Today on the blog, a card I've wanted to do for some time, a redone 1978 Atlanta Braves manager card, being as the original card issued by Topps featured Bobby Cox, who was about to begin leading the team that season.
I wanted a card featuring the guy who managed the team
in 1977, in this case Dave Bristol, who finished the 1977 campaign as
the Braves on field manager after some moves:
While
Bristol began the year as the manager for the Braves, posting a record
of 8-21, he was "replaced" by team owner Ted Turner in his famous stunt
where he named himself manager.
After that was blocked by the
league, Bristol was put back in the manager's seat for the last 131
games, not faring any better, going 52-79 for a slightly better .397
winning percentage, with the Braves finishing a cumulative 61-101.
It took me a while to find a somewhat usable image of Bristol's playing days, though not an optimum one at that.
However I figured for this it would do and here we are.
Bristol
put in 11 years as a Big League manager, finishing up with a record of
657 and 764, most notably as the manager of the burgeoning Cincinnati
Reds up until Sparky Anderson replaced him in 1970, just as the elements
of the "Big Red Machine" were coming together.
As a player,
he never made it to the Majors, but put in ten years in the Reds' Minor
League system as an infielder between 1951 and 1961.
His last year as a manager was 1980, as he led the San Francisco Giants to a record of 75-86, finishing fifth in the N.L. West.