Here we have Mr. October's rookie card. Lucky for me this one is already in my collection, so I don't have to go out and buy one. It's a little beat up and there's a stain in the top right corner, but I'm happy to have it!
When I was a kid, my Dad sent me into a couple of card shops around Portland to try and sell these cards, including this one. My Dad was thinking he could get half of top book value for this card or, about $150, and of course, the most we were offered was something like $30. I think we even tried selling it on eBay with a ridiculous reserve and didn't get any bids. Ha! Now we know better about real card values.
Reggie's 1969 season was explosive and arguably his best regular season of his career. He set career high marks in many areas including 123 runs, 47 home runs, 118 RBI's, 115 BB's and a .608 SLG percentage! He was ahead of Roger Maris' home run record pace for a bit and the press even started claiming he was dating a lady named "Ruth Maris". In the end he ended up getting beat out for the year by the Twins' Harmon Killebrew who had 49. The Twins also beat out the A's that year for a shot at the A.L. pennant. Reggie got voted into his first All Star game and he also got into the top 5 votes for MVP.
Later, in the off season, Reggie bargained for an increase in his salary, but A's owner Charlie Finley threatened to send Reggie back to the minors!
As I promised, here are some better scans of my newly acquired addition! It was shipped in a top loader, but without a penny sleeve and no tape to hold it in. It was sticking a good inch out of the top loader when I pulled it out of the envelope, I'm surprised it didn't arrive damaged.
Frank was a utility infielder for the Twins from 1965, 1967 to 1970. His career average was only .214 but in '69 he only managed a .174 avg. out of 144 at bats. After his short career, he went on to coach, manage and even radio broadcast for the Twins throughout the 70's and 80's.
