Collect The Black Aces
As we continue our Black History Month series on the Black Aces, we now turn our attention to the next class of elite African-American pitchers who carried on the legacy. These dominant arms followed in the footsteps of their predecessors, proving their excellence by reaching the coveted 20-win mark in a single Major League Baseball season.
The Black Aces Pt. 2
1960 Topps #249 Earl Wilson
Player info
• won 22 games in 1967
• 1968 world series champion
• 1967 al wins leader
Set info
• 572 base cards
what they’ve said
• “I don’t know (how big he was), but he looked like (NFL star) Jim Brown.” – mlb lifer dusty bakeer
1974 Topps #290 Vida Blue
Player info
• three-time world series champion
• six-time all-star
• reached 20 wins three times
set info
•660 base cards
What they’ve said
• “If he threw 120 pitches, 115 of them were fastballs. He hardly ever threw a curveball and didn’t have a changeup. He had great control of it — he’d put it right on the hands of right-handers and right on the hands of left-handers — and he didn’t miss. He was amazing.” – former mlb catcher dave duncan
1965 Topps #598 Al Downing
Player info
• recorded 20 wins in 1971
• 1961 world series champion
• 1967 all-star
set info
• 598 cards
What they’ve said
• “Al was a darn good pitcher. He was not a guy you took lightly when you went up there. You knew he was going to battle you. He was a great adversary.” –
1978 Topps #470 J.R. Richard
Player info
• houston astros hall of fame
• recorded 20 wins in 1976
• 1980 all-star
set info
• 726 base cards
What they’ve said
• “In the minor leagues, I played against him and then we were teammates with the Astros for many years. He was one of the greatest pitchers we ever had and probably would have been in the Hall of Fame if his career was not cut short. On the mound, he was devastating and intimidating. Nobody wanted to face him. Guys on the other team would say that they were sick to avoid facing him.” – astros teammate enos cabell
1977 Topps #284 Mike Norris
Player info
• two-time gold glove winner
• 1981 all-star
• recorded 20-plus wins in 1980
set info
• 660 base cards
what they’ve said
• “He’s just a good guy, and he cares about kids. He cares about the growth of these kids, Black kids in particular. Our game needs to grow in terms of Black kids playing the game, and he’s aware of that. He’s got a tremendous focus on that.” -former teammate
