What’s Wrong With This Card – Lou Brock
First, the card. This Lou Brock issue is among the sharpest 1971 Topps cards I’ve ever seen. Every collector I know has it in for baseball cards with black borders. Any nick, scrape, ding or crease is there for all to see, sabotaging the card’s appearance and value. Among the criteria for determining if a baseball card is deserving of a “mint” rating is this: is it in the same condition now as it was when it first came out of the pack? As best I can see, this card is. But as sharp as it appears to be, I have a number of issues with it. Please share your thoughts with me by submitting a comment. You may find something that I haven’t even considered; it’s happened before. Right, Phil?
Trivia Question: Brock is one of the players involved in perhaps the most lopsided baseball trade since 1920 when the Boston Red Sox sent Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100, 000 cash. Most of us youngsters think of Brock, and not Ruth, when asked a question on the topic of lopsided trades. In need of pitching, on June 15, 1964, the Chicago Cubs sent the under achieving young outfielder to the St. Louis Cardinals for right-handed pitcher Ernie Broglio. Much to their dismay, in three seasons Broglio won 7 and lost 19 for the Cubs.
Success In St. Louis: Brock, meanwhile, caught fire in St. Louis. From his debut as a Cardinal, a game in which he got two hits, walked twice, scored a run and stole a base, to the end of the 1964 season, he hit .348. He helped the surging Cardinals catch the fading Phillies to win the National League pennant and go on to defeat the American League Champion New York Yankees in a thrilling seven-game World Series.
World Series Accomplishments: In addition to the 1964 victory, Brock appeared in two more fall classics; the 1967 seven-game victory over the Boston Red Sox and the seven-game 1968 loss to the Detroit Tigers. His combined batting average for those tension-filled games was a lusty .391. It would certainly appear that when all the chips were on the table, Lou Brock was at his best.
An All-Time Great: A six-time All Star, Brock led the the National League in stolen bases eight times. A career highlight occurred in 1974 when Brock stole 118 bases to set a new major league record. In addition, he amassed a total of 938 career stolen bases, another record. Although these two records have since been broken, they remain stunning achievements that result from a dedication to craft and a level of consistency that few players attain. Having collected 3,023 safeties during his nineteen years in the major leagues, Brock is one of only twenty-eight players in the 3,000 hit club. Lou Brock was inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1985.
In each installment of this ongoing series, I will present a baseball card for your review. If you study the card carefully you will find something about it that is not quite right. Once you’ve determined what it is, please identify it in a comment. I will identify the readers who correctly identified the incorrect aspect of the card in an upcoming post. Thank you, and have fun.
Cardinals uniform looks correct, and as best I can remember, Brock wore #20. Red Sox uniform looks right, although I’m not 100% certain about the black stripe at the top of the stirrups. Cardinals @ home in the old stadium that I keep wanting to call Busch Stadium but that sounds wrong … regardless of stadium name I don’t know if the wall is the right color or height … for a stadium in the 60’s, and an *older* stadium @ that, the wall seems a bit high.
Can’t see anything “off” with the photograph, as in some post-shot manipulation, and not likely for that way back in the pre-PC and internet eras. (Yes kids, once upon a time we did NOT carry access to the entire world in our back pocket).
I’m trying to find something that I don’t think anyone else would catch … but I’m stumped.
And thanks for the shoutout.
I think that Lou Brock has a cool sounding name. Nothing wrong with that no matter which card you consider.
Sis
Hi Mike; I don’t see anything physically wrong with the card either, but it is from 1971 and St. Louis played Boston in the 1967 World Series, making the picture a little outdated, but still meaning there is nothing physically wrong with the card. It is also difficult to figure out what base Brock is on, but the best guess is that he is on second base, and the infielder in the picture is the second baseman. Also, if you can try to keep either Friday 10/28 or 11/4 available, as long as 11/4 is before MLB hands out their awards, so we can include your picks on MM#64 (#63 will be either this Monday or Tuesday night)
Regards, Barry
P.S.- The leaves seem to change color much later now, and only for a couple of weeks, before they completely fall off the trees, so you really have not missed anything.
My first comment never came thru ok I agree with Barry on the year . Other then that I’m stumped though the position of the third baseman and Brock looks a little ….off but with telephoto lenses who knows. I believe he’s on third because of his head position, the dirt etc. but you got me for anything that appears wrong. So Mike what is it America is waiting!
Stop the presses. Upon further review and research I have seen another version of the 1971 Lou Brock which is a head shot with a replica autograph across the front So this is either an alternate or a substitute either way there is no autograph . How did I do?