Even if Mordecai Brown hadn’t won quite so many games in the Major Leagues (239) or lost so few (130), and even if he didn’t put up such microscopic rate stats — 2.06 ERA, 1.066 WHIP — he still had a leg up on baseball fame.
Or a digit down.
First, there was his nickname, “Three Finger,” which of course referred to his misshapen right hand (pitching!), courtesy of a couple of farm accidents.
And then, there was the fact that Brown starred for the Chicago Cubs in the first decade of the 20th century and helped lead them to two World Series championships, in 1907, and 1908.
In fact, Three Finger won two games in that latter Fall Classic, which just so happened to be the last Series crown for the Cubbies until 2016.
So, yeah, Brown’s name echoed through the ages.
Find 1976 Motorola baseball cards on eBay (affiliate link)
Find 1976 Motorola baseball cards on Amazon (affiliate link)
Of course, if you’re a collector looking to add some Three Finger cardboard to your coffers, the going is a bit tough, seeing as how the man hung up his spikes 100 years before his Cubs won the Series again.
That means you’ll be looking for goodies with names like Fan Craze (1906), E91 American Caramel (1908), and Cracker Jack (1914).
Now, you can find some of those from time to time, to be sure, but it’s not necessarily an easy feat.
Luckily for us, various companies have issued retro sets over the years to give us whippersnappers a look at some of the dusty names from the past.
One of those was the 1976 Motorola issue, featuring 11 superstars, mostly Hall of Famers.
Ol’ Mordecai shows up on card #5, right between William Wambsganss and Ray Schalk.
Like Three Finger himself, these cards are unusual, starting with the card stock, which is a semitransparent plastic rather than cardboard. And then there are the backs, which showcase Motorola products instead of player info.
And, finally, there is the fact that you could redeem the Brown and Schalk cards for Motorola Data Books.
It all amounted to a giant, diamond-shaped advertising campaign for the TV maker, but it’s good news for us modern-day collectors — another run of cards featuring dudes from our long, long ago.
And one last neat tidbit — the 1976 Motorola was another in a long line of Bicentennial promotions, which also just so happened to coincide with what would have been the year Brown himself turned 100 (had he not passed away in 1948).
His full name?
Mordecai Peter Centennial Brown.
Wow! Wax of the Day
Of course, Topps was the main hobby attraction in 1976, but there were other “cards” of active players. Exhibit A is this lot on eBay …
It’s an unopened package of 1976 Sprotstix stickers, this one featuring Dave Kingman, Steve Busby, Bill Madlock, Jeff Burroughs, and new Hall of Famer Ted Simmons.
Who wouldn’t want to stick Kong to, say, the fridge??
Check out the full listing here (affiliate link).
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1976 Topps Baseball Cards #35 Tony Oliva HOF Minnesota Twins - VG
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