Adding
to my long-running 1975 “In-Action” sub-set, today I include
Brooklyn-born Richie Zisk into the mix, as he was just coming into his
own by the time this card would seen the light of day:
Zisk had just completed his first full season in the Majors in 1974 and
did not disappoint, driving in 100 runs for the Pittsburgh Pirates while
hitting a robust .313 with 17 homers.
Not to say his previous season, technically his rookie year of 1973 was
bad, as he hit .324 with 108 hits over 333 at-bats with 10 homers and 54
Rbis in 103 games.
He would end up playing 13 seasons under the Big League sun, for the
Pirates, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers and Seattle mariners between
1971 and 1983, hitting 207 homers, with 792 RBIs and 681 runs scored,
hitting .287 over 1453 games and 5144 at-bats.
I will ALWAYS be bothered by the fact that Topps screwed up his 1978
card, forgetting to place the All-Star emblem on his card, which would
have given him two straight All-Star cards in 1978/1979.
For a kid back then, those All-Star designations made you a god, and Zisk had to settle for one instead of two.
Thanks Topps!