,proven by seven of them selected later to the McKean Babe Ruth All-Star Team; Snow, infielders John Hepfer, Steve Barrett and catcher Mike Burgoon represented Otto. Pransky, Oszustowiz and Marty Lathrop represented Eldred. Gary Cunningham represented Crosby and a player named Gustafson and also Gary Holcomb were Smethport selections.

Larry Burgoon, Richie Cunningham and Ed Harrington shared the coaching duties for the All-Star competition. 

Pransky struck out the opening six Otto hitters, but Snow threw two shutout and hitless innings. Otto began to make more contact, but the game had few errors and walks. Otto had only two hits the entire game, singles by Hepfer and Steve Farr. Eldred had none as the sixth inning began.

The game was decided on one swing of the bat. Oszustowicz hit a homer to straight away center for a 1-0 lead, Pransky followed with a single, the only two Eldred hits. If Lenny "O" had not hit that round tripper, the game may have lasted until dark.

Two outs in the bottom of the seventh (7 inning contest) and Snow hit a routine grounder to short that was booted for an error. Hope remained. Kerry stole second, then stole third and there was a strong chance he may have tried for the trifecta and an attempted theft of home. The next hitter was retired easily before Snow could try another steal and Eldred won 1-0, both teams getting only two hits.

A 1-0 Eldred win.

I mentioned several players who participated in this game and despite researching and speaking to many participants, the five decades proved a stumbling back.  

Eldred had, besides the players mentioned; Jimmy Russell, Whitey Peterson, Marty Lathrop, Steve (Reggie) Jackson and Joe Wade.

Other Otto players were; Dave Ezzolo, who played two BR seasons and was an official scorer for this game, Larry English, Bruce Milliron, Denny Glenn, and Joe Lehoskey. 

Some athletes were mentioned by several observers as possible members of these squads- Steve Drugg and Roger Jackson.

In later years, Jim Pransky and Steve Jackson.

Jim Pransky and Jim Green with his son, Keith

The 1971 BR season did not end after the Otto versus Eldred game. The two teams played in Eldred several weeks later with Otto bouncing back with a convincing win over their summer rivals. Pransky remembers Steve Barrett, hitting a home run off him "that still might be rolling. He hit a ball well over our centerfielder's head and it rolled through the open field, across the road and probably stopped its journey somewhere around the Myron Burns statue in the school parking lot."

Snow, later set a McKean BR record by striking out 17 batters in a 11-1 win over Smethport. He also homered in the game. The record he broke was Pransky's 16 strikeouts versus Foster Brook the previous year. He got the final out, picking a runner off second after shortstop Randy Shay snuck in behind the runner for the easy tag.

Pransky kidded, "If I knew Kerry was going to strike out 17, I would have gone for the 17th strikeout. Honestly, they was a hitter, Brad Byerley that just wore me out. He had at least two long doubles against me, maybe even three.

He told me," "I love your pitching."

Snow's record-breaking outing.

The season still had some unfinished business as the McKean All-Stars traveled to Wellsboro to play Williamsport West End and Wellsboro for the district title.

Snow beat Williamsport and Pransky beat Wellsboro and the McKean team was one win away from winning the tournament. That win never came as Williamsport beat them twice to win the qualifier.

The previous year, the tournament was held in Williamsport. I recall we lost the opener to the host team as they squeezed bunted successfully about three or four times in a row to break the game wide open.

Another memory of that tournament was that Mr. Snow (Kerry's dad) had an eight mm. camera and took videos of some of the action. I watched them later and it was the first time I had ever seen myself play baseball. It was amazing to see us play on film, even if we were losing at the time. The following school year we watched film of our basketball and football games on the reel to reel projectors. I can still hear the click of the reels turning and how grainy the stop action was.

Many, many years later, I stopped at the high school and during my visit I asked if any of the cannisters of the game films were still available. They were nowhere to be found. The search valiantly continues although the odds are they are no longer in existence. I'm sure there are many ex-players who would love to see the "glory days" again.

Snow's 7-6 win with ten strikeouts and tossing a four hitter .

Two Eldred All-Stars, Lenny Oszustowicz and Jim Pransky. not wearing their regular Eldred uniforms- white,sleeveless tops with gold t-shirts. Photo from All-Star tournament.

Three baseball moms; Mrs. Snow, Mrs Oszustowicz and Mrs. Pransky.

Mr. George Lathrop, one of four umpire for the District tournament.

The 1971 league championship trophy goes to Eldred as co-champs with the question being, Co-champs with what team? 

Snow and Pransky's junior football season did not play out the way they hoped. Pransky broke his leg in pre-season practice and missed football and basketball seasons. Snow broke his collarbone in the year's eighth game, missing the year's final game and part of the season's basketball season.

That 1-0 baseball game was more than a season highlight for many of the participants. It was an example of disciplined, all-out play and a great measure of respect for the opponent. No matter what happened the two teams would unite as they always had to continue friendships and prove that together they could go head to head with any local teams.

Many of those friendships have now lasted five decades.

They were young and it was life. They grew in to adults; Snow became a star quarterback and one of the very few athletes at O-E to play Division 1 football. (Bucknell). He led the Bisons to a 5-4 mark in 1975, winning four straight to close out the season including a 32-25 upset victory over Lehigh. Lehigh had won seven games in a row, but Snow's three touchdown passes, including a 54 yarder with five minutes left in the game sparked the upset win.

Kerry also played a year of baseball at Bucknell, but vying for the number one quarterback sport during spring workouts and playing collegiate baseball at the same time was an impossible task. Eventually, baseball gave way to the gridiron.

An interesting and accurate sidelight to Bucknell's end-of-the season victory over Lehigh. During the '76 season, Lehigh beat Rutgers. Rutgers defeated Syracuse and Syracuse defeated West Virginia. West Virginia bested Pitt and Pitt defeated Kansas. Kansas beat Oklahoma and the "Sooners" eventually won the National Championship. It may not have been an "official" #1 title for Bucknell, but it was and always will be a memorable story.

 He later returned to coach the O-E football team.

 Lenny Oszustowicz became a very successful businessman based in Arlington, Texas. Steve Farr was the Commanding Officer of a Navy Squadron, HSL-94 and just recently retired as Chief Helicopter Pilot of Pfizer.  Jimmy Green moved to Florida. Steve Jackson also became a pilot, working for Southern Airways Express. He authored a book, "N1XF is Going Down."

Many of the players who played in "The Greatest Game..." continued to play baseball together for the Eldred American Legion team, winning a league championship in 1973, defeating Bradford 3-1 in a playoff game played at Port Allegany, a neutral site. The Eldred team advanced in the district playoffs, beating Warren two games out of three with Snow winning both of his starts-two shutouts including a 1-0 game three.

Most of the players mentioned in this essay are now 62-66 years old.

Emporium, with ace lefthander, Randy Cooney won the '74 league championship, 

Alle-Catt Baseball followed with Ron Bacha managing and Hepfer, Pransky, Snow, Lehoskey, Jimmy Green, Larry English and some others extending their baseball careers.

Some players stayed in the area, married, raised children and grandchildren doing what is not even debatable, the most important aspect of life, showing kindness, compassion and making a house and home for their families.

Others left to pursue different options. Some left and returned, maybe to care for a parent or to come back to an area they had missed.

There were divorces, deaths, serious illnesses, anniversaries, reunions and periods of highs and lows. There was just life.

There are places I remember

All my life

Though some have changed

Some forever, not for better

Some have gone and some remain

All these places have their moments

With lovers and friends

I still can recall

Some are dead and some are living

In my life I've loved them all.

                                                    (Paul and John)

Scrapbooks are always an important part of reconstructing a time era, especially when you are looking way-y-y-y back. My mom was an avid collector. I turned all of our books over to the Eldred Library. There are several O-E ones there, maybe you can enjoy looking through them.

 

  

You Can Still Hear the Cards Talk.

 My wife and I have undertaken a major project in our basement during the month of December. We have been on a "search," "discover," and "identify" mission, unearthing items like books, papers, cards, letters, etc. that have been secured in boxes, crates, tubs and other storage containers for many years. 

We've uncovered artifacts we haven't seen in years or we thought were located somewhere else in the house. Opening a holder is a little like undercovering the identity of a Christmas present. Lots of "I haven't seen these in ten years," and " I didn't realize that I still have this."

I own one possession I didn't have to strain to find and never have in 20 years of residence in this home or the home before that or the home before that or in any residence of the last six decades 

I have always been able to walk directly to my baseball cards without hesitation. They are divided in to three different areas now and I have no fear of misplacing or losing them.

Technically, I should say "sports" cards, because there are some football and basketball ones also, but 95 percent or more of the collection are baseball cards. 

Sometimes they are referred to as "trading cards" with a picture of a player and information about his background and playing record.

Especially as a young person, there would be a player's card that you really wanted, a card of your favorite player or one that you lack to fill out the roster of your favorite team. You could play "general manager," work out a deal swapping two cards that you didn't really need for that ONE you desperately needed.

When the transaction was completed, you felt the pride of a wise sage, not realizing that your trading partner was basking in the glory of his monumental transaction and the "steal of the century he had just executed."

There's no doubt the cards transport you back to a childhood of opening dozens of packs of 3 1/2" x 2 1/2" cardboard faces. Ten or twelve cards in a pack, hoping for a Mickey Mantle, but seemingly always finding a Glenn Borgman.

Mickey Mantle would easily be designated as a "star" card. Glenn Borgman, a former Minnesota Twins' catcher would have his card described as a "common." I always thought that was a misnomer. All of the players were big leaguers and although some of the packs' of cards acquisitions were quickly skimmed over and probably put on the bottom of the day's purchases, they WERE major leaguers.

Cards are more than a deep dive in to the past. They're entertaining, both the photo on the front and the biography including date of birth, hometown and residence on the back to accompany his career statistics.

They answer questions, they remind you of teams that no longer exist, they surprise you with information you never would have expected.

I still use cards to display the proper (and improper) mechanics of hitting and pitching to some of my instructional kids. The "improper" designation may sound unusual for someone who's playing at the ultimate level, but you can explain that players with odd- appearing techniques have extreme abilities that override any textbook form.

All of the cards pictured in this essay are mine, acquired in multiple ways, most of them falling in the mid 1960's to 1980's. I have some pre-60's (now over 60 years old). It's comforting knowing that a hard covering of a plastic guard can allow these cards to live forever.

Cards used to be judged as being in mint, excellent, very good, good, fair or poor condition by card experts and aficionados. A frayed edge, a small crease or a light marking would reduce the dollar value of the card, but I was never that interested in that aspect. Oh, it's nice to have well-conditioned cards, but it never was much of a factor for me. I wasn't going to sell them. 

I only wanted them to keep speaking to me.

The '62 Pitching Leaders has Camilio Pascual in the lower left and the Tigers' Jim Bunning in the lower right. Ralph Terry of the Yankees (center) led the AL with 23 wins, but is more well-known for giving up the World Series winning home run to Bill Mazeroski leading the Pirates over the Yankees.

The second card has one of those marks (white out). Jimmy Piersall played 17 years in the major leagues despite suffering from bipolar disorder that was documented in the movie, "Fear Strikes Out."

Ron Reed is one of 13 players who played in both Major League Baseball and the NBA.  Three years in pro basketball and 17 in the big leagues where he amassed 146 wins.

Mickey Lolich was a slightly overweight pitcher for the Tigers who stole the spotlight from Bob Gibson (Cardinals) and his teammate Denny McClain (31 wins that year) in the 1968 World Series. Lolich won three WS games to lead Detroit to a WS championship over St. Louis.

Dave Debusschere was another ML/NBA player. Unlike Ron Reed, Debusschere was basketball star and NBA Hall of Famer. He helped lead the New York Knicks to World Championships in 1970 and 1973.

Other combination basketball/ baseball guys included Danny Ainge, Dick Groat and Chuck Connors. Connors is best remembered for starring in the television western ("The Rifleman")

The second card is a pre-60's, Joe Nuxhall. Nuxhall is most remembered for being the youngest player to ever appear in a ML game. He was called up to the big leagues for a single game due to player shortages during WWII. He was 15 years old. He made his debut on June 10, 1944 and his last big league game was October 2, 1966. He won 135 games in his major league career.

I was a huge New York Yankees' fan as a youngster. They were the games that I heard on a local radio station plus the Yankees were baseball's most legendary and winning organization. The circular faced cards (Bill Skowron, Bobby Richardson, Andy Carey, etc.) are 1959's and the bottom row of Blanchard, Skowron and Richardson are 1960's.

The Topps Company was founded in 1938 and was primarily a chewing gum manufacturer. In 1950, the company made a decision to increase sales by packaging the gum together with trading cards featuring Hopalong Cassidy, a Western character and one of television's early stars.

Topps produced its first baseball cards in 1951 and almost immediately they became the company's primary emphasis. Topps had a monopoly on sports cards for several decades until Fleer won a court battle against them and eventually Fleer, Donruss, Upper Deck and some others were manufacturing sports and entertainment cards.

1964 cards of Jim Bouton and Clete Boyer. Bouton wrote the popular and controversial book, "Ball Four." Clete Boyer was an outstanding defensive third baseman. He made his ML debut with the Kansas City Athletics in 1955 and his last appearance with the Atlanta Braves in 1971, but is primarily known for his time with the Yankees from 1959-1966. He was part of two World Series champion teams with New York. His brother, Ken, was also an All-Star performer for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Sometimes you just like a player, although the early 60's were an era when you rarely had an opportunity to see them play with cable television still a long time coming. I just thought Tom Tresh was a cool sounding name plus he made an instant impact with the Yankees as as rookie. He was a versatile player as a shortstop and an outfielder, a three-time All-Star, hitting 153 home runs in a career running from 1961-1969.

Whitey Ford was one of several Hall of Fame players who passed in 2020 (Also: Joe Morgan, Tom Seaver, Al Kaline, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock and Tom Seaver) Here's a 1963 Whitey Ford card.

Howard and Munson- two All-Star Yankees' catchers. Howard was a 12-time All-Star and a six-time WS champion and Munson was a seven time All Star and won two WS championships. Munson was killed in a plane crash at the age of 32.

I love the Howard card, a little faded, but still wonderful to have.

I never collected any non-baseball cards as a youngster. I don't know if I even knew they existed until my mid-20's or so. The 80's were a very popular time for sports cards and memorabilia shops. Also, malls and other large indoor shopping areas would host card shows (usually on a weekend) where vendors would set up tables and sell sports cards, autographed balls, jerseys, photos, comic books- the multitude of items seemed to grow each year. 

The non-baseball cards that I picked up usually came from a browsing session-never looking for a specific item, just having something catch your eye.

This was an easy choice, Saint Bonaventure's Bob Lanier. NBA Hall of Famer, 8-time All Star, averaging 20 points a game during a 14 year career with the Pistons and Bucks.

Although he's pictured here as a Cavalier, Walt Frazier was a 2X World Champion with the New York Knicks (1970 and 1973) I loved those Knicks' teams with Willis Reed, Bill Bradley, Dave Debusschere....

Here's Willis Reed with another great player, Billy Cunningham. I did not put the # 2 and 3 on the cards. Someone did at some time (who knows why?), but I have the cards and I'm happy.

To my friend, Mike, the biggest Celtics fan I know- "I had to include Larry Bird for you." Two more greats. 

I was attending college in western Pennsylvania when Tony Dorsett was a collegiate star at the University of Pittsburgh and Jack Ham was an All-Pro linebacker with the Steelers. Ham was also the featured speaker at one of my high school athletic banquets. I was not a Pitt or Steeler fan during those years, but rooting for them to lose was kind of a hopeless cause. They were great players who played on great teams in both college and professional football.

For someone who wasn't a Steelers' 70's fan, I sure have some star cards. They were a great team during that period and these two guys definitely rank among the all-time greats.

One of my favorite things to do while looking at my cards is to try and find oddities (usually with the photo). This is one time when I sincerely wish the card would talk to me and answer the question, "Why is the player pictured this way?" For example:

Pitchers do not wear a jacket when they pitch-not in a game, not in a bullpen and usually not even when they have their baseball card photo taken. I realize that some quarterbacks may wear a glove on their throwing hand now, but baseball infielders do not wear a batting glove on their throwing hand when they are playing defense.

Tom Haller's "In Action" card shows a sliding runner and a baseball bat. Catchers are taught to clear the plate (bat, mask or helmet) if they anticipate any possible play at home. It's dangerous for the runner (and maybe even the catcher). Also, a thrown ball could strike an object that doesn't belong around the plate. An umpire can also clear the plate if there's time.

There's no ball in Gary Gentry's hand and I'm not exactly sure why the "vulture grip" is being applied. Standing straight up is another oddity-maybe Gary wasn't very enthused about the whole photography process! 

Bobby Knoop's grip on the bat is not wrong, just a little different. Choking up on the bat is not uncommon, having your hands slightly separated is not either- you just don't see both techniques at the same time very often. NOTE: A previous owner of the card put the number 4 on his back??) Billy Cowan played for the Angels and he has a halo (from an outfield structure) over his head- either very strategic photography or just a freaky coincidence.

Here's some trivia questions- 1. Walt Williams' nickname?

                                                   2. Rodriguez's first name contains........?

Billy Champion's expecting a line drive to be hit up the middle during the photo shoot? Ron Hunt choking up on a thick handled bat. Set a single season record by getting hit by pitches 50 times in one campaign. And, not covered by thick forearm and elbow pads in that era.

Jim Owens was a graduate of Bradford H.S.. He was born in Gifford, Pa. Note the "Colts" designation- Houston's name prior to the "Astros"

Tom Brookens was a Pennsylvania native who played his college ball at Mansfield University. His financial/ business manager in professional baseball was a former college teammate of Brookens, my friend and one of the best athletes in Otto-Eldred athletic history, John Oszustowicz.

Art Shamsky- I saw him hit three homers in one extra inning game, a game he entered as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning. You might recognize the last name from "Everybody Loves Raymond." Ray's brother, Robert, had a dog-named Shamsky. Not a coincidence.

Topps provided a list of players that you could check off once you acquired their card. 

The Tommy Harper card points out that he played for the Pilots, who were based in Seattle, for only one season, 1969. The next year, the franchise moved to Milwaukee and became the Milwaukee Brewers. The Mariners began play in Seattle in 1977 as an expansion franchise.

Pete Vuckovich (1981-Brewers' pitching leader) was a junior at Clarion University when I was a freshman. One of his catchers at Clarion, was former Crosby Alle-Catt player, Mike Tessena.

David Clyde went straight from high school to the big leagues. Twenty days after pitching his last high school game, he started for the Texas Rangers in front of 35,000 fans. He was in the Rangers' organization for five years and the Indians for one. Unfortunately, his once promising career ended at the age of 26 because of arm and shoulder injuries. Many baseball observers felt his "rush" to the big leagues was a major contributor to his unanticipated, limited success in professional baseball. His ML record was 18-33.

"Turn Back the Clock" cards were reprints of originals. It wasn't as great as having the original, but gave you had a chance to get a Musial, Rice, etc. Four Hall of Famers.

I wanted to be Chris Speier-like. He began his career with the Giants in '71. I was 15 and a shortstop. He was 21 years old with a magnificent throwing arm-"The Alameda Rifle." I had finally reached the time period where we could see more games, read more about players and at 15, maybe you've had a little small town success and still love to dream. It was a thrill for me to see him in person at Three Rivers Stadium-playing against the Pirates in his rookie year. Speier was a three-time All Star and a WS champion with the Diamondbacks in 2001. He played in the big leagues from '71 to '89 for five different clubs. Career B.A. of .246.

These are two rookie cards of Lou Piniella, one with Cleveland and one with Seattle. He was traded to the Pilots for their '69 season, but still qualified as a rookie. He was named Rookie of the Year with the Pilots. He played on two WS champion teams, the Yankees in '77 and '78. .291 career hitter.

Tony Kubek was another one of my favorites. Many baseball fans will remember him also as an analyst on NBC Baseball for many years. He played in six World Series in the late 50's and early 60's with the Yankees, winning three titles in '58, '61 and '62. A.L. Rookie of the Year in '57

When I interviewed for the Quincy University (Il.) head coaching position in 1988, the process took a couple of days. I was accompanied by some school personnel the first time I saw the college stadium. I went over again, by myself, the next day and walked on the field and just stood at the shortstop position for a long time. Tony Kubek played 110 games as a minor leaguer in Quincy in 1955 as a 19-year-old shortstop. The Three-I League (Iowa, Illinois and Indiana) was classified as a B level league. He hit .331 at Quincy. Kubek was in the majors at 21

Two pretty good rookie cards- Blue and Tenace played large roles in the A's seven game win over the Reds in the '72 World Series. Oakland went on to three-peat with wins in '73 and '74. Valenzuela and Scioscia were key pitcher-catcher for the Dodgers with Scioscia later managing in the ML. Perconte was a solid big leaguer.

I thought a good way to come to a close is to put in a personal note about my career in scouting and how baseball cards made it so much better.

It was always a treat to receive minor league cards from the players I signed during my years. Knowing they had gotten an opportunity to make a dream come true and especially when they were climbing the ladder was always a thrill.

Eight of my players made it to the big leagues-a few for just a cup of coffee, but they did it. Seeing their name in the transactions like my first guy, "Jason Green, pitcher-assigned to the Houston Astros," or language like that was a tremendous feeling. Getting a phone call from one of the guys saying they were on their way to the big leagues or they were getting their start made all the miles on the road worth it.

None of my players were All-Stars in the ML, but they made it! The most successful in terms of contributions to an organization(s) was Neal Cotts, who won a World Series ring with the White Sox in 2005.

Neal was the left-handed set up man for closer, Bobby Jenks. Here's some cards along the road to "The Show."

Neal was signed in the second round out of Illinois State by the Athletics in 2001, but he made his debut with the White Sox in 2003

Neal made his ML debut in 2003. He's one of only a few players who played for both the White Sox and Cubs. He came back to the big leagues after almost four years away with injuries and illness, pitching two very strong years for the Rangers.

Some guy wrote a book about Neal and his road to the big leagues.

Some Bonus Cards:

Mays- 24 time All Star with 660 HRs. Stengel- 1,905 wins as a manager and nine time WS champion as a player twice and the others as skipper of the Yankees. 

23 years in the ML, 18 time All Star, Two-time WS champion ('66 and '70), 16 time Gold Glove Award.

1961 cards of the Yankees' doubleplay combo of Kubek at short and Richardson at second.

Both of these cards were personally signed. Yogi's is a Donruss card- both cards were signed when they were members of the Astro's coaching staff in the 80's.

Eddie Mathews-17 years in the big leagues and 512 homers. Lou Burdette-203 ML wins and WS MVP in 1957. NOTE: Burdette was a right handed pitcher-take a look at his two hands and glove. Can you figure out this photo?