Monday, August 22, 2011

1976 Chicago Greats

Black-and-white action player photographs with a red baseball and bat border design are featured in this standard-size set. In one of the picture's upper corners, a small square close-up photo is placed. At the bottom, "Chicago's Greats" is printed in crimson. The player's name, personal information, statistics, and career highlights are printed on the white horizontal backs. The cards are not numbered and are listed alphabetically below. The collection was initially available from the creators for $2.50.

Luke Appling-was a shortstop who played his entire career for the Chicago White Sox. 


2 Ernie Banks-nicknamed "Mr. Cub" is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and first baseman. He played his entire 19-year baseball career with the Chicago Cubs (1953–1971). He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.

3 Zeke Bonura-was a first baseman in Major League Baseball. From 1934 through 1940, he played for the Chicago White Sox (1934–1937), Washington Senators (1938, 1940), New York Giants (1939) and Chicago Cubs (1940).

4 Phil Cavarretta-was a first baseman, outfielder, and manager. He was voted the 1945 National League Most Valuable Player after leading the Cubs to the pennant while winning the batting title with a .355 average. His 20 seasons (1934–1953) played for the Cubs is the second-most in franchise history, behind Cap Anson. He managed the Cubs in his final three seasons with the club

5 Jimmie Dykes-was a third and second baseman, manager and coach in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Athletics and Chicago White Sox from 1918 to 1939.

6 Nellie Fox-was a second baseman for the Chicago White Sox. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.

7 Larry French-was a starting pitcher who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1929-1934), Chicago Cubs (1935-1941) and Brooklyn Dodgers (1941). A knuckleball specialist, French batted right-handed and threw left-handed. In a 14-season career he had 198 complete games.

8 Charlie Grimm-nicknamed "Jolly Cholly" was a first baseman and manager for the Chicago Cubs. As a manager for the Cubs, he led the team to National League championships in 1932, 1935 and 1945.

9 Gabby Hartnett-He played almost his entire career as a catcher for the Chicago Cubs. Hartnett was considered the greatest catcher in the history of the National League. A six-time All-Star known for his powerful hitting, superb defensive abilities and strong throwing arm, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955.

10 Billy Herman-As a stellar defensive second baseman, Billy Herman starred on four pennant-winning clubs with the Cubs and Dodgers in the 1930s and '40s. Herman still holds many fielding records, including most putouts in a season by a National League second baseman. He also led the loop's second basemen in putouts seven times. A master of the hit-and-run play, he batted over .300 eight times and was a 10-time All-Star. Herman was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975.

11 Mike Kreevich-player who was primarily an outfielder during the 1930s and 1940s.

12 Sherm Lollar-He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians (1946), New York Yankees (1947–1948), St. Louis Browns (1949–1951), and the Chicago White Sox (1952–1963).Lollar was considered one of the best catchers in the major leagues during the 1950s.

13 Al Lopez-manage the Chicago White Sox in 1957 and carried his success over to his new team. As White Sox manager until 1965, he never had a losing season and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.

14 Ted Lyons -He played for the Chicago White Sox, and is the franchise leader in wins. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955.
Red Faber-played his entire career for the Chicago White Sox. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964.

15 Minnie Minoso-nicknamed "Mr. White Sox" he is one of just two players in Major League history to play in five separate decades (1940s-80s) MiƱoso became the first black player to wear a White Sox uniform

16 Wally Moses-was a right fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1935 through 1951, he played for the Philadelphia Athletics (1935–1941, 1949–1951), Chicago White Sox (1942–1946) and Boston Red Sox (1946–1948).

17 Bill Nicholson-was a right fielder who played Chicago Cubs (1939–1948). In 1944, Nicholson received an intentional walk with the bases loaded. Nicknamed "Swish" because of his mighty swing, which often missed the ball, Nicholson twice led the National League in home runs and RBIs

18 Claude Passeau-was a starting pitcher for the Cubs (1939–47) Passeau's greatest individual performance came in Game 3 of the 1945 World Series, in which he pitched a one-hitter against the Detroit Tigers. Slugger Rudy York got the Tigers' only hit, in the second inning, and the Cubs took a 2-games-to-1 edge. That one-hit game was only the second low-hit game in the history of the Series, the first having been pitched by the Cubs' own Ed Reulbach in 1906.

19 Billy Pierce-is a left-handed starting pitcher for the Chicago White Sox. He was the team's star pitcher between 1952 and 1961, and was named the American League's top pitcher in 1956 and 1957

20 Ron Santo-In 1961 he set a Cubs record with 41 double plays at third base, breaking the previous mark of 33 set by Bernie Friberg in 1923. In 1962 he led the National League in assists for the first time with 332, setting the team record for assists at third base, breaking the mark of 323 set by Randy Jackson in 1951. Santo continued to lead the National League in assists every year through 1968, breaking Ned Williamson's major league record of leading the league six times; Brooks Robinson went on to lead the American League eight times. In 1963 Santo broke the modern National League record with 374 assists at third base, passing Tommy Leach's 1904 mark of 371. In 1966, he set the all-time league record with 391, the previous record being Billy Shindle's 382 in 1892; his total was 99 higher than that of league runner-up Ken Boyer. Santo broke his own record in 1967 with 393 assists. Santo's assist totals from 1963 through 1968 were the sixth highest by an National League third baseman between 1905 and 1973. He also led the National League in putouts every year from 1962 through 1967 and again in 1969, tying the league record shared by Pie Traynor and Willie Jones in leading the league seven times.

21 Hank Sauer-was a left fielder for the Chicago Cubs from (1949–55) and was nickname "The Mayor of Wrigley Field". A two-time All-Star, Sauer was a feared slugger for the Cubs in the early 1950s, hitting over 30 home runs in six seasons, with a career-high 41 in 1954. His most productive season came in 1952, when he led the National League in home runs (37) and RBIs (121), and was named the Most Valuable Player.

22 Riggs Stephenson-was a left fielder for the Chicago Cubs from 1926 to 1934 and was nicknamed Old Hoss. He retired with a career batting average of .336. In the 1929 World Series Stephenson collected six hits, including a double in Game 3. The 1932 World Series Stephenson collected eight hits, drove in four runs and batted a team-high .444

23 Bill Veeck Owner-was known as "Sport Shirt Bill", a native of Chicago Illinois and a franchise owner and promoter of the Sox. He was best known for his publicity stunts to raise attendance. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame five years later in 1991.

24 Philip K. Wrigley Owner-sometimes also called P.K. or Phil. Born in Chicago, he was an chewing gum manufacturer and executive in Major League Baseball. During World War II, Wrigley founded the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League as a promotional sideline to maintain interest in baseball as the World War II military draft was depleting major-league rosters of first-line players. In the post-World War II era, when baseball was booming Wrigley allowed WGN-TV to carry all the home games as well as a significant number of road games resulting in nearly constant sellout crowds at Beautiful Wrigley Field.


1 comment:

  1. I love this set. It has the only card of Bill Veeck that I know of.

    ReplyDelete