Monday, June 23, 2014

Jim Bunning Hall of Fame Poster


With all the recent hoopla about Jim Bunning's perfect game on Fathers' Day 50 years ago, I was reminded of a poster I picked up a few years ago.

I found this tonight, and remembered that I got it at a yard sale. They had a whole stack of them for sale, so I picked up one for me and one for my brother.

This poster is from 1996, when Bunning was inducted into the Hall of Fame.


The poster is 8 1/2" x 11", with a very high gloss on the front. Surrounding Bunning's portrait are all his Topps individual baseball cards from 1957 to 1971, plus the NL Strikeout Leaders card from the 1967 set. At the bottom is the ticket from the perfect game against the Mets in June 1964.
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Sunday, June 15, 2014

RIP - Bill McCool


Former left-handed reliever Bill McCool passed away on June 8, 2014 at age 69.


Signed by the Cincinnati Reds in 1963, he made his major-league debut at age 19 in April 1964, and was named to the Topps All-Rookie Team that season. McCool pitched for the Reds from 1964 to 1968. He led the team in saves in both 1965 and 1966, and made the all-star team in 1966.

Selected by the San Diego Padres in the October 1968 expansion draft, Bill pitched one season for the Padres, before finishing his major-league career with the Cardinals in 1970. In 1971, he pitched in triple-A ball for the Royals and Twins before retiring.

In 2013 he was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame, where he pitched in high school in 1962.

 Obituary
 

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

RIP - Don Zimmer


Former player, manager, and coach Don Zimmer passed away on June 4th, 2014 at the age of 83. He had been hospitalized since mid-April following heart surgery.

Zimmer played 3B and SS in the majors from 1954 to 1965, for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, and also the Cubs, Mets, Reds, and Senators. He also played in Japan in 1966.


After his playing career, he was a big-league coach, and also managed the Padres (1972-73), Red Sox ('76-'80), Rangers ('81-'82), and Cubs ('88-'91). More recently, he was a Yankees' coach during the Joe Torre regime, and for the past 10 years has been with the Tampa Bay Rays.

CBS obituary