TOUR OF SOMERVILLE

My wife and I just got back from the Tour of Somerville bicycle races in nearby Somerville,, New Jersey.

The Tour of Somerville is an annual series of bicycle races in Somerville held over Memorial Day weekend, with the premiere race held on Monday. The series of races are called "tours" due to a New Jersey state law forbidding racing on highways for prizes.

2013 marked the 70th race.


The event, dubbed the "Kentucky Derby of Cycling," is considered the oldest major bicycle race in the nation. It culminates in the 50-mile Kugler-Anderson Memorial race.  That centerpiece race offers a $15,000 prize. 

It is very exciting watching the cyclists.  They race at about 25 to 30 miles per hour and the final sprints can be at 35 miles per hour.

Today there was a crash of maybe 6 cyclists in one of the races about 20 yards from me.  A very scary situation.  I do know that one of the competitors was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Congratulations not only to the winners, but to all competitors.

Frank Umont

Frank Umont was an umpire in Major League Baseball's American League from 1954 to 1973.  Prior to that, he was a guard for 4 years for the New York Giants football team.

Though he was born in Staten Island, he grew up in my childhood home town of Dunellen, New Jersey.

Here is his baseball card from the 1955 set issued by Bowman.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, I delivered the local weekly newspaper to the house he grew up in.  His sister lived on the same block as my Aunt Jo and my Aunt got me a baseball personally singed by him.

He umpired in All Star Games as well as World Series Games in addition to regular season games.  He was also the umpire in the last regular season game played at Yankee Stadium in 1973 before it was remodeled.

He was the first umpire to wear glasses.

Frank passed away from a heart attack in his Florida home on June 20, 1991. 

ZOE

It's been a year since you left us but you are in our hearts everyday!

1961 Topps #492 Ron Fairly

Fairly recently, a variation has been discovered on the reverse of the 1961 Topps baseball card of Ron Fairly of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The baseball on the back can be in all white or have a portion, usually the bottom, in green.

Here is the green baseball version.

A closer look.

Help for a Tractor

I hope some of you can help out this couple.

They need to purchase a tractor for a farm they are starting up in Georgia.  I know Darby from where my wife's son went to college in Sterling Vermont. She has had some knock downs in her life but comes back even stronger.  She is a tireless worker and it is my hope to see her and her husband succeed in this endeavor! If they do not get a tractor, the plowing will have to be done by hard physical labor.

I know it is down to the wire, but if you can help please do. ANY AMOUNT WILL HELP!!  All of their produce is grown without chemicals, NO GMO seeds...just honest to goodness natural flavor grown the old fashion way. Thank!

Here is a link for donations:
 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1443074396/a-tractor-for-sun-dog-farm?ref=home_location

This is not a gimmick, it is all done through a project called Kickstarter to give a hand to help someone find the path to make their dreams come true...


And here is a link to their website Sun Dog Farm

If you are in the Georgia area and see them selling their produce at the local market, stop in to say hi and bring home some tasty treats to try.

In the spirit, here are a couple of Matchbox Tractors.

Hopefully the wheels will stay on their tractor better than they do on mine.

1981 Fleer Baseball Card Variations

Topps had a monopoly on producing baseball cards for many years.  The Fleer Corporation sued Topps and won.  They were awarded monetary damages that were tripled due to the nature of the case.  The amount they were award was $1.00 that was tripled to $3.00.  Ok, so 3 dollars was not a big deal but they also won the right to produce baseball cards in 1981.  Donruss also produced cards in 1981.

The first printing of Fleer cards were filled with errors and they corrected some of them in a second printing, creating many variations.  Some say the errors were caused by their rush to get cards to market, others say it was planned to promote sales.

I'm working on completing all the variations.  I have most and the good thing, as compared to the 1971 Topps variations I just completed, is that these cards are much more plentiful and hence are a lot less expensive.  Most can be found for 50 cents or less.

Here are some variations.  This first one involves Billy Travers and Jerry Augustine.

The first card is Billy's correct card.  The last one is Jerry's correct card.  The middle one has Billy's name and stats on the back but has Jerry's picture and card number on the back.

Here are 2 cards of Kurt Bevacoua.  The first card has a reversed photo and the second card is the corrected version.

Finally, here are two variations of the Graig Nettles Card.  The fronts are the same but in the first printing, Fleer incorrectly spelled his name as Craig on the back.

1969Topps #77 - Ron Perranoski

Here is another baseball card variation I just acquired, the 1969 Topps card of Ron Perranoski, a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins.

You may have to enlarge the photo but the card on the left still has the "LA" for Los Angeles, the team he was traded from, slightly visible on his cap.  The card on the right has the emblem completely covered.

Ron was born in Paterson, New Jersey and grew up in Fair Lawn, NJ.  Ron pitched in the majors for 13 years, retiring as an active player in 1973.   He then was a coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers for 22 years and since 1995, has been involved in the San Francisco Giants organization.