Dog Day Evening

Emmy and Bruce Faber, along with their dog Pogo, watched the White Sox win against the Twins. Did the presence of canines help the Sox? It certainly couldn't hurt.

The dogs and their owners were treated to a pre-game parade around the field. Dog Days are one of the most popular promotions at U.S. Cellular Field.

For more photos of the dogs, check this out.

Despite what many are led to believe, a day out at the Cell can be a great experience.



Photo: (Tom Cruze/Sun-Times)

Waiting On Peavy

Maybe I was doing some super secret scouting for the White Sox when I entered Wrigley Field earlier this month. OK, maybe not. One can fantasize, can't they?

There appears to be a deal in place that would send Jake Peavy to the White Sox in exchange for four pitchers. The only pitchers confirmed are 2007 number one draft pick, Aaron Peroda and Clayton Richard. The other two have not been revealed yet, although I've been assured that Gordon Beckham is not in the deal. That's a dealbreaker.

Peavy would be a fine addition to the rotation. He's been struggling this year, as the numbers would tell you, but his poor record is more the fault of a lousy offense and a poor bullpen.

If Aaron Poreda is included, he must not be mastering the additional pitch that the Sox had him working on this year. Poreda is a tough one to lose, but on the upside, he hasn't proven anything yet. Clayton Richard is less of a loss, but tough nonetheless. Clayton is a versatile pitcher who can move between the rotation and the bullpen. That's becoming more and more difficult to find.

This may prove to be nothing more than hype, since the entire deal hinges on Peavy's approval. Peavy just happens to have a full no trade clause in his contract. Peavy's current deal is through 2012 with a club option for 2013.

The White Sox and Padres are on board. It's your move, Peavy.

Update:

Deader than disco. Peavy vetoed the deal because the White Sox would not guarantee 2013 for $22 million. I can understand both sides on this one.

Full Moon

A hot July evening in Detroit set the scene. 81 degrees at game time. 14,770 fans in attendance witnessed a back and forth game between two starting pitchers, who had their good stuff that night.

Ace in the making, Jack McDowell was on the mound for the White Sox. Veteran Dan Petry took the ball for the Tigers.

No matter what you hear, there were less than 15,000 people in Tiger Stadium that night. Almost 100,000 people claim to have been inside the stadium for this particular game.

The White Sox were surging in the AL West. The Tigers were slowly sinking in the AL East, playing just good enough to keep near .500. The Tigers would eventually win this game, in the bottom of the ninth, 5 to 4. A Tigers victory wasn't what was mentioned at the office the next day or on Johnny Carson or David Letterman the next night.

The moment in question did not effect the outcome of the game. It didn't even lead to scoring. This particular event caused the Tiger fans to applaud a White Sox batter to be called safe. It was indeed a strange night in Detroit.

The Tigers were ahead 4 to 1, when the top of the fifth inning started. The first batter up for the White Sox was Steve Lyons. He dragged a bunt to the first base side of the infield, then he ran like hell to first base. First baseman Cecil Fielder charged for the ball and pitcher Dan Petry had to cover first. It looked like Lyons had a shot at being safe, so he slid headfirst into first base. First base umpire, Jim Evans, called Lyons safe.

Dan Petry immediately had a beef with the call. While Petry and Evans were debating the call, Steve noticed some pebbles and dirt had gotten into his pants. Without much thought of where he was, he unbuckled his belt and proceeded to shake the dirt loose, like many players do. The only problem was that in shaking the dirt out, Steve had automatically lowered his pants to the knees.

The second that Steve heard the crowd react, he pulled up his pants, but the damage had been done. He turned around to see the same crowd which he just mooned. His face turned beet red and he had a chuckle. What else could he do in that situation? Cecil Fielder let out a hearty laugh. Petry and Evans stopped their discussion. All eyes were on Steve Lyons.

When the crowd finally died down, the game resumed. The situation was one man on first base and no one out. Scott Fletcher grounded out to the shortstop, who forced out Lyons at second. As Lyons returned to the dugout, he saw ladies waving dollar bills at him and yelling things like, "Take it off!"

Sammy Sosa then proceeded to ground out to the shortstop who forced Scott Fletcher at second. Ozzie Guillen decided to mix things up by grounding out to the second baseman and recording the third out at first base.

It just goes to show that the White Sox could kill an inning in any decade. This is not a new thing. Despite not having a thing to do with the outcome of the game, Steve Lyons was the talk of the town. He did countless interviews and to this day is still asked to repeat the story.

What would this story be without a picture? For the first time on any White Sox site, here is a grainy black and white picture of the incident. Somewhere, in my archives of videotape, I have this game recorded. If I ever run across it, I should be able to get a better picture and possibly get the act on YouTube.

Would this be the Detroit version of Moons Over My Hammy?

Thoughts On Jimmy Gobble

Is this another Kansas City castoff? Why can I find no pictures of him with a White Sox uniform on, but I can find one of him in a Rangers uniform?

He started out pretty rough in his first outing, but his second outing was pretty solid.

Why do I think of this when I hear his name?

1:07 into the video, btw.

Do I think that it should be played every time he enters a game? YES!!!

Buehrle And Lifebuoy

It had to end sometime. Losing streaks don't last forever, but they sure seem like they do. Mark Buehrle was the human equivalent of Lifebuoy. It didn't really taste good, but it got the job done.

The offense lit up and the pitchers overcame some suspect fielding. It was a time of celebration for all on the South Side. There was no joy in Crede as he struck out once for the Twins. His mighty back beginning the season long straddling of the disabled list.

Fireworks were to be enjoyed by all. This was a sight rarely seen this month. Sox players have learned to live in the moment because the moment may not last forever.

There is joy in seeing Podsednik steal a base. Those pains in the oppositions' sides have been too far and few since his departure. Speed on and Paulie equals perfection.

The only lingering question would be if this can last. Maybe, maybe not. It sure will be a good ride. Maybe the opposing team will go blind from SOAP poisoning. That means that the speed will have to continue to get on for Paulie. Maybe that's asking too much.

Goose Joak Originals: Josh Fields

See the full set here.

The Gift Of Shame

I love unexpected packages! They seem to be packed with the most amount of joy because the package comes out of nowhere. It usually means that someone thought of me enough to take the time to scour their cards and hand pick some gems just for me. Then they had to dig out my address, copy it on an envelope and make a special trip to the post office. That's some real thoughtful stuff there. Some days I don't want to venture out to the post office, so I have respect for those who do.

The package that came out of left field arrived on Friday. I had just spent an entire day out in the rain, dropping my dog at the groomers. The shop that we use, The Barker Shop, is located about a half hour away. If Tess is just in there for a basic grooming, it doesn't make sense to drive all the way back home just to turn back around again.

I killed time window shopping at Target, Half Price Books, Best Buy and Dollar Tree. It was a steady rain that poured down the entire time I was waiting for the call to pick Tess up. I stopped by McDonald's to be a dollar menuaire, or whatever they're calling it now, only to be told that the double cheeseburgers are no longer being offered for a dollar. Instead, I am told to order a McDouble. I inquired as to what the heck the difference was. I was informed that the McDouble only had one slice of cheese instead of two. Big deal. Gimme the dollar sandwich. Weirdly, it just didn't taste the same. Maybe it was the power of suggestion.

I gassed up at BP and got the call to pick up Tess. I brought her home and miraculously the clouds parted and the sky cleared. Good grief! Now it looks nice, just like when I left.

I browsed my mail. All three items of mail were totally unexpected. One was a booklet on Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame vacations, which turned out to be very informative and very cool looking. I've always wanted to go, but I never signed up for anything. Weird. The second was a package from Pearl Jam. I let my membership lapse sometime last year, so I wasn't expecting the newsletter. Not only did I get the newsletter, but I received the vinyl 45 Christmas single from 2008. Better late than never.

The last piece of mail was a package from Thorzul. I wasn't expecting anything, but there was something wrapped in a Target circular. Hmmm... they have the same crap on sale up in Milwaukee too. I thought it was strange for Thorzul to send a Target sale paper until I looked inside. There was a small plastic case and a yellow Post-it note with writing on it.

Steve,

I scoured your want lists and found some stuff for you. Keep up the good work!

- Thorzul

There was also some mention of the Sox/Brewers series this year. It seems Thorzul will be going in June and welcomes civilized Chicago fans in town. I hope one of those games will be in throwback uniforms. I loved the old Brewers uniforms.

I looked at the case and was greeted by a Frank Thomas Post trading card. The case was overstuffed with cards and I was joyful. Let's see what Thorzul sent over.

1991 Cracker Jack
Frank Thomas (sealed)

1991 Studio
32 - Carlton Fisk

1992 Post
24 - Frank Thomas

1993 Flair
185 - Roberto Hernandez

1993 Select Traded
43T - Rodney Bolton
81T - Jason Bere
118T - Ivan Calderon

1994 Topps Gold
601 - Frank Thomas

1996 Stadium Club
321 - Robin Ventura
398 - Dave Martinez

1996 Stadium Club Extreme Players Bronze
285 - Frank Thomas

1997 Collector's Choice All-Star Connection
10 - Frank Thomas

1997 Pinnacle
102 - Frank Thomas

1998 Topps Opening Day
158 - Albert Belle

1998 Upper Deck
60 - Albert Belle

1999 Topps Opening Day
52 - Albert Belle

2007 Topps First Edition
173 - Rob Mackowiak

Thanks, Thorzul! That was an absolute delight to open up! I think I'm going to leave the Frank Thomas in the Cracker Jack wrapper. It seems better that way. I like the 1993 Select Traded much better than the regular Select that year. The black goes well with that style. The regular green... not so much.

Since you were so generous with unexpected delights, I'm going to share something with you.

Stickers!

I asked Tracey which page in my sticker book looked the most shameful. She picked out the back page. There was something not quite right about animated ice cream cones with a come hither look, all lined up in a row.
You see, you're not the only one with sticker shame in your past. There's something ultimately disturbing about a chocolate ice cream cone fluffing its own ice cream head. The same goes for a strawberry cone holding one hand out with its tongue sticking out. Or even a sundae cone winking at me with a cherry on top.

The other three non ice cream cone stickers feature a baseball inside a glove with the saying, "You're a Hit!" on it. I thought a hit involved the baseball staying out of the glove. Anything goes in the world of stickers I guess. The one that's semi-unreadable reads, "Official BLIPS Sticker - Accept No Substitute". It had something to do with Atari 2600 games and the popularity of arcades. The final one is Heathcliff trying to catch a fish in an old timey fishbowl.

The sticker book has seen better days. I only found it a few weeks ago, while cleaning out a closet. So there you have it. Free gifts, rain and a shameful past. See what Thorzul has wrought?

Cards That Never Were #6

1986 Topps Traded - George Foster

Many of you have been waiting for this day to come. I read it in the comments section. I read it in my e-mails. Wait no longer! I have found a picture of George Foster from one of the fifteen games that he appeared in for the White Sox in 1986.

This picture could very well be from one of the eleven hits he pounded out for his last team, before he was released. It might even be from his lone home run on the Sox. Chances are equally great that it came from a swinging strike, a line out, or a fly out. I'm optimistic though.

So, for your enjoyment, the nonexistent 1986 Topps Traded card of George Foster. This was the only picture I could find and it was a smaller resolution than I like working with for these projects. If any of the card companies bothered to produce a George Foster White Sox card in the first place, I wouldn't be stuck with this low resolution card. Thems the breaks! At least it now exists and that's better than the alternative.

The teams he appeared against at Comiskey Park were the Brewers, the Rangers, the Royals and the Blue Jays. Can you figure out the catcher in the photo?

Free Gift From Ohio

Every once in awhile, free gifts from fellow bloggers pop up in my mailbox. I've been enjoying a free compact disc full of baseball related songs during the past week. The generous blogger who has provided me all of this enjoyment is none other than Baseball Dad over at All Tribe Baseball.

The CD is full of classics like "Take Me Out To The Ball Game", "Who's On First?" and "Casey At The Bat". Some of these songs, I hadn't heard since I was a kid. A free spelling lesson from Danny Kaye and funky tributes to Hank Aaron and baseball cards are priceless.

Along with the music and sound clips came a few White Sox cards and a scratch off baseball game featuring a White Sox logo on the back. Pretty neat!

1992 O-Pee-Chee
648 - Scott Fletcher

2003 Donruss Super Estrellas
20 - Magglio Ordonez
21 - Carlos Lee

2004 Ultra Gold Medallion
285 - Paul Konerko

2006 Fleer Tradition
188 - Paul Konerko

2006 Topps Chrome X-Fractor
5 - Tadahito Iguchi

2009 Upper Deck
77 - Alexei Ramirez
87 - Mark Buehrle
463 - Jim Thome

Thanks, Jack! This was a great surprise! I thought I was spoiled with the Crankshaft comics. This certainly takes the cake. I know I'll be listening to that CD for years to come!

Card Spotlight: 5-15-09

1991 Topps Desert Shield #166 - Harold Baines

Yes, this is another Harold Baines card. But this is no ordinary Harold Baines card. This parallel of the 1991 Topps set was produced specifically for overseas troops. The actual number of cards produced by Topps is unknown, but it is a generally accepted fact that Topps made enough cards to produce 6,800 complete sets.

In the pursuit of these cards, one can find many fakes, especially of star players or key rookies. I've heard many ways to spot a true card, but the most common used method is to check out the bottom of the shield logo. If it appears to have a rounded or almost flat bottom, the card should be authentic. The fakes usually have a pointed bottom.

What makes this card rarer than the estimated print run is the fact that these cards were given out only to soldiers overseas. Many of the cards were destroyed from the elements, the lack of care by soldiers who were not baseball card fans, and other assorted maladies. The reality of it all is that baseball cards were not the number one priority of a soldier during these operations. Baseball cards were probably not even the 3,428th priority.

The Baines card is especially sharp with this foil printed parallel. The palm tree goes well with the greens and yellows of the card. It almost feels like it should be a Spring Training card. I won this card in an auction last week for 99 cents plus shipping. Not a bad price for a piece of Topps history.

Many of the cards from this set can be had for a dollar or two. Beware going for the higher stars though. There are many unscrupulous sellers out there. A little knowledge can be the difference between a happy purchase and the bitterness of defeat.

Cards From Cards On Cards

I sent off a package to Kerry of Cards On Cards a little while ago. I think it started out as a thank you package or something. I forget the exact details of it all. Anyway, I received a package in the mail from Kerry sometime over last weekend.

Before this post gets delayed any further, I figured I'd blog about it now. The past two weeks seemed to bring nothing but delays. I'm slowly tying up loose ends and everything should be back to normal by the weekend. This time for sure!

As I opened the package, I couldn't imagine what cards would await me. I was pleasantly surprised by some. Really surprised by a few. And I wore a smile throughout the entire contents of the package.

Without any further ado, here's the cards!

1987 Leaf
25 - Greg Walker DK
117 - Ozzie Guillen

1988 Fleer Sluggers Vs. Pitchers
24 - Dave LaPoint

1988 Leaf
25 - Ivan Calderon
59 - Ozzie Guillen
86 - Greg Walker

1988 O-Pee-Chee
35 - Harold Baines

1988 Topps Mini Leaders
7 - Ivan Calderon

1989 Bazooka Shining Star
8 - Dave Gallagher

1989 Donruss Baseball's Best
235 - Eric King

1989 Fleer
White Sox sticker

1989 Topps Stickers
299 - Carlton Fisk

1989 Topps UK
35 - Ozzie Guillen

1990 Fleer
White Sox sticker

1990 Score 100 Superstars
56 - Dave Gallagher
70 - Carlton Fisk

1990 Score Young Superstars II
8 - Robin Ventura
38 - Lance Johnson

1990 Toys R Us
28 - Robin Ventura

1991 Baseball Card Magazine
53 - Carlton Fisk

1991 Cracker Jack
32 - Bobby Thigpen

1991 Cracker Jack Series 2
36 - Alex Fernandez

1991 O-Pee-Chee
461 - Robin Ventura
559 - Adam Peterson

1991 Stadium Club
274 - Robin Ventura

1992 Leaf
67 - Frank Thomas CL

1992 Pinnacle
369 - Sammy Sosa
389 - Scott Radinsky

1992 Pinnacle Team 2000
46 - Scott Radinsky

1992 Score
29 - Melido Perez

1992 Topps Gold
57 - Donn Pall

1992 Ultra
332 - George Bell
335 - Alex Fernandez

1993 Pacific Spanish
74 - Scott Radinsky

1993 Sawdust Sports Syndicate Promo
27 - Cap Anson (0614/1000)

1993 Spectrum Promo
Cliff Floyd

1993 Topps Gold
230 - Carlton Fisk
474 - Ozzie Guillen

1994 Fleer Sunoco
23 - Frank Thomas

1996 Collector's Choice
510 - Harold Baines

2008 Topps Heritage
137

2008 Topps Heritage Black Back
322

2008 Topps Heritage High Numbers
535, 536, 546, 613, 638, 666

2008 Topps Heritage High Numbers Black Back
579

2008 Topps Heritage Rookie Performers
8

2008 Topps Heritage Then & Now
1

2008 Upper Deck First Edition
333 - A.J. Pierzynski

2008 Upper Deck Timeline
233 - Jim Thome

2009 Upper Deck
87 - Mark Buehrle

Thanks, Kerry! That was an awesome display of cards. I think I might be able to cross those pesky Canadian cards off my list soon. I've been receiving a lot of O-Pee-Chee cards lately.

The things that seemed odd to me, now seem the coolest. The Cliff Floyd promo had me puzzled, until I read the back. I knew he grew up in Chicago, but I had no idea that he modeled his playing style after Harold Baines. That's really cool! The Cap Anson card threw me, since he was on the White Stockings team that eventually morphed into the modern day Cubs. The more I pondered on it, the more it seemed really cool to have a numbered promo card of a Hall of Fame player.

The little touches were wonderful. This package was just full of little surprises. The littlest cards were the two Cracker Jack cards. They are about as big as my thumb, but they are oh so cute. Any time that I can get a little closer to completing my 2008 Topps Heritage is a good time.

Another Thigpen "Broder"

I mentioned on Wax Heaven that I would post the Thigpen card when it arrived, and here it is. Like Mario, I'm a bit perplexed about the origins of this card. All the card tells me is that the picture was taken between 1987 and 1990 and the back says 1987 Rookies.

There is a nice generic cartoon on the back. The player who is tagging the runner out looks to be on the Phillies. That's a bit ironic, since Bobby would play for the Phillies later in his career.

It seems to me that all mystery cards are now called "Broder" cards, even if they have nothing to do with the elusive Rob Broder. Does anyone out there have a real origin story for these cards? If so, I'd love to see it in the comments.

A Trip To Wrigley

Free tickets to a Cubs game? I'm in! I love everything baseball, so I can venture up to Wrigley Field to catch the Cubs and the Padres.

My friend Steve and I head out about 2 PM, in his car. We head over to Cicero & Archer to visit a currency exchange. He needs to get some checks cashed and I need a CTA day pass. He works for CTA, so he gets to ride for free.

We hopped on the Archer bus to Pulaski. We took the Orange Line to State/Lake. We walk over to the Red Line and get off at Addison. There it is... Wrigley Field. I haven't been inside since 1998.

It's about 4 PM. It's too late to grab a bite, like we planned, and too early for the gates to open. So we stand at the left side of Gate F, right next to the tiny Gate G entrance. It's a good thing that we did because the line behind us, when the gate opened, was huge.

The gate finally did open at 5 pm. We shuffled in and grabbed our Ernie Banks bobbleheads. Steve and I made a beeline to the men's room. It's actually nice to see the troughs in the men's room. They remind me of old Comiskey Park. Although those were old, rusted and painted. These were stainless steel.

We head on over to one of the food stands. Steve wants a brat with sauerkraut, but is unwilling to pay $6.75 for one. We walk around trying to find a cheaper brat. He settles for two plain brats and a souvenir cup Diet Pepsi. I go for two jumbo hot dogs and a souvenir cup Pepsi. We smother all of our food with mustard and head off to find our seats.

We find our seats without a problem. Aisle 224, row 12, seats 111 and 112. There's a post blocking part of our view of right field, but it's ok. Steve goes back down for another Pepsi and two hot dogs. I stay and watch the Padres take batting practice. Every time that I spot Kevin Kouzmanoff, I think of Sooz.

We flag down a cotton candy vendor. I crack wise about eating attic insulation. The game starts. The Cubs run out to "The Boys Are Back In Town" by Thin Lizzy. Not bad. I like "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC much better as an opening song.

The Padres take the early lead, then it's all Cubs. A surprising home run by board game aficionado, Milton Bradley gets the crowd going. Later in the game, Bobby Scales pinch hits. Steve leans over to me and mentions what a great time this would be for his first home run. Not five seconds later, that's what happened. He must be channeling Steve Stone.

The entire game, we were trying to find a Pepsi vendor for Steve. He's a big guy and it's not easy for him to go through the rows to get down where the stands are, when it's a full house in our section. We saw one Pepsi vendor go by, but he never came anywhere near us. We were yelling, screaming and waving, but to no avail. There were, however, no less than four beer vendors in our section at any given time. At $6.50 a beer... thanks, but no thanks. I hate beer and Steve wanted a soda, so that wasn't going to cut it.

I'm amazed at how moody the crowd was. Derrek Lee was actually booed at the plate. The Wrigley crowd can turn on you as quickly as the wind can change speeds. I've never seen anything like that at U.S. Cellular. The thing is, the crowd wasn't into most of the game. They were in it when the home runs were hit and for the final out. That's about it. Of course, everyone was vocal during the "Go, Cubs, Go" song. Ugh.

The people around us were friendly enough. The lady behind us had a nice long conversation about the cat picture that she spied on Steve's cell phone. One of the guys in front of us fist bumped everyone as he made his way down the row towards the aisle.

We went to customer relations to complain about the Pepsi vendors. We were given a form to fill out and mail in. Basically, I felt like she was giving Steve the brush off. We headed over to Starbucks so Steve could use the bathroom. Then we headed to the Red Line.

Way too crowded! We started walking down Clark to scope out something to munch on. While passing one of the bars with open windows, someone tapped me on the shoulder. If I wasn't following Steve, I would have turned around and looked. If it was someone I knew, or a reader, I'm sorry. If it was a stranger, what are you doing reaching out windows at strangers?

We settled on Ian's Pizza By The Slice. Great pizza! I had a slice of Chicago Hot Dog Pizza and a slice of Lasagna Marinara. They were so good! We hopped on a Clark Street bus and headed to Clark/Lake. We walked over to the State/Clark station and got on the Orange Line towards Midway. We got off at Pulaski and took the Archer bus back to Cicero. We walked over to Steve's car and before I knew it, I was getting dropped off in my driveway.

Did I have fun? Yeah! Would I go to another Cubs game? Sure, if the tickets were free again. Despite the travel and the adventures on public transportation, it was a fun day. Would I rather have been at U.S. Cellular Field? Not that night. The White Sox were in Cleveland. And sorry, Sooz, Kouzmanoff went 0 for 4. It was a bad night to be a Padre.

The Upcoming Week

This week, there will be some slowed down activity. Today, I helped someone move into my friend's house. Didn't have time for blogging. Tomorrow, I'll be off to a baseball game. Won't have much time for blogging.

There are a few trades that are up in the air. I will e-mail my findings to those expecting a response on Wednesday or Thursday. Don't worry, I did not forget about any of you.

I'll be off to the Cubs game on Tuesday night. Like any trip to the North Side, it has to be an all day affair. There is no parking, except for shady individuals charging $20 or more, so my Cubs fan friend, also named Steve, and I will be riding the CTA northward. He works for CTA, so he'll ride for free. At least the tickets were free. All I have to do is pay for a day pass to ride the buses and the L. My guess is some combination of the orange line and the red line will be the way. I am going with the CTA route master, so I'm sure we'll get there.

We'll make a day of it. We'll ride up in the afternoon and grab a bite to eat somewhere in Wrigleyville or near it. We'll get to the park early to get our limited edition Ernie Banks bobblehead. Look for mine on eBay soon. I'd keep it or give it away to one of the many Cubs fan blogging friends out there, but I have bills to pay. I hope they understand.

I don't mind if the Cubs win. I'm not that kind of White Sox fan. I'll be rooting against them for one reason. I don't want to hear that stupid "Go, Cubs, Go" song. It was everywhere I turned the last few years. It was on every street corner and in every sporting place. If I hear that song, I will strongly consider running from Wrigley screaming. Other than that, I'm just there to watch a baseball game with no vested interest.

I've never seen the Padres play, in person, so I will now be able to say that I have. The last time I was at Wrigley was in 1998. The Rockies clobbered the Cubs, but Sosa hit a home run in a particular inning and I won Dunkin' Donuts coffee.

I received a couple of packages in the last few days. I'll be posting the contents of those later in the week. Things should return to normal by Wednesday.

1906 Fan Craze

How important is this "card" release? Pretty darn important! This is one of the few card releases around the dawn of the twentieth century. This was produced between 1904 and 1906. Although most indications point to early 1906. This release, which was part of a game, is one of the few between the late nineteenth century tobacco cards and the ever popular T206 tobacco set.

It features players from the beginning of the American League that either wouldn't be around for the T206 cards or would be on different clubs by then. This is a cornerstone set from a time that rarely produces cards or even images of some players.

Since this is such an important card set, I will present images of each White Sox card produced. There were five cards of the White Sox, but technically six cards featured White Sox players. Confused? Let's dive in!



















1 - Nick Altrock
1903-1909 White Sox - Pitcher
















24 - Ducky Holmes
1903-1905 White Sox - Outfielder



















26 - Frank Isbell
1901-1909 White Sox - Infield/Outfield/Catcher/Pitcher



















29 - Fielder Jones
1901-1908 White Sox - Outfield



















49 - Doc White
1903-1913 White Sox - Pitcher


This set is riddled with errors, mostly of the spelling variety. One error has been a mystery for over one hundred years. That is the mystery of Billy Owen of Boston. There was no Billy Owen playing in the early twentieth century. The closest that organized baseball has ever produced was Billy Owens. The only problem with that is he played from 1992-1998 and never made it past AAA. That would be almost a century too late and he too was never affiliated with any Boston organization.

So who is Billy Owen? That's a great question! One that has been eating away at collectors for awhile. In fact, the website Baseball Games took over a year to research the mystery and has come up with a definitive answer.

















38 - Billy Owen
(Frank Owen) 1903-1909 White Sox - Pitcher

Billy Owen is none other than Frank Owen of the Chicago White Sox! It is theorized that the original notes were partially destroyed, so that when the cards were printed, the printers had to fill in some of the first names.

The cards themselves look absolutely gorgeous. There are great details in the photographs. If there weren't so many little errors in the set, this would be one of the premier releases of the early twentieth century.

There is a great reprint set that beautifully reproduces the backing color and the details portraits that make this such a wonderful set to look at. Will the card companies be pillaging this design for their ill gotten gains? Probably. That's fine by me, if they put the work into the details of the photos and the design. They can skip the errors.