Here's a card that took my WAY too long to create, but boy-oh-boy
am I happy with the end-result: a "Nickname" card for former Oakland A's
pitcher John "Blue Moon" Odom.
Take a look:
Wow, you have no idea how long it took to create that "Blue Moon"
banner at the top of that card. But if anyone is wondering what font
that is, it's "Broadway Engraved".
Odom spent all or parts of 12 of his 13 Major League seasons with
the A's organization: the first four when they were still in Kansas City
(1964-1967), and the next eight in Oakland.
I used a 1972 template for him since 1972 was his best season in
the 1970's, as he posted a 15-6 record with a 2.50 E.R.A. And two
shutouts over 30 starts.
After that season his career sort of went downhill from there,
finding himself playing for Oakland, Cleveland, Atlanta and the Chicago
White Sox all in 1975 and 1976.
However, as I profiled in one of my "Highlights of the 1970's" a
little while back on this blog, one of his last Major League starts, in
1976 as a member of the White Sox, was a combined no-hitter against the
Oakland A's (ironically enough), along with
teammate Francisco Barrios.
By the time he wrapped up his career after 1976, he posted an 84-85
record, with a 3.70 earned run average, 15 shutouts and 857 strikeouts
over 295 games, 229 of which were starts.
And he also left us with one of the best nicknames of the era, along with former teammates "Catfish" Hunter and "Mudcat" Grant.