So I've reached my 500th post for the blog, and I thank you all for reading so far!
As I've done with 100, 200, 300 and 400, let's go ahead and look at each card numbered 500 throughout the 1970's, shall we?
1970: Hank Aaron
Ugh.
As I profiled (and redesigned) this card months ago, you all know how I feel about it.
What a boring photo of "Hammerin' hank"!
Uninspired and even oddly voyeuristic, like we caught him doing something he's not pleased about. Just odd.
But hey, it's Hank Aaron, and that alone keeps this a classic for the ages.
1971: Jim Perry
I like this card because it catches Perry at the height of his career, coming off a Cy Young Award win in 1970.
The Perry household must have been incredible around this time,
with Jim taking home the hardware, and brother Gaylord finishing second
over in the National League.
Mom and Dad must have been proud!
And man I do love those 1971 Topps cards. Just a beautiful set.
1972: Joe Torre
Another card catching a player at the peak of his career.
Recent Hall of Famer (and fellow Bensonhurst/Dyker Heights native)
Joe Torre smiling up a storm after collecting an M.V.P. Award for his
tremendous 1971 season in St. Louis.
Besides his solid playing career (somewhat underrated if you ask
me), his LONG managerial career eventually got him to Cooperstown, and
I'm sure that smile on his '72 Topps card would truly be ear-to-ear if
he knew then where his baseball resume would
get him come 2014.
1973: A's team card
Now, my first reaction was, "boring, a freaking team card!".
However, when you really take a look at the photo, it's just a perfect 1970's baseball time capsule!
The shaggy players, the technicolor sports coats, and the fact that
it depicts the three-time World Champs with guys like Reggie Jackson,
Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, all now members of the Hall of Fame.
It really becomes clear quickly that this is indeed a special card! Love it!
1974: Lee May
Easy to forget how good a player May was throughout his career.
The man was downright thumping the baseball during a weak offensive era in the game's history.
The choice of photo Topps went with is a bit lame, but it does show
the dude's quite "substantial" size as one of the games underrated
sluggers.
2000 hits, 350+ homers, 1200+ runs batted in…not too shabby for the "Big Bopper"!
1975: Nolan Ryan
Well, what can you say?
Classic card set, classic player, nice photo.
I love this card.
The "Ryan Express" at the height of his career, tearing through line-ups and smashing records.
And who would even imagine that when this card came out, Ryan would STILL pitch for almost another 20 years!
Just incredible.
And every time I see a 1975 or 1976 baseball card, I can STILL get
that little tingle of excitement, just like I did so many years before!
1976: Reggie Jackson
Just pure CLASSIC baseball card right there!
One of my all time favorite cards.
Here we have a beautiful card set design, with a fantastic photo of
one of the game's most popular players, and that brilliant "All-Star"
designation for all to see!
What a card, what a player, what a set!
1976 all the way for me my friends. Easily my favorite set of all time.
Just perfect…
1977: Dave Kingman
Another one of my all-time favorite cards!
Great photo of "Kong" watching another of his famous blasts leaving
the stadium, with all that blue throughout the card, and that
"All-Star" banner running across the bottom.
I always thought those Mets cards from the 1976 and 1977 sets
looked so good because of the blue color scheme. And you throw in a blue
all-star banner along the bottom, and "bam!", just a great card!
1978: George Foster
I wish Topps would have had a better photo of Foster for this card.
The man does NOT look like a guy sitting on top of the baseball world here!
Fresh off his monster 1977 M.V.P. year, Foster should be positively
BEAMING after slugging 52 home runs and nearly driving in 150 for the
Reds.
It's a shame since the 1978 set is another of my favorite sets, but this card leaves a lot to be desired.
I may have to redesign this card in the near future.
1979: Ron Guidry
Funny story…I remember pulling my first 1979 Ron Guidry card out of
a pack back then as a ten year old rabid Yankee fan, and was CRUSHED to
see that he didn't have an All-Star banner running across the card!
This was before I learned that Topps didn't just go and pick
all-stars based on their seasons, but based on who started the previous
all-star game.
So I thought it was a terrible injustice to "Louisiana Lightning". I
was already pissed that Guidry was ripped off an M.V.P. (sorry Jim
Rice!), so seeing that "all-star" was missing bothered me to no end.
Well, I've calmed down a bit years later (but NOT about the Most
Valuable Player Award!), and have come to appreciate the card for what
it is.
Not the best action shot of the Yankee ace, but a nice photo nevertheless…
So there you have it...
All cards numbered 500 through that awesome decade of the 1970's!
Hopefully this blog will keep on rolling to all the cards numbered 600, as well as 700!
After that, we'll just get creative and see where we end up…
Thanks for the support so far!
