Yeah I know, seems like everyone has taken a shot at writing about
the legend that has become Oscar Gamble and his downright awesome afro.
As far as coiffe styles from the '70's go, there is NO better example
than the head of hair struggling to bust out
from underneath Gamble's baseball caps in his 1975 and 1976 (Traded)
cards.
Please. Sit back and take it all in. It truly is the stuff of
legend. Sadly (or not), when Gamble found himself on the Yankees, team
owner George Steinbrenner made him cut his hair, leading Gamble to
recall years later, "When I went home (after the hair
cut) and my wife saw me without the afro, she started crying."
The haircut has become so big (pun intended) that a photo of Gamble
with his mountain of hair was featured on the cover of a great book
about 1970's baseball, "Big Hair and Plastic Grass", which was published
in 2012. Check it out:
Well, at least his afro was documented before it went the way of
the "Pet Rock", Disco, and polyester jump suits on the cards shown
below. Enjoy!
1975 Topps Card |
1976 Topps Traded Card |