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Reliving D.C.'s football dynasty

8/31/2015

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The Washington Redskins of the 1980s and early ’90s were not fancy. Opposing defenses knew what was coming. Stopping it was another matter.

Coached by Joe Gibbs, the Redskins went to four Super Bowls, winning three of them. Beginning with John Riggins, the offensive line known as the Hogs, and a smothering defense, the Redskins spurned finesse and plowed over their opponents.

There is a vivid snapshot of that era. In Super Bowl XVII, Miami cornerback Don McNeal futilely tries to bring Riggins down on a fourth-down play in the fourth quarter. He failed, and Riggins went 43 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, capping a Super Bowl record 166 yards on 38 carries.

What Riggins had done, Sports Illustrated’s Paul Zimmerman wrote at the time, “was grab modern NFL football by the scruff of the neck and toss it a few decades back into a simpler era—big guy running behind bigger guys blocking.”

That simpler era is brought back to life in Adam Lazarus’ new book, “Hail to the Redskins: Gibbs, the Diesel, the Hogs, and the Glory Days of D.C.’s Football Dynasty” (William Morrow; hardback; $26.99; 368 pages). Lazarus’ fourth book reads like a Gibbs game plan: meticulous, detail-oriented, nothing fancy, but still with a few wrinkles thrown in for good measure.

Lazarus interviewed 93 different people and used extensive research to give readers a season-by-season chronicle of the Gibbs Era.

Lazarus’ clean prose helps the readers identify with the main characters: Gibbs, the pious, respected coach whose motto for success was “to be your own man”; Riggins —“the Diesel” — the polar opposite of his coach who lived for the unorthodox off the field, but remained a bruising runner on it; Doug Williams, who excelled when given the chance at quarterback and made history in Super Bowl XXII; and Dexter Manley, the man-child who gave Gibbs many sleepless nights when he was away from the gridiron.

What fueled the Diesel and made Riggins so effective were “the Hogs” — Washington’s offensive line. Joe Jacoby, Jeff Bostic, Russ Grimm, Mark May, Fred Dean and George Starke were the charter members.

There were other personalities and groups, too — the Posse, the Fun Bunch, the 5 O’Clock Club, the Smurfs — Lazarus describes them all. Joe Theismann appeared to be a distracted quarterback until an 0-5 start in 1981 in Gibbs’ first season turned into an epiphany. Several years later, Williams was about to be traded to the Raiders before Gibbs changed his mind.

Throughout, Gibbs was the steadying force.

He never craved the limelight, and what he and the Redskins achieved may have been overshadowed by flashier teams like the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys. Lazarus tells the story of Gibbs, boarding an elevator after his day-after news conference following Washington’s Super Bowl XVII victory against Don Shula’s Dolphins, encountering an awestruck fan.

“Can I have your autograph, Coach Shula?” she asked.

Still, it’s hard to argue against three Super Bowl trophies. And the Super Bowl loss, in Tampa, Florida, was a case where the Los Angeles Raiders took advantage of some Washington gaffes (and Marcus Allen’s twisting, field-reversing touchdown run) to stun the favored Redskins.

The Redskins returned to the Super Bowl against Denver in January 1988 and turned a 10-0 deficit into a rout with an eye-popping, record-breaking 35-point second quarter. Williams, the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl, was the MVP, and unheralded running back Timmy Smith set a record with a 202-yard rushing game.

Gibbs’ final Super Bowl team might have been his finest. The team opened the season 11-0 and went 14-2, before winning two playoff games before whipping Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVI.

Buffalo defensive line coach Chuck Dickerson’s slap at the Hogs before the game backfired, as the Washington offensive line wore down the Bills. The Redskins’ defense did the rest in a 37-24 victory.

Lazarus called the 1991 squad Gibbs’ “masterpiece.”

It was “a team with a stellar passing game, a brutal running attack, the best offensive line in history, and a defense that sacked, stripped, or suffocated the opponent every week.”

It’s been 24 seasons since the Redskins won a Lombardi Trophy. Since Super Bowl XXVI they have reached the playoffs five times, most recently in 2012. They have blown through eight coaches (including a mediocre four-year comeback stint by Gibbs). The Redskins’ nickname was come under fire, and Lazarus felt compelled to address that issue in an author’s note that preceded the book. 

As “Hail To The Redskins” closes, there is a poignant meeting between Gibbs and Manley, the latter wearing an orange prison outfit. In 1995, Manley had been arrested in Houston for possession of crack. Gibbs flew from North Carolina to visit his former player, kneeling down and praying with him.

At a charity roast for Gibbs in 2013, Manley would not indulge in the good-natured ribbing of his former coach.

“I can’t roast Joe Gibbs,” he said. “I can only toast Joe Gibbs.”

Gibbs and the Redskins were the toast of the NFL for a dozen years. Lazarus brings that era back to life in an entertaining book that reads quickly and efficiently.

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Hires Root Beer set was a tasty challenge

8/30/2015

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Here is a story I wrote for Sports Collectors Daily about the 1958 Hires Root Beer baseball card set, a 66-card regular series and an eight-card test run. It's a tough set to complete, and even tougher because of the removable tabs that came with the cards.

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/hires-root-beer-set-is-a-tasty-challenge/

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Collect call: 2015 Topps Chrome baseball

8/30/2015

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If you’re a fan of shiny cards, then 2015 Topps Chrome baseball will deliver the goods rather well. The set is a smaller version of Topps’ flagship baseball set, and there are autographs and inserts for collectors to chase.

The base set is 200 cards. A hobby box contains 24 packs, with four cards to a pack. Topps is promising two autograph cards per hobby box. Refractors are seeded one in every three packs, with pulsars one in every six.

The box I opened had 76 base cards, two numbered parallel cards, eight refractors, four pulsar refractors, four inserts and two autos.


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The design is exactly like Topps Series One and Two, only shinier. The parallels I pulled were a purple of Jordan Zimmermann, numbered to 250; and a blue parallel of Kevin Kiermaier numbered to 150.

The autographs are on-card, and the two I pulled looked like they were signed with thin — or I guess, fine is a better word — Sharpies. 


The first was Tigers rookie outfielder Steven Moya, while the second was a refractor of Cardinals rookie pitcher Samuel Tuivailala and was numbered to 499.


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Topps Chrome has four new insert sets this year. Chrome Culminations can be found one to a case and features 20 of the game’s top players. I was fortunate to have a case hit, as I pulled a card of Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano.

Gallery of Greats is the nicest looking insert in the set. There are 30 cards in the subset, and the player is framed in black. The photos really pop, and while black bordered cards have a tendency to chip easily, these cards hold up well. These cards fall one to a set.

Future Stars are exactly what the name implies — cards of youngsters projected to be impact players. There are 20 of these cards, with two per hobby box. I pulled Red Sox outfielder Rusney Castillo and Rockies second baseman Rafael Ynoa.

Chrome Commencements is another 20-card set that falls one in every 48 packs. This insert focuses on breakout players. I did not pull one of these cards in the hobby box I opened.

Topps Chrome is a nice set for the midsummer collector. The autographs are nice, and it’s a manageable product for a set builder interested in rookies and up-and-coming stars.

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Collect call: 2015 Topps Allen and Ginter

8/28/2015

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The dog days of summer are never bad for me, because that’s when one of my favorite sets — Topps’ Allen and Ginter — is released.

It’s hard to believe, but this is the 10th anniversary of A&G, which remains true to its original 1887 release with cards of sports stars and rookies, politicians, history-making figures and quirky celebrities.

The inserts remain thought provoking, with a true mix of history, pop culture and innovative achievements.

The card design remains the same, with a player depicted in a colorful illustration. The background has the typical A&G feathered technique, and the poses are mostly vertical in the base set, which I really enjoy. Some cards work in a horizontal format, but I prefer vertical because that’s the look I remember when I was young and eager to collect baseball cards.

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A base set consists of 300 cards, plus there are 50 short prints. A hobby box has 24 packs, with eight cards to a pack.

Sports represented outside of baseball include soccer (Julie Foudy), rowing (Megan Kalmoe), surfing (Kelia Moniz), hockey (Jeremy Roenick) and college football (Jimbo Fisher).

Non-sports figures include comedians (Brian Quinn), actors (Val Kilmer), activists (Malala Yousafzai), television hosts (Jeff Mauro), sports reporters (Michelle Beadle and Buster Olney), musicians (Mike Mills), fictional movie characters (Apollo Creed), historic documents (Magna Carta), historic sites (Appomattox Court House), nutritionists (Robb Wolf) and weird beards (Incredibeard).

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Box toppers are common in hobby boxes, and there are 10 different ones under the theme “Pride of the People.” The topper I pulled was Big Ben from the United Kingdom. Others feature the Great Wall of China, Mount Rushmore, the Colosseum, the Great Pyramid of Gaza and the Eiffel Tower.

Some collectors will be fortunate to pull hobby exclusive cabinet card box toppers that feature relics, autographs, autographed relics and cut signatures. There is currently a Ted Williams cut signature card on eBay; the seller is seeking $1,500 for the 1/1 card.
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Each pack will contain a mini card. Some will be parallels of the base set, while others will be inserts in their own right.

The hobby box I opened was a birthday gift from my wife, and the pricing fell within the range of the $95 to $105 that is advertised online. A wonderful gift, to be sure.

I pulled 134 base cards and 24 minis. Nineteen of the mini-cards were base parallels.

My box contained one autograph and two relics. The signatures are on-card and are framed in a mini-card format. The one I got was of former Kentucky basketball star Willie Cauley-Stein, who was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings. 

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The two memorabilia cards I pulled were white swatches worn by Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado and by author Malcom Gladwell. Question: what kind of relic does one use for Gladwell, a Canadian journalist who wrote books like “The Tipping Point,” “Blink” and “Outliers”? Looks like a piece of his dress shirt. Wouldn’t a scrap of the first draft of a manuscript worked better? Just saying.

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Because it is the 10th anniversary of the Allen and Ginter set, Topps has inserted stamped cards from previous years. Perhaps they don’t have the lure of those Topps buybacks in the Heritage sets, but the words “10th Anniversary Issue” are stamped in gold on the left-hand side of the card. You have to turn the card sideways to see it properly.

I found three stamped cards in my hobby box. The first was a 2006 J.D. Drew and the second featured Aaron Rowand from 2009. The third was a framed mini of Ricky Romero from the 2012 set.

Rip cards return, one in every 346 packs. It will be a lucky collector who pulls a double rip card, as they fall one in every 1,723 packs. Book cards are autographed and come in single subject (1:1975 packs) and double subject (1:7,950).

Cut signatures are 1/1 cards that are very scarce, falling at a 1:68,738 clip. Good luck..

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As usual, Allen and Ginter offers a variety of inserts in regular and mini-cards. The largest subset is called Starting Points and contains 100 cards. Collectors should find them in every other pack. As one might expect, these cards feature a current star and returns to their major-league debut.

A Healthy Mind and A Healthy Body are inserts that can be found one in every 288 packs. Both are 10-card subsets. More commonly found are Great Scott!, a celebration of scientific discoveries.  There are 10 cards in this insert set, and I pulled four of them.

Menagerie of the Mind highlights mythology, and there are 20 cards. I pulled a centaur and a zombie; other possibilities include a unicorn, mermaid and dragon. Ancient Armory features different types of weapons used throughout history; I pulled three of the 20 cards, including a catapult and a cutlass.

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The awkwardly sounding What Once Was Believed and What Once Would Be are 10-card inserts. The former proves how we have been wrong about things through the ages (a flat earth, alchemy), while the latter revisits some predictions made years ago (lunar colonization, robot housekeepers).

Hoist the Black Flag is all about pirates like Blackbeard and Captain Kidd in a 10-card set. I pulled two of them. First Ladies is another mini insert, with 41 cards honoring the wives of the presidents.

Once again, the Allen and Ginter set is entertaining, educational and fun to put together. It makes the long, hot days of summer feel so much cooler.


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It's a wrap: Football card wrappers can be challenging

8/26/2015

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Here is a story I did for Sports Collectors Daily about wrappers for football cards from 1950 to 1980. All brands are represented: Topps, Leaf, Fleer, Bowman and Philadelphia. And Bob Swick of Connecticut might have the largest wrapper collection around:

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/its-a-wrap-collecting-wrappers-can-be-a-challenge/
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Panini revs up college multi-sport card boxes

8/26/2015

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Panini America is ready to roll out its first stand-alone college multi-sports card sets in early September. My story on Sports Collectors Daily:

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/panini-ready-to-roll-out-new-college-multi-sports-sets/
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Legends that dog Powell still have some bite

8/21/2015

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The dog days of summer are here. And it’s time to stop dogging Abner Powell after all these years.

Powell was an outfielder of modest ability with Cincinnati of the American Association in 1886, and on the afternoon of August 22, he was playing right field at Louisville’s Eclipse Park. Louisville’s William Van Winkle “Chicken” Wolf hit a long drive to right, but Powell never got to the ball.

The reason? A dog had been sleeping near the fence, heard the yells of the crowd and began running alongside Powell. Literally nipping at Powell’s heels, the dog finally bit down on the outfielder’s leg. That prevented Powell from getting to the ball and throwing it back to the infield, and Wolf circled the bases for an inside-the-park home run. That helped the Colonels defeat the Reds, 5-3, in an 11-inning game.

Chicken gets an assist from a dog. 

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And every year, “This Date in Baseball” commemorates the fluke play.

What a baseball card that would be. The only card I have seen of Powell is a 2009 TRISTAR Obak specimen on eBay, and that has a very cheap price tag. A cut autograph of Powell from 1884 is also being sold on eBay, and the seller wants $295.

Wolf was a legitimate hitting star in the American Association, winning the batting title in 1890 with a .363 average and leading the league with 197 hits in 134 games. His career average was .290.

There is an 1887 Old Judge card of Wolf on sale on eBay for $3,999.99. That's kind of steep for an ungraded card, but hey, it only costs $2.99 for shipping.


Powell played parts of two seasons in the majors, but spent 16 seasons in the minor leagues. But his impact on baseball may have been bigger than you might expect.

He is generally acknowledged as the “father of the raincheck,” allegedly helped schedule one of the first “ladies day” games, and claimed to be the first to cover the infield with a tarpaulin to protect it from the rain.

The raincheck idea came in 1889, when Powell was managing New Orleans of the Southern League. In those days, teams used hard, cardboard rectangular tickets that were collected, returned to the box office and resold at the end of the game. If rain halted the game before it became official, fans would line up to receive a ticket for the next day. Legitimate ticket buyers and poachers alike could get those tickets.

“A lot of fellows got into the park by jumping the fence,” Powell told United Press in a 1943 interview. “Usually, there were a lot more fans in line than there were tickets in the box. All those free riders and fence jumpers joined the line, too.”

There was no way to know who had bought a ticket to get into the game. But Powell sketched out a ticket idea, had a firm in Fort Smith, Arkansas, print them up, and sold the perforated tickets at the gate. Dates were printed on the tickets to ensure legitimacy, and fans kept them as they walked to their seats. If the game was rained out, only the ticketholders could return when it was rescheduled. Free loaders would not have a ticket to show at the gate.

New Orleans had been drawing 5,000 fans during the week and up to 10,000 on the weekends, but the team was not making money because of the fence jumpers. Powell’s idea was soon adopted by other teams and was a rousing success.

It wasn’t good enough to save the Southern League, which was disbanded in July 1889. New Orleans had been leading the league when play was discontinued.

The league was gone, but Powell’s idea stuck.

While newspaper accounts in the 1940s and ’50s gave Powell credit for Ladies Day games (New Orleans held its first Ladies Day on April 29, 1887), the promotion actually took several years earlier. On June 16, 1883, the New York Gothams (later Giants) of the National League scheduled an “official” Ladies Day and allowed women to enter the game against the Cleveland Blues for free. The Gothams won that game, 5-2.

Powell’s claim of being the first to see the value of a tarpaulin is also not rock solid. Some sources claim the St. Louis Browns were the first. During the 19th century, bales of cotton were covered by tarpaulins to keep them dry. Powell allegedly spotted this at a Louisiana loading dock in 1887. As captain of the New Orleans Pelicans, he convinced team owner Toby Hart to try it.

When the Reds came to New Orleans the following spring to play an exhibition game, team officials apparently liked the tarp idea so much that they began using one to cover the infield on rainy days in Cincinnati.

However, an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on March 15, 1884, noted that the Browns covered the four bases with tarps “to protect them from wet weather.” Covering the pitcher’s mound became the norm in St. Louis two weeks later, according to the March 26, 1884, issue of Sporting Life.

Since Powell claimed his tarp covered the entire infield, he might have a claim to being the first to cover the entire infield.

Powell died in 1953 at the age of 92. While some baseball purists might have a bone to pick about the legitimacy of some of his claims, Powell (rightly or wrongly) has been acknowledged as the Bill Veeck of the 19th century.

And whether the “dog bites player” story is true or not (I have been unable to find a news report from 1886 that actually mentions it), The Associated Press, New York Post, Washington Post and SABR acknowledge the incident took place.

It’s a fun story. It would be a doggone shame if it wasn’t true.

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UD releasing Team Canada Master Collection

8/21/2015

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Upper Deck will be releasing its Team Canada Master Collection hockey product on August 26. Here is my preview on Sports Collectors Daily:

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/team-canada-master-collection-releases-august-26/
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Tommy Brown's teen HR mark still stands

8/19/2015

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On August 20, 1945, 17-year-old Tommy Brown of the Brooklyn Dodgers homered to become the youngest player to hit a home run in a major-league game. That record still stands. Here is my story on Sports Collectors Daily:

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/teen-tommys-historic-homer-still-stands/
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One pitch changed Tony C.'s life

8/19/2015

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Here is a story I wrote for Sports Collectors Daily on Tuesday about Tony Conigliaro, whose bright young career was derailed on August 18, 1967, when he was hit in the face by a pitch:

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/one-pitch-changed-conigliaros-career-and-life/



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Panini Flawless basketball returns

8/17/2015

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Panini America will send Flawless basketball, a high-end product, to the shelves in early September. Here is hte link to my story on Sports Collectors Dailty:

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/panini-high-end-flawless-basketball-to-return/
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Lots of sole: LT's cleats from Super Bowl XXV on the block

8/17/2015

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Lawrence Taylor's cleats from Super Bowl XXV are on the auction block. My story on Sports Collectors Daily:

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/lots-of-sole-auction-includes-lts-cleats-from-super-bowl-xxv/
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The fascinating, contentious game off the field

8/16/2015

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If you don’t believe that baseball is all about money, then a peek at the cover of “The Game” should set you straight. There is a photo of a baseball, but there are dollar signs used as the stitching.

It’s the perfect lead-in to Jon Pessah’s thorough, crisply written history of the last two decades of baseball. “The Game” (Little, Brown and Company; hardback; $30; 648 pages) gives the reader a “you are there” look at the power, politics — and yes, money — through the eyes of three major characters.

Pessah, a founding editor of ESPN the Magazine, focuses on three main characters — baseball commissioner Bud Selig, MLB Players Association chief Don Fehr and New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. Armed with five years of research and interviews with more than 150 sources, Pessah writes in the present tense and takes the reader through labor squabbles, boardroom politics, revenue sharing, luxury taxes, salary caps, contraction, Congressional hearings, steroids and other performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).

All three men have their strengths and weaknesses, and Pessah captures them perfectly. Selig, who has a genuine love of baseball, nevertheless is a cagey back-channel arm-twister who rarely asks for a vote unless he knows the result will be in his favor. He owns the small market Milwaukee Brewers and becomes acting commissioner after Fay Vincent was ousted in what amounted to an owners’ coup. 

PictureBud Selig led baseball from 1992 to january 2015.
Selig, who just retired as commissioner, left the game much richer and receives the brunt of Pessah’s criticism. He remained owner of the Brewers through much of his tenure as commissioner and pushed hard to force richer franchises to share the wealth. He also cut a deal to have a state-of-the-art baseball stadium built, on the backs of Wisconsin taxpayers.

Baseball fans will remember that Selig was baseball’s czar during a crippling strike in 1994 that also canceled the World Series, and made the decision to end the 2002 All-Star Game in Milwaukee in a tie when both teams had run out of players. They also will point to Selig seemingly turning a blind eye to steroid use in the mid-1990s, while baseball rebounded from the strike with a home run race for the ages between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa in 1998.


PictureUnion boss Don Fehr was perplexed and frustrated when the 1994 strike crippled baseball.
Fehr is the bulldog-like negotiator, cut from the same cloth as his mentor, Marvin Miller, but without the icy, calm reserve. Fehr is more emotional, but sticks to his guns and keeps the players’ union the strongest — and virtually unbeatable — among all the major sports.

Pessah is more lenient toward Fehr, who retired as the union chief in 2009, but does not give him a free pass. He documents how Fehr’s stubborn resistance to drug testing made eliminating PED use a much tougher road. And he notes the hostility between Fehr and Selig; Fehr does little to hide his contempt, and Selig has equal “warmth” for the union boss.

“Nothing infuriates baseball’s owners more than the media calling Fehr the game’s most powerful man,” Pessah writes. “Selig believes all Fehr really cares about is getting big money for his players.

“And that’s why he has to be stopped, if not driven from the game completely.”

It never happened. Fehr left on his own terms.


PictureAmong baseball's owners, George Steinbrenner was the straw that stirred the drink.
Steinbrenner is portrayed as he has been since taking over the Yankees in 1973 — domineering, bombastic and compulsive. Nothing new there. With apologies to Reggie Jackson, “The Boss” is clearly the straw that stirs the drink among baseball’s owners.

Pessah writes about Steinbrenner’s rocky relationships with his manager, Joe Torre; his general manager, Brian Cashman; and his love-hate relationship with Selig. Steinbrenner and Selig consider each other friends, but that does not stop them from butting heads — particularly when the issue is costing Steinbrenner money. The luxury tax is a key example.

Plus, the more deals Steinbrenner pulls off — his television contracts pour millions into his pocket and enable him to continue paying huge salaries and target lucrative free agents — the more Selig tries to reach into the Boss’ wallet to help the smaller market teams.

But it was Steinbrenner’s passion — and his money — that brought the Yankees back to relevance in the mid-1990s, and New York won five American League pennants and four World Series titles from 1996 to 2001.

There are other characters within “The Game” who receive good play — for example, George W. Bush, at the time the managing partner of the Texas Rangers, who aspired to be the next commissioner of baseball after Vincent was ousted. Selig effectively blocked that goal, and Bush went on to political success as governor of Texas and, later, president of the United States.

Sonia Sotomayer was a federal district judge in 1995 when she ruled in favor of the union, effectively ending the baseball strike. Sotomayer is now a Supreme Court justice.

 “The Game” does not really focus on the game of baseball — nor does it pretend to. Certainly there were great on-field events. Some of them, unfortunately, have since been tainted by the specter of PEDs. Selig and Fehr share equally, along with the media, in not recognizing the damage steroids was causing. It’s easy to turn a blind eye when baseballs are flying out of the park and stadiums are filling to capacity with fans eager to see home runs.

But while the on-field stuff is important, it is not the focus of Pessah’s work. Over the past two decades, a bigger and more contentious game was being played away from the diamond.

Will there be another work stoppage? With baseball producing billions in revenues and player salaries at an all-time high, it seems unlikely.

But, Pessah writes, when Fehr and Selig were going head to head, there was always that chance.

Fehr “still knows it is dangerous for the players to let down their guard, as long as the man sitting to his left (Selig) remains the Commissioner of baseball.”

Both Selig and Fehr are out of the picture now and Steinbrenner died in 2010, but the trio provided a fascinating chapter in baseball labor relations.

Pessah documents that rocky road with a timely, concise and entertaining prose. The book is not for everyone. If you’re geared solely toward statistics, fantasy baseball and whether the Mets’ pitching staff can lead New York to the World Series, “The Game” might not contain the minutiae you’re seeking.

But if you want a level-headed look at what took place over the past two decades—and with labor negotiations looming in 2016 —  “The Game” is a must read.


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Angelo Mosca still popular with collectors

8/13/2015

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Angelo Mosca made a big name for himself in the Canadian Football League, and later, in professional wrestling. In late August, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will retire his iconic No. 68.

Here is my story on Sports Collectors Daily: 

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/angelo-mosca-cards-span-topps-cfl-to-wrestling-all-stars/
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'Intangiball' shows a team's recipe for success

8/12/2015

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Intangibles, Lonnie Wheeler writes in his newest book, “don’t report straight to the scoreboard.”

“Like garlic, they stir into the sauce,” he writes. “Like yeast, they bake into the loaf.”

And like a talented cook, Wheeler gives baseball lovers a delicious feast. “Intangiball: The Subtle Things That Win Baseball Games” (Simon & Schuster; hardback; $26; 272 pages) is a fast-paced, entertaining look at the little things that win ballgames and produce successful teams.

It might be one of Wheeler’s best efforts, and that’s saying something about an author who has collaborated on autobiographies of Bob Gibson (“Stranger to the Game”), Hank Aaron (“I Had a Hammer”) and Mike Piazza (“Long Shot”); and also moderated the book-length dialogue between Gibson and Reggie Jackson in the fascinating “Sixty Feet, Six Inches.”

The book, Wheeler writes, is not dedicated to personal production or glory, but to “deepening the understanding of what a player truly brings to a team.” This idea of second-level statistics, Wheeler argues, shows that looking in unconventional places can reveal how one player’s actions affect those around him.

Very few baseball lovers will argue the Hall of Fame statistics Derek Jeter put up during his career with in New York, but what set the Yankees shortstop apart were plays like his flip toss to catcher Jorge Posada in the 2001 playoffs to preserve a precarious 1-0 lead. Jeter had run from shortstop to the first-base line on a long hit and was in the right spot when the throw from the outfield missed the cutoff men. His flip to Posada caught runner Jason Giambi by surprise, as the Athletics runner hadn’t even bothered to slide. But Posada’s quick tag snuffed the rally.

Wheeler calls Jeter “the prototype for the intangibles superstar.”

The Tampa Bay Rays made a surprising run to the World Series in 2008, but it was the senior clubhouse presence of Cliff Floyd — and not necessarily his big bat (11 homers and 39 RBIs in 80 games) — that proved to be a steadying influence to a young squad in need of leadership.

“It’s about doing things, large or small, that will count toward your personal credit only in the eyes of the truly informed,” Wheeler writes.

Wheeler, who covered the Reds for the Cincinnati Post, uses that team as the starting point for “Intangiball.” He tracks the Reds for five years, showing how the trades of stars like Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn actually helped the team become more successful. Players once overshadowed by the talents of Griffey and Dunn pulled together and brought winning seasons to Cincinnati and a pair of division titles in three seasons.

Wheeler cites the leadership of Joey Votto and Scott Rolen, who value team above individual achievements.

He also uses the acronym “Teamship” — toughness, execution, accountability, moxie, supportiveness, history, intensity, and passion —  to define intangibles. He breaks down intangibles two ways — situational and environmental. The former intangible is about the player who hits behind the runner or the catcher who deftly frames pitches to steal strikes. Environmental is more subtle, like a teammate giving a piece of advice or a slap on the shoulder for encouragement.

In addition to the Reds, Wheeler focuses on the Braves, Orioles, Rays and Phillies as teams that succeeded through intangibles.

It’s true, however, that for a team to win the World Series, it must have talent to go with those intangibles. Good chemistry helps, but the Oakland A’s won three consecutive World Series (1972, ’73 and ’74) in a tense environment. The 1977-78 Yankees were known as “The Bronx Zoo” because of all the owner-player-manager controversies. But those Yankees won back-to-back World Series titles. Those A’s made each other better, Wheeler argues, and so did the Yankees.

“The fact is that good chemistry will never trump a club’s or player’s basic aptitude for playing ball,” Wheeler writes. “But it contributes to that capacity.”

“Intangiball” shines through with solid research and good reporting, with some storytelling thrown in for good measure. Wheeler breaks down the intangibles in an easy-to-follow format. Certainly, a team needs talent to succeed. Twenty-five Eric Hinskes are not going to bring a team the pennant, but Hinske in strategic doses, like Floyd, made a difference for a young team like the Rays in 2008. An emotional, got-your-back player like Jonny Gomes could spell the difference between winning and losing.

David Ortiz, by sheer force of will and example, was able to inspire the Red Sox and help them finally break the Curse of the Bambino in 2004.

Even an established star like Pete Rose — and for a moment, remove the gambling out of the equation — made a difference. Rose was the guy who jump-started the Big Red Machine of the 1970s, and was the steadying force behind the Phillies’ first World Series championship in 1980.

Did Rose make his teammates better by his hustling play and intensity? You bet he did. Can it be quantified by numbers? Not entirely.

The list is endless.

But Wheeler brings some fresh insight to digest in “Intangiball,” and it’s a satisfying recipe.

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Preview of Topps Fire football

8/12/2015

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Here is my preview of 2015 Topps Fire Football, which is set to be released the week of January 7, 2016. This story appeared in Sports Collectors Daily:

Topps Fire preview: 
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Topps trots out different design for 2016 baseball

8/11/2015

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Topps broke precedent for its flagship baseball card product in 2015, eschewing its traditional white-bordered sets for a more colorful, rustic look. On Tuesday, Topps unveiled its design for 2016 Series One baseball, and the full-bleed look is in.

The story I wrote can be found on Sports Collectors Daily. 
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Staats' new book is a friendly, engaging read

8/10/2015

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While attendance figures at Tropicana Field this season are not what Tampa Bay Rays officials would like it to be (although this weekend’s series against the New York Mets — including Saturday’s sellout — was a pleasant exception), there is a big reason why the team is so popular on local television.

Dewayne Staats.

Always prepared, smooth and engaging, Staats has been the television voice of the Tampa Bay franchise since its birth in 1998. Now into his 40th season as a broadcaster, Staats is the friendly face and voice on the air, a consummate storyteller who is also savvy enough to know when to keep quiet.

Curt Smith, in his 2005 book “Voices of Summer,” ranked Staats 67th in his list of the 101 greatest baseball announcers. If Smith does a rewrite, there’s a good chance Staats moves up a few notches.

The preparation and determination Staats has displayed throughout his career is magnified in his new book, “Position to Win: A Look at Baseball and Life From the Best Seat in the House” (Advance Ink Publishing; paperback; $20; 274 pages). Collaborating with Staats is award-winning journalist Dave Scheiber, the former St. Petersburg Times writer whose 2008 book he co-authored with NBA referee Bob Delaney (“Covert: My Years Infiltrating the Mob”) is a chilling, riveting piece of journalism.

Staats and Scheiber team up in “Position to Win” and produce a smooth, cohesive and engaging book.

Staats’ philosophy behind the microphone — and in life — is simple, yet effective.

PictureStaats and former broadcasting partner Joe Magrane were the subjects of a popular bobblehead giveaway promotion by the Rays.
“When you’re in a crisis, maintaining a sense of calm — and softer approach — is far more effective than yelling and screaming,” he writes.

That’s why Staats is not a rah-rah guy like one of his famous broadcasting partners (Harry Caray), but he is definitely not a deadpan, Curt Gowdy type, either.

Anyone who has heard Staats’ call of Evan Longoria’s game-winning homer in the final regular-season game of 2011 — when Tampa Bay overcame a 7-0 deficit to beat the New York Yankees in extra innings and clinch a wild-card berth — is a perfect example. Staats had the presence of mind to make the call, show the proper amount of excitement and then go silent, letting the audience soak in the moment.

“Your enthusiasm will come through, but you should never manufacture it, or it won’t be authentic, and people will know,” Staats writes as he quotes his mentor, legendary Houston broadcaster Gene Elston.

Looking at the cover of “Position to Win,” a reader can see the announcers Staats admires. His bookcase contains biographies of Vin Scully (“Pull Up A Chair”), Mel Allen (“The Voice”), Ernie Harwell and Harry Kalas, to name a few.


PictureVeteran award-winning journalist Dave Scheiber co-wrote "Position to Win" with Dewayne Staats.
Staats established a rapport early in life with Elston, writing him letters from his boyhood home of East Alton, Illinois. It was Elston’s encouraging reply that was “a true game-changer” for a 10-year-old boy, and one can hear the Hall of Famer’s straightforward and positive manner in Staats’ work. Elston’s encouragement served as a jolt toward broadcasting for a living.

That persistence, coupled with the work ethic instilled by his father and the storytelling knack he inherited from his paternal grandfather, made Staats a natural broadcasting baseball on radio and television. Staats did college and minor-league broadcasts before joining his mentor in the booth in 1977 at age 23.

In “Position to Win,” Staats spins stories about his years with the Houston Astros and Elston, his time with Caray doing Chicago Cubs games, and his years partnering with Tony Kubek on Yankees telecasts. One time during the 1990s, he tricked Buck Showalter, doing a dead-on, breathy imitation of Caray over the telephone, and the somber Yankees manager was not amused. He also mentions how Yankees owner George Steinbrenner did not like Kubek’s criticisms during broadcasts, but liked “that Staats kid.”

Staats also writes about his work on ESPN, and goes into great detail about his 18 years calling Devil Rays/Rays games. He said his call of Longoria’s homer in 2011 was “the topper” of his years in Tampa Bay.

In a cut-throat business, Staats has remained humble. While interviewing for a spot in the Cubs’ booth, he was asked whether he had an ego. His answer was instructive.

“Yes, absolutely. Everybody in this room has an ego,” he said. “If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be in this room.

“The question is, what do you do with it? Do you control it — or does it control you?”

Some things in life Staats could not control, like the cancer that took his first wife, Dee, on July 8, 2005. That ended a longtime partnership and shows how despite his sorrow, Staats was able to leave his emotions at the door of the broadcast booth. He tells the story of both of his marriages (his second wife Carla was a longtime family friend), his children and grandchildren with tenderness. It also shows Staats’ warmth when it comes to family, which has now grown to include three grandchildren.

While Staats and Scheiber combined for a near-seamless effort, there were a few glitches. Pitcher Drew Smyly’s name is misspelled as “Smiley,” and former Dodgers pitcher Burt Hooton’s last name was spelled as “Hooten” at least once. It’s also noted that Joe Morgan won three World Series rings during his career, when in fact, it only happened twice (1975 and ’76).

Those are minor points. The major thrust of “Position to Win,” is all about preparation and taking advantage of opportunities.

“The more you remain focused and prepared, the greater chance you’ll have to succeed when your chance comes,” Staats writes. “In baseball, or any endeavor you undertake.”

It’s good advice, and Staats is content to let his readers soak in that final thought.

“Position to Win” is available on Amazon.com; portions of the book benefit Quantum Leap Farm — his wife Carla is a counselor at the Lutz, Florida, facility; and Write Field, a division of the St. Petersburg-based Poynter Institute.

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Donruss Football returns in 2015

8/6/2015

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Here is the link to the story I wrote on Sports Collectors Daily about the return of Donruss Football as a stand-alone product for the first time since 2002. 

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/preview-2015-donruss-football/
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Remembering baseball's stickiest situation

8/3/2015

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It was a temper tantrum for the ages. The Pine Tar Game gave major-league baseball its own version of a raging bull.

An enraged Kansas City third baseman George Brett comes charging out of the dugout, arms flailing, veins popping on his neck. He has to be restrained by umpire Joe Brinkman, who has him in a headlock.

Even Brett’s three sons used to pop in the tape of the Pine Tar Game, and “watch Dad go berserk.”

“They sit around and chuckle,” Brett says.

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/6479266/v3977861/bb-moments-72483-george-bretts-pine-tar-bat

Longtime New York Daily News columnist Filip Bondy puts this wacky 1983 game and its aftermath into perspective in his new book, “The Pine Tar Game: The Kansas City Royals, the New York Yankees, and Baseball’s Most Absurd and Entertaining Controversy” (Scribner; hardback; $25; 246 pages). Bondy, who covered the Yankees in 1983 as a young sportswriter, brings depth and nuance into the rivalry between New York and Kansas City.

The fact that the actual game isn’t reported on until Page 127 is not a detriment. Bondy’s narrative leading up to the pine tar incident is fascinating and illuminating.

The Pine Tar Game wasn’t just an isolated incident, but the boiling point of a feud that was building for nearly three decades. The two cities had been dueling ever since the Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City in 1955, and the Yankees continued to treat the team like its former minor-league affiliate in the city, cherry picking stars like Roger Maris, Ralph Terry and Clete Boyer, among others.

The Royals entered the majors in 1969, a year after the A’s bolted for Oakland. By 1976, the Royals began a run of three straight division titles—but were denied a World Series berth each time by the Yankees. Kansas City finally broke through by beating the Yankees in the 1980 ALCS. Brett unloaded a monstrous three-run homer off Goose Gossage in the deciding game to punch the Royals’ first ticket to the World Series.

On July 24, 1983 at Yankee Stadium, Brett had hit what he thought was a go-ahead two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning off Gossage. Instead, Yankees manager Billy Martin came out and showed the umpires that Brett’s bat, covered in pine tar, had exceeded the 18-inch limit from the bat barrel allowed under the rules.

“If he (Martin) wins this, there will be chaos,” Yankees radio broadcaster Phil Rizzuto said.

The Scooter was right. Martin won it. Brett was called out, the homer was nullified and the game was over. And holy cow, there was chaos after the umpires invoked Rule 1.10(c).

“I looked like my father chasing me around after I brought home my report card,” Brett said.

“Maddest baseball player I’ve ever seen, for sure,” Gossage said. “I was out there laughing my head off.

“I thought it was hilarious.”

Histrionics aside, it became apparent that the obscure rule was well, ridiculous. Once Brett was subdued (the whole incident lasted 130 seconds), the game was protested to the American League office, After 25 days, AL president Lee MacPhail upheld the protest and ordered the game to resume after the home run — with Kansas City leading 5-4 in the top of the ninth. The Royals held on to win, and the Pine Tar Game was history.

Bondy builds this story in “The Pine Tar Game,” layering it with player profiles and history. He writes that Yankees third base coach Don Zimmer alerted Martin to the illegality of the bat. But it’s the chapter after the game that is what sets “The Pine Tar Game” apart from other descriptions. Bondy writes about Dean Taylor, who was the Royals’ assistant director of scouting development in 1983.

After seeing the incident on television, Taylor, a self-proclaimed “sort of a rules buff,” did some research and realized that the penalty for violating Rule 110 was limited to removing the bat from the game. The pine tar did not enhance the distance a ball could travel, like a corked bat might; it simply aided the batter’s grip.

“The light went on over my head and I thought the umpires had misinterpreted the rules,” Taylor said.

It was true, Bondy writes. “The ball had not been struck illegally. It was just the bat that was illegal.”

MacPhail upheld the protest, and Bondy writes that Martin was put “in the extremely unfamiliar position of defending the integrity of umpires.”

The continuation of the game bordered on a farce. Pitcher Ron Guidry was playing center field. First baseman Don Mattingly was shifted to second base. Martin tried an appeal at each base, but each was denied. When Martin tried to protest that this was a different umpiring crew than the July 24 bunch, home plate umpire Dave Phillips produced an affidavit signed by the original crew, stating that Brett had touched all the bases.

Bondy’s characterizations of the rival owners are deadly accurate. Royals owner Ewing Kauffman and Yankees owner George Steinbrenner could not have been more different. Kauffman was “a calm, thoughtful man, Bondy writes, who was advised by his doctor to pursue a hobby — so he bought the Royals. He knew only three songs: “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and “Onward Christian Soldiers.” Steinbrenner was the exact opposite: blustery, bombastic and controversial. Hands-on and meddlesome to a fault.

“If this had been 1776, Kauffman would be Thomas Jefferson to Steinbrenner’s Samuel Adams,” Kauffman writes.

Bondy also peppers the book with mini-profiles, writing about McPhail, Roy Cohn, Rush Limbaugh, John Schuerholz, Dick Howser and Bob Fishel.

Brett, who went on to a Hall of Fame career, is amused by the Pine Tar Game and how he is remembered.

“I played twenty years in the major leagues,” he said. “I did some good things, and the one at-bat I’m remembered for is an at-bat in July, not an at-bat in October like Reggie Jackson.

“Only in New York.”

Bondy has written an entertaining book that captures the excitement, the drama, and the absolute absurdity over the stickiest situation in baseball history.

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Preview of 2016 Topps Museum Collection Football

8/2/2015

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Here is the link to the story I wrote for Sports Collectors Daily, previewing Topps' 2016 Museum Collection football product. These cards will be released the week of January 27, 2016.

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/2015-topps-museum-collection-football-preview/
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Topps Tribute hopes to rebound in 2016

8/2/2015

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Here is a link to my preview of 2016 Topps Tribute baseball, written today for Sports Collectors Daily: 

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/2016-topps-tribute-baseball-looks-to-rebound/
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    I love to blog about sports books and give my opinion. Baseball books are my favorites, but I read and review all kinds of books.

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