Cards That Never Were #4

Ricky was the first pick for the White Sox in the 1979 draft. He was up in the majors on July 5, 1980, where he came in the game in the late innings as a defensive replacement, when catcher Bruce Kimm was pinch hit for by Bob Molinaro.

He was in 21 games for the Sox and went down to the minors for more seasoning after the August 8th game in 1980. He stuck around the White Sox organization until 1986, but he never again came up to the majors.

With 21 games played, one of the three card companies should have given him a card in 1981. Alas, no one thought enough of him to include him in a release. Even the Topps Traded set for 1981 did not include Ricky Seilheimer.

He did make a decent argument for card love. His only home run in the majors was off Hall of Fame pitcher Fergie Jenkins.

This card has been the hardest to create. I had to take a picture of Ricky from a card on the Bisons, which were a minor league affiliate of the Sox in the mid eighties. I took that photo and used it as the base photo.

The problem with using that photo was obvious. The colors and design of the Bisons uniform mimic the design of the mid eighties White Sox uniforms. After pouring through cards from 1980 and 1981, I found one match for the pose. Claudell Washington's 1980 Topps card.

So, Ricky is "borrowing" Claudell's jacket and helmet. A few tweaks in Photoshop and there is a presentable image of Ricky Seilheimer on a 1981 Topps card. This also mimics the heavily airbrushed look of the 1981 Topps set. So, this card should fit right in.

Johngy, this is the best I can come up with unless I get an actual image of Ricky from his stint with the White Sox.