Though not necessarily a nickname from the 1970's, I just had to
design a 1972 format "Nickname" card for all-time great Willie Mays, the
"Say Hey Kid":
Fun card to work on!
I figured a cool '72 template with an image from the period before
he went over to the Mets would be a nice addition to the series.
By 1972 Mays was wrapping up one of the greatest baseball careers
anyone had the privilege to see. A career that saw him hit 660 home runs, but also top 300
stolen bases, 3000 hits, 2000 runs, 1900 runs batted in and a .302
batting average.
What DIDN'T he do?!
A Rookie of the Year in 1951, two Most Valuable Player Awards (1954 and 1965), TWENTY All-Star seasons and twelve Gold Gloves.
Just incredible.
When it was time for the Hall of Fame to come calling, he was about
as easy a selection as there ever could be, getting 94.7% of the vote
(I guess 5.3% of the voters were piss-drunk when they selected!).
The "Say Hey Kid", still going strong at 83 years of age…