Cards That Never Were: Darold Knowles Topps 1969, '78 and '81

Cards That Never Were is a recurring series in which I create digital trading cards for players missed in various sets. It is a concept I borrow from far too many to list, but I appreciate all of their efforts.

Pitcher Darold Knowles was signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent in 1961. After making his debut with the O's, he went on to have a 16 year career, pitching for seven teams, before ending his career in 1980. All told, he appeared in 765 games, all but eight as a reliever. He went 66-74 with 143 saves and a 3.12 ERA.

For his efforts, Knowles received Topps cards from 1964-'80, except for 1969. That left a '69 and a career capper 1981 to be done. On a side note, his first three Topps cards were multi-player rookie stars cards. I relied on the fine folks on the Facebook group Custom Baseball Cards to create the 1969 card. I made the 1981 version and added a 1978 midcard for his time with the Texas Rangers. As I believe every players should be represented in each set, I also believe players should have all of his teams represented. I still need to make a 1967 card of Knowles with the Phillies to really complete his run. 

Talking Travel with Alex Brown

For some, October is Sober October. For some the entire year is sober time. To learn more about sober travel, I interviewed Alex Brown.

Founder and President of Recover Hospitality, Brown is in recovery himself. A third-generation hotelier, he sold his family's boutique hotel several years ago and founded Recover Hospitality. His goal is to persuade businesses in the hospitality industry to be more sober-inclusive, while helping consumers find and trust those businesses.

I had never interviewed someone with this angle in travel. I was happy to add Brown to the Global Traveler Talking Travel interviews.

Go to globaltravelerusa.com for the full recap and interview. Also, subscribe to the GT YouTube channel to help me continue to do these interviews.

Carter Dennis of American Vanity

Providing the steady beat of American Vanity is drummer Carter Dennis. Steady is an understatement for his drumming though.

My niece and I have been fans of the band (first as Burn the Jukebox) for a few years. We appreciate the band and the individuals. While at the American Vanity show in Chicago a couple months ago, I made a point to watch Carter in action. Being only a few feet from the stage, we had a close up view. 

The young man has chops. He is a drum machine. He was doing things with his sticks that might have been part of drumming or just for flair. There was so much action, it was hard to tell. Either way, you can tell he is immensely talented.

He was also very nice. In the pre-show meet-and-greet, Carter spent a few minutes with Laura and me. Much like the other band members, he was engaging, friendly, funny and quite poised for such a young entertainer.

This band and Carter have a lot of potential. Obviously, music is a tough career, but they have the talent and personality to make it. I'll be watching and updating their progress right here.

For now, go to thisisamericanvanity.com for more info. Also, go to Spotify and give them a listen.

Carter, Laura and me in Chicago, IL-August 2026.

William Katt at Flashback Weekend 2026

A few months ago, I met actor William Katt at Flashback Weekend. Unintentionally, I benefited from the person who met him right before me.

An actor with a lengthy, impressive resume, Katt is perhaps best known form The Greatest American Hero television series. He also appeared in Carrie, a fantastic movie from 1976. Therein lies the key piece of info. When the lady in front of me was just about leaving Katt's booth, she mentioned Carrie was 50 years ago. As she went on her way, Katt started our chat with mock disbelief that it was 50 years ago.

We continued chatting along those lines. Katt is 75 and his first role was actually five years prior to Carrie, or 55 years ago. I mentioned a 55 year career is an amazing accomplishment. He was just happy folks remembered him from a role that far back. Of course, Carrie is an iconic horror movie, but Katt has remained active ever since.

I love Flashback Weekend. I always say it has the best of big time conventions, while maintaining the best parts of a smaller con. Go to flashbackweekend.com for updates and scheduling for 2027.

William Katt and me in Rosemont, IL-August 2026.

Israel Idonije and Magic

Last month, I enjoyed an evening of Magic at The Hand and The Eye with my pal Chuck. About halfway through the night, we recognized Israel Idonije among the other patrons.

Born in Nigeria, Idonije was drafted by Montreal of the Canadian Football League. He signed with the Cleveland Browns as a free agent instead. He never played for the Browns though. He later signed with the Chicago Bears, for whom he played nine seasons. He then played a season with the Detroit Lions. After that, he signed back with the Bears, but didn't make the team. He also signed with the New York Giants, but again did not make the team. That would be it for his playing career.

Since then, Idonije has been involved with various charitable causes, a comic book line, a book series and more. He is very active in the Chicago area.

I resisted the urge to bug him during the evening, but we happened to walk out together. At that point, I approached him and asked for a picture. He was very kind, chatting with us for a moment. I did thank him for an interview I did with him years ago at a comic con to promote his comic book.

Israel Idonije and me in Chicago, IL-September 2026.

Friend Encounters: Serenity and Tommy

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends meeting celebrities.

Today I feature two of my favorites from my time with Resistance Pro Wrestling. It is a great representation of the best part of RPro.

Shortly after RPro debited, I met and interviewed Tommy Else, who earned a spot in the company via an open audition. Tommy became Eric St. Vaughn. Tommy became a good friend and wrestler, but I maintain the name change by management was a mistake. That's a whole other story though.

Serenity became one of my favorites, too. Young Serenity had a nice blend of energy and cute. She was like your little sister. She was also tough in the ring. She wasn't a contender for the Women's title, but she could have made a good tag team member if they had tag titles. 

Both Tommy and Serenity always gave me interviews. They understood how to market themselves. They knew any coverage was good and they were always willing. They also always gave great interviews, which is another reason why I kept going back to them.

Serenity eventually left wrestling. She seems to be doing well and is involved in frisbee competitions. I don't know why she left wrestling. I think she could have had a decent run. Maybe she was too small to win major titles, but in today's wrestling, she could have had a role.

As for Tommy, he left ESV behind and has wrestled very sporadically since. He is still a great physical trainer.

Looking back, Serenity or Else could have been a fun mixed tag team. Maybe have them feud with Ego Cruise (Robert Anthony and Melanie Cruise) lol.

The end of the original RPro wasn't pretty, but it doesn't take away from the good times. I never would have met these two fun folks.

Serenity and Tommy in Chicago, IL-March 2012.

Celebrity Jersey Cards #824: William Bendix & Ralph Lauren

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series in which I create digital trading cards for celebrities wearing sports jerseys. Today, I finish my season long alphabetical romp through all MLB teams.

Born in New York, William Bendix was a bat boy for the New York Yankees in the 1`920s. Life would come full circle years later when he portrayed Babe Ruth in The Babe Ruth Story. Bendix enjoyed a career in movies that spanned more than 25 years, right up to his early death in 1964 at the age of 58. Bendix earned his Celebrity Jersey Card for his work on the Babe movie, garnering extra points for having the Babe in his picture.

Born in New York, Ralph Lauren rose to fame as a fashion designer. The Ralph Lauren brand is a global multi-billion dollar enterprise. Among his many hobbies was car collecting, of which he had more than 100 classic cars. He was also a big philanthropist, focused mainly on cancer research. I don't know the origin of the picture of him wearing a full Yankees uniform, but it is a Clebrity Jersey Card rarity. I wonder what the uniform would look like if Lauren designed it.

Cards That Never Were: Gary Lance Topps 1978

Cards That Never Were is a recurring series in which I create virtual trading cards for players missed in various sets. It is a concept I borrow from far too many to list, but I appreciate all of their efforts.

Pitcher Gary Lance was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 20th round of the 1967 MLB June Amateur Draft. After not making the MLB yet, he was signed as a free agent by the Kansas City Royals before the 1971 season. Lance made his MLB debut in 1977, going 0-1 with a 54.50 ERA, having pitched in only one game. That would be the only MLB game he pitched, although he was traded to the Seattle Mariners after the 1977 season. He pitched a few more seasons in the minors, before retiring.

For his efforts, Topps neglected Lance, but Gio of When Topps Had Baseballs didn't. Gio is the master and he often beats me to a creation. I always find these type of players fascinating. Lance made the MLB even if only one game. That merits a card.

Marley Shelton at Flashback Weekend 2026

I was envious of my buddy Tony when he met actress Marley Shelton. Fortunately, I evened the score at Flashback Weekend last month.

The Sandlot is one of my favorite movies, not just one of my favorite sports movies. Shelton played Wendy Peffercorn, who had a memorable scene with one of the boys.

Of course, Shelton has a much longer resume of parts than just Wendy, but that scene is iconic. Some of her other projects include Bubble Boy, Pleasantville and The Lottery, as well as a couple movies in the Scream franchise.

While talking with Shelton, I mentioned a couple of her roles, but had to add I really loved that famous scene. She smiled big and said that really touches her heart to hear fans speak so fondly of that role and scene.

While I was happy to match Tony with the picture, I was really happier just to meet Shelton. She had been on my list for many years.

For more info on Flashback Weekend, go to flashbackweekend.com. Look here for more of my recaps.

Cuzz, Marley and me in Rosemont, IL-August 2026.

Happy Birthday, Tony!

Today, my pal Tony joins Club 61. I wil celebrate it with you tomorrow at Northwestern softball, but I salute you here.

We still don't know exactly when or where we met. It was either at a wrestling show, softball game or comic con. We became friendly at Chicago Bandits softball games. We really connected at a convention when we waited to meet former Chicago Bear Chris Zorich. Since then, we have done a lot of fun stuff and we have a lot more to do, even if you move to Gettysburg.

Happy birthday, Fed. Enjoy your day with your wife, but we'll have some fun tomorrow.

Tony and me in Rosemont, IL-February 2026.