Swamilee's Sportscards & Collectibles www.swamileecards.com

The Man Who Was Traded For Himself! I remember when Dickie Noles first came up with the Phillies in the early 1980s. He was another young kid trying to make it in the big leagues. Was he going to last? Who knew? Well he pitched nearly a decade in the show which is an accomplishment in itself. Noles pitched for five teams with a total of seven different stints in the majors. His lifetime ERA of 4.56 was nothing to write home about. So why do I remember him? In September of 198

Oddest Trade In Baseball History... I was a bit young at the time to appreciate exactly what made Fritz Peterson (and his best friend at the time, Mike Kekich) famous. But years later, I read about it and it became a different kind of memory. It was 1973 and things were much different than they are now. People weren't nearly as uptight. At least I'm guessing considering that Peterson and Kekich literally swapped families. They even swapped dogs. While Kekich and the former Mr

A Legend Retires... He's a Hall of Famer slugger but he played way before my time. I only remember this because I collected tons of 1975 baseball cards when I was six. When I think about it, I think it was great that players like Kaline and Brooks Robinson had record breaker cards the year after they retired for those that might have missed them play. As this was my introduction to Al Kaline. Too bad I missed watching him play as I heard he was awesome! #1975 #topps #kaline #

The Dentist... The Dentist, Jim Lonborg was probably a much better pitcher than any one of us remembers. He then retired to become a dentist. Kind of odd if you ask me. Anyway, 157 career wins and a near 14 year career which was not bad, not bad at all. But always in the shadow of a Tiant or a Carlton, Lonborg was always a solid number two starter. I'm guessing injuries took its toll on him as he made only four appearances in 1979 and was released in June at age 37. Too bad,

Horrid Airbrushing! Without a doubt, one of the worst airbrushing Topps ever did. Please note Philadelphia's Veteran's Stadium (RIP) in the background, long before interleague play. But that's okay. Older Topps airbrushing has character to it that us old guys love! Poor Don Money, traded to make room for some scrub named Schmidt. And worse, this Schmidt guy couldn't even hit .200 the year he replaced Money. Wonder what happened to Schmidt. Money meanwhile played for more than

Not to be confused with the other Brian Giiles. Not to be confused with the White Brian Giles, this is the Black Brian Giles, who was a nothing special player for the early 1980s Mets. He then vanished for years only to re-appear in the late 1990s playing for the Atlantic City Surf in the Independent League. I swear, when I saw him out there, I couldn't help but laugh. He was out of the majors for more than a decade and then he surfaces at the Jersey shore? What are the odds?

The Answer To A Trivia Question! The answer to the trivia question, "Name the only major leaguer to go into a catatonic state while active and in a locker room." Yep, Rogelio "Roger" Moret is the man. I remember this story from years and years ago, though I didn't know the details until recently. It turns out, he was in a catatonic state for only about 90 minutes and he did pitch in the majors afterwards, but not for long. So if you ever want to stump your friends with an imp

Rest In Peace... Another player who died too young. Darrell Porter had way too many issues including his drug addiction. A one time top prospect the Brewers traded from what I heard because he was a pain in the rear. Porter had the last laugh though, winning a World Series ring in 1982 with the Cardinals against his old team. I read his book, "Snap Me Perfect" but was not impressed. I really think people should find a way to deal with their problems besides drugs. Now that's

Yes, he's "that" Danny Ainge. Before he was a Celtics superstar, he was a failed Toronto Blue Jays prospect. This card came from the very first Topps Traded Set in 1981. I didn't follow the NBA at all, so when Ainge left Toronto for the Celtics, it meant nothing to me. But if you think about it, aside from Ron Reed and Ryan Minor, it's hard to think of too many other dual sports stars who played both baseball and basketball. Imagine though, going from an expansion team like t

Is This Guy 80 Years Old? If Horacio Pina doesn't look like he's 60 years old in this photo, then I'm the proverbial Monkey's Uncle. Yet he's only 30 years old at the time of this photograph. Talk about aging poorly. I don't know much about Pina the player, but I do know he only had 11 career appearances for the Angels in 1974 and then didn't appear again in the majors until a two game stint in 1978 with the Phillies, which I do not remember at all. The Phillies purchased him