Thanks to blog reader Tony, I got the bug in my ear to design a
1976 Mark Fidrych card since he took the baseball world by storm that
season.
So take a look at the end result:
Now, I'll be the first to admit that there was no way Topps could
have foreseen Fidrych and the phenomena that was about to ensue.
He wasn't exactly the hot prospect when the '76 season opened, but
by the time the all-star game was about to be played, Fidrych was
everywhere, and everyone was talking about him.
We all know the story: how he ended up starting the all-star game,
how he won 19 games and led the league in earned run average, how he was
given the nickname "Bird" and the antics he displayed on the mound.
Sadly we also know how his career was derailed because of injuries,
how he was never able to make it back successfully, and how years later
he was tragically killed in an accident at the young age of 54.
But the "Bird" legend will always be around, and for those of us lucky enough to have witnessed it, it was incredible.
His 1977 Topps card is STILL one of my all-time favorites solely
because I feel it captured that "thing", that personality he had, as a
character that comes along all too rarely.
Here's to you Mark!