The Surprising Relationship Between a Cubs Minor League Baseball Card and the Home Run King
The 1997 Best Williamsport Cubs minor league set resides very much off the radar of most collectors, despite the nearly endless supply of dad jokes it generates. Let's unpack it. First off, the set doesn't have 2016 National League Most Valuable Player Kris Bryant, but it does have Chris Bryant!
The set has a Franklin Font that most definitely does not employ a Franklin font.
And believe it or not, back to back cards on the checklist are Elvis and Pressley.
However, neither the Elvis nor the Pressley card were the set's strongest connection to the King.
The unexpected link comes by way of the set's C.J. Stewart card.
Now before "suspicious minds" begin to doubt, the King in question here is not Elvis Presley but the Home Run King, Henry Aaron, you know, the one who has a statue at Truist Park, just outside of Atlanta.
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Admittedly, the connection between C.J. Stewart and Henry Aaron may is not an obvious one, but it's a very cool one. Nearly two decades after hanging up his spikes, C.J. was the model for Aaron's statue.
For a set with no hot rookies, top prospects, or future superstars, it's this C.J. Stewart-Hank Aaron connection that automatically elevates this set from a sleeper to a must-have, at least for the Hank Aaron die-hards out there. And to those readers who feel this is making a mountain out of a mole hill, nope. Moe Hill was the hitting coach! 😉
Jason A. Schwartz is a collectibles expert whose work can be found regularly at SABR Baseball Cards, Hobby News Daily, and 1939Bruins.com. His collection of Hank Aaron baseball cards and memorabilia is currently on exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, and his collectibles-themed artwork is on display at the Honus Wagner Museum and PNC Park.