Sneak Preview | John Erardi -- Cincinnati Sports Writer

These five photos --- from the treasured Jack Klumpe Collection at the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum -- are typical of the 70 images in the new book, "Tony Perez: From Cuba to Cooperstown." The author is appreciative of the Reds for providing him access to the Klumpe collection, and also to uniform authenticator Dave Grob for being able to identify the years these photos were taken.

This is my favorite photo of Perez, 1968, 26 years old. He was just coming off his breakout season of 1967, when he won the MVP of the previous season's All-Star Game with his 15th-inning home run off Catfish Hunter. He and wife, Pituka, had become parents in May 1966, when Victor was born in Cincinnati.

Tony gets Victor ready to for walk at spring training, 1967 (Note to Chris: this is actually the No. 4 attached photo, but it needs to run here in the 2-hole.)

Tony and Pituka take a stroll with Victor, spring training 1967.

Victor showing some elusivity in the spring, 1967. He later played baseball for Xavier University, and 24 pro games at rookie-level Billings, Montana.

The following ten photos -- also from the Jack Klumpe collection -- were originally posted here for the past three weeks. We are leaving them posted here for those readers who haven't yet seen them.

Leo Cardenas (left) and Chico Ruiz, spring training, 1965 - 1967.

Tony Perez, spring training, 1968.

(Left to right): Lee May, Tommy Helms, Pete Rose (far right), 1970 or 1971 regular season, Riverfront Stadium.

Davey Concepcion, spring training, 1970.

Sparky Anderson, 1970.

The late Hall of Fame pitcher and U.S. Senator Jim Bunning (Kentucky) was an invaluable interview for the book, because in 1956-57 he was a Cuban Winter League teammate of the great Minnie Minoso, the idol of then 14-year-old Tony Perez.

Tony met his future wife, Pituka, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in October 1964, when Tony was there to play winter ball. (Pituka is also a Cuba native.) Five months later, they honeymooned at Reds spring training in Tampa.

Left to right at the 1965 "Meet the Reds" luncheon in Cincinnati were Tommy Harper, Pete Rose, Vada Pinson, Don Pavletich, Tony Perez, and Frank Robinson.

Chico "Bench Me or Trade Me" Ruiz was Tony's first road roommate in the big leagues, 1965 - 1969. (Ruiz and Perez are two of the 200 Cuban-born major leaguers featured in a first-ever grouping of "thumbnail bios" in the book's appendix.)

Tony receives fielding advice from another beloved Reds first baseman, Ted Kluszewski in spring training, 1972. "Big Klu," a fellow slugger from two baseball generations earlier, was the team's hitting instructor.