Unocal - Cubs Gold Glove Winners

A few days ago I posted an old Unocal print of Ernie Banks that I had gotten signed. Since I had them out, I scanned a few more to show off. 

Early on in this blog, I posted this Cubs Gold Glove Winners print when it had just Bobby Dernier on it.

Shortly after that, I added a couple more signatures before it got lost in the shuffle again. Ernie Banks was obtained at the same time as the other print, through a private signing. I sent this piece to Glenn Beckert through the mail after Dernier but before Banks. Once I had Ernie Banks on it, I was a little less willing to lose it by sending it out again.

But now that I see it again, I may move it to a front burner for Ryne Sandberg, Randy Hundley and Don Kessinger. Ron Santo passed away right after I started working on it which is another reason it got tucked away. But it never would have been complete anyway since Ken Hubbs and Larry Jackson (not an actual Gold Glove Winner) passed away before this print was even made.

The backside has a pretty long blurb highlighting each of the winners on the front. The thing that struck me though was the mention of Larry Jackson winning the Gold Glove in 1964.

The actual winner of the Gold Glove for a pitcher in the National League that season was Bobby Shantz, who split the season between the Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals. This award was his 8th and final win.

Since this piece was generated, the Cubs have added 6 more players and a total of 23 additional awards. Ryne Sandberg leads the way with seven more after the first two mentioned on the back. Joining Sandberg in 1986 was catcher Jody Davis. Andre Dawson added to his hardware count with outfield Gold Gloves in 1987 and 1988. Greg Maddux three-peated twice from 1990-1992 and again after rejoining the team from 2004-2006. He may have won a few in between with another team but baseball history is fuzzy on that.

Not only did Mark Grace lead the league in hits in the 1990's, but he also racked up four Gold Gloves ('92, '93, '95 & '96). He paid the price for playing for the Cubs. If this guy was a Yankee, he'd be immortalized. Derrek Lee had some success filling those shoes with a pair of Gold Gloves (and a batting title).

And last but not least, Darwin Barney picked up a Gold Glove in 2012, becoming the fourth Cubs second sacker to win the award.

If I had any artistic ability as far as drawing/painting goes, I would semi-seriously consider updating this myself.

Signature Saturday - Jim Frey

I joined the Cubs bandwagon in 1984 at the ripe age of 5 (turning 6). I was really into baseball and had already played two years of T-Ball. My dad was the coach of my older brother's team so when not enough kids showed up, he'd stick me out in right field.

My dad was also in the Army and somehow we ended up in Moline, IL from the summer of 1984 to the summer of 1985. From what I remember, he spent a year in some kind of civilian exchange program and worked for John Deere that year. But what do I know, I was five.

Obviously, anyone who knows Cubs history (or even baseball in general), 1984 was a pretty big year for the team. All my little first grade friends were Cubs fans, so like any good little military brat trying to fit in at a new school, I became one too.

My dad claims we watched "The Sandberg Game" but I do not recall watching it as it happened. Of course I've heard the tale and seen the highlights during various rain delays on WGN over the years. But because I was so young, I'm sure most of my memories from that season are things I've read or heard or saw on TV later and not actual firsthand memories.

In last week's Signature Saturday, I showcased a couple of Bob Dernier autographs I had gotten on some old Unocal prints. I had a different print that somehow survived various moves througout the years and in the early years of eBay, I put together what I think is a complete set, plus a few extras. Some of them feature individual Cubs, past and (at the time) present while others did events. Here are a couple that show former Cubs manager Jim Frey that I mailed to him a couple of years ago and he returned autographed.

There is a white border that goes all around the photo but for some reason my scanner saw the sides and bottom but not the top so the cropping looks weird. I scanned the backs so hopefully you can enlarge them to see what constituted Frey being considered one of the "Great Cubs Managers" and read about his "Victory Lap" in late September 1984.

I don't remember much about his reign as manager, but watching the Cubs teams a few years later when he was made the General Manager are some of the my fondest childhood memories. Frey is a longtime friend of former Cubs manager Don Zimmer and I know I've expressed my favoritism towards the "Boys of Zimmer" before on this blog.

I have a Jim Frey ATCRCS card in the works and hope to get that out in the mail soon.