Category: Gift

Today provided a pretty neat return from Bert Campaneris. I found an October, 1969 issue that had a cool black and white photo of a play at the plate and did a little digging to see who the players were. I was able to identify the baserunner sliding home by his uniform and the ballpark. I knew it was Bert Campaneris and the play was at Oakland Alameda Colosseum. Since it was October, 1969, I guessed the photo was from late in the 1969 season. I went through a bunch of game logs for the A’s home games in September and August to see if I could identify a play where Bert was out at home. I could not but I found a few where he scored. I gave up and posted a picture as well as a closeup of the catcher’s partial patch in a Facebook group hoping someone could identify the team at least but received no replies. So, I sent the magazine to Campy and in my note asked who the catcher was. I received the magazine plus a 1972 Topps card he threw in signed for me along with a note stating the catcher was Ed Hermann of the 1969 Chicago White Sox. I thought it was pretty cool that he read my note and could remember the player. Sadly, Hermann passed away in 2013 so I won’t be able to complete the cover but at least the mystery is solved on who it is!