(04-06-2018 11:44 AM)ken d Wrote:  

(04-04-2018 08:14 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(04-04-2018 07:10 PM)billyjack Wrote:  

(04-04-2018 03:17 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(04-04-2018 02:43 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  Yes, the 79 Orioles didn't have the pitching of those late 60s/early 70s Orioles teams. The 66 team, wow!

Too bad I was too young to remember them - or the frustration of losing 2 out of 3 WS from 69-71.

Well the '69 Mets were just meant to be, and truly Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and Nolan Ryan are a pretty strong mound as well.

Not sure Ryan even started much in 69... 3rd starter was Gary Gentry... Ryan relieved in WS Game 3 to "save the day" as a Topps card termed it the next year.

My Topps card years were the Mantle and Maris and Mazeroski era. But you could get a lot off of the back of that card. And yeah, Gentry rings a bell now that you mention him. Tommy Agee was big in that series in the field. It was a great series. It was right up there with the series that featured Denny McLain's Tigers and Bob Gibson's Cards.

To show how smart we were in those days, we used to attach baseball cards to the spokes on our bikes with clothespins to make noise. No telling how many Mantle rookie cards were destroyed doing that!

How smart? My buddies and I only attached the duplicates of non star players to our spokes. Duplicates of star players were trading material. I bet you had a basket attached to your handle bars. It was the best way to get your ball and glove to the field where you played. I found a way to put my bat over the rear fender with the handle pointed down toward the chain guard.

We all did our chores in the mornings and played ball all afternoon and until it was too dark to see the ball. Those are still among my most cherished memories in life.