AVAILABLE NOW! WTHBALLS 1972 "MISSING IN ACTION: IN-ACTION"

Good day everyone! Hope 2025 has been treating you all well so far.

Happy to say that the newest WTHBALLS offering is now available for purchase, my 1972 "Missing in Action: In-Action" set:

Featuring a wrapper-busting 25-cards, this set has all the stars who didn't get an "In-Action" card in the landmark 1972 Topps set.

From Hall of Famers like Bob Gibson to Nolan Ryan, Al Kaline to Jim Palmer, the set is loaded with stars to help "fill-out" that monster 1972 set.

As an added treat, the backs feature three 6-card puzzles to put together: Roberto Clemente, Vida Blue and Dick Allen, as well as a couple of WTHBALLS "upcoming" backs looking forward to what else I have in store for 2025.

Each set comes wrapped in a "tweaked" 1972 wrapper (see photos attached), and is available for $20 plus $4.50 shipping.

Paypal as usual: slogun23@gmail.com

Fun set to add into my 1972 set binder! Hope you all feel the same way!

Any questions feel free to contact me...

Be well my friends, and here's to a happy and healthy new year...

Gio/wthballs

REVISITING: MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #15: 1972 STEVE CARLTON

Time to revisit another custom "Missing In-Action 1972 In-Action" card, this one of "Lefty" Steve Carlton originally appearing on the blog just about 10 years ago:

"Up next in my "MIA-MIA" thread is Steve Carlton, pictured here as a St. Louis Cardinal pitcher even though by the time this card would have come out he was pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies, on his way to a season for the ages.

His last season as a Cardinal was a good one in 1971, as he posted his first 20-win season, going 20-9 with a 3.56 earned run average, four shutouts and 172 strikeouts.

Traded for pitcher Rick Wise, Carlton would then go on to become superstar in Philadelphia, beginning with his very first season there.

In 1972 he was just legendary, posting a 27-10 record with a tiny 1.97 E.R.A., eight shutouts and 310 strikeouts in a whopping 346.1 innings of work!

This "Triple Crown" year was all produced for a last place team, and the guy almost won HALF the teams wins!

Just monster in every sense.

All he did the rest of the way was top 300 wins, 4000 strikeouts, 50 shutouts and 700 starts in his 24 year career!

The first guy to take home four Cy Young Awards, he led his league in wins four times, strikeouts five times, E.R.A. once and was named to ten all-star teams.

Needless to say, by the time he was eligible for the Hall of Fame, he was in on his first try, getting named to 436 of 456 ballots.

Sure we already had "Lefty" Grove, and "Lefty" Gomez, but Carlton was more than worthy of the same nickname for all of his accomplishments.

I'll be sure to create a "Nickname" card for him in the near future."

 

REVISITING A POST FROM 2015: MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #27: 1972 AL OLIVER

Fun card to revisit that I originally created back in 2015, my "missing" 1972 In-Action card for "Scoop" Al Oliver, a Hall of Famer in my book:

Nice shot of "Scoop" at the plate!

Now, what do you call a guy who was a seven-time all-star, Silver Slugger winner at three different positions, collector of over 2700 hits, 200 home runs, .300 career average, 1300 runs batted in, and 500 doubles?

I call that a Hall of Famer, especially when you consider that the first nine years or so of his career were the "dead" 1970's.

Yes I know an argument can be made here for Oliver's Hall-worthiness.

But I have always felt that he fell into that Vada Pinson, Dave Parker, Steve Garvey crowd that should have gotten, at the very LEAST, more of a shot at Cooperstown.

I mean, when he was finally eligible for Hall voting, he only got 4.3% and was dropped just like that! THAT is just insane.

He won three consecutive Silver Slugger Awards in 1980-1982, as an outfielder, a designated hitter and a first baseman and he batted .300 or better eleven times in his 18-year career!

He finished in the top-10 in batting eight times during his career, in the top-10 in hits eight times in his career, top-10 in doubles nine times in his career, top-10 in total bases five times, runs scored four times, runs batted in four times, triples three times, extra base hits five times and slugging percentage twice.

Is THAT enough of a statement? His consistency was amazing.

And to top it off, he should have been the National League Rookie of the Year in 1969 but got ripped off, with the award going to Los Angeles Dodger Ted Sizemore.

Al Oliver is grossly overlooked as far as players of that era in my book.

REVISITING A POST FROM 2015: MISSING IN ACTION "IN-ACTION" 1972 BERT BLYLEVEN

Today we'll revisit a post from 2015, my "missing" 1972 In-Action card for Hall of Fame pitcher Bert Blyleven, part of a fun thread I hope to have printed up as a stand-alone set in the future:

Here's the original post from way back when:

Blyleven just put in his first true full season in 1971 after a solid rookie year the season before, posting a 16-15 record with a 2.81 earned run average and 224 strikeouts.

Turns out it would be the first of six consecutive 200+ strikeout seasons, as well as eight consecutive years of a sub-3.03 E.R.A.

By the time he retired after the 1992 season, he stood at 287-250, with a 3.31 E.R.A., 60 shutouts and 3701 strikeouts over 692 games, 685 of which were starts.

Often overshadowed during the pitching-rich 1970's by guys like Seaver, Carlton and Palmer, Blyleven would have to wait until his 14th year of Cooperstown eligibility before being voted in by the BBWA in 2011.

I just always loved the guy for his pranks, his outspoken personality and the fact that when I was a kid I was mesmerized by the fact that he was born in Holland, something which was unique on the back of a baseball card.

 

REVISITING A POST FROM 2014: "MISSING" 1972 IN-ACTION BILL FREEHAN

Today on the blog, revisiting a post from November, 2014, featuring a "missing" 1972 "In-Action" card, this of "should-be" Hall of Fame catcher Bill Freehan:

Here's the original write-up from that post many moons ago:

"This is cool.

My last "MIA-MIA" 1972 card was of future Hall of Fame member Frank Robinson.

And today I want to present to you all my newest addition to the thread, Bill Freehan, with a great in-game action shot of him blocking the plate against who else, Frank Robinson from 1969.

Great action shot!

1972 marked a "changing of the guard" in a sense when it came to American League catchers.

Up until then, Freehan was considered by many to be the best A.L. Backstop, manning the plate in Detroit for about 10 years and being named to eight-straight All-Star games at the time.

Also the winner of five Gold Gloves, Freehan was pretty much the top of the heap when it came to catchers in the Junior Circuit.

Then in 1970 you had Thurman Munson come along, win the Rookie of the Year Award, and then was followed by the Boston red Sox young stud Carlton Fisk, who'd take home the same award two years later.

Coupled with Johnny Bench and Ted Simmons in the National League, and you can see how the landscape was changing for Major League catching.

Nevertheless, Freehan was a stalwart behind the plate for the Tigers.

Three times he'd finish in the top-10 for Most Valuable Player (1964, 1967 & 1968), and he'd play his entire 15-year career in Motown.

A solid player through and through, he'd retire after the 1976 season with a .262 lifetime average, 200 homers and 758 runs batted in over 1774 games and 6073 at-bats.

He was named to eleven all-star games, and finished with a .993 fielding percentage while donning the "tools of ignorance".

I can't tell who the Baltimore player is who is watching the play unfold in front of him.

Any ideas?"

REVISIT FROM 2014: MISSING IN ACTION "IN ACTION": 1972 TONY PEREZ

Today on the blog, we revisit a post from October of 2014, incredibly almost ten years ago, and my "missing" 1972 In-Action card for RBI-machine Tony Perez:

Perez was just about “automatic” during the “Big Red Machine” years. Year in and year out you could pencil him in for 20+ homers, 90+ runs batted in, and between 60-70 extra-base-hits.
For eleven straight seasons, between 1967 and 1977, Perez topped 90 RBI’s, with a high of 129 in 1970, when he also hit a career-high 40 home runs for the beginning of what was to be a dominant team on its way to two championships and four World Series appearances.
By the time he was done after 23 seasons on a Major League diamond in 1986, Perez hit .279 with 2732 hits, 1272 runs scored, 1652 runs batted in and the aforementioned 379 homers, with “only” seven all-star nods, often overshadowed by his more well-known teammates.
I’ll always remember a statement former Reds’ manager Sparky Anderson made years later, one that I’ve mentioned before here on this blog, when he said that when the Reds traded Perez to the Montreal Expos after the 1976 season, it killed the “Big Red Machine”.
Think about that for a moment.
Just an awesome player who had the (mis)fortune to play alongside a handful of other all-star players who ruled the decade and took home SIX MVP Awards!

REVISITING A BLOG POST FROM 2014: "MISSING" 1972 LOU BROCK "IN-ACTION" CARD

On the blog today, revisiting a blog post from September of 2014 for those that missed it the first time around, my "missing" 1972 In-Action card for the great Lou Brock:

I really enjoyed filling in the gaps that Topps left with this great sub-set, when they gave us guys like Bob Barton and Paul Schaal (no offense), while leaving out so many uber-stars.

As for Brock, the man was running wild by the early 1970's, on his way to a then Major League record 938 stolen bases to go along nicely with 1610 runs scored, 3023 hits and 776 extra base hits.

1971 was typical for Brock, as he gathered 200 hits, led the National League in runs scored with 126 (a career high), batted over .300 (.313) and of course, led the Senior Circuit in stolen bases for the fifth time (on his way to eight stolen base crowns for his career).

His stellar career eventually got Brock elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985, his first year of eligibility.

Nicknamed "The Franchise", I'm sure any team would love to build a roster around a player like Brock in any era.

BY SPECIAL REQUEST: MIA MIA DICK ALLEN (DODGERS EDITION)

Today on the blog, by special request for my buddy Richie, here's a "missing" 1972 In-Action card of the great Dick Allen in a Los Angeles Dodger version, since that was the team he suited up for in 1971:

Of course, Allen would be a member of the Chicago White Sox in 1972 and go on to take home the American League MVP Award after almost winning the triple crown, but since the man also looked so bad-ass in a Dodger uniform, creating this version here was something I did not want to skip!

In 1971 he did not disappoint the L.A. faithful, as he'd hit .295 with 23 homers and 90 RBIs over 155 games while putting in time at third, left field and first.

However, simply put Allen had it all going on in 1972, just missing out on that Triple Crown while leading the Junior Circuit in homers with 37 and runs batted in with 113, as well as walks (99), on-base-percentage (.420) and slugging (.603).

And let's not forget that although you'd think otherwise, he chipped in with 19 stolen bases and five triples!

He was just on fire.

Needless to say he ran away with the M.V.P. voting that year, finishing about 160 points ahead of runner-up Joe Rudi of the Oakland A's.

The man was a beast at the plate, putting up numbers that were consistently up in the league-leaders year after year.

Needless to say, he took home the Rookie of the Year in 1964, and in 1972 would take home the MVP trophy while with the White Sox when he paced the American League with 37 homers and 113 RBI's, while just missing out on the Triple Crown, batting .308, just ten points off the league-leading mark by perennial winner Rod Carew.

By the time he left the game at the age of 35, Allen hit over 350 homers, batted .292 and scored 1099 runs with 1119 RBI's.

The seven-time all-star also led his league in triples once, walks once, on-base-percentage twice and slugging three times.

This man is a Hall of Famer in my book!

REVISITING AN OLD BLOG POST- JULY 29TH, 2015

Thought it'd be fun to revisit an old blog post from over six years ago, my "Missing" 1972 In-Action card for Lou Piniella of the Kansas City Royals, which was a really fun thread where I created a bunch of missing 1972 In-Action cards Topps should have had out there:

 

Here's the original blog post write-up for that day:

"Piniella was establishing himself as a solid Major League player, already taking home the American League Rookie of the Year in the 1969, the Royals inaugural season, and just putting in consistent numbers every year there.

After being traded to the New York Yankees before the 1974 season, Piniella found his permanent home in the big leagues, playing the final eleven seasons of his career there.

Along the way he was a member of two championship teams, hit .300 or better five times, and eventually would even become manager of the Yanks before moving on to a long career leading Major League squads.

Over his 18-year career he hit .291, with 1705 hits in 5867 at-bats, and besides 10 games split between the Orioles in 1964 and the Indians in 1968, he'd do it all with the Roylas and Yankees between 1969-1984.

In 1986 he took over as Yankee manager, and would go on to manage for another 23 seasons, guiding the Yanks, Reds, Mariners, Devil Rays and Cubs.

He would lead his teams to a World Series win in 1990 (Reds), an American League record 116 win season in 2001 (Mariners), eight 90+ win seasons (all but the Devil Rays), and six 1st place finishes (with the Reds, Mariners and Cubs).

Not a bad career spanning 46 years!"

MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" 1972 DAVE GIUSTI

Here’s a “missing” 1972 “In-Action” card for Dave Giusti of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the National League saves leader the previous year with 30, helping the Bucs take home the World Championship:

Giusti originally came up with the Houston Colt .45’s as a 22-year old starter out of Syracuse University in 1962, their inaugural season in the National League.
He appeared in 22 games and posted a 2-3 record with a bloated 5.62 earned run average before spending the entire 1963 season in the Minor Leagues.
After some brief MLB action in 1964, Giusti was a big leaguer for good in 1965, going 8-7 with a 4.32 E.R.A. Along with a shutout as well as three saves for the newly tabbed “Astros”.
After a few more decent seasons as a starter, he found himself in St. Louis for the 1969 season, and thus began his transition to the bullpen, where he’d become a very effective reliever for another eight years, seven of which were with the Pirates.
Between 1970 and 1973 he topped 20 saves each year and posted solid E.R.A.’s, including a career-low of 1.93 in 1972 over 54 appearances and 74.2 innings pitched.
By the time he retired after the 1977 season he appeared in 668 games, 133 of them starts, finishing with a 100-93 record and 3.60 E.R.A., along with the aforementioned 145 saves.
BTW- I am desperately trying to find a nice color image of Giusti suited up for his last MLB stint, the Chicago Cubs for the second half of the 1977 season, so I can make up a 1978 “career-capper”! If anyone can steer me in the right direction I’d be most appreciative!

MISSING IN ACTION "IN ACTION"- SPARKY ANDERSON

I’ve never done a “missing” 1972 In-Action card for a manager before, but what better guy to create one for than the Reds Sparky Anderson?
Take a look:

Anderson, who only played one season, albeit a full season, as a player in the Major Leagues back in 1959 with the Philadelphia Phillies, began what would end up being a Hall of Fame managerial career in 1970, taking over the Cincinnati Reds at JUST the right time.
It would begin a run that would arguably make the Reds the team of the 1970’s, aka the “Big Red Machine” with guys like Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez.
They’d take home four National League pennants and two World Championships during the decade, with five first place finishes and three second place finishes with Sparky at the helm between 1970 and 1978.
As if all that wasn’t enough already, Anderson would switch gears and take charge of the Detroit Tigers in 1979, a position he would hold for the next 17 years, brining home another championship in 1984 during their magical season that saw them start the year at 35-5!
By the time he was done managing in the Majors, he put in 26 seasons, all with the Reds and Tigers between 1970 and 1995, finishing with 2194 wins and a .545 winning percentage, topping 100 wins three times and winning the aforementioned three championships and five pennants.

REST IN PEACE- JIM BUNNING

Really sad to hear yesterday about the passing of former Hall of Fame pitcher and United States Senator Jim Bunning, about as accomplished a person to take a mound as there was.
Here’s a nice image of him in the form of a 1972 In-Action card I put together yesterday:

As a baseball player he put in 17-years of all-star play, winning 20 games once, but putting together four 19-win seasons along with three 17-win seasons, while leading his league in strikeouts three times and shutouts twice.
The seven-time all-star threw a no-hitter in each league, with his National League no-no a perfect game against the New York Mets in 1964.
He also won 100-games in each league, becoming the first to do so since the great Cy Young at the beginning of the 20th Century.
In 1996, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining contemporaries such as Juan Marichal, Sandy Koufax and Whitey Ford.
By then he was already a Representative of Kentucky’s 4th District  for nine years before becoming a State Senator in 1999, a position he would hold until January 2011.
A great life to say the least. Though I like to think of it as incredible actually. To do any ONE of these things he accomplished is a life’s great achievement, and Bunning did them all.
Amazing man.

MISSING IN ACTION- "IN-ACTION": HORACE CLARKE

Here’s a “missing” 1972 In-Action card for “Hoss” Horace Clarke, the man from the Virgin Islands who held down the second base position for the New York Yankees during the “dark years” between 1965 and 1974:

Clarke was solid for the Yankees for the bulk of his Major League tenure, though sadly he missed out on the early-60s juggernaut teams and the “Bronx Zoo” Yankees of the late-70’s.
But right in-between he put in a nice career that had him play day in and day out, topping out during the 1969 season when he collected 183 hits while leading the American League in at-bats with 641 and stealing 33 bases along with a very nice .285 batting average.
Of course many will remember that within one month during the 1970 season, Clarke broke up three no-hitters in the ninth inning!
On June 4th he ruined Jim Rooker’s bid for immortality, on June 19th he did the same to Sonny Siebert, and finally on July 2nd he eliminated Joe Niekro’s chance at no-hit fame.
Of his ten years as a Major League player, 9 1/2 were in the Bronx, finishing up with a half-season with the San Diego Padres in 1974 before retiring with a .256 batting average over 1272 games and 4813 at-bats.

MISSING IN ACTION- "IN ACTION" : EARL WILLIAMS

Time to add another player to my long-running thread, ‘MIA-MIA”, the “missing” 1972 In-Action cards, this time the newly crowned Rookie of the Year in the National League, Earl Williams of the Atlanta Braves:

First off, I DO realize this image was not from the 1971 season, but there were NO images of Williams in action from 1971 to be found, so I went with this shot since it was really a cool shot to use.
Williams burst onto the MLB stage with a great rookie season behind the plate, slamming 33 home runs while driving in 87, along with 72 runs scored and a .260 batting average.
Ironically, even after hitting another 28 home runs the following season, it wasn’t enough to keep him in Atlanta, as he found himself traded in a multi-player deal to the Baltimore Orioles with Taylor Duncan for pitcher Pat Dobson and Davey Johnson along with two other players.
He’d end up playing through the 1977 season, finishing up with the Oakland A’s after eight-years in the league, hitting 138 home runs before he was through, just under half of them those first two seasons.

MISSING IN ACTION- "IN ACTION": STEVE BLASS

The next “missing” 1972 In-Action card I wanted to post up was one for Pittsburgh Pirates all-star pitcher, and enigma, Steve Blass, who had already put together a very nice Major League career before it would be derailed because of inexplicable lack of control:

I realize his 1974 card has a very similar picture, maybe even from the same game, but it’s such a classic follow-through I had to use it for the In-Action card.
For Blass, he was coming off of a World Championship winning effort in the 1971 Series against the Baltimore Orioles, as well as a 15-8 record with a 2.85 earned run average when this card would have come out.
In 1972 he would have his best season as a big league pitcher, going 19-8 with a 2.49 ERA over 33 appearances, 32 of which were starts.
That would give him a lifetime 100-67 record at this point, but then without reason the floor went out from under him, as he could not control his pitches, to the point where his career was over after only 23 starts in 1973 and one single start in 1974.
To put things in perspective, Blass walked 84 batters in 1972 over 249.2 innings pitched., yet in 1973 he walked the exact same amount of batters, but in only 88.2 innings.
Without reason, Blass’ career was over and he was still only 32 years old, barely one season from a second place finish in the National League Cy Young Award.

MISSING IN ACTION "IN-ACTION"- TOMMY JOHN

Here’s a missing 1972 “In-Action” card for pitcher Tommy John, of course showing him as a Chicago White Sox player though he’d suit up for the Los Angeles Dodgers, for whom he would play for that year:

John was already a solid starter in the Major Leagues by the time he would take his talents West, and incredibly would STILL be one after the ground-breaking surgery that would keep his name to this very day, posting 288 wins during his 26-year career!
Paired with a 3.34 career earned run average, 46 shutouts and 2245 strikeouts over 760 appearances and 700 starts, a strong Hall of Fame case can easily be made.

FANTASY 1972 MIA-MIA: DON DRYSDALE

Thus completing my “fantasy” run of Don Drysdale cards, today I post the “missing” In-Action card for the 1972 set that would accompany the 1972 card I created for him a couple weeks ago:

As stated earlier in the other post, I wonder what his career numbers would have been had he played into the 1970’s.
Would he have been the second 3000-strikeout pitcher after Walter Johnson? Could he have reached 250 wins?
Sadly it wasn’t meant to be as he left the game after the 1969 season, just one year removed from his record-breaking scoreless streak that saw him set a record that wouldn’t be matched until another Los Angeles Dodger, Orel Hershiser, would come along in 1988.

MISSING IN ACTION- "IN ACTION"- 1972 JIM PERRY

Here’s the next “MIA-MIA” card, one of 215 games winner and 1970 Cy Young Award recipient Jim Perry, who was in the middle of his most productive run of his 17-year career:

Perry was coming off a 17-win season in 1971, which followed his 24-win award-winning campaign of the year before while pitching for the Minnesota Twins.
He would go on to win 13, 14 and 17 wins each of the next three years, the last of which was back with the team he came up with in 1959, the Cleveland Indians.
He’d wrap up his Major League action with 15 games with the Oakland A’s (of which I am DESPERATELY looking for color photos of), going 3-4 with a 4.66 earned run average, leaving him with a 215-174 record along with a 3.45 ERA and 1576 strikeouts over 3285.2 innings and 630 appearances, 447 of which were starts.
Along with his Hall of Fame brother Gaylord, the pair would go on to win over 525 Major League games between them! Amazing...

MISSING IN ACTION: "IN ACTION"- GENE TENACE

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!
I wish you all a peaceful, relaxing day...
Here’s a “missing” 1972 “In-Action” card for a guy who was just starting a great run through the mid-70’s, all-star Oakland A’s catcher/first baseman Gene Tenace:

Though he didn’t put in a full season for the A’s in 1972, he was just beginning to become one of the key players in Oakland’s three-peat team that also included Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi and Sal Bando.
Putting in time behind the plate as well as at first base, Tenace went on to hit over 20 homers five times in his career along with six seasons of drawing 100+ walks.
After the 1976 season Tenace, along with many of his star teammates was shipped off by eccentric team owner Charlie Finley, and found himself as a member of the San Diego Padres, where he would play for the next four seasons before moving on to St. Louis for two years and lastly the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1983, his last in the big leagues.
He would total 15-years in the Major Leagues, winning three championships, an all-star berth in 1975, and hitting 201 home runs while batting .241 along with a very nice .388 on-base-percentage because of his walk totals.
Oh yeah, and he had an awesome full name: Fiore Gino Tennaci!

MISSING IN ACTION- "IN ACTION": JOE RUDI

Here’s a “missing” in-action 1972 card for a guy who gets forgotten a bit in the baseball decade of the 1970’s, but was really a key figure on a big team, Joe Rudi of the Oakland A’s:

Rudi was an important cog in the machine that was the dynastic A’s team that put together three straight World Champion teams between 1972 and 1974, as his two second-place finishes show in 1972 and 1974.
Throw in three straight Gold Gloves from 1974-1976 and three all-star game nods, and you see why the guy should be remembered a bit more for his contributions during the decade.
He would lead the American League in hits and triples during the ‘72 season, with 181 and nine respectively, and would also pace the league in doubles and total bases two years later with 39 and 287.
A solid player through his 16-year career, he would finish after the 1982 season with a stint back in Oakland after four years in Anaheim and a year in Boston.
He would end up with a .264 average, 179 homers, 684 runs scored and 810 runs batted in, mainly during the “dead” 70’s hitting era.