The Face of Women's Professional Baseball, Dorothy Kamenshek, Passes Away at 84

There might be no crying in baseball, but I'm still saddened upon hearing about the passing of former Rockford Peach Dottie Kamenshek at the age of 84.

Kamenshek was the inspiration for Genna Davis's character in the iconic 1992 baseball film A League of Their Own. During her career in the All-American Girls Baseball League, Kamenshek was one of the game's dominant players. She was a part of four championship clubs, won two batting titles, seven all-star appearances and struck out just 81 times in almost 3800 career at bats. Sports Illustrated ranked Kamenshek on their list of the top 100 female athletes of the 20th century.

As far as hobby connections go, Kamenshek appeared in the under-appreciated 1993 Ted Williams Company set. She was also honored with her own action figure in Kenner's 1997 Starting Lineup Cooperstown Collection.

Stumbling Upon Heroes in Unlikely Places - Jim Henson

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Jim Henson. It was a shock to me then and I still find myself at a loss at times even today. I never met the man and rarely saw him speak out of character. But I still regard Jim Henson as one of the most influential people in my life.

To me The Muppet Show wasn't just another TV program. It was what life revolved around. Whenever it was on, I'd slide onto the floor in front of our old 13" TV and sit there glued from beginning to end. My sister was bigger and older than me but she knew not to mess with me and my Muppets.  There was also board games, toys and my first magazine subscription.

Watching the Muppets today, they're still as fantastic as I remember them. The Star Wars episode is a little awkward but the genius is still there. Of course, it wasn't all Henson's doing. He had an immensely talented crew working with him. But without Jim Henson, there were no Muppets. To prove that, one just needs to look at what's happened with the franchise since. Only recently have they started to become relevant again. And with a new movie on the horizon with Hollywood hipsters attached, maybe Kermit and company won't be relegated to semi-dictated DVD viewings at the hands of uber-nostalgic parents (sorry, Ethan and Ella). Rather, folks might just seek out the Muppets because they want to.

The Muppets have been featured in several card sets over the years. None have been fantastic and if a manufacturer were able to get the rights for not only the show but the notable guest stars as well, I believe it could be a very popular card license. Costly, but the autograph possibilities are impressive.

Disclosure time: I bought a set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie cards a short while back. I'd already bought some wacky stuff, so what's a little more. The set was itching to bring back a little nostalgia. There was no other agenda than to flip through some odd cards. Then I stumbled across these:

 That would be the master himself working not long before his untimely death. I don't think of Ninja Turtles when I think of Jim Henson, but I am certainly very excited to see him honored on these cards.

Jim Henson

September 24, 1936 - May 16, 1990

"The successful criminal brain is always superior."

Give yourself a cookie if you know what movie it's from.

The actor who played original on-screen nemisis of James Bond, the nefarious* Dr. No has passed away. Joseph Wiseman, a good Canadian boy, was 91.

Born in Montreal, Wiseman appeared on nearly 100 TV shows and films between 1950 and 1996. Amongst the highlights: The Twilight Zone, The A-Team, MacGyver and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. But Wiseman will forever be connected with the Bond franchise and his role as Dr. No.

Despite a huge checklist of signers over the years for their Bond-themed sets, Rittenhouse Archives was never able to produce a Wiseman autograph. But that doesn't mean there aren't any cards of the classic villain. The card below is an insert from Rittenhouse Archives' James Bond: Danger Liaisons. Art and Images is a 20-card set that features Photoshopped versions of the franchises' most notable heroes, villains and Bond girls. Printed on canvas cardstock, the cards were inserted 1:40 packs and serial numbered /350. For a complete gallery of Art and Images cards, click here.

*I felt the need to insert the word nefarious simply because it has been a long week and odd words are fun on long weeks.

RIP John Hughes Redux

 

In the film world, he was the voice of the 1980s so here's a quintessential 1981 custom. 

(Thanks to Bad Wax for the awesome tutorial.)

RIP John Hughes

Nooooooooooooooo.

Thanks to Alyssa Milano's Twitter feed, I just got the news that the definitive filmmaker of the 80s, John Hughes has passed away.

How's this for a resume of things he either directed and/or wrote: The Breakfast Club, Some Kind of Wonderful, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, Mr. Mom, National Lampoon's Vacation, Uncle Buck, She's Having a Baby, Pretty in Pink, Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

Hughes was just 59.

Add Another Name to the List of Wrestlers Dying Way Too Young

Andrew "Test" Martin may never have been that big of a star in the WWE, but he was involved in a couple of big storylines. He was slated to be the original Mr. Stephanie McMahon before HHH took her to a drive-in in Vegas. He was with Trish Stratus at the start of her career as she managed Test and Prince Albert to form the tag team "T & A." Then there was the pairing with Stacy Keibler in which his fans were labelled "Test-icles." Classic stuff. Okay, maybe not.

Test was given his walking papers from the WWE a couple of years ago. He had a history of drug problems. Since then he bounced around different promotions but failed to make it back to the spotlight of the WWE.

It's been a while since the premature death of a wrestler. That's an especially sad statement when "a while" means about a year. With Test's passing, he joins the sad ranks that include Curt Hennig, Eddie Guerrero, "Ravishing" Rick Rude and many others.

Martin wasn't even 34 years of age.

RIP Bernie Mac and I Feel Dirty

As you may have heard comedian Bernie Mac passed away this morning. That's the second great comedian who's passed in recent weeks after George Carlin. The underappreciated Mr. 3000 is one of the better baseball films to come along in recent years. I might just have to pull it off the shelf shortly and give it another whirl. Mac also stood out in his scene from Transformers as a car salesman.

Earlier in the year Mac was included in Donruss' Americana and Celebrity Cuts sets. Upon their initial release I grabbed an autograph redemption for a price I thought was reasonable with the intention of flipping it around one day to grab something I really wanted. With a trip to California to pay for, I really fought with myself over whether or not to list it. On the one hand it was my initial intention to sell it at some point. But on the other hand, are sellers scum for listing immediately upon someone's passing? After a chat with my wife I decided that I would list the card but in the listing there's no mention of his death rather here's the card you're going to get and that it's the redeemed card, not the redemption. I feel a little dirty about it and if at the end of the day I'm still uneasy I may take it down.