#418 Tommy Helms AS - Cincinnati Reds

All-Star cards returned to Topps sets in 1968 under The Sporting News banner for a three-year run between 1968 and 1970.  Topps included 20 All-Star cards in its 1969 set, featuring 10 All-Stars from each league and one player from each position, including both a right-handed and left-handed pitcher.  

Building the Set / Card #378
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times.  I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.

Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders.  I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500.  This card was the 86th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me less than $2.

The Card / Reds Team Set / Carl Yastrzemski Puzzle

The starting second baseman at the actual 1969 All-Star Game was the Braves' Felix Millan (#210), but Tommy Helms (#70) had received the starting nod in 1968.  Helms was a two-time All-Star, first earning a roster spot in 1967.  In the two games, he was 1 for 4 with a double off Luis Tiant (#560) in the second inning of the 1968 contest.

The stock photo used in the background behind Helms has yet to be identified, but it's highly likely neither of the players shown are actually Helms.  The backs of these All-Star cards contain a puzzle piece of either Pete Rose (#120) or Carl Yastrzemski (#130).  The back of Helms' card contains a piece of Yaz's jersey.

Topps All-Star Card Appearances (1):  1969

Sources:  
Baseball Reference

Sports Collectors Daily - Mistaken Identities

#417 Ken Harrelson AS - Boston Red Sox / #419 Rod Carew AS - Minnesota Twins

#70 Tommy Helms - Cincinnati Reds

Tommy Vann Helms
Cincinnati Reds
Second Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  165
Born:  May 5, 1941, Charlotte, NC
Signed:  Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent before 1959 season
Major League Teams:  Cincinnati Reds 1964-1971; Houston Astros 1972-1975; Pittsburgh Pirates 1976-1977; Boston Red Sox 1977

World Series Appearances:  Cincinnati Reds 1970
As a Manager:  Cincinnati Reds 1988, 1989

After brief appearances with the Reds in 1964 and 1965, Tommy Helms won the every day third base job and won National League Rookie of the Year honors in 1966.  He'd go to the All-Star Game in 1967 and 1968 and win Gold Gloves at second base in 1970 and 1971.  Helms reached the World Series with the Reds in 1970, but his team lost to the Orioles in five games.  He was one of the players swapped to Houston in November 1971 that brought Joe Morgan (#35) and several other key members of the future Big Red Machine to Cincinnati.  Helms was an above average defender, leading the league in double plays turned three times and fielding percentage among second basemen three times.  In 1,435 career games, he accumulated 1,342 hits while batting .269.

Helms served as a major league coach with the Rangers (1981-1982) and the Reds (1983-1989).  He twice stepped in as interim manager for the Reds, going 12-15 when Pete Rose (#120) was suspended in 1988 for pushing umpire Dave Pallone.  Helms stepped in again in 1989 following the accusations against Rose for betting on baseball.  He guided the Reds to a 16-21 record and was replaced by Lou Piniella (#394) following the season. 

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #121
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set.  That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon.  I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.

This is the 44th of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York.  My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside.  After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far.  With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298.  The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing $1.25.

I'm about to fall behind a little on posting, as we enter our first mandatory summer close-down for routine maintenance.  Given I have 149 more cards to go through from this haul, I should be caught up at some point in February 2024?

The Card / Reds Team Set / Accuracy Index +1

Following the Steve Hamilton (#69) card, this is the second card in a row to use a photo from an old Topps set.  This card recycles the photo originally used on Helms' 1967 Topps card.  The back of the card highlights his Rookie of the Year win in 1966.  Helms appears again later in the set on an All-Star card.

Accuracy Index:  Helms scores a one given the correct uniform (+5) but its repeat use (-4).

Inserts:  Helms is included in the 35 card Topps Deckle Edge insert set and is one of 48 decals in the Topps Decals insert set.  He's one of 27 players to appear in both insert sets.

1969 Season
Again the everyday second baseman for the Reds, Helms appeared in 126 games, batting .269.  The Reds finished in third place in the National West behind manager Dave Bristol (#234), and Bristol's most frequently used infield consisted of Lee May (#405) at first base, Helms at second, Woody Woodward (#142) at shortstop and Tony Perez (#295) at third base.

1967 Topps #505

1970 Topps #159

1976 Topps #583

1978 Topps #618

1990 Topps #110

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #243
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15):  1965-1978, 1990
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1990 Topps #110
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  90 in the Beckett online database as of 6/24/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#69 Steve Hamilton - New York Yankees / #71 Steve Whitaker - Kansas City Royals