JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT- 1975 JACK HEIDEMANN RE-DO

I recently came across this nice image of former infielder Jack Heidemann as a Cleveland Indian and figured, “why not?” to a re-done 1975 card, even though he didn’t finish the 1974 season in Cleveland, but in St. Louis as Topps correctly depicted for their 1975 set:

Heidemann started the 1974 season as an Indian, appearing in 12 games before heading over to St. Louis where he’d finish the season with 47 games as a Redbird.
Overall he hit .247 over 59 games for both teams, collecting 20 hits over 81 at-bats, with ten runs scored and three runs batted in.
He finished his Major League tenure with a .211 batting average, with 231 hits in 1093 at-bats over 426 games, hitting nine home runs and driving in 75, scoring 94 himself between 1969 and 1977.
So this wasn’t a technical “re-do” as I usually define it, but just a filler for those who like a complete run of players with the teams they suited up for.
Enjoy!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 JACK HEIDEMANN

On the blog today, we close out the career of former infielder Jack Heidemann, who wrapped up an eight-year Major League career with five games for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1977:

Heidemann went 0-1 at the plate over those five games, with a run scored, in what turned out to be the last taste of Big League action for his career that started in 1969 with the Cleveland Indians.
In between, he also suited up for the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets, generally a player off the bench except for 1970 when he appeared in 133 games for the Indians for his only full-season, hitting .211 with 94 hits over 445 at-bats with six homers, 44 runs scored and 37 runs batted in, all career highs.
He finished his Major League tenure with a .211 batting average, with 231 hits in 1093 at-bats over 426 games, hitting nine home runs and driving in 75, scoring 94 himself.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 JACK HEIDEMANN

Back in August I posted a bit about former player Jack Heidemann, who transformed from "clean-cut" young athlete, to wild man of the '70's, BACK to clean cut man over the course of three cards (1973 #664/1975 #649/1977 #553).

I also mentioned in the post that in reality, he SHOULD have had a card in the (awesome) 1976 set since he appeared in 61 games for 145 at-bats for the New York Mets in 1975 while playing various infield positions.

It's enough to get a card in my book since Topps went and gave some other players a card for a lot less playing time the year before (Stan Perzanowski anyone?).

Well today I present to you my design for the "missing" Heidemann card:

 

Still a wild man in '76!

 

Would have made a nice added "step" in the Heidemann transformation I wrote about earlier, as he still has the flowing locks and facial hair that would disappear the very next year on his 1977 Topps card.

Besides, it would also have been his only NY Mets card, and in 1976 those Mets cards looked great because of the color scheme!

Hopefully for all of you "completists" out there like me, you'll enjoy this virtual addition to the 1976 set.

"ON SECOND THOUGHT-THE WILD LIFE AIN'T FOR ME": JACK HEIDEMANN

I remember seeing an item on another blog about the quick 360º turnaround that former player Jack Heidemann made between his 1973 baseball card (#664) and his 1977 card (#553).
Between those two years he only had an additional 1975 card (#649), as Topps didn't include him in the 1974 and 1976 sets.
But looking at those three cards (73, 75, 77), you wonder what kind of wild times Heidemann had before he "cleaned up" by his 1977 issue.
Let's take a closer look:

Clean as a whistle...

...to a sure-fire Harley owner...

...back to the clean life.

Pretty funny don't you think?
Seems that St. Louis brought out the rebel in him before he went over to that other beer town, Milwaukee.
Heidemann was pretty much out of the big leagues when his 1977 card came out, appearing in only five games for the Brewers, going 0-1 at DH/2B.
But I noticed that there should have been a card issued for him as a New York Met in 1976, as he got into 61 games, good for 145 at-bats in 1975, so I'll be creating a "missing" card for sure. I already found a decent image of him in a N.Y. uniform that's perfect for a card. So keep an eye out for that one, all you Jack Heidemann fans out there!
In the meantime, enjoy a man's journey through the hairy side of life...