30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Fanny Packs and Secret Powers

Back in the early 90's... before I made the decision to become a teacher... I worked at a card shop called National Pastime near my house.  At the time... it was my "dream job".  I mean... who wouldn't enjoy going into work, sorting cards, and talking shop with other people who enjoy collecting?

One of the regulars was Bob whose trademark was a fanny pack that held his wallet and his weekly trade bait.  After the own ran National Pastime into the ground, I never saw Bob again.


Then last weekendI was flipping through some scans looking for something to write about... when I came across the 1969 Topps card of Joe Schultz.


For those who aren't familiar with Mr. Schultz, he was the first and only manager in Seattle Pilot's history.  Technically Dave Bristol was hired as the second manager in the team's history, but by the time he managed his first game, the team had switched cities and names.


Anyways... getting back to Card Shop Bob... as soon as I turned over the Schultz and saw the awesome caricature staring back at me... I instantly thought of Bob and his famous fanny pack... which proves that baseball cards truly hold secret powers.

All jokes aside... I was blown away that a drawing on a trading card was able to stir up memories of a fellow collector I hadn't thought of in over two decades.


By the way... this card also inspired me to purchase Ball Four yesterday by Jim Bouton.  I just downloaded the Kindle version onto my iPad and look forward to reading about his relationship with Joe Schultz and other coaches, teammates, and players from that era.

Well that's it for now.  I hope you're all enjoying your week.  Happy Thursday and sayonara!

7 comments:

Commishbob said...

I got Ball Four as a gift for my high school graduation in 1970 and read it that summer. I've read it twice since and always enjoy it. It was eyeopening at the time to a kid like me that never really thought of ballplayers as anything other than heroes. Subsequent decades have sure changed things. Ball Four is now just a fun read and the shock factor seems funny in retrospect.

Mike Matson said...

Ball Four is on my "to read" list as is Bill Lee's first book.

BobWalkthePlank said...

Ball Four is great. You will really enjoy it.

Nick said...

"Ball Four" is probably my favorite baseball book. Bill Lee's "The Wrong Stuff" and Sparky Lyle's "The Bronx Zoo" are also great reads if you haven't picked those up already.

Anonymous said...

After you finish Ball Four you'll have to read Bouton's follow up book. I think it called - "I'm Glad that you didn't take me Seriously". It's about his 1970 season in baseball and the 'backlash' he received from writing Ball Four. It's been decades since I have read the books. It would be a good project for me to located the books in the basement and to read them back to back.

gcrl said...

Smoke 'em inside!

Fuji said...

commish - i'm looking to see what was so controversial. heard a lot about the book and look forward to reading it.

mike - i don't read books very often. maybe 2 a year. but if i ever become a read-a-holic, the bill lee book sounds awesome. he's a fascinating character.

matthew - i'm looking forward to xmas break, so i can pound it out

nick - thanks for the suggestions. i'll definitely keep them in the back of my mind

anonymous - i'll see if the kindle has it and depending on how fast i read ball four, maybe i'll go back to back as well.

gcrl - i'll assume i'll understand this reference after i read the book