Today's "missing" player from the 1970's is Texas Ranger pitcher
Jim Panther, who should have had a card in Topps' 1973 set.
Take a look:
First off, by the time the 1973 season opened up Panther was a
member of the Atlanta Braves after being traded for Rico Carty in the
off-season.
However, since he logged his 1972 playing time with the Rangers I went ahead and designed the card with him still Texas duds.
In 1972 Panther appeared in 58 games, good for 93.2 innings of work.
He went 5-9 with a 4.13 earned run average, and even started four games.So why he didn't get a slot in the 1973 set is beyond me.
Panther came up to the Majors the previous year with the Oakland A's,
getting into 4 games and 5.2 innings. His only decision was a loss.
After moving on to Atlanta, Panther didn't fair too well, as he
ended up 2-3 with a bloated 7.63 E.R.A., spread out over 23 games.
As it turned out, by season's end his pro playing days were done, and from what I
gather online he went on to coach some High School ball in Libertyville,
Illinois.
All told Panther got to see Major League action in three seasons, each one playing for a different organization.
He ended up with a 7-13 career record, with a 5.26 E.R.A. and 56 strikeouts over 130 innings of work in 85 games.
