Cards That Never Were

Steve over at White Sox Cards was at it again. A couple months ago, Steve wrote some blogs about baseball cards that never were and then cleverly brought them into being. Recently, I gave him the challenge of making a Mick Kelleher baseball card depicting Kelleher with the Cardinals. Steve produced another masterpiece and I am grateful.
Kelleher had several real cards, starting with the 1977 Topps issue. This card and the next few years, showed Kelleher in a Cubs uniform. Kelleher left the Cubs after the 1980 season. Subsequent Kelleher cards showed him as a Tiger and an Angel. Before all of that however, Kelleher's career started with the Cardinals. Kelleher played parts of 2 seasons with the Cardinals, 1 season with the Astros and 1 more season with the Cardinals before he joined the Cubs.
Very few pictures exist of Kelleher with the Cardinals, but Steve did not take the easiest path and use Kelleher's SSPC photo. The photo Steve used had a blue signature across it, which Steve carefully eliminated.
The 1973 Topps design was a great choice for the picture. It fits perfectly. If mixed in with other 1973 cards, it would blend right in. It just has that feel.
I will be printing two. One just to keep and one to send to Kelleher for signing. The card looks so authentic, it might confuse Kelleher.
The scrappy Kelleher was one of my favorites. Kelleher was slick and versatile in the field, but weak at the plate, hitting 0 HR's in over 1,000 AB's. One of the more inspirational moments in his career occurred when the 5'9" Kelleher mixed it up with the 6'6" Dave Kingman after a play at 2nd base.

Thanks to Steve for another masterful job of creating a much-desired card (at least by me) where none existed previously. Steve runs a great website and is a devout White Sox fan. Producing a card of an ex-Cub favorite might not have been Steve's first choice, but I really appreciate his effort!

Mick Kelleher's 1973 Topps card as produced by Steve of White Sox Cards.