On the blog today, we revisit my "missing" 1976 card for a guy who actually had quite a few missing cards through the 1970's, former outfielder Tom Shopay:
Here's the original write-up for the card from April of 2015. What feels like a lifetime ago:
"Shopay had a few missing cards through the 1970's, and I have
already created and posted a 1978 card for him earlier on this blog.
In 1975 Shopay appeared in 40 games, mainly in the outfield and as a
pinch hitter, collecting five hits in 31 at-bats, good for a .161
batting average with a double and two runs batted in.
That year was typical for Shopay's entire seven–year career with
the Yankees and Orioles, as he never appeared in more than 67 games or
had more than 74 at-bats in any season.
Nevertheless, as we've seen with guys like the Red Sox Bob
Montgomery, Topps did in fact give guys who stuck around cards year to
year, yet after the 1972 set Shopay was shut out until he retired in
1977.
Shopay ended up playing in 253 games during his Major League
career, and ended up with a .201 batting average based on his 62 hits
over 309 at-bats.
Funny enough he hit a total of three home runs in those seven
partial seasons, yet two of the three were hit during his rookie year
with the Yankees in 1967 in only eight games. He'd go on to hit only one
more in 245 games the rest of the way."
