So today we spotlight former Chicago Cubs all-star shortstop Don Kessinger, who actually appeared in the 1976 Topps set as a St. Louis Cardinal player with a classic airbrush job since he was was traded to them in October of 1975:
Jim had me create a Cubs version for Kessinger since he played the entire ‘75 season with them, his last of 12 campaigns that saw him get named to six all-star teams along with two Gold Gloves.
Though still a relatively young 33 years old by the time 1976 opened up, Kessinger’s days as a player were winding down, seeing him play a season and a half in St. Louis before moving back to Chicago, this time for the South Side White Sox, where he would become player manager in 1979.
It wasn’t exactly a successful tenure, as the Pale Hose went 46-60 under his reign before the organization gave the job to a guy who would see some success as a Major League manager: Tony LaRussa.
As for Kessinger, he retired with a very nice Major League resume that sported a 16-year career with the aforementioned all-star nods and Gold Gloves, batting .252 with 1931 hits over 7651 at-bats in 2078 games.
