Up on the blog today, we take a look at my "redo" for Luis Aparicio and his 1969 card, fixing the reuse of images Topps had originally put out there due to their spat with the MLBPA:
Part
of my recent custom set released a few months back, I went and
corrected images for a dozen players who suffered the image duplication
that kids were bummed to see as they ripped open wax way back when.
Even
as a young collector by the late-70s/early-80s when I was beginning to
buy vintage cards, I was disappointed at seeing superstars like Willie
Mays, hank Aaron and Rod Carew with cards that repeated images from
previous years.
From the moment he made it to the Majors in 1956 with the Chicago White Sox, Aparicio was a star.
He took home the A.L. Rookie of the Year that season, and proceeded to be an all-star player for most of his 18-year career.
Between 1956 and 1964, nine consecutive years, he led the American League in stolen bases every single season!
As a member of the "Go-Go" 1959 Chicago White Sox he finished
second to teammate Nellie Fox for Most Valuable Player, and he'd go on
to win nine Gold Glove Awards before hanging up the spikes.
All told he suited up for the White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and
Boston Red Sox for the final three years of his illustrious career.
By the time he retired the numbers were solid: 2677 hits, 1335 runs scored, 506 stolen bases and over 10000 at-bats!
It took a few years on the ballot, but he was finally inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984.
