steveottfan
Verified Trader,
This new obsession of mine started a few months ago. My primary collection is NHL player autographs, for which I currently have 5,000+ for 74% of everyone to play in the league. I picked up a Tom Glavine autograph card for the collection that mentioned he was drafted by the LA Kings. I had known about the connection to hockey but I didn't know he had a baseball card that mentioned it. I got to wondering if Glavine had any other cards that mentioned his hockey connection. He did, and so I picked those up. I then thought of Kirk McCaskill and wondered if he also had a baseball card that mentions his hockey career. Turns out he also has a few. I picked those up and, well, as fellow hobbyists and collectors can relate, the ball was rolling.
Fast forward to today and I really am amazed at how many baseball cards I've found that mention hockey. I couldn't pick up all those without also finding all the hockey cards that mention baseball
. Turns out there are a lot of those too. I wanted to share the collection so I started a blog: Home Run Hockey. In it, i've started to document all the baseball/hockey connections I've found through the card collection, using the cards.
The stick tap of this post has to go to COMC.com for scanning the front AND backs of each card.
Here's a taste of the collection:
Jim Riley doesn't have a hockey or baseball card but I have to start with him because he holds a very interesting title: The only person to play in the NHL and MLB. This oversized 1995 Grolier Story of America Seattle Metropolitans card is the closest he has to a trading card. Jim Riley is 2nd from the right in this picture taken during the 1917 Stanley Cup finals.
Lindros has a baseball card because he took batting practise with the Blue Jays. Score took advantage of the hype to produce this.
Wayne's son
This is a fun one for card collectors because Gretzky is mentioned.
The Great One likes baseball...
Believe it or not, not only was Tom Quinlan drafted by NHL and MLB teams, his brother Craig Quinlan was also drafted into both leagues!
Dustin Molleken played a game in the WHL for the Regina Pats. The coach was his uncle, Lorne Molleken, who coached in the NHL.
Sabo actually played a game and backed up a few others for the OHA's (now OHL) Niagara Falls Flyers
Sargent was drafted by the Twins in 1972
Herr was drafted by the Atlanta Braves
Dion did play pro baseball
This ones a little hard to read so the text: "Bryan, whose grandfather played professional baseball with the Cleveland Indians in 1949, is a mobile skater with rink length speed."
Yup, Bryan McCabe's gradfather played in the MLB
I love the baseball cards that have hockey related sketches
Hebner was actually offered a contract by the Boston Bruins
A cool vintage hockey sketch
Pete's father, Jimmy Ward, was a long-time NHL player
This one is just kind of odd, Rodriguez is certainly not a hockey player...
One of the few guys with a Baseball AND hockey card
Another guy with a baseball AND hockey card
Larry Walker has a few baseball cards with a hockey mention
One can't have a hockey/baseball post without mention of Mr. Glavine
Morgan played in the WHL with the Regina Pats
Gillies played 3 years of pro baseball with the Astros organization
Boston College hockey player
Ribant played junior hockey in the Detroit Red Wings system
Another cool little hockey sketch
Donato was an NHL prospect who played three years at Boston University. You might have heard of his brother, NHLer Ted Donato
As the card notes, Eric certainly comes from a baseball family
Another guy with a baseball AND hockey card
Drury was a Little League star
So was Ray Ferraro and..
Stephane Matteau and Pierre Turgeon
Iginla was also a star youth ball player
Perhaps the most famous baseball former hockey player after Tom Glavine. McCaskill actually played, and was a decent player, in the AHL with the Sherbrooke Jets.
His father was a pro hockey player but did not play for the Blackhawks.
From a hockey family
One of Canada's most famous baseball players also played hockey
Manning a Yankee!?
"good amateur hockey player"
A ball hockey baseball card...
Hershiser played junior hockey
Giacomin actually turned down a college baseball scholarship
Monahan comes from a big hockey family
As does Dykstra
Morneau actually won a Memorial Cup in 1998 as the 3rd string goalie for the Portland Winterhawks. He dressed in a few games as a backup.
Erstad was offered
Wellman comes from a baseball family
So does Petry
Martin did tryout with the Brooklyn Dodgers
The Montreal Expos wanted to sign Marotte
Apparently Madeley could play baseball??
The team was known as the Houston 45s when Berry had his tryout
Campbell comes from a hockey family
Wilson did play hockey
So was this Wilson
As mentioned, Koskie played Junior hockey
Windle was high school hockey star and most interestingly, he has a twin brother who he played hockey with growing up. His twin, Sam Windle, became a pro hockey player who currently plays in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies. Twins who each play a different professional sport.
Martin's brother, Claude Brodeur, was a pro baseball player in the Expos organization
Oliver played some pro baseball in the Cleveland Indians organization
Ingarfield played a number of years of semi-pro baseball in Western Canada
Father & Son
Father, Gary Soroka, was a hockey player
"Son of a French-Canadian hockey goalie."
Brother, Payton Jones, is a NCAA goalie with Penn State
Rogers did have hockey scholarship offers
Rizzo "Enjoys attending hockey games"
He was indeed drafted by the OHL's Barrie Colts
Bob Brooke did play college baseball for Yale
Lambert played as high as Junior A hockey
A hockey player by accident...
According to this card the Yankee star is a "Fan of professional hockey..."
Wanted to be a hockey player...
His hockey record stood for many years.
And again, this is just a taste. I've uncovered many more on my blog in progress, Home Run Hockey, and most posts have a story to go with the cards. I still have a stack of cards to scan and write about. That stack includes Gordie Howe, who has a card of him with the Detroit Tigers. If anyone enjoys this show and tell, I can do another post when I have all those finished.
As a reward for making it to then end of my post :thanks: Here's a little hockey trivia tidbit that you won't find anywhere else on the internet...
A DOZEN people have been drafted by both the NHL and MLB. They are:
Gary Sargent, Paul Manning, Tom Nevers, Jamie Hoffmann, Matt Herr, Kirk McCaskill, Tom Glavine, Tom Quinlan, Craig Quinlan, Justin Tomberlin, John Toffey and Chris Kenady.
Cheers,
:beer:
Jay
Fast forward to today and I really am amazed at how many baseball cards I've found that mention hockey. I couldn't pick up all those without also finding all the hockey cards that mention baseball
. Turns out there are a lot of those too. I wanted to share the collection so I started a blog: Home Run Hockey. In it, i've started to document all the baseball/hockey connections I've found through the card collection, using the cards. The stick tap of this post has to go to COMC.com for scanning the front AND backs of each card.
Here's a taste of the collection:
Jim Riley doesn't have a hockey or baseball card but I have to start with him because he holds a very interesting title: The only person to play in the NHL and MLB. This oversized 1995 Grolier Story of America Seattle Metropolitans card is the closest he has to a trading card. Jim Riley is 2nd from the right in this picture taken during the 1917 Stanley Cup finals.
Lindros has a baseball card because he took batting practise with the Blue Jays. Score took advantage of the hype to produce this.
Wayne's son
This is a fun one for card collectors because Gretzky is mentioned.
The Great One likes baseball...
Believe it or not, not only was Tom Quinlan drafted by NHL and MLB teams, his brother Craig Quinlan was also drafted into both leagues!
Dustin Molleken played a game in the WHL for the Regina Pats. The coach was his uncle, Lorne Molleken, who coached in the NHL.
Sabo actually played a game and backed up a few others for the OHA's (now OHL) Niagara Falls Flyers
Sargent was drafted by the Twins in 1972
Herr was drafted by the Atlanta Braves
Dion did play pro baseball
This ones a little hard to read so the text: "Bryan, whose grandfather played professional baseball with the Cleveland Indians in 1949, is a mobile skater with rink length speed."
Yup, Bryan McCabe's gradfather played in the MLB
I love the baseball cards that have hockey related sketches
Hebner was actually offered a contract by the Boston Bruins
A cool vintage hockey sketch
Pete's father, Jimmy Ward, was a long-time NHL player
This one is just kind of odd, Rodriguez is certainly not a hockey player...
One of the few guys with a Baseball AND hockey card
Another guy with a baseball AND hockey card
Larry Walker has a few baseball cards with a hockey mention
One can't have a hockey/baseball post without mention of Mr. Glavine
Morgan played in the WHL with the Regina Pats
Gillies played 3 years of pro baseball with the Astros organization
Boston College hockey player
Ribant played junior hockey in the Detroit Red Wings system
Another cool little hockey sketch
Donato was an NHL prospect who played three years at Boston University. You might have heard of his brother, NHLer Ted Donato
As the card notes, Eric certainly comes from a baseball family
Another guy with a baseball AND hockey card
Drury was a Little League star
So was Ray Ferraro and..
Stephane Matteau and Pierre Turgeon
Iginla was also a star youth ball player
Perhaps the most famous baseball former hockey player after Tom Glavine. McCaskill actually played, and was a decent player, in the AHL with the Sherbrooke Jets.
His father was a pro hockey player but did not play for the Blackhawks.
From a hockey family
One of Canada's most famous baseball players also played hockey
Manning a Yankee!?
"good amateur hockey player"
A ball hockey baseball card...
Hershiser played junior hockey
Giacomin actually turned down a college baseball scholarship
Monahan comes from a big hockey family
As does Dykstra
Morneau actually won a Memorial Cup in 1998 as the 3rd string goalie for the Portland Winterhawks. He dressed in a few games as a backup.
Erstad was offered
Wellman comes from a baseball family
So does Petry
Martin did tryout with the Brooklyn Dodgers
The Montreal Expos wanted to sign Marotte
Apparently Madeley could play baseball??
The team was known as the Houston 45s when Berry had his tryout
Campbell comes from a hockey family
Wilson did play hockey
So was this Wilson
As mentioned, Koskie played Junior hockey
Windle was high school hockey star and most interestingly, he has a twin brother who he played hockey with growing up. His twin, Sam Windle, became a pro hockey player who currently plays in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies. Twins who each play a different professional sport.
Martin's brother, Claude Brodeur, was a pro baseball player in the Expos organization
Oliver played some pro baseball in the Cleveland Indians organization
Ingarfield played a number of years of semi-pro baseball in Western Canada
Father & Son
Father, Gary Soroka, was a hockey player
"Son of a French-Canadian hockey goalie."
Brother, Payton Jones, is a NCAA goalie with Penn State
Rogers did have hockey scholarship offers
Rizzo "Enjoys attending hockey games"
He was indeed drafted by the OHL's Barrie Colts
Bob Brooke did play college baseball for Yale
Lambert played as high as Junior A hockey
A hockey player by accident...
According to this card the Yankee star is a "Fan of professional hockey..."
Wanted to be a hockey player...
His hockey record stood for many years.
And again, this is just a taste. I've uncovered many more on my blog in progress, Home Run Hockey, and most posts have a story to go with the cards. I still have a stack of cards to scan and write about. That stack includes Gordie Howe, who has a card of him with the Detroit Tigers. If anyone enjoys this show and tell, I can do another post when I have all those finished.
As a reward for making it to then end of my post :thanks: Here's a little hockey trivia tidbit that you won't find anywhere else on the internet...
A DOZEN people have been drafted by both the NHL and MLB. They are:
Gary Sargent, Paul Manning, Tom Nevers, Jamie Hoffmann, Matt Herr, Kirk McCaskill, Tom Glavine, Tom Quinlan, Craig Quinlan, Justin Tomberlin, John Toffey and Chris Kenady.
Cheers,
:beer:
Jay
