The Surprising Relationship Between a Cubs Minor League Baseball Card and the Home Run King

Assorted Hank Aaron baseball cards
Assorted Hank Aaron baseball cards / Author's personal collection
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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!

1997 Best Williamsport Cubs Chris Bryant
1997 Best Williamsport Cubs Chris Bryant / TCDB.com (click image for source page)

The set has a Franklin Font that most definitely does not employ a Franklin font.

1997 Best Williamsport Cubs Franklin Font
1997 Best Williamsport Cubs Franklin Font / TCDB.com (click image for source page)

And believe it or not, back to back cards on the checklist are Elvis and Pressley.

Elvis Polanco and Kasey Pressley cards
Elvis Polanco and Kasey Pressley cards / TCDB.com (click image for source page)

However, neither the Elvis nor the Pressley card were the set's strongest connection to the King.

Elvis impersonator Don Obusek, right, walks along Elvis Presley Blvd. with evangelist and Elvis fan Larry Gross.
Elvis impersonator Don Obusek, right, walks along Elvis Presley Blvd. in Memphis / Bill Steber / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The unexpected link comes by way of the set's C.J. Stewart card.

1997 Best Williamsport Cubs C.J. Stewart
1997 Best Williamsport Cubs C.J. Stewart / TCDB.com (click image for source page)

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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Hank Aaron statue at Truist Park
Apr 10, 2021; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Statue of Atlanta Braves hall of fame outfielder Hank Aaron in Monument Garden before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Truist Park. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

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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.

C.J. Stewart at the April 2024 opening of the Atlanta History Center's "More Than Brave" Henry Aaron exhibition
C.J. Stewart at the April 2024 opening of the Atlanta History Center's "More Than Brave" Henry Aaron exhibition / Jason A. Schwartz

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! 😉

1997 Best Williamsport Cubs Moe Hill
1997 Best Williamsport Cubs Moe Hill / TCDB.com (click image for source page)

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Jason Schwartz
JASON SCHWARTZ

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.