Here was a really fun card to create: a "missing" 1972 "In Action" card of former slugger-extraordinaire, Frank Howard.
Take a look:
What makes this card so special in my eyes is that Howard was never on a Topps card shown in a Texas Rangers uniform.
In 1972 he was conveniently shown in a photo that hid a Washington
Senators uni, as Topps didn't have updated shots of the new Rangers team
and their playing duds.
By the time the 1973 cards came out he was shown with his new team, the Detroit Tigers.
As it tuned out, "Hondo" was already on his last legs in the Major Leagues, finishing up after the 1973 season.
But not before punishing both National and American League
pitching, to the tune of 383 home runs, with three 40+ seasons, to go
along with four 100+ R.B.I. Years and four all-star game nods.
The man was an outright beast, standing at 6'7" and over 250 lbs.
While winning the National League Rookie of the Year in 1960 with
the Dodgers, he'd also finish in the top-10 for Most Valuable Player
Award four times, at least once in each league.
As an aside, until Jay Buhner smacked his 40th home run in 1997,
making it three years in a row attaining the mark, Howard was the last
Major League player to do so, when he hit 40+ in 1968-70.
The man was so feared he had TWO great nicknames, the other being "The Capital Punisher"!
