Reds Manager/Coach Autos

I did not realize I had so many manager autographs until I started pulling em. Still on the lookout for an 1869 Harry Wright. Until then, let's run through the collection.

 

Sparky Anderson 

Managed Reds 1970-1978

Played for Reds? No

  

Dusty Baker

Managed Reds 2008-2013

Played for Reds? No

 

 

David Bell

Managed Reds 2019-2024

Played for Reds? No 

 

 

Bryan Price

Managed Reds 2014-2018

Played for Reds? No

 

 

Bob Boone

Managed Reds: 2001-2003

Played for Reds? No 

 

  

Russ Nixon

Managed Reds 1982-1983

Played for Reds? No

 

 Tommy Helms

Managed Reds 1988-1989

Played for Reds? 1959-1971

 

 

Vern Rapp

Managed Reds 1984

Played for Reds? No

 Dave Miley

Managed Reds 2003-2005

Played for Reds? 1980-1987 (minors only)

 

John McNamara

Managed Reds 1979-1982

Played for Reds? No

 

 Jack McKeon

Managed Reds 1997-2000

Played for Reds? No

 

Rick Sweet

Managed Reds (AAA): 2005-2011

Played for Reds? No

 

Mack Jenkins

Coached Reds 2012-2016

Played for Reds? 1986-1988 (minors only)

 

 Tony Fossas

Coached Reds (High-A) 2009-2014

Played for Reds? No

 

Jim Lett

Managed/Coached Reds/Reds Minors 1977-1995

Played for Reds? 1973-1975 (minors only)

Mark Berry

Coached Reds/Reds Minors 1991-2003

Played for Reds? Yes, 1984-1990

 

Ray Rippelmeyer

Coached Reds (AAA) 1988-1989

Played for Reds? 1960-1965 (minors only)

 

Jose Nieves

Managed Reds (High-A) 2013-2016

Played for Reds? No

Luis Bolivar

Managed Reds (High-A) 2017-2021

Played for Reds? 2002-2009 (minors only)

Jerry Narron

Managed/Coached Reds 2003-2007

Played for Reds? No

 Randy Whisler

Coached Reds 2004-2005

Played for Reds? No

 

 Mike Stefanski

Coached Reds 2004-2018

Played for Reds? 2000-2003

 John Young

Trained Reds Minors 1988

Played for Reds? No

 

Ted Power

Coached Reds Minors 2000-2016

Played for Reds? 1983-1987, 1991

 

Daryle Ward

Managed/Coached Reds Minors 2018-2025

Played for Reds? No

 

Mike Griffin

Coached Reds (AAA) 1990-1992

Played for Reds? 1989

 

J.R. House

Coached Reds 2019-2025

Played for Reds? No

 

Collin Cowgill

Coached Reds 2023-2025

Played for Reds? No

 

GO REDLEGS 

Miami Redhawks... Football

In my many, many years of college, I took a couple summer courses at a Miami branch campus near my hometown in order to pile up some credits and make room for more pertinent courses. This makes me, technically, an alumnus. I've honored my matriculation by grabbing any Redhawks autos that I can find for around a buck or two. This has happened 9 times. No basketball, but such is fate.

 

Zac Dysert is the Hawks all time passing yards leader, having surpassed Roethlisberger. He was drafted in the 7th round in 2013 by the Broncos then bounced around a bunch of practice squads without getting in a game.

Martin Nance retired as the Hawks all time receiving yards leader, but was passed the next year by his teammate Ryne Robinson. Went undrafted, but found his way into one Vikings game in 2006 where he had 4 catches for 33 yards.

Now, Travis Prentice was a dude. Here are the NCAA records he retired with:

Career rushing TDs (73)

Career total TDs (78)

Career points (468)

Career points (non-kickers) (468)

Games with TDs (35)

Game with two or more TDs (25)

Consecutive carries without a fumble, season (365)

Consecutive carries without a fumble, career (862)

Pretty Sure all have been eclipsed, but that's a hell of a legacy. I was in attendance when he broke Ricky Williams' TD record. Prentice was a 3rd round pick by the Browns in 2000. Played for them for one year, scoring 8 TDs and rushing for over 500 yards. One more inauspicious year in the NFL and thus ended the legend.

Let's GOOOOOO Redhawks. Bust some Mustang ass tonight. Then mail a turd to Bruce Pearl.

Go Redlegs. 

Junk WaXXX Trades

Sexy, sexy junk wax. Anything 1995 and earlier, I'm down for. Ever since I pivoted to the collecting era of my childhood, my card happiness quotient has increased at least 40%.

Here's some piles that found my mailbox last week via TCDB.

 

 

1989 and 1990 Upper Deck Team Holograms. Now THIS is how we used to do refractors, kiddos. These are only visible through like 40 degrees of a 180 degree turn, but dangit, we made do.

 

That Ruffin is an actual refractor, 1994 Finest style. A very thrilling 1992 Topps DQ card. 1994 Fleer Sunoco release for the Van Slyke. Couple of 1991 Fleer stickers. And a modern junk card at the end there. Gotta grab the Reds Topps flagship, of course. Yang has precisely one major league at bat to his credit, from 2024. Now with the Cubs, he only has one spring training at bat this year, so he may join the 'one career major league at-bat club'. I hope not, since he didn't get a hit.

1992 Kellogg's Raisin Bran College Greats Horace Grant. Just a bit oversized, so they gotta be squeezed into pages. My pops went to Clemson, so I grew up watching them, even though I'm an Ohioan. Loved the Hoops Collect-a-Books as a yoot. And I associate 91-92 Fleer Bball with my grandma's house for some reason, so I'm actively trying to complete the set. Another set I'm trying to complete...

 

1991-92 Skybox Basketball. Oh man. The best junk era bball set of all-time. Maybe the best across all sports. Scored a nice pile. I'm at 547/659. When this is complete, a full blog treatment is in store. This set is bonkers with subsets.

Go Redlegs. 

1880 Merchant's Gargling Oil Baseball Comics

These are the only cards from the 1800's that I own. I wish for an 1800's card of an actual baseball player, but until then, this bulbous buffoon will do.

 

Several of these oversized ad pieces were made by a snake oil company with all sorts of designs. Five of them featured our man on the baseball diamond. I have three.

 

Ingredients in the gargling oil were petroleum, soap, ammonia, oil of amber, iodine tincture, benzine, and water. It was meant for burn wounds and saddle sores but some duplicitous idiot convinced people to gargle it. I despise people like this, but that's a topic for my future 'old man ranting' blog. It was sold in two forms, one for horses and one for humans, as it was fit "for man and beast". 

 

Back variations include different ads for very 1800's companies. Mine are these.

 

Beauties, all three.

Also, take a moment to get in on my Mickey Mantle giveaway! 

Go Redlegs. 

The Blog Return, a Mickey Mantle Giveaway, and 27 Gookie Dawkins Autographs

Ohhhhh boy. Years and years of hiatus. Why come back now? Who the hell knows. But here we go. Coming back strong with a pair of all-time legends.

I have most definitely been collecting this whole time. And scoping out y'all's blogs. But doing so in cyber solitude. I'm still hip to the scene, man. Hittin' those Columbus, Ohio shows on the reg. Hittin' dat Sportlots. No longer COMCing since they got too greedy during covid. And I've expanded my collection to more than just Reds. In fact, I've been unloading several thousand modern Reds cards, striving for vintage. 

Reds do remain the stars of the collection, though. Example:

27 autos of the Gookster. How does one acquire such resplendence? By being insane, I imagine. How can you not love a dude named Gookie?

 

These are the current collecting projects, most of which I'm dedicating a tab too.

• Vintage Topps Flagship Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey (pre-1980) 
• Vintage anything else of those sports
• Reds autos
• Bengals autos
• Blue Jackets autos
• Ohio State, Clemson, Miami OH, Toledo, OhioU, UC, Xavier autos
• Reds Opening Day Starting Nines Binder
• Halls of Fame Binders (MLB, NFL, Basketball, Hockey)
• One of every Columbus Clippers (AAA) player who made The Show
• ADAM DUNN
• Ickey Woods
• Anthony Munoz
• One of every Ohio State alum who went pro 
• As many junk wax sets as I can find
• Baseball and Basketball inserts and parallels from 1980-1995 
• Reds and Bengals Topps flagship, all years 

It's too much. Yet I persevere. My first flurry of posts will surely be an intro to each subcollection.

OH BUT YOU JUST WANT THAT SWEET MICK, DONTCHA?

Here's the deal. So I'm not typing into the empty, echoic ether, if I get 100 shares of this post, I'll put everyone who shares into a drawing for this:

 

Comment with a link to your blog with the share and You. Are. In. And a preemptive thank you for seeding me some followers.

Onward and upward, muchachos.