2011 Tri-Star Obak

I had bought a blaster box of this product in 2009 and really liked it. I went back for more but never saw another box of it. I forgot all about it last year. This year I saw it mentioned on Baseballcardpedia.com. I've not seen it in the stores. I tried to buy a hobby box on eBay but gave up when the bidding got over $80 (the box sold for $108!). But I did find these Phillies player cards.

2011 Tri-Star #22 Glen GorbousGlen only played 3 years (most of it with the Phillies) but according to the back of the card (and Wikipedia), he holds the record for the longest throw, 445 feet and 10 inches. Neither the card nor Wikipedia give any details on this. It's hard to imagine. Connie Mack Stadium, where the Phillies played, was only 405 feet in the deep right field corner (Gorbous was a right fielder), so it must have happened some where else.

2011 Tri-Star Obak #20 Ed DelahantyBig Ed played 17 years (1888-1903), 14 of them with the Phillies. His best season was in 1899 when he had 238 hits, 55 doubles, 137 RBIs, and batted .410. He was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1945 by the Old Timers Committee. Ed came to a sad end. He was kicked off a train in up-state New York for excessive drinking. He ended up crossing the International Bridge in Niagara Falls and either fell off, was pushed off or jumped. Here's the Wikipedia link to the story. Ed had 4 brothers who also played major league ball: Frank, Jim, Joe and Tom.

2011 Tri-Star Obak #35 Jack Clements Clements was a left-handed catcher who spent 17 years in the majors, 14 of them with the Phillies. According to Wikipedia, he is the last left-handed catcher to play on a regular basis. He retired in 1900, having caught 1,073 games, 4 times as many as the next highest left hander. He is also credited as the first catcher to wear a chest protector.

2011 Tri-Star Obak #16 Gus WeyhingGus had a 15 year career, playing for the Phillies from 1892 into 1895. Even after all this time he still holds the record for most hitters hit by a pitch, 277. According to Wikipedia, he was accused of stealing a pigeon in his home town of Louisville prior to the 1892 season but apparently didn't go to jail. He won 35 games for the Phillies that year. Speaking of Wikipedia, here's the source of the Obak card on Weying's Wikipedia page.
I imagine there aren't a lot of photos of Gus laying around. Gus had a few colorful nicknames: Cannonball, Rubber Arm Gun or Rubber-Winged Gus. It probably hurt getting hit by one of his pitches.

2011 Tri-Star Obak #86 Jonathan SingletonThe only current-day player of the bunch. Singleton was a 1st baseman in the Phillies minor leagues. Not a good place to be, playing behind Ryan Howard. He was traded to the Astros in the Hunter Pence deal. Being with the Astros may not be a good place to be either, but perhaps in a few years a resurgent Astros team will feature him at first.