Friday, August 6, 2021

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 JOE MORGAN

On the blog today, we move on to the great Joe Morgan and add him to my on-going "On-Card All-Star" thread where I slap a big beautiful "All-Star" banner on the base cards of starting players in years Topps had separate All-Star cards:

 
To refresh everyone's memories, I was never a fan of separate All-Star cards as a kid. I loved when Topps had the All-Star designation on the players base card, giving it that extra iconic element that made them instant classics.
Between 1975 and 1981 Topps did just that, and I was absolutely heartbroken when I ripped open my first packs of 1982 cards, and came upon a Reggie Jackson card, then noticing it was a dedicated All-Star card.
Anyway, as for Mr. Morgan, the man was just beginning a run that would send him straight to the Hall of Fame, while helping build a juggernaut of a team forever known as the "Big Red Machine".
They'd win two straight Wold Series in 1975 and 1976, and field teams with the likes of Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, George Foster and Ken Griffey Sr.
Morgan was the National League's starting second baseman in the 1973 Midsummer Classic, and would go on to finish the year with a .290average, with 116 runs scored, 35 doubles, 26 homers and 67 stolen bases, good enough for a fourth place finish in the MVP race, while also taking home the first of his five Gold Gloves.
Just a juggernaut himself!

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