Why Did Jim Brewer and the Chicago Cubs Sue Billy Martin
More than 1,600 Chicago Cubs baseball cards served as an after work present this week. A treat during Halloween week. Three packages arrived from Pennsylvania, Indiana, and New York.
Jeff in PA sent a stack of 1991 Upper Deck Cubs cards. One of the cards was one of my favorites from this set. Card number 725 featuring Andre Dawson, George Bell, and Ryne Sandberg. The Cubs had just signed Bell, a former American League MVP with the Toronto Blue Jays. It became the first trio in baseball to have three MVP's since 1984 when the Angels lineup boasted Reggie Jackson, Rod Carew, and Fred Lynn.
Unfortunately, this MVP lineup didn't live up to the trading card's final sentence on the back: "Chicago fans are banking on their million dollar 'MVP lineup' to lead them to their first World Series appearance in 46 years." No, it would take another 25 years before Cubs fans would get to see that.
It has been a while since I made a trade with Brad in Indy. We made a couple trades last year, and I'll be putting together a nice box of Dodgers cards for him. He sent 667 Cubs cards that included several highlights like this Kris Bryant manufactured relic from 2019 Topps.
A new Kris Bryant for my collection is this insert from 2019 Topps Heritage.
Yet another new Kris Bryant baseball card added. It's from 2019 Topps Gallery National Baseball Card Day.
Brad also included a nice stack of vintage early 1970's Cubs. One of my favorites is this 1972 National League Battling Leaders card that features Cub Glenn Beckert flanked by Ralph Garr and Joe Torre.
From the past to the future now to 2019 Bowman Platinum Prismatic Prodigies Miguel Amaya.
Topps Archives had an insert in this year's product of Topps Magazine. For the younger readers, yes, there was an actual magazine that Topps published back in the 1990's. It also included cards you could cut out. I like this Anthony Rizzo photo, because it's a pose you don't often see. Batting and fielding poses can get really over used and boring.
This 2019 Donruss red foil David Bote is another new card for me.
And I hit a trifecta with Victor Caratini hits. Take a peep at these Caratini cards from 2018 Diamond Kings. A Rookie Signatures autograph, a jersey relic, and a serial number 12/25.
Kevin in New York and I have done multiple trades, also. This one was a big one as he sent a medium flat rate box filled with nearly 1,000 Cubs cards along with a few hundred cards of the Washington Nationals, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Colorado Rockies. I am still in need of these teams, so feel free to reach out for trades. Would prefer bulk trades (a few hundred or more).
Inside this box was a colorful Nomar Garciaparra from 2005 Donruss Zenith. It looked like a parallel from the front so I checked out the back and sure enough it's serial numbered 330/350.
Starting Lineups were really cool growing up. I didn't have too many as I was cards-focused, but had a couple here and there. It's always neat receiving Starting Lineup cards in trades like this 1991 Ryne Sandberg.
A Greg Maddux 1987 Donruss Rated Rookie. Complete with creepy Maddux mustache.
2012 Topps Heritage is my favorite Heritage set. That probably come as no surprise because 1963 Topps is one of my all-time favorite Topps designs. This is also a first-year Cubs card of Anthony Rizzo. Too bad he was a rookie with the Padres a year before. This could have been an iconic Cubs rookie card.
Now we go back to some actual 1960's baseball cards. First up, a team card from 1966 Topps. A close-up reminder at how bad the 1960's Chicago Cubs teams actually were with that 8th place finish emblazoned right on the front of the card.
Jim Brewer and his 1961 Topps rookie card. Brewer did have a very illustrious Cubs career, but he did get hospitalized in a fight with Billy Martin (playing for the Cincinnati Reds) a year before this baseball card came out. The fight played out on August 4, 1960, and it was Brewer's fourth career start. Brewer and the Chicago Cubs actually filed a lawsuit against Billy Martin for more than one million dollars. Initially, a jury ruled against Martin in the amount of $100,000. Martin appealed and the verdict was reduced to $35,000. Yet again, Martin appealed the decision and ultimately it was settled out of court for an estimated $10,000.
One Million Cubs Project Stats Tuesday's (10/29/2019) Cards: 1,621
Tuesday's (10/29/2019) Packages: 3
January's Cubs Count: 9,343
February's Cubs Count: 8,980
March's Cubs Count: 15,704
April's Cubs Count: 11,651
May's Cubs Count: 7,273
June's Cubs Count: 7,690
July's Cubs Count: 10,803
August's Cubs Count: 11,929
September's Cubs Count: 9,127
October's Cubs Count: 15,675
Total Trades/Donations: 278
Trade States of Origin: Arizona (4) Alabama (5)
Arkansas California (21)
Colorado (5) Connecticut (14)
Delaware (2)
Florida (11)
Georgia (3)
Idaho (3) Illinois (23) Indiana (6)
Iowa (2)
Kansas
Kentucky (2)
Louisiana Maryland (12) Massachusetts (10)
Michigan Minnesota (3)
Mississippi
Missouri (5)
Nebraska
Nevada (2)
New Hampshire (2) New Jersey (14)
New Mexico (3) New York (27) North Carolina (6)
North Dakota Ohio (17)
Oregon (3) Pennsylvania (8)
Rhode Island (2)
South Carolina (2)
South Dakota Tennessee (8) Texas (7)
Utah
Vermont (4)
Virginia (2) Washington (5)
West Virginia (7) Wisconsin (12)
Countries of Origin
Canada (1)
Korea (2)