Cards That Never Were: Bob Oliver Topps 1966, '76 and Updates

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

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed Bob Oliver as an amateur free agent prior to the 1963 season. Oliver made his MLB debut with three games in 1965. After two more seasons in the minors, the Pirates traded him to the Minnesota Twins. After the 1968 season in the minors, the Kansas City Royals selected him in the Expansion Draft. He made it back to the Majors with the Royals. Midway through the '72 season, he was dealt to the California Angels. In September of 1974, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles and then purchased by the New York Yankees in December. Midway through the '75 season, the Yankees released him, ending his MLB career. He did play a few more seasons in the minors though. For his eight year MLB career, the first baseman-outfielder his .256, with 745 hits, 94 HRs, 419 RBIs and 293 runs scored. He is also the father of former MLB pitcher Darren.

For his efforts, Topps gave Oliver cards in 1969-'75. That left '66 and '76 to be created. Once again, when I started to make these missing cards, I saw that Lynn from the Custom Baseball Cards Facebook group beat me to them. Lynn is probably the most active member on that site, creating hundreds (thousands?) of cards and not just baseball despite the name of the group. Since Lynn did them so well, there was no need for me to duplicate his effort and not as well as he did anyway. Lynn even went above and beyond, creating the two missing cards, along with updating two others. Lynn made a '66 rookie card, a '69 solo card, a '75 nonairbrushed card and a '76 career-capper.

Cards That Never Were: Leon Brown Topps 1977

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

Outfielder Leon Brown was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 9th round of the 1966 amateur draft. In 1971, the San Francisco Giants selected him in the minor league draft. The Giants traded him to the New York Mets prior to the 1976 season, a season in which he would make his MLB debut. It would also be his only season in the bigs. After the season, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals and played in the minors through the 1980 season. Used a lot as a pinch-runner, he appeared in 64 games, garnering 74 plate appearances, for a .214 average with no homers, two RBIs and 11 runs scored.

Topps did not reward him with a card, but Gio at When Topps Had (Base)Balls created one. Once again, the Maestro beat me to it. Even though I didn't make it, I wanted to feature it and highlight Gio's great work. He has created hundreds of "missing" cards/

Cards That Never Were: Joe Ferguson Topps 1971 & '84

Cards That Never Were is a recurring series in which I create virtual cards for players missed in various sets over the years. It is a concept I have borrowed from far too many to list, but I appreciate all of them. You can find more of my creations and a lot of other great creations (and not just baseball cards) in the Custom Baseball Cards group on Facebook.
Joe Ferguson was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 8th round of the 1968 MLB draft. He made his debut in 1970 with a five game stint. He split 1971 between the Dodgers and their Triple A team, but spent most of '72 in the minors. He played with the Dodgers until being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals midway through the '76 season. After the season, he was traded to the Houston Astros, where he played until he was traded back to the Dodgers halfway through the '78 season. The Dodgers released him late in the '81 season and the California Angels signed him. He was released midway through the '83 season, ending his career. All told, he played in 1,013 games and hit .240 with 122 HRs, 445 RBIs and 407 runs scored. He played most of his games as a catcher, but logged in some outfield duty. He will always be known for a fantastic throw in the 1974 World Series.
For his efforts, Topps gave Ferguson cards in 1972-'83. That left a rookie card and a "career capper" missing. I was able to fill those voids.

Cards That Never Were: Bucky Dent Topps 1985

Cards That Never Were is a recurring series in which I create virtual cards for players missed in various sets over the years. It is a concept I have borrowed from far too many to list, but I appreciate all of them. You can find more of my creations and a lot of other great creations (and not just baseball cards) in the Custom Baseball Cards group on Facebook.
Russell Earl Dent was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 1st round (6th) of the 1970 MLB June Draft-Secondary Phase from Miami-Dade College. Bucky made his MLB debut in 1973. He looked like a future star. After four seasons, he was traded to the New York Yankees (with Bob Polinsky for Oscar Gamble and LaMarr Hoyt). New York looked to be the place for Dent to really ascend to the next level and be a superstar. That didn't quite happen, but he did earn a new nickname. He wa now called Bucky "Bleeping" Dent by Yankees haters. Midway through the 1982 season, he was traded to the Texas Rangers for Lee Mazzilli, another former NY superstar to be. Texas releaed Dent prior to the 1984 season. Dent signed with the Yankees, but was cut vefore he played for them He signed with the Kansas City Royals to finish the season and his career.
All told, Dent played 1,392 games, hitting .247 with 40 HRs, 423 RBIs and 451 runs scored. He was a three time All-Star and MVP of the 1978 World Series, after the playoffs where he earned that interesting new nickname.
For his efforts, Topps gave Dent cards in sets from 1974-'84. His '74 card lists him at 3B, despite him playing only one game at 3rd, while playing 36 at shortstop. He even played more games (3) at 2nd base than at 1st base.
This left only a 1985 "career capper" card for Dent. That void was easy enough to fix.

Cards That Never Were: Henry Cruz Topps 1977 & '79

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 borrowed from far too many to list, but I appreciate all of their efforts.

Two such creators are Lynn from the Custom Baseball Cards group on Facebook and Gio from When Topps Had (Base)Balls. Today, I am featuring their creations, since they beat me to these specific Cards That Never Were. Lynn made the Topps 1979, while Gio did the Topps 1977. Awesome work from both.

Henry Cruz was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers before the 1971 season. The outfielder made his MLB debut in 1975 and saw action with the Dodgers in 1976, too. He was selected off waivers by the Chicago White Sox and played parts of 1977 and '78 with the team. He played in the minors with Chicago and Detroit through the '81 season. For his career in 171 games, he batted .229 with 8 HRs, 34 RBIs and 8 runs scored. Henry is not related to the Cruz brothers (Jose, Hector and Tommy).

For his efforts, Topps put Henry on a Rookie Outfielders card in 1976 and a solo card in 1978. That left a 1977 and '79 to be created, which Gio and Lynn did beautifully.

Cards That Never Were: Doug Howard Topps 1973-'77

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 have borrowed from far too many to list, but I appreciate all of their efforts.

Outfielder-first baseman Doug Howard was drafted by the California Angels in the 8th round of the 1970 MLB June Amateur Draft. He made his MLB debut in 1972 and had stints in 1973 and '74. After the '74 season, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. He played a bit with the Cards in '75, then was traded to the Cleveland Indians after the season. After the '76 season, he was traded to the expansion Toronto Blue Jays, although he wouldn't play for them and his career ended. For his career, Howard played 97 games, hitting .212 with 1 HR, 22 RBIs and 19 runs scored.

For his efforts, Topps did not give him any cards, although OPC (Canadian Topps) put him on a multi-player prospects card as a Blue Jay. That left all five of his cards missing. When I started making his '73 card, I saw Gio of When Topps Had (Base)Balls already beat me to it again. In fact, he had already made all five of Howard's cards. All that was left for me to do is put Gio and his great site in the spotlight. He has thousands of virtual cards and they are all incredible. He is truly the master!

Cards That Never Were: Woodie Fryman Topps 1984

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 have borrowed from far too many to thank, but I appreciate all of their efforts.

Pitcher Woie Fryman was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1965. After making his MLB debut with the Pirates in 1966, he went on to pitch 18 seasons with the Pirates, Detroit Tigers, Montreal Expos, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs before returning to the Expos to finish his career. Over the 18 seasons, Fryman went 141-155 with 58 saves and a 3.77 ERA.

For his efforts, Topps gave Fryman a card for every season, but his last. Not wanting to leave him without a career capper, I created the 1984 card for Fryman.

Cards That Never Were: Ricky Seilheimer Topps 1981

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

Once again, Jeff of the Custom Baseball Cards Facebook group beat me to a card creation. Jeff is a key contributor to that group, which is not only baseball cards, despite its name. Not needing to duplicate his efforts, when he did it so well already, I simply highlight Jeff's card instead of making my own.

Catcher Ricky Seilheimer was selected  by the Chicago White Sox in the 1st round (19th pick) of the 1979 amateur draft. He made his MLB debut the next season, appearing in 21 games. He returned to the minors, where he stayed until retiring after the 1986 season. For his career, Seilheimer had 11 hits for a .212 average with one HR, three RBIs and four runs scored.

Topps did not give Seilheimer any cards, but Jeff did and it is a beauty. Seeing no need to create another, when Jeff did a great one, I simply highlight his work.

Cards That Never Were: Nardi Contreras Topps 1981

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

Pitcher Nardi Contreras was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 12th round of the 1969 amateur draft and was drafted by the New York Mets in the 1972 minor league draft. He was released by the Mets, signed and released by the Phillies and signed by the Chicago White Sox before he debuted in 1980. Unfortunately, his entire MLB would consist of pitching eight games in relief, compiling a 5.93 ERA. After two more seasons in the minors, he retired at the end of the 1982 season and eventually became a pitching coach.

For his efforts, Topps did not give Contreras a card, but Jeff of the Custom Baseball Cards Facebook group made a great one. Jeff is a key contributor to that group, which is not only baseball cards, despite its name. Not needing to duplicate his efforts, when he did it so well already, I simply highlight Jeff's card instead of making my own.

Cards That Never Were: Randy Johnson Topps 1981

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

Once again, Jeff of the Custom Baseball Cards Facebook group beat me to a card creation. Jeff is a key contributor to that group, which is not only baseball cards, despite its name. Not needing to duplicate his efforts, when he did it so well already, I simply highlight Jeff's card instead of making my own.

Randy Johnson was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 3rd round of the 1979 amateur draft. He made his MLB debut in 1989, appearing in 12 games. Near the end of the 1981 season, he was traded to the Minnesota Twins, returning to the bigs in 1982. The Twins traded him back to the Sox in 1985, which would be his last season of minor league ball. In total, Johnson appeared in 101 games over parts of two seasons. He hit .248 with 10 HRs, 33 RBIS and 26 runs scored.

For his efforts, Topps gave him a 1983 card. That left a 1981 card to be made. Thanks to Jeff, Johnson's set is now complete.

Cards That Never Were: John Flannery 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 have borrowed from far too many to list, but I appreciate all of their efforts.

While I usually do the creating, sometimes others help me with tough designs or have beaten me to a specific card. The latter is the case today.

Infielder John Flannery was selected by the California Angels in the ninth round of the 1975 MLB draft. In midseason 1977, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox with Don Kirkwood and John Verhoeven for Ken Brett. He made his MLB debut that season, playing in seven games. He had three plate appearances, walking once, but not getting a hit. He did score one run. Unfortunately, that would be it for his MLB career. He played in the minors with the Sox, San Diego Padres and Detroit Tigers, retiring after the 1982 season. 

Not surprisingly, Flannery did not appear on any Topps cards. I set out to create a 1978 card (a rookie card and a career capper all in one), but Gio of When Topps Had (Base)Balls beat me to it. Gio's site has hundreds of his awesome creations. So many times, I see a picture and am ready to create a card, only to see Gio already did one. His creations are spectacular and plentiful.

Cards That Never Were: Bob Randall Topps 1981

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 have borrowed from far too many to list, but I appreciate all of their efforts.

Bob Randall was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2nd round of the 1969 amateur draft. Having not reached the Majors, the second baseman was traded to the Minnesota Twins after the 1975 season. He made his MLB debut in 1976 and played through the 1980 seaon with the Twins before retiring. For his career, he played in 460 games, getting 341 hits with a .257 batting average, one home run, 91 RBIs and 154 runs scored.

Topps gave Randall cards in 1977-1980. That left a career-capper card to be made. Once again, I was beat to it by Lynn from the Custom Baseball Cards Facebook group. Despite the name, it contains all sorts of cards, not just baseball and Lynn is probably the busiest creator in the group. He does amazing work.

Cards That Never Were: Mike Wallace Topps '74 and '76

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 have borrowed from far too many to list, but I appreciate all of their efforts. Many creations (not just baseball) of others can be found on the Custom Baseball Cards Facebook group.

Pitcher Mike Wallace was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 4th round of the 1969 MLB draft. After making his MLB debut with the Phils in 1973, he was traded to the New York Yankees midway through the '74 season. Midway through the '75 season, he was purchased by the St. Louis Cardinals. He was traded to the Texas Rangers after the '76 season. He pitched one season for the Rangers and spent some time in AAA for Philly and Minnesota before retiring. For his career, in 117 games,  he was 11-3 with three saves and a 3.91 ERA,

For his efforts, Wallace appeared in Topps sets from 1974 (a quad-picture rookies card), '75 and '77. Lynn, from the previously mentioned FB group, created a solo 1974 card, along with a '76 Hostess (as an added bonus) card for Wallace. I made the 1976 card. That still leaves a '78 card to be made.

Cards That Never Were: Mike Beard Topps 1975, '77 & '78

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

While I mostly feature my creations, I sometimes include others, when they beat me to a certain card creation. In today's case, I was beaten on the three cards needed to complete Mike Beard's collection.

Gio from When Topps Had Balls has been entertaining readers with card creations and other stuff since 2013. He has more than 2,000 virtual cards depicted on his site. I literally get lost in amazement as I check out his past posts. It is really a fantastic site.

When I started looking for pictures of former pitcher Mike Beard to give him three missing cards from his career, I found all three completed cards on Gio's site. Since there was no point in me redoing his cards (how to improve on perfection?), I figured I would simply show his creations and encourage all to check out his site.

Beard was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the first round of the 1971 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 1974 with a six game stint. He stayed with the Braves until being traded to St. Louis late in the '77 season. He finished the '77 season in Triple A for St. Louis, before retiring. All told, he pitched in 74 games, going 4-2 with one save and a 3.74 ERA.

For his efforts, Topps gave Beard a card in their '76 set. That left '75, '77 and '78 missing. Thanks to Gio and When Topps Had Balls, those cards are no longer missing and I didn't even have to do any work.

Cards That Never Were: Jim Nettles Topps 1980 & '82

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 have borrowed from far too many to list, but I appreciate all of their efforts. Many creations (not just baseball) of others can be found on the Custom Baseball Cards Facebook group.

The younger brother of Graig Nettles, Jim Nettles was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 4th round of the 1968 MLB draft. The Twins had previously drafted Graig, who spent the 1967-'69 seasons with the Twins. Jim made his MLB debut in 1970, missing being a teammatwe with brother Graig, who had been traded to the Cleveland Indians. Jim played three seasons with the Twins, before being traded to the Detroit Tigers after spending the '73 season in the minors. After playing the '74 season with the Tigers, Jim bounced around the minors for a few years, befopre returning to the majors with the Kansas City Royals in '79. He spent '80 in the minors and returned for one last hurrah with the 1981 Oakland A's. All told, Jim appeared in 240 games and had 129 hits, including 16 HRs and 47 RBIs.

For his efforts, he appeared on Topps cards from 1971-'73 and '75. That left '80 and '82. Pictures were not easy to find, but I did the best with what I could get and was able to fill Jim's gaps.

Cards That Never Were: Joey Johnston Topps 1969-70

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 borrowed from far too many to list, but I appreciate all of their efforts.

Joey Johnston was selected by the New York Rangers in Round 2 (8th overall) in the 1966 NHL Amateur Draft. He made his NHL debut in the 1968-69 season with the Minnesota North Stars. After another stint in the minors, he returned to the NHL with the California Golden Seals in the 1971-72 season. After four seasons with the Seals, he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. A car accident shrotened his career and he retired after the 1975-76 season. All told, he played 331 games, scoring 85 goals with 1056 assists.

For his efforts, Topps/OPC gave Johnston cards in all sets from 1971-72 through 75-76. That left only his rookie card missing. While searching for a picture to use for that card, I came across a virtual card created by the master at https://mrburnscollectorscorner.weebly.com/. Knowing I couldn't top that beauty, I chose to feature him and promote his site, which has hundreds of awesome creations.

Cards That Never Were: Dan Fife Topps 1975

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 borrowed from far too many to list, but I appreciate all of their efforts.

 After starring at University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), pitcher Danny Fife was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 2nd round of the 1971 MLB June Draft. In March 1973, Fife was traded to the Minnesota Twins for Jim Perry. Fife made his MLB with the Twins that season, splitting time with the Twins and their minor league AAA team. The 1974 season was much the same. After spending the 1975 season in the minors, Fife retired. For his career, Fife pitched 14 games, going 3-2 with a 5.43 ERA. He did have one complete game.

For his efforts, Topps gave Fife a card in the 1975 ser. That left a 1975 career capper card missing. Once again, I was beaten to it by Lynn from the Custom Baseball Cards Facebook group. Since there was no need to try to duplicate Lynn's creation, especially since he is the master, I feature his work. Lynn is probably the most prolific contributor of Custom Baseball Card Facebook group, with thousands of creations, but there are many other excellent creations from others and not just baseball cards, despite the group's title.

Cards That Never Were: Denis DeJordy Topps 1973 & '74

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

From Saint-Hyacinthe, PQ, Canada, goalie Denis DeJordy debuted in the minors in the 1957-58 season. He was called up by the Chicago BlackHawks during the 1960-61 playoffs but did not play. His name was engraved on the Stanley Cup and he appeared in the Hawks' Stanley Cup team picture, even though he had yet to play a single NHL game. He made his NHL debut in the 1962-63 season. Midway through the '69-70 season, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. He was traded to the Montreal Canadiens midway through the '71-72 season and then again to the Detroit Red Wings after that season. After the '73-74 season, DeJordy closed out his career. He played in 317 games and had a 3.14 goals against average with a .902 save percentage.

For his effort, DeJordy received cards from Parkhurst, Topps or OPC from 1961-62 through '72-73. That left two years to complete his career. I found enough pictures to make those cards.

Cards That Never Were: Marlin Briscoe Topps 1969-'71, '73, '75 & '77

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 have borrowed from far too many to list, but I appreciate all of their efforts. More of my creations and many great creations of others can be found in the Custom Baseball Cards Facebook group (and not just baseball cards).
Marlin Briscoe played college football at Nebraska-Omaha, before the Denver Broncos selected him in the 14th round of the 1968 AFL draft. Briscoe started his NFL career as a starting QB for the Broncos. That is a big note in history, being the first African American starting QB. After one season in Denver, he went to the Buffalo Bills, where he played wide receiver for three seasons. That was followed by three seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He split 1975 between Detroit and San Diego, before playing one final season with the New England Patriots. All told in nine seasons, he played 105 games, throwing for 1,697 yards with 14 TDs and 14 INTs, while also having 3,537 receiving yards with 30 TDs. He also had three rushing TDs.
For his efforts, Topps gave Briscoe cards in 1972, '74 and '76. That left 1969-'71, '73, '75 and '77 missing. I made his '69 card reflect his QB play. I also unintentionally doubled up on 1971, but I'm leaving both here anyway.

Cards That Never Were: Scott Bull Topps 1977 & '78

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 have borrowed from far too many to list, but I appreciate all of their efforts. More of my creations and many great creations of others can be found in the Custom Baseball Cards Facebook group (and not just baseball cards).
Adter starring at Arkansas, QB Scott Bull was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the 6th round of the 1976 NFL draft. Bull played three seasons with the 49ers, starting seven games and playing in 36. He completed 39.4% of his pass attempts for 992 yards with three TDs and 17 INTs.
For his efforts, Bull received a card in the Topps 1979 set, which came out after his NFL career was over. That left 1977 and '78 missing. I searched for a long time for decent pics of Bull and came up empty. Ironically, I was doing a search for Marty Domres with the 49ers when I came across an odd pic. It was listed as Domres, but was actually Jim Plunkett wearing a #14 jersey. Next to him was a player wearing #15. I conferred with the folks in the aforementioned Custom Cards FB group and they confirmed it was Bull wearing #15. I also found another similar picture. Those two pics enabled me to make the two missing Bull cards.