Has anyone else ever wondered how Red Sox part-time catcher Bob
Montgomery managed to have a card in every Topps set between 1971 and
1980 while barely playing!?
I can easily count 1973, 1977, 1978 and 1979 as cards that really leave me scratching my head.
Even his 1974 card can be argued as a "why?" situation, with only 34 games of action in 1973.
In the years previously mentioned, Montgomery played in only 24
games in 1972, 31 games in 1976, 17 games in 1977 and 10 games in 1978.
Yet Topps gave him a slot in every card set the following year.
Just wondering why he was in Topps good graces so much.
In the ten years Montgomery played in the Majors, 1970-1979 (all in Boston), he played a total of 387 games!
So with that average of 39 games a year, he scored TEN Topps cards!
Wild!
Just one of those quirky things that keep me going in this hobby. You gotta love it!
Let's take a look at his "mystery" cards from the 1970's, shall we?
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| 1973 |
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| 1977 |
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| 1978 |
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| 1979 |
I don't remember Montgomery at all as a kid, but I'm guessing he was just a solid guy to have on the bench for the Red Sox.
His career numbers are decent enough: a .258 batting average with 23 homers and 156 runs batted in over 1185 at-bats.
But he WAS one of those players I remember pulling out of packs
every year, never really paying much attention to his stats on the
reverse.
Good for you Bob!