All Time Greatest Teams: Cards from My First Cousin Once Removed, Part 2 of 2

Yesterday I left you with a picture of a card album as a teaser, but before we get to the album I want to show you a note I found in a PWE tucked inside the box from my mother's cousin, Mark.

Strange Cards

 The list of strange cards is kind of cryptic, especially with the way it starts. Below are the cards which coincide with the descriptors.

Deceased:

 True. The Houston Colt .45s are no longer a team, but I don't think that's what Mark was referring to. Check the back.

 Nick, over at Dime Boxes, likes to talk about sunset cards, and this one may be the ultimate sunset card.

Lost Laundry:

 Yeah, I think Kirby lost his shirt. Oops.

Borrowed my kid's bat:

 I didn't even notice the size of the bat Yogi was holding in that picture. But yeah, it seems abnormally small!

Predicts my Hall of Fame Chances:

 Ooooh!  Mark is laying down some witty sass!

I can fly:

 It sure does look like it. On the planet Tatooine no less!

Slightly bigger dimension - why???

I can answer that one!  Topps Big wouldn't be called Topps Big if the cards weren't slightly larger in size. Nice concept I suppose, but a pain for collectors to store.

Fun stuff!  Now, on to the binder!

It's empty?  Huh?

No worries, I found all of the cards in nine-pocket pages. Let's check out the All Time Greatest Teams in reverse chronological order.  These cards are from the 1987 TCMA set.

The 1969 Mets, World Series Champions, 100-62:

 Or should I say the "1969 Miracle Mets"? Cleon Jones and Jerry Koosman were All-Stars with Tom Seaver. Seaver also won the Cy Young and would go into the Hall of Fame with Nolan Ryan. Why there isn't a card of Tom Seaver is beyond me.

The 1961 Yankees, World Series Champions, 103-59:

 Eight Yankees made the All-Star team that year and three of them would be inducted in the HOF. Roger Maris would break Babe Ruth's home run record and win the MVP. White Ford would win the Cy Young.

The 1960 Pirates, World Series Champions, 95-59

 Eight All-Stars, two future HOFers in Maz and Clemente, an MVP in Dick Groat, and the Cy Young winner in Vern Law. Wow.

1957 Milwaukee Braves, World Series Champions, 95-59

 Six All-Stars, four Hall of Famers (Aaron, Spahn, Schoendeienst and Eddie Mathews), Aaron won the MVP and Spahn won the Cy Young.

1955 Brooklyn Dodgers, World Series Champions, 98-55

Roy Campanella was the MVP, there were four All-Stars, and SIX would find themselves in Cooperstown: Campanella, Robinson, Snider, Reese, Koufax and Tommy Lasorda.

1950 Philadelphia Phillies, NL Pennant, 91-63

 The Yankees won the World Series that year, but the Phillies are recognized as one of the greatest teams. The team had four All-Stars in Robin Roberts, Dick Sisler, Willie Jones and Jim Konstanty, who also won the Cy Young. Roberts and Richie Ashburn would go on to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

1946 Boston Red Sox, AL Pennant, 104-50

The Red Sox lost the World Series to the Cardinals, but had eight players elected to the All-Star game that year. Bobby Doerr and Ted Williams would wind up in Cooperstown and Williams would win the MVP that year.

 1934 St. Louis Cardinals, World Series Champions, 94-58

Four All-Stars in this group, but to be fair the NL only had 21 make the mid-summer classic. Dizzy Dean, a pitcher, won the MVP, and it's worth noting the first year the Cy Young Award was issued was in 1956. SEVEN names from the roster made it to the Hall of Fame: Dizzy Dean, Frankie Frisch, Burleigh Grimes, Jesse Haines, Joe Medwick, Dazzy Vance and Leo Durocher.

1927 New York Yankees, World Series Champions, 110-44

The original Bronx Bombers! Lou Gehrig was the MVP. There was no All-Star game, as the first one played was in 1933. Earle Combs, Gehrig, Waite Hoyt, Tony Lazzeri, Herb Pennock, and Babe Ruth would be enshrined in Cooperstown.

1907 Chicago Cubs, World Series Champions, 107-45

This was an era before All-Star Games and season ending player awards, but Mordecai Brown, Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance would go down in baseball lore. The Cubs hit 13 homers as a team that year... man that was a completely different time.

I'm really excited to add these card to my collection. I've been working on a Hall of Fame binder, and these cards will fit right in.

Thanks again for the cards, Mark!