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Elroy Face

One-stop Research For A Team’s Signers, All Thanks To www.sportscollectors.net

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Spotted on http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/. This
gem sold for $119. Roster pennants were never big
enough to credit every guy who helped that
season.

Yes, historical team rosters exist on many websites. Baseball Almanac is a superb example.

But who’s still alive from that past team? Who still answers fan mail?

Incredibly, http://www.sportscollectors.net/ has all the answers, all in one place.

Become a premium member for $14.99 for one year. This entitles you to the greatest research tools on the website, including the team rosters.

I looked up the 1968 Tigers under “team rosters.” There was a list of 34 names, 11 of which are deceased. Compiling the member experiences of who signs and who doesn’t, the results page is impressive.

I found the names of eight former Tigers who’ve answered at least 90 percent of fan mail requests:

Dave Campbell
Elroy Face
Tom Matchick
Daryl Patterson
Jim Price
Dennis Ribant
Dick Tracewski
Jon Warden

How good are these guys? Try 9 out of 10 times good!

Think about it. Paper, ink, envelope, stamps (not to mention those who include a card or item to be autographed) — it’s easy to think that a request is worth a dollar, even without factoring in the cost of your time and labor.

In no time, $14.99 membership fee will pay for itself. For team collectors, nothing beats http://www.sportscollectors.net/. Try it!

Roy Face, Father of the Forkball

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Fans who rave about Bruce Sutter and the last generation of split-fingered fastball artists can’t impress old-school Pirates fans. Followers of the Bucs in the 1950s and 60s are sure they saw it all before, in the likes of Elroy Face.

Signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent in 1949, Face was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950. On Dec. 1, 1952, he was chosen in the Rule 5 draft by the Pirates. Pittsburgh used him in 41 games the next season. His classic career highlights included 193 saves, three All-Star appearances and “NL Fireman of the Year” honors from The Sporting News in 1962.

Face remembered that special pitch and more in a kind reply:

“In 1954, I was in New Orleans to work on an off-speed pitch to go with my fastball and curve. I worked on it about the first half of the season, and started using it in games. It helped me make it back to the major leagues.”

About his 848 career games pitched, he wrote:

“I don’t have any idea of how many pitches I threw in the bullpen. In 1961 and 1962, Jack Hernon, a writer, kept track of the times I either pitched in games or warmed up. He said it was somewhere between 110-115 times each year.”

How dominating was Face in 1959? Try an 18-1 record. He hasn’t forgotten that one imperfection that year:

“What I remember of my one loss in 1959, was to the Dodgers. Charlie Neal got a broken-bat dribbler through the left side of the infield, between Don Hoak at third and Dick Groat at shortstop. That broke my 22 straight winning streak.”

The all-star resource www.retrosheet.org uncovered details of Face’s single loss here.