On the blog today, we have a "missing" 1974 manager card for the Oakland A's Dick Williams, Hall of Famer who guided the team to their second straight championship in 1973, but was left out of the 1974 Topps set because he was unceremoniously fired by volatile owner Charles Finley:
As manager of the Oakland A's, Williams arrived just in time as the team
was just about to become the dynasty they'd turn out to be, winning the
American League West in 1971 (losing to the Baltimore Orioles in the
playoffs), but then winning the following two
championships in 1972 and 1973 before Williams went on to manage the
California Angels in 1974.
Over the course of his 21-year managerial career, Williams managed
five first-place teams, reaching the playoffs with four of his teams:
Red Sox, A's, Expos and Padres.
He guided three of THOSE teams to the World Series, and finished with 1571 wins, four pennants and two World Series wins.
All of that eventually led to Williams being inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 2008.
A solid baseball man and lifer in the sport with a much deserved place in Cooperstown.
