Is Shea?

[Edgy MD]

Looking at this card and wondering...



...is it possible that Shea is the setting for more baseball card shots than any other location? Can that question even be researched without needing a team of ten and five years, with the help of a generous grant from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation?

[Benjamin Grimm]

For a moment I wondered why a Detroit Tiger was at Shea, but then remembered that it was the home of the Yankees for two years back then.

[Edgy MD]

Which kind of gives Shea an edge, I think.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Topps is/was based in New York. Presumably, so were most experienced photogs they used, right? Makes sense that they'd try and catch everyone in one place, and minimize expenses.

Queens over Bronx? Well, Shea was shiny and new, then, right?

[seawolf17]

I've always maintained that the overwhelming majority of card photos from that era were taken in New York and Chicago.

[batmagadanleadoff]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Queens over Bronx? Well, Shea was shiny and new, then, right?

Yes. But did it matter? Other than two seasons, Topps wasn't going to get any pics of American Leaguers at Shea.

[batmagadanleadoff]

seawolf17 wrote: I've always maintained that the overwhelming majority of card photos from that era were taken in New York and Chicago.

NY and the Bay Area (SF/Oak)

[Edgy MD]

An advantage Yankee Stadia II has is that there were more teams in the AL from 1977 to 1993. The disadvantage is that Shea spans YS I and II and covers both leagues the two years in between.

Go, Shea!

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

The company shot a lot in spring training, too, where you could get bunches of teams.

But I would think Shea has a edge.

I got to see one of the Topps photogs in action once, when I had field passes. One of the players was walking from the batting cage to the dugout and the shooter -- with a big credential around his neck -- said, "Hey, can I get a baseball card shot?" The player stopped, did the bat on the shoulder pose we've seen a zillion times, and started walking again. Barely broke stride. One shot!

[batmagadanleadoff]

Prior to interleague play, and not including the 1974 and '75 seasons, I don't think Shea had an edge over YS. It's true that Topps couldn't photograph NL players in YS -- but that advantage was offset by the fact that Topps couldn't photograph AL players at Shea. Isn't this obvious? Does this need to even be posted? And then, as Edgy pointed out, after the '76 season, the AL would have a team edge over the NL that would last until '93. But to be sure, someone should count the cards. What era? I dunno. Let's go '70's. Because that's when I collected cards more than ever.

[Zvon]

Yea, why don't we start a thread and whenever we come across a Shea backround card we'll collect it in the thread. Don't even have to worry about decade, just gather em up, sort em out later. That be kool.

[Zvon]

I'll start:

Shea with the non-white-super-lightgreen-wall.

I got this book the other day.

This is a HUGE, heavy coffee-table style book. It has a picture of every Topps baseball cards from 1951 to 1985. Once a week I'll pick a year and look for Shea cards.

(I found this thread before I found the one about the white wall at Shea)

[Zvon]

Two more.




I started counting 68t Shea cards.
I was up to around # 300 when I saw the Nye card and left off to get a digital copy of that for here.
So in approximately 300 68t cards 30 of them were at Shea (this included leader cards). That is a lot.

[batmagadanleadoff]

These might be the first Topps base set cards to use photographs taken at Shea.

[Zvon]

Is that the old Polo Grounds beer sign behind Dillon?

There's a website called When Topps Had Balls. Great site. The guy makes custom cards and talks about actual cards. His recent post talks about Jack Fisher's 1970 Topps card.

Now he is curious as to what uni Fisher was wearing. He notes that Jack had not played for the Mets in '68 and '69. He says he's pretty sure that's an airbrushed Mets uni, tho it's possible it could be a pinstriped White Sox one.

Now we all know that's Shea in the backround, and that pretty much clinches the Met theory. But is that the light-green fence in the bottom corner? If it is I can tell him that the photo was taken during the first week of the 1967 season.

I really can't tell for sure.

http://whentoppshadballs.blogspot.com/2014/07/random-quickie-1970-jack-fisher-684.html?showComment=1404674830284#c1673168575863347960

[batmagadanleadoff]

Is that the old Polo Grounds beer sign behind Dillon? There's a website called When Topps Had Balls. Great site. The guy makes custom cards and talks about actual cards. His recent post talks about Jack Fisher's 1970 Topps card. Now he is curious as to what uni Fisher was wearing. He notes that Jack had not played for the Mets in '68 and '69. He says he's pretty sure that's an airbrushed Mets uni, tho it's possible it could be a pinstriped White Sox one. Now we all know that's Shea in the backround, and that pretty much clinches the Met theory. But is that the light-green fence in the bottom corner? If it is I can tell him that the photo was taken during the first week of the 1967 season. I really can't tell for sure. http://whentoppshadballs.blogspot.com/2014/07/random-quickie-1970-jack-fisher-684.html?showComment=1404674830284#c1673168575863347960

I Was a Mets Wolf for Three Straight Years for Three Different Teams:

Dillon's '64 rookie card photo was shot at the Polo Grounds. But a part of the Shea scoreboard is visible in Locke's photo.
Fisher's gotta be in a Met uniform. Pinstripes at Shea on a 1970 card = Mets uniform.

[MFS62]

Its weird seeing the name Jerry Hinsley.
I remember him being called Jerry Dean Hinsley.

Later

[Zvon]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Dillon's '64 rookie card photo was shot at the Polo Grounds. But a part of the Shea scoreboard is visible in Locke's photo. Fisher's gotta be in a Met uniform. Pinstripes at Shea on a 1970 card = Mets uniform.

Well that fact that he's at Shea knocks the White Sox theory out of the water, agreed. But is that the off color outfield wall from early '67?

On the card you display it looks a little darker. I'll check a few more copies.

[Zvon]

Looking at other versions I'm going to say that it's not the white-lightgreen early '67 wall.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Zvon wrote: Looking at other versions I'm going to say that it's not the white-lightgreen early '67 wall.

How would you even be able to tell? That sliver of green just over Fisher's right shoulder -- that's padding, right? Thus it's not even a clue -- right? Or am I missing something?

[Zvon]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Zvon wrote: Looking at other versions I'm going to say that it's not the white-lightgreen early '67 wall. How would you even be able to tell? That sliver of green just over Fisher's right shoulder -- that's padding, right? Thus it's not even a clue -- right? Or am I missing something?

Padding? I see the grass, the warning track, and a blurred out bullpen (plexi-glass sections) and a lil bit of OF wall. And beyond that the silhouette of the Shea stands.

[G-Fafif]

It's also possible Jack Fisher wandered into Shea in a fugue state in 1969, not knowing what uniform, cap or stadium he was in and the Topps photographer just happened to snap him looking totally lost.