Today we have two of my favorite "accidental photo-bombs", both featuring plays at the plate.
One is a "before" shot while the second is an "after". That is, one card shows a play developing while the other shows the result of what seems to be a collision at the plate.
The first card is Topps Terry Crowley card, #302, with Crowley about to smash full-on into Yankee great Thurman Munson. Awesome photo here. The photographer even managed to get the ball just coming into the frame of the shot. Just the right moment. It's a shame the crowd is a bit out of focus because you can see them all fixated at what is about to transpire. Great card.
The second card is one of my favorite action cards of all-time, #542 Pat Corrales from the same set. It has everything: agony, flying dust and debris, and what seems to be an umpire about the throw out an arm for an "out" call. Look at Corrales face! He is writhing in agony from what I guess was the shot he took from none other than Hall of Fame pitcher Fergie Jenkins! Fantastic photo. But it seems Corrales had the last laugh since you can clearly see the ball in his hand. OUT!
These two cards show the successful side of "action cards" from the 1973 set that had so many "fails".
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| Crowley about to smash into Thurman Munson at the plate. |
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| Corrales takes his licks against Fergie Jenkins and comes out on top! |
PS- The Crowley card also reminds me of present day Yankee Stadium with the empty seats! No joke. I was just there this past Friday night and once again, there were a TON of empty seats, especially in the field level sections.
Seems like a bunch of those fake "johnny-come-lately" corporate fans that came out of the wood-work around 2000 have started to disappear. Good riddance!
It's also a pity that the new stadium happened to open right after the economy tanked in 2009, causing a bunch of companies to abandon all the "perks", including those high-priced seats around the field.