To celebrate Thanksgiving this year, I present to you this Gem Mint 10 copy of “Turkey” Mike Donlin’s card from the 1975 Fleer Pioneers of Baseball set. From our handy dandy Standard Card Catalog:

This 28-card set did not draw a great deal of interest in the hobby. The cards are slightly oversized (2 1/2″ x 4″) and feature  sepia-toned photographs of old baseball players. The backs feature information about the player and the card number. A “Pioneers of Baseball” banner appears at the top of the card back. Each 10-cent pack included one card and one each cloth team pennant and patch, plus a stick of gum.

I don’t remember quite when I picked this beauty up, but I know I got it from Sportlots for the low, low price of 18¢. That’s not a bad mark up when you consider it’s only gone up 8¢ in 37 years (although I did not get the cloth pennant and patch and gum). It’s not the coolest looking design, but I’m always down for some mid 70’s oddball-ness. Admittedly, the weird size is a bit of a pain in the ass, but they fit well in a 6 pocket page, which has pockets that are 2 1/2″ X 5 1/2″. There’s a bit of extra space up top, but they work. Of course, the fact that I only have 2 of these cards and don’t really plan on getting any more sort of annoys me when I see all those empty pockets, but whatever.

Here’s the back. Widely regarded as one of the best hitters of the deadball era, “Turkey” Mike ended his career with an awesome .333 career average, 51 homers and 543 RBI’s. Over the course of a dozen years, he played for the St. Louis Perfectos (who changed their name to the Cardinals after his first year on the team), the old Baltimore Orioles, the Cincinnati Reds, the New York Giants, the Boston Rustlers (a forerunner of the Braves) and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Although a great player, Turkey Mike was also known for being fond of the sauce. He missed most of the 1902 season because he was serving time for a drunken assault. This led to his release by the Orioles. After being picked up by the Reds, he almost won the N.L. Batting Crown, finishing only .004 points behind Honus Wagner. He was back to his saucy ways in 1904, however and was given a 30 game suspension and traded to the Giants after another trouble filled, drunken bender. Mike finally retired after the 1912 season and took to the stage, performing in many baseball related pieces on the Vaudeville circuit. He died in his sleep in 1933.

Donlin was known as “Turkey Mike” due to his manner of walking, which supposedly resembled the strut of a turkey. There is also references to his “red neck”, although I haven’t been able to determine whether he literally had a red neck or if it was meant in a Jeff Foxworth way. Considering that the use of sunblock probably wasn’t too high on the priority list of a turn of the century ball player, I would have to guess the former. Interestingly, most of the nicknames that I’ve looked into have been embraced or at least tolerated by the recipient of the name, but by all accounts, Mike hated the nickname “Turkey Mike”. He was so beloved during his career, however, that a lot of young boys of the day would imitate his strut.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Have a great day and don’t eat too much.

Tags: 1975 Fleer Pioneers of Baseball, Turkey Mike Donlin
Filed Under: Some Cards by slangon
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