Allow me to give some props to a great airbrushing job for the "age
of the airbrush", the 1977 Doyle Alexander card issued by Topps:
I have to say that is some dedicated airbrush work!
The striping, the "xes" on the front of the jersey, the shadowing,
just excellent work that makes you look twice to be sure it's in fact
airbrushed.
While I'm always quick to bash a terrible job by the contracted
artists Topps used to do this things, it's nice to hold one up and
applaud a great job every once in a while!
Anyone out there have a favorite airbrush card? That is, one that is a good job, NOT a favorite for comical reasons?!
As for Alexander, the shot looks to be in Yankee Stadium, where he
spent the second half of 1976 pitching for the Yanks after coming over
from Baltimore.
He pitched well, going 10-5 with the Bronx Bombers, 13-9 overall,
before moving on to the Rangers where he'd be even better in 1977,
posting a 17-11 record.
He'd stick around for a while, eventually retiring after the 1989
season, 19-years overall on Major League mounds, finishing with a
194-174 record over 561 games, 464 of which were starts.
I'll always remember that run he had after being acquired by the
Detroit Tigers in 1987 (for John Smoltz nonetheless!), where he went 9-0
with a 1.53 E.R.A. and three shutouts, helping the Tigers make the
playoffs.
I'll also remember how he beat the Yanks on the second to last day
of the 1985 season, clinching the playoffs for the Blue Jays
(eliminating the Yankees), a day before Phil Niekro won his 300th career
game to close out the year.
