Good day all!
I've
always been interested in the 1974 card for HOF outfielder Billy
Williams because of the crowd background and its yellow hue, and I
finally found the original image, untouched by the fine folks at Topps,
and as I figured, it was NOT as we saw on the card.
So today we'll take a closer look:
Just
a great action shot of "Sweet Swingin' Billy from Whistler" before
Topps gave it that strange yellow coloring. Don't know why.
As for Billy himself, by the time he retired after the 1976 season, he finished with 2711 hits, 1410 runs scored,
426 home runs, 1475 runs batted in and a .290 batting average over 2488
games.
Along with his Rookie of the Year in 1961, he was a two-time runner-up to the MVP Award (thanks to Johnny Bench each time) in 1970 and 1972 and a six-time All-Star.
What a career he put together, yet always in the shadows of giants like teammate Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente.
Nevertheless, though it took him six years of eligibility to make it, he was elected for a rightful place in Cooperstown in 1987 when he received 85.7% of the vote.
Just a great player all around.
Along with his Rookie of the Year in 1961, he was a two-time runner-up to the MVP Award (thanks to Johnny Bench each time) in 1970 and 1972 and a six-time All-Star.
What a career he put together, yet always in the shadows of giants like teammate Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente.
Nevertheless, though it took him six years of eligibility to make it, he was elected for a rightful place in Cooperstown in 1987 when he received 85.7% of the vote.
Just a great player all around.