Curse of the Cubs - Giants' Fred Merkle

Every baseball card we accumulate weaves a different story into the fabric of our collections. One of my favorites isn’t about a favorite player, or team, it’s about a swatch of baseball history. Fred Merkle’s 1911 T205 (gold border) tells a story unlike any other card.

Fred Merkle was yesterday's Bill Buckner long before John McNamara and Bob Stanley put on a pair of spikes. If not for Fred Merkle’s “boner play” (as it was referred to at the time) Chicago Cubs fans would be drinking to a 101 year World Series drought.

The Cubs and NY Giants were in a classic National League pennant race as the humid summer season started to cool to the fall classic. The Cubs (of Tinkers-Evers-Chance fame) had been to the last two World Series. The Giants were led by the brilliant and loud John McGraw and the calm and collected Christy Mathewson.

In a late September game at the Polo Grounds, the Giants and the visiting Cubs were tied 1-1 going into the bottom of the 9th inning. With two outs and a runner on first, rookie first basemen Fred Merkle slugged a base hit to advance the runner to 3rd base. The next batter, Al Bridwell, followed with another single that brought the winning run home and giving the NY Giants an important win late in the season.

The Polo Grounds drama that unfolded featured players racing to centerfield clubhouses, NY fans storming the baseball stage and Johnny Evers, the Cubs second basemen, standing alone at second base waiting for Fred Merkle to advance from first. However, Merkle never ran to second because the run had scored. Unfortunately for him, the baseball rules state that runners must advance to the next base when forced or any run that scores on the play does not count. It's a rule that would be forever celebrated in Chicago and forever haunt a 19 year old rookie from Toledo, Ohio.

It’s unclear how Evers collected a baseball in the sea of chaos that swirled around him. Some historians say Johnny Evers wrestled the ball from a fan, others say he grabbed a different baseball from the dugout, either way, he convinced umpire Hank O'Day that he was in possession of the baseball. O’Day, who would later manage the Cubs, ripped the hearts out of NY fans by calling Merkle out at second base and taking the game winning run off the scoreboard. While Fred Merkle and the Giants were celebrating in the Polo Grounds locker room, O’Day changed history, altered a career and ruled the game a tie.

The Cubs and Giants ended the regular season tied for first place. The Cubs won a one-game playoff and went on to defeat the Detroit Tigers in the 1908 World Series. They haven’t won since.

Is Fred Merkle the real curse of the Cubs and not the famous “Billy Goat Curse?

Was Merkle unfairly branded a scapegoat? Keith Olberman has been on a fight to restore his tarnished reputation.

My favorite reference to this event is in Frank Deford’s “The Old Ball Game.” This is a must read for anyone who enjoys baseball history. Deford feeds you the emotions and pulls you into the minds of the players as this event unfolds.

Collecting Fred Merkle cards is less about statistics and more about history. Merkle went on to have a solid baseball career playing with the Giants, Brooklyn Robins, Chicago Cubs and NY Yankees. Unfortunately he’s most known for this play and unfairly blamed by NY fans for not reaching the 1908 World Series.

You can collect these Fred Merkle cards for about the same price of some of the fancy, high-end, glossy card packs that are now on card store shelves.

• 1911 T205 (gold border)
• 1909 T206 Sweet Caporal
• 1911 T206
• 1911 T3 Turkey Red (throwing)

Shawne Merriman's Not a Warrior

Everyone wants to celebrate what a great teammate Shawne is by risking his career to play through torn knee ligaments.

Is he a great a great teammate for ignoring the Chargers' and doctors' recommendations for him to have the surgery immediately following the 2007 season? He hurt the knee in a game against Tenn. in December. It would have taken 6-7 months to recover which would have him to close to 100% healthy for the start of the 2008 season. This is all according to the ESPN story.

Was he a great teammate when he was suspended for four games due to steroid abuse in 2006?

And is his steroid use to blame for his current injury? Here's a USA Today article that highlights a case study on knee damage and steroids. The Obsessed with Sports Blog has a great post about this.

Was Shawne Merriman a great teammate when he held out of training camp his rookie year due to a contract hold-out? This delayed his amount of playing time until he became a full time starter 3 months into his rookie year.

Lets stop celebrating this steroid abuser's love of the game and warrior mentality. Shawne Merriman is doing what he's done since he came into the NFL - putting himself first.

The National vs. Football HOF Weekend controversy Over

I talked to the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH and they confirmed the induction ceremony aka "HOF Weekend" is the first FULL weekend in August.

To them, that means Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Since Friday is July 31, they moved the entire HOF weekend to August 7 - 9.

The National Sports Collectors Convention is still scheduled to begin July 29.

I'm not sure how much of a controversy it was really going to be anyway. The HOF's Mounted Memories shows seem to be going down hill and here's a list of who was at last year's National in Chicago.

Thanks to a heads-up message board posting on Signings.com for asking the question. I'm glad I called the HOF this morning!

I think it's more about the area shows in Canton than the HOF. There are a lot of great shows at local malls in Canton that have great autograph guests. Last year I was all over the highway between Cleveland and some of the Canton malls. Fortunately, I live in Ohio, so depending on the autograph guests, I can possibly make both weekends.

I wonder how back-to-back weekends in NE Ohio will affect out of town collectors and the ability to secure autograph guests.

Are ads online the new tip jar?

A few weeks ago there was a good card/memorabilia blog debate on PayPal donations. The question was, "should bloggers ask for PayPal donations because of the service they provide?"

Some bloggers proudly display the PayPal link and don't mind asking for donations. Other blogs hate the idea and say no-way to PayPal donations.

Here's a great article on the Seth Godin blog which asks if online ads are the new tip jar? What effect would that have on the virtual world if everyone clicked an ad after reading a blog article that you liked?

http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2123/32529256

Jake McFarlane (Todd's son) autograph

Sure, Todd McFarlane's autograph is easy to get, but what about Jake's?!

Jake was sitting next to Todd at the autograph pavilion and offered his autograph too. I don't know if he thought I was friends of Todd since I was talking to him or what. Heck, he's the "spawn" of a great comic artist, so I wasn't going to turn it down - even if he was 9 years old (or whatever his age is).

Bud Light Spuds McKenzie commercial during the olympics

This Olympics may have had Michael Phelps, but I miss Spuds.

Brett Favre Memorabilia Up in Smoke

You're either a Brett Favre fan or a Packer fan - I guess you can't be both anymore.

This family is so disgruntled with Brett Favre they decided to burn his memorabilia! I don't remember reading about families in Baltimore doing this when Trent Dilfer left, he won a Super Bowl for his team too. Did families in S.F. burn Joe Montana collections when he went to Kansas City?

How much money went up in smoke?

Todd McFarlane Autographs

I'm not a huge Todd McFarlane sports figures collector anymore, but I still admire Todd's art and creativity.

At the Super Bowl 42 Experience Todd signed at the Topps Autograph Pavilion. Here's a picture of his autograph on one of his Spider Man comics. I think this is an awesome cover and Todd signed it with a green marker. The autograph really stands out.

Every time I've met Todd he's been really cool - - he's also been really late for his autograph time! But he's always been really nice, so you end up forgetting that he was late.