Don Zimmer

A lot has already been said about Don Zimmer, both around the blogosphere and elsewhere in the media. I heard about it while watching last night's Cubs game. A game they came from behind to win.

Baseball doesn't get much better than when you're a 10 year old boy and for me, that was the Boys of Zimmer era of the Cubs. I raced home from school to watch them on WGN, hoping I hadn't already missed more than a couple of innings. And while the number of games have varied over the years, twenty five years later, I'm still following the Cubs on WGN from Virginia.

A lot of the teams could honor him (original Met, Rockies coach in expansion season, Yankees coach during Torre years, Brooklyn Dodger, 6xtime World Series champion as a player and coach, etc) and I'm hoping the Cubs do.

At a bare minimum, how about  patch? He wore #4 as a coach and manager with the Cubs. As a player, his one All-Star season came with the Cubs (wearing #17).

This is my most recent custom that I made of Zimmer, earlier this year and one of my favorites that I've ever made. This is exactly how I remember him.

Back in Spring Training of 2013, I got these ATCRCS cards signed with a little help from an SCN member. One as a manger and one as a player.

I was also able to get a Desert Shield card signed for my set. 

And before I was collecting signed cards, I was getting ice cream helmets signed by significant Cubs. This one got done at ne of the Sun Times shows I believe.

I also had this poster made that I never had printed. I'ts a little late now to get autographed but I think I will finally get it printed and have it displayed.

RIP Popeye

Going a different way...

After messing around with this new-old template, I began thinking how this might make for a much bigger historically significant set. Like 100 Cubs from 100 Years at Wrigley. Or maybe an All-Time 40-Man Roster set. But in either set, there are a bunch of guys that I probably wouldn't be able to find good, usable, color photos of to be included. Guys like Gabby Hartnett, Cap Anson or Hack Wilson.

So I decided against an official set but here are a few cards I put together just for fun.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I grew up with the Boys of Zimmer so this is one of my all-time favorite cards I've made now.

I'm too young to have seen Ron Santo play, but he is definitely under represented in these recent Topps sets that include retired players.

One of the newest Hall of Famers, set to be enshrined in Cooperstown this summer is Greg Maddux. I love the look of thought from the "Professor" in this photo so even though he isn't in a home jersey for a Wrigley Field themed set, I used it anyway.

And finally, I can't go wrong with either of these two Hall of Famers. But before Wrigley Wax gets on my case about using these two overused photos, in my defense, there aren't too many good color photos of these guys!

Maybe I can do a 25-man roster of players from the "color photo" era. Or at the very least, a starting nine. I'll save that list for a future post.

Signature Saturday - Don Zimmer

I've made no secret of the fact that my favorite Cubs team to date has been the 1989 so-called Boys of Zimmer. I was a bandwagon, 1st grade fan in 1984 when I spent the 1984-1985 school year in Moline. After that, I moved around quite a bit, but was always able to find the Cubs on WGN.

Fast forward a couple of years, I am starting to learn more about the game, collect baseball cards and consequently the players. Meanwhile, the Cubs had a new manager in 1988, Don Zimmer. Despite a losing record, the Cubs managed to send six players to the 1988 All-Star game. Zimmer proceeded to lead a 16 game turnaround for the Cubs in 1989, winning the National League East division and the NL Manager of the Year title.

Along with the Les Lancaster, Sandy Alomar Sr and Dwight cards I sent down to Spirng Training, I also included a couple of Don Zimmer card. In the card below, Zimmer is arguing a call with an umpire who didn't make the cut to be included in the card. The incredulous look on his face was perfect for a manager card. Thankfully, he signed between his jacket and his name where the blue signature could be more easily seen.

Not only did Zimmer manage the Cubs (and coach a few years prior), but he also played for the Cubs in 1960 and 1961 when he earned his only All-Star appearance. So he gets two ATCRCS cards! Below is a much younger "Popeye" from his playing days. With nothing hindering his autograph, I got a nice bold signature right across the middle of the card.

But wait, there's more! In addition to the ATCRCS cards I'm working on, Zimmer was also included in the Desert Shield set in 1991.

These cards mark the 46th and 47th signed ATCRCS cards in my collection and the 5th signed Desert Shield Cubs team set card.

Additionally, I have previously shown off my Don Zimmer ice cream helmet as part of that subcollection. But here it is again since that was in the way early history of the blog.

Don Zimmer Desert Shield

I recently picked up this card in anticipation of a Don Zimmer private signing that fell through.


Don Zimmer, 1991 Topps Desert Shield


He doesn't make very many appearances that I've seen so I was planning on going all in on this signing. I have all of his regular Topps cards (with the Cubs, none of that Dodgers junk), a bunch of photos, separate player and manager ATCRCS cards, a Manager of the Year 8x10 I was going to start and also get signed by Jim Frey and Lou Piniella, plus a few other magazines and other pieces of memoribilia featuring Popeye.

Have I mentioned that I grew up with and am a big fan of the Boys of Zimmer??? Haha. I'm not exactly sure what happened with the signing, but I hope there will be another opportunity in the near future.

Anyway, I have about a dozen others from the team set and there are a bunch on eBay at any given time, but I am being very particular about this collection in terms of condition and centering. So this makes 5 officially in the collection.

Free team winner announcement...

I announced a little incentive program in Tuesday's post to get more people involved in the break. As of this posting, 14 teams are gone. I put 12 of them into the randomizer (removed my two teams) along with my two extra entries each for Superduperman99 over at Fantastic Catch and BA Benny over at the newly re-opened BA Benny's Baseball Card Buffett. They mentioned the break on their own blogs to help drum up some participants. Thanks guys! This brings up the number of entries to 16 into the randomizer. Randomized 3 times:

Not sure why the print screens didn't come out so clear but I didn't want to re-randomize and cheat someone out of a victory. You should be able to tell that The Dutch Card Guy won with his Astros selection. He also would have won the second randomization with his Tigers pick. Hopefully he didn't use up all his luck on this and can pull some great cards too!

By the time this posts, I will have sent him an email and there will be a moratorium on team selections until he makes his freebie pick. I will update this post when picks can be made again and leave it open until Friday night at midnight EST because the break will be Saturday.

*EDIT* Moratorium over. Angels selected. Head over here to see if your team is claimed. If not, claim it!!

As an added bonus today, I'm going to treat everybody to two ATCRCS cards today. A double dose of Don if you will. Zimmer that is. This first picture has been in my header since I started the blog but here's a better shot of it. I love the pose and facial expression and can only imagine he's arguing with the ump. Here is your 1989 National League Manager of the Year:

I think he is more widely associated with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers during his playing days but he also spent time with the Cubs in the early 1960's. Zimmer even made his only career All-Star appearances while with the Cubs in both of the 1961 All-Star games, though he only got playing time in the first one. Here's a more youthful Popeye: