Wednesday, November 20, 2013

LOOKING DOWN THE BARREL OF A "TOM TERRIFIC" GUN

My all-time favorite "record breaker" or "highlights" card from any set has always been the 1976 Tom Seaver card (#5).
Ever since I first laid eyes on it, I was just in awe of "Tom Terrific" and the glare he had going on against some poor bastard of a batter waiting for his next bullet to the plate!
Just take a look:

Seriously...he looks like he's about to kill!

Jeez!! Tom Seaver at the height of his Hall of Fame career looking as bad ass as I remember him being.
What a monster!
I've mentioned it before, but I'll say it again: as a Yankee fan growing up in Brooklyn back then, I was always so jealous that the Yanks didn't have a guy like this on their team.
Guidry came along a couple years later, but he wasn't that big power house hurler grunting his way to baseball immortality.
Seaver, like Nolan Ryan, just seemed to bully their way through line ups with their sheer power.
Little did I know it during the late '70's, but I would eventually be fortunate enough to be at Yankee Stadium in 1985 to witness Seaver's 300th career win firsthand on "Phil Rizzuto Day", one of my favorite baseball experiences.
Back to the card a quick second: I can't really tell what team he's facing (maybe the Phillies?), but I've always felt like this was Seaver's nicest card during the 1970's of any kind.
"Pitcher -vs- Batter" at it's best!

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