GCRL recently shipped me a package that included this awesome 1978 Topps card autographed by Bobby Winkles. I love this card! In fact, it's now a permanent fixture of my Oakland Athletics shelf in my office.
However, I've got to admit something. When I pulled this card out of the padded envelope... I had no idea who this guy was. So I decided to "Google" him and discovered a bunch of cool stuff about Mr. Winkles.
#1 He played seven years in the White Sox, Cubs, and Phillies minor league systems.
#2 He was the first varsity baseball coach at Arizona State University, where he won three national titles.
#3 Reggie Jackson played for him at ASU.
#4 He's a member of the ABCA Collegiate Baseball Hall of Fame and there's a baseball field named after him at ASU.
#5 In 1978, he led the Oakland A's to a 24-15 (first place) start before resigning because he grew tired of owner Charlie Finley. The A's finished the season in sixth place, 24 games under .500.
Okay... now that I've introduced you to Mr. Winkles, let's take a look at the rest of the cards GCRL sent me:
I left a comment on one of GCRL's posts stating how awesome this card is... and voila... it's now in my collection. He also sent me this nice Campy from the same 1994 Upper Deck All-Time Heroes set:
And if that wasn't enough, he also donated these awesome A's cards:
Happy Thursday and sayonara!
2 comments:
glad you liked 'em. when winkles returned that card (it was the second one he had signed for me) he also wrote a note saying that he had a book coming out. i've been meaning to track it down - i'm sure there are some good stories in there!
Winkles was coach of ASU from 1959 to 1971, but the school had a baseball program going back to at least the 1920s.
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