Reflections: Virgil Trucks

Virgil "Fire" Trucks (1917 - 2013)

Baseball lost a great man nearly two weeks ago in Virgil Trucks.   It's been well documented by so many of my fellow bloggers with beautiful tributes and fantastic encounters - both 'through the mail' and even personally - that if there was any doubt as to how well he lived his life and how much of an accessible friend he was to baseball fans......it has certainly been laid to rest with 'ol "Fire" Trucks, himself.

I wanted to make my own contribution.   Not so much as to reiterate what others have already said so well, but to share my own little piece of baseball treasure from my own correspondence with Mr. Trucks.   I think it would be shame not to and not in line with how "Fire" treated the Game as something to be cherished, shared and learned from.

Mr. Trucks at Rickwood Field, Birmingham, Alabama in 2012
(photo courtesy of Randal Crow)

A little background.....

As some of you know, I began my professional career as a naval nuclear propulsion officer in the submarine community.   I have a rich family history of military service but I was the first one crazy enough to go willingly underwater - on purpose.   Other than being a husband and father, I am certain it will be one of the most worthwhile things I'll ever do.

You also know by now that I am a huge baseball fan and collector of baseball cards and memorabilia.   I love the history of the game and have a great deal of respect for the players of the past that achieved greatness of a binary nature, both as professional ballplayers and citizen soldiers who put their lives on the line for the life and liberty of others.   In comparison with the prototypical professional athletes of today, the incredible nature of these heroes' stories become more unbelievable and more distant as society and time roll forward, but no less powerful.

Mr. Trucks at Rickwood Field, Birmingham, Alabama in 2012
(photo courtesy of Randal Crow)

It was a natural progression, therefore, that my memorabilia pursuits and collecting goals leaned towards these veterans of the Game and the service.   I've reached out to dozens over the past six years with some terrific success.   Sadly, the timing of my pursuit has taken on tremendous urgency due to simple timing - our heroes are dying.

But that's okay.   These men and women lived full and meaningful lives, accomplishing so much to deliver the advanced and comfortable world that we live in today.   I've referred to my own grandparents on this blog from time to time.   Three of them served in the military, during World War II and the Cold War's first days.   They raised families and worked hard in successful careers that stretched more than 50 years.   They were baseball fans, too!

Like Mr. Trucks, all of my grandparents are now gone.   I lost the last three of them in a little more than three months towards the end of last year.   I miss them terribly - but it is certainly bittersweet.   I'll reiterate what I said above; they lived wonderful lives.   And now, more than ever, I understand that dying is simply a another part of life that we will all endure.   What's important is how you live and what (and whom!) you leave behind for the world to enjoy and, hopefully, become a better place.   So that's my urgency - to capture as much beautiful life experience from these heroes, whomever they may be, before they're gone with their stories that are OH so worth telling!

I like to think that I try every day to make the world a better place as a tribute to my grandparents and as a part of their legacy.   I also feel like I have a little piece of Mr. Trucks' legacy to share - so let's talk some baseball!

I reached out to Virgil Trucks with a letter and some pictures from my navy days.   He was a sailor himself, serving in the Navy towards the end of World War II in the Pacific theatre.   I would recommend to anybody that they check out some of the stories regarding the service league baseball tournaments held in Hawaii (and elsewhere) during the War (read more about that here: http://www.baseballinwartime.com/service_games/service_games_pacific_1944.htm ).   "Fire" Trucks utilized these opportunities to keep his hurling skills fresh, boost morale for his fellow servicemen and create terrific sports stories for an entire nation in war time.   Is there a greater gift?   He also has a GREAT story of how he re-joined the Detroit Tigers to pitch in Game 2 of the '45 Series only TWO WEEKS after being discharged from active duty!

Add all of these tales to his accomplishments on the diamond from 1941 through 1957 with the Tigers, Browns, White Sox, Athletics and Yankees.......and you have quite the legend!   I only wish I had enough time to go through his career and life in its entirety.   He did have one highlight for which he is very well k nown.   Rightfully, Virgil was a proud member of the elite club of pitchers to fire two no-hitters in the same season.   He adorned nearly every autograph he signed with custom-made stamps that reflected the dates of his two "no-no's" in 1952.   I am personally fascinated by this feat and have actually made a collecting goal of obtaining autographs and collecting cards of each of the pitchers that have achieved this feat:

• Johnny Vander Meer (1938)
• Allie Reynolds (1951)
• Virgil Trucks (1952)
• Nolan Ryan (1973)
• Roy Halladay (2010)

My first vintage Fire Trucks - 1956 Topps #117

I'll keep you posted on that quest, of course - but back to my letter to "Fire" Trucks!

I shared my own experience in the navy and the service connection to my grandparents with Mr. Trucks and thanked him for his own service.   I briefly described my favorite feats from his amazing career and peppered some questions about his experiences throughout my diatribe.   I thanked him for his contributions to the game, asked very politely for his autograph and even enclosed a donation to his church, something that I had been told, though not a requirement, would mean a lot to him.   Heck, it was the least I could do.

Mr. Trucks signing a baseball (photo courtesy of Randal Crow)

Within a week, Mr. Trucks replied with an amazing 'package' of baseball treasures.   He was quite generous with everyone who reached out to him over the years but I couldn't believe my eyes as his generous reply unfolded before me.   A picture, book jacket, cards and the ball I had sent - all fell out of the envelope with Mr. Trucks' inscriptions, stamps and well-wishes.  

"To Ryan M. LaMonica, My Navy Partner With Best Wishes Always, Virgil 'Fire' Trucks"

  

Most amazing to me though, was the personally written letter from Mr. Trucks, himself.   Two whole pages of kind words and incredible recollections from his playing days.And now I'd like to share his words with you!   I've partitioned the letter into paragraphs for ease of reading but left most of Mr. Trucks' own prose intact.

                                                  _______________________________

Dear Mr. LaMonica (mate),

It was nice hearing from you.   And my pleasure to sign your baseball, I hope I didn't mess it up with all the stuff I put on it.   Also enclosing a photo and four small cards for you.   I'm sorry my writing is bad and won't write much.   I'm having a carpal tunell done the 28th of this month and will write more after it heals which is estimated about a month.

Your whole family is service people and that's terrific.   I also thank you & family for your participation in the service for our country.   Bless you all.  

Well, as I pitched every game was treated the same.   But the two no hitters were special.   As for being calm in the bottom of the 9th inning against the Yankees was no more than the other 8 innings as it was a bad year for the "Tigers" & me.   We finished last that year winning only 50 games and losing 104 in a 154 game schedule.

As for Mantle being the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the ninth, I was just going to give him my best, power against power.   I struck him out.   I'm also enclosing a lineup of both no hitters.   I also had a 1 hitter that year.   I almost had three.   The leadoff hitter that game hit a clean single between 3rd and short.   I then retired the next 27 hitters.

Well Ryan, I hope you don't mind me using y our first name.   As I get a lot of mail and am used to doing that.   I also enclosed a cover of a book I wrote.   Which were sold out of 2 printings.   And may have a third.   Not sure yet.   Thank you for the church money.   And they do to.   I'm sorry I can't write more but hand is a little tired & weak.   My best to you and your family.

                                                                                 Sincerely,

                                                                                 Virgil Trucks

P.S. Thank you for the sub photo.   I had to patch up your envelope.   It  got scuffed up.   So I patched it up with tape of your address on the one you mailed me.

Congrats on the upcoming son.   Bless him.

                                                  _________________________________


No, sir.   Bless you.   Rest in peace, Mr. Trucks.   Your legacy lives on.  

I've included a couple more beautiful portraits of Mr. Trucks below.   These were taken by photographer (photo-journalist?) Randal Crow.   His website/blog can be found below and I would encourage you to view his work.   It's beautiful.   These photos were taken in 2012 at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.   Wouldn't you know - Rickwood Field is the oldest standing professional ballpark in the United States.   It opened in 1910, just seven years before "Fire" was born.

Thanks for sharing, Randal.

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit(s):

http://www.randalcrow.com/blog1/category/image-blog/

My Mattingly Collection - 2012 Archives '56 Style Relic Card

Don Mattingly is my favorite baseball player of all time.

Period.

I sought him out as a collector in my youth and I continue to do so today (often enjoying very discounted prices) with a lot of enjoyment.   He'll always be a Yankee to me but I have no problem rooting for his club to take the NL West.   I might waver if they face my Braves for the NL Championship and it will most certainly be interesting, for so many reasons, to see a Dodgers - Yankees World Series match up.  

But like Scarlett says, "I'll think about that tomorrow."

For now I'll focus on the task at hand, showing off my Don Mattingly collection.   This will be the first entry in the series!   Which Mattingly to choose?   Would be very reasonable to start off with any of his classic '84 rookie cards.   There have definitely been some fantastic legacy releases since his playing days came to an end.   Hmmmm....

So where to start?!

How about with this one:

Perfection!

Combining one of my favorite all-time card designs with my favorite all-time player?   That's a recipe for cardboard success.   I'll let it go that the swatch is purely gray and that Donnie Baseball looks like somebody just told him the Boss wants him to cut his hair........I'll let it go.   I've got Mattingly in pinstripes with a piece of his jersey, his signature and a well-balanced retro '56 card.   The back is nothing special:

#s I knew before my own SSN - 6'0", 175, 4/20/61

But you still get a quick reminder of the greatness.   A career that was cut short, yet the facts remain:

- statistically, more than half of his hits drove in a run
- nearly a quarter of his hits were doubles
- the career average, plagued with a bad back , will always stand at .307

One day, the Veterans Committee will confirm what many of his fans already know!

But for now, I hope you can appreciate this card with me - my most recent Mattingly addition.

Thanks for reading!

Two Birds With One Stone

I'm a golfer.

I've played golf my whole life.   When my baseball playing dreams died on the final day of tryouts during my freshman year, it was golf that was there waiting for me as I figured out what kind of student athlete I would be.   In high school, that is.   I also played football to complete my bizarre, full year, 2-sport cycle - but my fall semester adventures on the gridiron are for another time.

I retired from football after that final game in '96 against Hillsborough HS in central Florida.   I remember it vividly.   Mostly proud, a little sad and yes - relieved, too.   Since we weren't State Champions.....it was a loss.   You learn and move on but I never played again.   I didn't, however, stop playing golf after my my final match the following spring, though.   My passion for the game, as a player, continues today.   I love the game and you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm already introducing it to my daughter.   Heck, my toddler son even has a plush putter and little 'mock' golf hole to get that part of his sports brain active early.   What can I say?   The dream is a family golf outing one day......I hope we'll get there.   But even if we don't and my clan goes the route of soccer or swimming or violins or clay sculpting......golf will always be there for us all.

This year has been a great year of golf for me.   My old junior golf circuit nemesis, Bubba Watson, claimed a Green Jacket at Augusta.   This was THE pinnacle of my vicarious professional golf career.   What might have been, you know?!   I wasn't able to snag tickets this year, but possibilities for 2013 are looking great - and you can bet that I'll be looking for that spot in the trees and pine needles on #10.   The shot......awesome.

I've also had some once-in-a-lifetime chances to play at some extraordinary private courses.   Through various wonderful circumstances and good fortune, I had the opportunity play at Sage Valley (Graniteville, SC) and Palmetto Golf Club (Aiken, SC) earlier this spring.   Leading up to these two rounds (which I played on back-to-back days), I could barely contain myself.   I turned into a woman, needing new clothes and equipment for the huge occasion(s).   I needed new irons as I had been desperately clinging to the illusion that I was better than I truly am at this point in my life......I had been playing Hogan blades since about 2003.   Sure, they provide a beautiful sensation when you hit them flush.   But it was becoming more of a rarity for me.   Chalk it up to old(er) age or a lack of time to keep my game up (family).   A dose of reality but two very unavoidable and GOOD reasons.   SO, it was time to embrace modern technology and go shopping.   I had utilized the Bay of E for many cardboard needs over the past year - why not peruse for some new irons?

SUCCESS

They were Taylor Made Burner 2.0 (steel, stiff flex) irons, for those of you keeping score at home.   Taylor Made hasn't produced a lucrative offer for sponsorship yet - but I haven't given up hope :)  I didn't play my best during my two epic rounds, but the fault didn't rest with my irons and I GREATLY enjoyed two fantastic rounds of golf on two beautiful courses.   Awe struck = me.

So what does this have to do with baseball or baseball cards or ANYTHING related to Ryan's Pitch?   I'm glad you asked and I'll move quickly to the point - that little incentive called "Ebay Bucks", of course!   My new set of irons was definitely the most expensive item that I had ever purchased through the site and, therefore, produced the LARGEST lump sum of Ebay Bucks that I could have ever dreamed of.....................like $9.    Jackpot!   I couldn't find myself a new putter for $9 but I could certainly wrestle up some cardboard.

So what did $9 and some change bring me?   Less than half the price of a blaster..........this is what I ended up with:

Cecil Cooper! And Carlton Fisk, too.

 I know.   Red Sox.   Bleh!   But Pudge was one of the finest competitors the game ever saw and I have a soft-spot for vintage cards, nay - ROOKIE cards of Hall of Famers.   At $6, I couldn't turn this one down and am stoked to add it to my collection.   The 1972 design is so bizarre and colorful!   I am building all Topps sets from my birth through the end of my first collecting period ~ 1994.   I'm about 60% right now (you can check it out under my Sets Needs tab to the right).   Once I finish these, I'll work my way backwards for newer older (see what I did there?) set-building challenges.   And I seriously hope that I make it back to '72.   Just to do some more exploring of this set!

This Fisk is completely crease-free and while the centering is contentious, I am pretty pleased that I can still see at least some of the white border around the entire card.   I saw many for sale where this wasn't the case - and were more expensive.   YES!   The corners are the roughest aspect of this Fisk Rookie Card, but that's okay.   It cost the same thing as lunch at Subway (less, actually).   I love it.

Here's the second card I picked up:

Way to finish strong, Harvey!

I'm not a Cardinals fan or a Harvey Haddix super-collector.....but I love vintage cards and I especially LOVE the 1956 Topps set.   This set is routinely a favorite amongst collectors and I can easily say that this design is in my personal Top 5.   The full color action & mug-shot combo is terrific alongside the neat and symmetrical boxes of name/position/team.   Topps even threw in Harvey's signature for good measure - BONUS!   1956 is also one of the issues that came with those GREAT, colorful comic strips on the back.   Haryvey's card has a baseball-playing cat.   It doesn't get any sweeter.

Since I wasn't a Harvey Haddix expert, I did my usual research.   Not too shabby!   Mr. Haddix was a 3-time All Star and 3-time Gold Glove winner.   He won a World Series ring with the Pirates in 1960.   Hmmm, I wonder if he had anything to do with that whole "Mazeroski" incident?   Why yes.   Yes he did.   After winning Game 5, he came in for relief in Game 7 and got the W upon Mazeroski's ball clearing the fence in the 9th inning.   Dammit.   But that's awesome.

One more great fact about Harvey - he is often remembered for his near perfect game against the Milwaukee Braves on May 26, 1959.  I say "near" because Harvey finally relinquished a hit in the 13th inning.

UH......yeah.   The 13th inning.

Harvey Haddix pitched 12 innings of perfection until Joe Adcock made a hit (that was eventually ruled a double) that scored one of the two base runners on base at the time.   So close.   Harvey's fraternity at Texas A&M was nice enough to send a congratulatory letter that read:

"Dear Harvey, Tough Shit."

You can laugh.   I did - and I am pretty sure that Harvey eventually did, too.   Haddix also appeared as a major league player, for the last time, on my birthday.   FACT.   So there you go - a random piece of '56 Topps goodness for 99 cents.   Love it - and the card is in really good condition, too.   The centering is a little high, but just like the Pudge - I can still see the white border all the way around.   There are no creases and, most importantly to me, there is no paper loss.   If I snag a piece of history like this, I want to be able to read it!   Great pick up that came with a great story!

One more card to go!   It's another Red Sox (Boo!) but it's another great ballplayer.   And it's his Rookie Card.  And it's from another 'groovy' design year from Topps.   take it away, Mr. Lynn:

This is the worst conditioned card from the trio.   Creases and rounded corners galore.   This one was 59 cents.   Mr. Lynn was a 9-time All Star and 4-time Gold Glove Award winner.  He was even the AL MVP AND Rookie of the Year in '75.   Freddy!?!   That's amazing.   Imagine if Mr. Trout were to pull that off this year?   Think it's possible?

So yes - it's a Red Sox rookie card, but Fred Lynn is no slouch.   The card is in pretty bad condition, but I couldn't even buy a coke out of the machine for the price-tag on this great '75 card.   Very excited to add it to my collection.

So - there you go.   These three cards for about $9.   Three completely random cards - but I am really digging them.   How do you think I did?

Thanks for reading - and don't forget to watch Bubba go for another Major this weekend at Kiawah!



Who Doesn't Love Surprises?

Surprise card packages?

Love them.

Who wouldn't?

Asking for nothing in return, these two great fellow collector kept me in mind as they came across random Yanks and some sets NEEDS that I had listed on my blog.

And I couldn't be more grateful - to Darren and Jeff at Potch Wheeler & the Cardboard Heroes and Cardboard Catastrophes, respectively.

Darren sent over a couple of base cards from '11 Lineage and 1991 Fleer that I had needed towards my set completion quests:

Cy and Andujar - brought together for the 1st time by Ryan's Pitch.

  
And who could go wrong with a blue Yankee parallel from 2012?   Particularly this one of Mr. Chavez.   Anybody have a translation for those tats on Eric's arm?

Finally, here are a couple of recreations of a card that was and a card that wasn't.   These 60 YOT's from last year's offering are a great way to pick up copies of legendary cardboard for next to nothing.   I am actually very fortunate and have this actual Rizzuto card in my Yankees collection.   This reprint is a great addition and will be a nice comparison opportunity in a future post.   The Mantle never existed, but it sure is a sharp card now!   When it comes to card designs, '54 through '56 are often at the top of the list.   I hadn't noticed before but the write-ups on the backs are kind of interesting.   In these cases, a couple of tidbits describing the Topps and Bowman relationship from the 50's is provided and make for some interesting suppositions.   Enough chatter - here's Mick and Scooter:

 

"Watch as I slide FOR you whilst making the out."

1956 - When Topps Ate Bowman for Dinner

 Jeff sent over a lot of help for my 2011 Heritage set quest.   I think he had been chasing this one himself, so I really appreciate him sorting out a few to send my way!   Here's what we had along with a couple of my favorites:

The surreal blue sky behind David Price makes the blue in his Rays uniform pop really nicely.   Plus......he's a stud hurler.   The Manager's Dream card was a great capture of the cards from '62.   Pujols and Braun were awesome last year.   Albert has been anything BUT a dream for me as a fantasy manager this year.

I know......we're 7 21 days in.   I'm just jaded.

Great cards.   Great collector friends.   Great surprises.   Thank you, Darren and Jeff!

Thanks for reading, you guys.