Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/14049
LONGBEACHMAGAZINE.COM 71 and just started putting his knowledge to paper and creating baseball card drawings. There was a theme with his illustrations. All players were no-name types, guys, even gals, you wouldn't have heard of or known. Many were African-American or Japanese players who never made it to the major league. Each was illustrated, and featured tidbits about their careers and lives. He then started posting the designs to his blog, and before he knew it, people were e-mailing him, asking if he was planning to print them. "People were telling me that my cards were better than anything else they had seen," Cieradowski said. "They urged me to make them." Recent cards include Jackie Mitchell, the girl who struck out hall-of- famers Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig; Sammy T. Hughes, an African- American player who Cieradowski said should be in the Hall of Fame; and Victor Starfinn, a pitcher who was the son of Tsarist Russian refugees. In May, he started selling them. A set of 20 cards sells for $20, plus shipping. Cieradowski, who has made cards for about 35 players so far, has sold about 200. Each week, he puts up one or two new cards on his blog. If he does do a big name player, such as George Herman "Babe" Ruth, it has a different take. Ruth's card features an illustration for when he was in the minor leagues, pitching for the Providence Grays. "He started as pitcher," Cieradowski said. "A lot of people don't know that. He probably would have been a hall of fame pitcher. He just happen to hit a lot of home runs, too." Making the cards isn't about the money. For Cieradowski, they were a way to keep the father-son conversations going. Now he's having such conversations with the card fans. They tell them their stories and give suggestions for new players. Cieradowski did a card on ball player Pete Hill, and Hill's great-nephew got in touch with him, thanking him because there aren't that many illustrations of Hill. "It's neat to have people just as interested in stuff I'm interested in," Cieradowski added. As for where the cards will take him, Cieradowski isn't sure. He said he'd like to do a book or collection of the cards. For now the cards are gaining attention in true grassroots fashion, by word of mouth. "They're just fun to make," Cieradowski said. "I wish my father were around to see this." n