devilsfan15 autographs

I've been a Yankee fan all of my life, but the Yankees I first started following were not the Mantle-Maris Championship teams, nor were they they Reggie Jackson-Billy Martin Bronx Zoo Champions.  The Yankees that I began to follow in the late 60s and early 70s had names like Horace Clarke, Jerry Kenney, Gene Michael, Jake Gibbs, Mike Kekich and Fritz Peterson (or should it be Mike Peterson and Fritz Kekich?  They traded EVERYTHING else - why not last names, too?).  There were some good players like Mel Stottlemyre and Roy White, but the first Yankees to get my attention were Bobby Murcer and Thurman Munson.  Murcer was my favorite, though, much like most Yankee fans my age.  I thought he was the best!

On August 8th, 1970, my father took me to my first Yankee game.  It was Old-timer's day and they were retiring Casey Stengel's number.  What I remember most, however, is seeing Mickey Mantle play during the Old-timer's game, and seeing my favorite player, Bobby Murcer, hit a home run.  I was so thrilled to see him hit the HR, I almost did not mind them losing to Dave McNally and the Orioles (they would go on to win the World Series that fall).

Here is a sampling of some of my Murcer autos and memorabilia cards.  I have a pretty good run of Murcer cards needing mainly the high-priced and/or rare cards like the 1971 Topps Greatest Moments, the 1973 Topps Pin-Ups, 1973 Topps Comics, the 1974 Topps Deckle Edge, and the 1974 Topps Puzzles.  If anyone has any of these for trade, let me know.  They do not necessarily have to be near mint condition.

I just heard that Murcer has died from complications from his terminal brain cancer.   I know I will miss him as both a baseball fan and a Yankee fan.  I wish I could have thanked him for being such a great role model for me when I was a kid.