First Pitch Friday - Golden Tate

So here I am, getting a start on yesterday's post by branching out and featuring somebody from a different team. If you missed yesterday's post, check it out as I'd like to hear your opinion!

I've mentioned previously that a fellow collector from the Seattle area has been helping me get a few ATCRCS signed for my collection and I have been making him some Mariners cards for some of their new guys. With football underway, I have also been sending him some Seahawks cards for guys that have been appearing at the team Pro Shop for free autograph signings.

Just this past week, Golden Tate was the scheduled guest so I sent a pair of cards (plus extras for him & Tate). Rumor has it Tate really liked them and asked for a business card to have more made. Score! Of the two I sent, one is the first pitch card below:

Tate was drafted out of high school to play baseball by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 42nd round of the 2007 draft. He chose to attend the University of Notre Dame instead and was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2nd round of the 2010 NFL draft. Not only that, but Tate was also re-drafted in baseball as well, this time by the San Francisco Giants in the 50th round in 2010.

The other card I sent is part of a very basic design that I've been using for the other free Seahawks signings. It's just a matter of changing out the name, position and photo.

I also created a "PASS" custom from his Notre Dame days but I did not send this one in for the signing.

And last but not least, I ran this latest design by the message board on SCN and have come down to these two "finalists" for something new. Let me know what you think.

First Pitch Friday - Andre Dawson

Short post today but in my best wrestler impersonation voice...

FINALLY. The HAWK. has come BACK. to WRIIIIGLEY!

Yes, I'm sure that Andre Dawson probably comes back to Wrigley Field quite often but I couldn't resist. After all, Kerry Wood just fished him out of the ivy just last year, right?

Even though Dawson works in the front offices with the Florida Miami Marlins, he still donned a Cubs jersey and threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field on September 2, 2013. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the Cubs fell to the Marlins 4-3 that day.

First Pitch Friday - Colin Cowherd

I'll be honest, I don't watch a lot of TV and/or sport news. Most of my information, including sports highlights, is gleaned from the interwebs. My older son on the other hand, can sit through back to back episodes of the same Sportscenter and often leaves ESPN on in the background while he goes about his routine.

So while I had to find a name to go along with the picture, he walked by while I was doing the photo editing on this card and asked me what Colin Cowherd was doing in a Cub jersey.

Once I had the name though, it all came together. I knew of Sports Nation on ESPN. It was on in the background of my house quite often, and I occasionally sat through some epsiodes if the highlights kept my attention. And while it seemed a bit on the silly side, I don't think it actually bills itself as a news program so more power to it.

Cowherd also has an ESPN Radio show, The Herd. I can't say that I've ever listened to it but I'm not much of a radio guy either.

Anyway, Cowherd threw out the first pitch before a Cubs-Reds game on August 13, 2013. I'm not sure what, if anything, he was promoting with his appearance or if the Cubs just needed somebody to do it. I couldn't find any video evidence of said pitch but he seems to be rocking out so I'm guessing it was reasonably close.

First Pitch Friday - Aimee Garcia

Chicago native Aimee Garcia threw out the first pitch at the Cubs-Reds game on Monday, August 12, 2013. Of course, the Cubs would go on to lose 2-0, but that didn't stop her from being excited about it. I'm not on Twitter much but when I Googled Garcia to find out more, her Twitter account popped up as one of the first couple of results. She tweeted a video replay of her pitch and also a pre-pitch photo with Logan Watkins.

I also learned she participated in Kerry Wood's Wiffle Ball Classic. These are the kind of events that made me wish I lived near enough to attend. They're calling it the first annual, so maybe next year?!?

Garcia currently stars in Dexter. I watched most of the first season before losing access to Showtime and never bothered to get back into it. Maybe I'll see if Netflix has it. But I know her mostly from George Lopez reruns that my kids have been watching on Nick at Nite. Man, when I was a kid, Nick at Nite showed The Monkees. Now its Friends and The Nanny and George Lopez, shows that were on when I was in high school. Getting old...

First Pitch Friday - Dutchie Caray

On July 13, 2013, Dutchie Caray threw out the first pitch at a Cubs game against the St. Louis Cardinals. This isn't the first time she has thrown out the first pitch but it is the first and only one I've been able to find a picture of to use for the custom. The Cubs would go on to win this one 6-4.

Also of note that day, and probably the reason she was invited, was that the Cubs were giving away a Harry Caray replica statue to the first 10,000 fans. I "borrowed" the photo below from an ebay auction. They are going for a pretty penny right now so I'll have to wait until the bidding frenzy dies down a bit or live without. 

First Pitch Friday - Patrick Sharp

The Cubs have had a slew of Chicago Blackhawks throwing out first pitches lately. I don't follow hockey as much, is there some kind of tie in? I kid, of course.

While cards for those players will show up eventually, I do have one today from an appearance by a Blackhawk last season, Patrick Sharp.

I was kidding about not knowing about the Stanley Cub victory but only a little bit about not watching hockey. Where I live, the talk is all Caps, Caps, Caps and Ovie so I don't know much about the Blackhawks aside from two recent titles. I recognize names like Sharp and Kane and Coach Q and probably others if I heard them, but couldn't tell you why Sharp played almost as many playoff games as regular season games this past season. Injury? How many games did they lose to the strike or lockout, whatever it was?

Either way, Patrick Sharp threw out the first pitch on September 2, 2012 in a game between the Cubs and the San Francisco Giants.The Cubs lost to the Giants 7-5 with, not surprisingly, Carlos Marmol taking the loss after giving up two runs in the 9th.

First Pitch Friday - Fergie Jenkins

These two cards were courtesy of the same guy that helped me with the two Andre Dawson autographs I showed off earlier this week. I already had an ATCRCS card for Jenkins, in fact, he was one of the first couple I picked up.

This time, I sent in a First Pitch card and one of the A&G/ATCRCS mashups. Jenkins has thrown out a ceremonial first pitch numerous times. This particular occasion happened to be October 2, 2008, Game 2 of the 2008 NLDS and is currently the most recent postseason game at Wrigley Field. The Cubs would go on to get blown out 10-3 and ultimately get swept by the Dodgers in that series but there's not reason to concern ourselves with that. Jenkins continues to be a very gracious signer and I hope to add more of these types of cards to my collection.

The photo behind the card

 As I mentioned, I also sent in one of my newer designs. Notice on the First Pitch card I went with the contemporary logo as that fit the time frame of the occasion. I used the older logo on this card below as it matches the one of his sleeve in the photo.

I thought I had found a unique photo (although he does have a few in similar poses). Unfortunately, a closer inspection brought forth a 2006 Greats of the Game card. Below is a Pewter version:

Whoops, oh well.

First Pitch Friday - Dan Quayle

It feels like it has been a while since I did one of these. In fact, I'm not sure I've done one since the season started.

All politics aside, the spelling bee last week reminded me of the infamous Dan Quayle potato"e" incident and I vaguely remembered him throwing out a first pitch so I tracked down a photo. From what I've read, he grew up listening to White Sox games and threw out a first pitch when New Comiskey was still fairly new but I try not to discriminate here at Once a Cub. I believe he also threw out pitches at Memorial Stadium and Camden Yards during his time in office. Such is the life of a politician, I guess.

 

By all accounts, Quayle threw a strike to catcher Rick Wrona before the Dodgers proceeded to give the Cubs a 15-6 beatdown behind Fernando Valenzuela. I also came across some photos of Tommy Lasorda trying to give Quayle a Dodgers jacket that same game.

 

After looking at the boxscore, it must have been a crazy day. Maybe I'm offbase here, but I don't remember Lenny Harris as a speed demon Apparently he legged out a bases loaded triple. That's fine, Wrigley has some weird nooks and crannies. But Fernando was on first when it was hit! So not only did Harris make it to third but Fernando had to run 270 feet as well. That ball must have caromed from one of the corners into centerfield. Or got lost in the ivy and the outfielders didn't put their hands up.

First Pitch Friday - Kevin Nealon

OK, another redesign of the First Pitch Friday line. This is the same as the most recent custom design I've been running with and I like it. It provides the vintagey look of the ATCRCS cards that I like but with the celebrity first pitch craze being a more modern thing, all of the photos are in color which I also like. Also, with a little photo manipulation, the pictures don't have to be as high quality as the second incarnation.

A member on SCN offered to take some items to try to get signed at the recent Michael Jordan Golf Invitational. After looking at the player/guest list, I noticed Kevin Nealon would be there, who I recognized as a previous First Pitch guy for the Cubs. I sent this one in and less than a week later, it was back in my possession.

Not too shabby if I do say so myself. Of all the First Pitch cards I have made to date, this is the first one I've actually gotten signed. I don't have the opportunity to get many celebrities to sign cards in person but I anticipate the uptick in my outgoing TTM requests to include a few of these.

Depending on how old you are, you'll probably remember Kevin Nealon for different things. I associate him with Saturday Night Live, most notably the Hans and Franz skits. More recently, he voiced the title character in Glenn Martin DDS and has played city councilman Doug Wilson for 8 seasons on Weeds.

First Pitch Friday - Michael Jordan

I'll start off with a couple of updates here. First, the 2013 Blaster/Blog Fantasy Baseball League is live. Yahoo finally allowed me to sign up for the league so I set it up Thursday night and sent out email invites to those who have expressed interest so far. If you want to check it out, there's a tab at the top with details. Should be a lot of fun!

Second, thanks to everybody who responded to yesterday's post with offers of 2013 Topps help. It is much appreciated. I have made updates to items I am in the process of acquiring through purchase or trade by marking them bold. I have also added a tab at the top with the same information so that it is easier to find. Hopefully, we can work together to get that tab removed before Series 2 comes out in June!

On to the First Pitch Friday card. This is one I was pretty surprised to find in my search for photos of ceremonial first pitches at Wrigley Field. Mostly associated with the White Sox (in terms of baseball anyway), I didn't think Michael Jordan had done anything with the Cubs at all.

MJ's first pitch came before a one game playoff against the San Francisco Giants for the Wildcard spot. The Cubs would go on to win 5-3, only to be swept in three games against the Atlanta Braves in the League Division Series.

I was never a basketball fan, even during the 1990's when it was seemed to surpass baseball or even how popular football is now. I think I've mentioned this before, but growing up, I always wanted number 23 on the back of my jersey. But that was because Ryne Sandberg was the Hall of Fame #23 in Chicago before this joker showed up. And I use the term "joker" sarcastically because I understand he's the greatest to ever play his sport. Not that I have any hatred towards the White Sox, but this Cubs photo may have softened my stance on him a little. 

I don't really have any shot at getting this card signed at all because I certainly won't pay the exorbitant prices he commands for a signature. And if I did, I wouldn't waste it on a silly custom card that has absolutely no retail value for when my collection eventually gets passed to my kids. Maybe I'll have to hit up one of the golf tournaments we plays in but more than likely, I'd have to hit the lotto...

First Pitch Friday - Robbie Gould

The Cubs seem to be pretty good about cross-promoting the other Chicago area sports when it comes to throwing out a first pitch and/or conducting the 7th inning stretch. I've already featured former Cubs, Bears, Fire, and Bandits.  I have Bulls and Blackhawks waiting in the wings but today is another Chicago Bears player.

No, that's not Ben Affleck

Before making the card, I didn't know that much about him other than he was the kicker for the Bears. But be honest, how many of you know much about any kicker? It has to be a tough job, lots of pressure, with the opportunity to be a hero or goat for your team at any given time.

A quick glance at his Wiki page shows that he connected for 26 consecutive field goals in 2006 for a new Bears record. The NFL record is 42 (Mike Vanderjagt) but it is still pretty impressive to have your team record. Gould is also tied with the Vikings kicker Blair Walsh for the longest active streak for consecutive field goals made over 50 yards which stands at 10. The all-time record is 11. Looks like we have a 1998 Sammy Sosa-Mark McGwire style race on our hands!! Who's going to tie it and break it first?!?!

Gould's career long for field goals is 57 yards, which is also the Bears record. That personal record always seems to shortchange kickers in my opinion. I have no idea if he's missed any from farther away but the team has to be in a certain position to even make the attempt from that distance. Usually field goals of that length are attempted with time running out in the 2nd quarter or end of the game because if the kicker misses, you don't want to give the other team fairly decent field position. I'm going to have to look to see if Gould has missed any longer.

*EDIT* As far as I can tell, Gould has not attempted anything longer than 57 yards in a regular season game. He is 13-17 in 50+ yard situations with his 4 misses in the 52-54 yard range.

First Pitch Friday - Shawn Johnson

Shawn Johnson has been in the public eye for quite a few years now. In fact, there's been a whole other Summer Olympics since first arriving in the spotlight in Beijing in 2008. Unfortunately, due to injuriesshe wasn't able to compete in London last summer but she followed up winning a gold and three silver medals in Beijing with a Season 8 victory on Dancing with the Stars. Recently, she finished second in the All-Stars edition of the show.

In addition to throwing out the first pitch, Johnson was the guest conductor for the 7th inning stretch too.

Also notable that day? Cubs defeat the Astros in the 13th inning with a walk-off grand slam by Alfonso Soriano to maintain a half game division lead over the Cardinals.

First Pitch Friday - Arne Friedrich

I know very little about Chicago sports outside of the Cubs. As I've said before, I'm a fan of the Cubs because of WGN, not due to any particular ties to the city of Chicago. But I know even less about soccer. Not that I'm your typical soccer-hatin' Murican. I played a lot growing up. To me, it's just not that interesting to watch outside of highlight reel goals and/or saves. Playing was fun. Watching? Not so much. But, on my list, it still ranks higher than basketball and Nascar.

All that said, I had no idea who Arne Friedrich was. I assumed a Blackhawk. Or maybe an up and coming actor because he does seem to be unfairly attractive in addition to having an athletic build.

So soccer player didn't come to mind right away but it makes sense too. After some searching I saw him described as a world class soccer player from Germany. I saw he only had one goal last year for the Chicago Fire but also quickly noticed he was a defender. They probably don't have many chances to score, right? He's played a bunch of games for Germany but apparently had a back injury that curtailed his career a bit.

Is a European player playing in the MLS the equivalent of an aging MLB veteran going to Japan?

He has resigned to play with the Fire again for the 2013 season, but don't ask me when that is!

On a side note, if I was partial to any international soccer team, it would probably be Germany. My dad was stationed in Germany during my middle school years (late 80's-early 90's). In fact, we moved there just a few months before the Berlin Wall came down. I remember West Germany winning the 1990 World Cup and their star player was a guy named Lothar Matthaeus. I'm pretty sure he was one of the best in the world, but I liked him for no other reason than my name (Matthew) is Matthaeus in German. Ah, how easily kids are entertained. My brothers even called me Lothar for a while.

ATCRCS: First Pitch Friday - Andy Richter

This week's First Pitch Friday card goes to Team Coco sidekick Andy Richter. I don't nearly as much TV as I used to, but back in the mid-to-late 90's, I'm sure I watched Late Night with Conan O'Brien a couple of times per week. It wasn't necessarily appointment TV but it was pretty funny. I seem to remember a lot more skits in addition to a younger, hipper group of interviewees compared with other late night talk shows. I could just be making that up but perception is reality, right? And that's how I remember it

The early to mid 00's are a bit of blur, pop culture wise and I had 2 young children and was working 2 jobs in addition to a little bit of college here and there. I know Richter left Conan's show after a while to try some stuff on his own. I couldn't tell you what he did afterwards but he eventually came back when Conan replaced Jay Leno on The Tonight Show. Personally, I think he would do pretty well as a game show host. After bantering back and forth with Conan and guests for years, I'm sure he's pretty good with the witty quips and corny jokes and puns required.

Richter was raised in Illinois and I'm sure he was promoting some kind of local comedy show or appearance when he showed up to make the ceremonial first pitch. Below is a quick pre-first pitch interview along with the actual pitch.

ATCRCS: First Pitch Friday - Zach Galifianakis

Yesterday I posted a custom card of Josh Vitters in an attempt to break the Cubs losing streak. Apparently, it worked. And because a Cubs fan is nothing if he isn't superstitious, here is another custom, although its a running theme here on the blog.

I probably should have done this one last week when I featured Will Ferrell since they made their appearance together but I ran out of time to get both cards done. I have also since corrected the spelling mistake on that card (Zach not Zack).

Most people first discovered Zach Galifianakis when he portrayed the socially awkward Alan in The Hangover. I, however, first came to like him a few years earlier on a short-lived show called Tru Calling. Let's just say I started watching it because of Eliza Dushku (whatever happened to her?) but I kept watching because of Zach Galifianakis.

Here a nice lip sync job to a Kanye West song.

Also, if you've never seen his "talk show" check out Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis. Awkward humor. There's a whole series of them if you want to waste some time on Youtube.

ATCRCS: First Pitch Friday - Will Ferrell

"It's a simple question, Doctor. Would you eat the moon if it were made of ribs?"

(If you don't get the joke, click the link on the bottom of the post.)

Love him or hate him, Will Ferrell is now part of this set. Some of his work is brilliant while others...let's just say can be a little over the top. Ferrell made his appearance last week promoting his new movie "The Campaign" with his co-star, Zach Galifiankis. Hopefully its not one of those movies where all the best parts are in the preview because it does look pretty funny.

The following is a video of their starting lineup announcements. It starts a little slow but then they kick it up a notch with some embellishments to a few of the players' resumes.

And here we have what I'm pretty sure is a clip from the ESPN documentary on Steve Bartman called Catching Hell. Ferrell is asked to do his impression of Harry Caray calling the Bartman incident.

And finally, I couldn't figure out how to link to this youtube video but its hilarious!

ATCRCS: First Pitch Friday - Gale Sayers

This post wraps up the First Pitch cards that I made for the Sun-Times show back in June. But because Gale Sayers made multiple appearances, its a two-fer. Unfortunately, after I printed them out and during the assembly process, I noticed a typo on the back so I didn't send them in.

He's another one of those Chicago Bears that was from before my time so I don't know much about other than the stories. But he does have a very impressive resume on paper.

• 4x Pro Bowl
• 3x Pro Bowl MVP
• 1960s All-Decade Team
• 2x NFL Rushing Champ
• College Football HOF
• Pro Football HOF

I'm not sure how many appearances Sayers has made but I found photos for two separate occasions. He is one of the reasons I changed the back of the First Pitch cards to read "Cubs Appearance" rather than "Cubs Debut" like I have on the player cards. I know of several others that also made multiple appearances.

It seems to me Sayers would have thrown out a first pitch prior to 2009 but that is the first one I found.

And then followed up by this one in 2011.

Yes, I used the exact same back aside from the dates (but even that was enough to trip me up with a typo). I couldn't find any videos of him making these appearances. I almost posted a scene from Brian's Song but since it wasn't Sayers himself, I held back. So instead here's a video highlight package set to the least annoying music I could find. Enjoy!

ATCRCS: First Pitch Friday Edition - Fergie Jenkins

Taking a break from Bears this weekend is Cubs Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins. I'm sure he has thrown out a first pitch for the Cubs (and Rangers) on numerous occasions. This particular time was in October of 2008.

I had intended on actually paying to have this one signed at the Sun-Times show but found a typo after having it printed out. I didn't leave myself enough time to fix it, have it reprinted and still get it in on time so it'll have to wait for next time.

This is a tad lazy of me but I am a little pressed for time this weekend. I already featured a regular card for Jenkins in this set so I'm going to link to that page for more information. Plus it was early on in my blog so it may have been missed by some of you anyway. Enjoy!

ATCRCS: First Pitch Friday - Dick Butkus

Back to back Bears on First Pitch Fridays? Well, it seems there is a disproportionate number of athletes from other Chicago teams that make the first pitch. But I would argue that's probably the case in any other major market. Its a great marketing tool. Bring in some proven winners to associate with your craptastic team and maybe the fans will forget the 100+ year drought.

There a few non-Bears and even a couple of non-athletes in the queue to be made but to be honest, I made the most recent batch in anticipation of the Mounted Memories card show in Chicago last weekend. Finch. Hester. Butkus. And a couple more coming up that I won't spoil for you. I thought about paying to have them signed but just couldn't pull the trigger. I love the idea behind the set, but I just don't have the passion for the subjects like I do the regular set that features Cubs players. That makes it a little harder to pony up for the autographs.

If I was going to pay, Dick Butkus would probably be one of the guys worth it to me. College Football Hall of Fame. Pro Football Hall of Fame. Eight time Pro Bowl selection. NFL All Decade Team member for the 1960s and 1970s despite playing less than half of each decade. University of Illinois retired his #50. Da Bears retired his #51.

He wasn't real gentle either. Here's a short clip that shows a bunch of his brutal hits as well as some peer appreciation.

He was retired before I was born so after watching the video above, I'm embarrassed to say I remember him more from guest appearances on shows like MacGyver, Coach & My Two Dads. 

I couldn't find any video of his first pitch or singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame so those clips will have to do. Here is the card I made but did not get signed:

ATCRCS: First Pitch Friday - Devin Hester

Although I am a Cubs fan, I'm not necessarily a fan of Chicago's other sports. Baseball was king when I was growing up in the '80s and the fact that I could watch the Cubs on WGN anywhere I lived didn't really translate to the other sports.

While the '90s made way for a rise in basketball fans, my focus was high school, girls, college and girls. As an undersized white kid, I couldn't care less about that other joker that showed up in Chicago to usurp Ryno as the resident #23. Basketball was never my sport and never will be. Didn't care to play it, didn't care to watch it.

Surprisingly, even though I was a bandwagon Cubs fan in 1984 at the age of 6, I wasn't a Bears fan when they won the Super Bowl in 1985. Nothing against them, just didn't care. I've gotten more into football in recent years and followed the Patriots when I lived in Maine for a few years but don't really think I have a favorite team. None I'm as passionate about as with the Cubs anyway.

I still wouldn't say I'm a Bears fan but I do really enjoy watching Devin Hester play. For his Super Bowl appearance against the Colts, I wasn't feeling well that day so I couldn't bring myself to go to any Super Bowl parties. I was at home watching the game with my wife and two young sons who were 6 and 4 at the time. None of them really watched football so as I was explaining that Hester was known for these ridiculous run backs, he of course starts the game with one for a touchdown.


I was so excited (didn't care about the outcome, just wanted a good game...and some funny commercials) and my family looked at me like I was crazy. When I asked why, my wife assumed this was common since I just explained that was what he did.


I don't know enough about football to know whether Hester can make the Hall of Fame just on his touchdown returns, but it would kind of neat to have three different #23's from the same city in their respective Halls. And potentially jerseys retired? Can any other city lay claim to that? Next young stud for the Blackhawks should wear it too.


Anyway, without further adieu, here is this week's First Pitch Friday card: