THE MYSTERY MAN- BOB MONTGOMERY AND ALL HIS TOPPS CARDS

Has anyone else ever wondered how Red Sox part-time catcher Bob Montgomery managed to have a card in every Topps set between 1971 and 1980 while barely playing!?

I can easily count 1973, 1977, 1978 and 1979 as cards that really leave me scratching my head.

Even his 1974 card can be argued as a "why?" situation, with only 34 games of action in 1973.

In the years previously mentioned, Montgomery played in only 24 games in 1972, 31 games in 1976, 17 games in 1977 and 10 games in 1978.

Yet Topps gave him a slot in every card set the following year.

Just wondering why he was in Topps good graces so much.

In the ten years Montgomery played in the Majors, 1970-1979 (all in Boston), he played a total of 387 games! 

So with that average of 39 games a year, he scored TEN Topps cards!

Wild!

Just one of those quirky things that keep me going in this hobby. You gotta love it!

Let's take a look at his "mystery" cards from the 1970's, shall we?

1973

1977

1978

1979

I don't remember Montgomery at all as a kid, but I'm guessing he was just a solid guy to have on the bench for the Red Sox.

His career numbers are decent enough: a .258 batting average with 23 homers and 156 runs batted in over 1185 at-bats.

But he WAS one of those players I remember pulling out of packs every year, never really paying much attention to his stats on the reverse.

Good for you Bob!

MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #16: 1972 MICKEY LOLICH

Let's give Detroit Tigers workhorse Mickey Lolich an "In Action" card in the 1972 set.

Take a look:

What a MONSTER year he had in 1971 huh?!

All Lolich put in for Detroit was a 25-14 record (39 decisions!), 2.92 earned run average, 308 strikeouts, four shutouts and 29 complete games in 45 starts! Good for an eye-popping 376 innings of work! 

Just incredible!

All of those numbers got Lolich a second-place finish in Cy Young voting at the end of the year, as well as a fifth-place finish in M.V.P. Voting.

By the time he hung up his cleats in 1979, Lolich posted a 217-191 record with a 3.44 E.R.A., 41 shutouts and 2832 strikeouts, which were the most for a left-hander at that point in history.

THEN AND NOW #24: JIM FREGOSI 1978

My subject for the latest "Super Veteran" card is former all-star shortstop and Major League manager Jim Fregosi.

Take a look:

Exciting since it's the first 1978 format for this series, and I've also come to appreciate Fregosi and his career so much more since I started this blog.

Fregosi was wrapping up a very nice 18-year career in 1978, and although he is largely remembered for being "the guy traded for Nolan Ryan", was arguably the best shortstop in the American League in the 1960's while with the Angels.

Between 1963 and 1970 he was a six-time all-star and garnered M.V.P. votes each and every year!

After his playing days he immediately went on to a managerial career, in 1978 as a matter of fact, leading his former team the California Angels between 1978 and 1981 before moving on to head the Chicago White Sox (1986-1988), Philadelphia Phillies (1991-1996) and Toronto Blue Jays (1999-2000).

A true baseball "lifer", I'm happy to give him props any chance I can here…

JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT- 1970'S BASEBALL TRIVIA PART #76

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Hope you all have a great day, awesome holiday weekend and fantastic stretch run to the new year.

And I hope many of you didn't get slammed by this storm that barreled through parts of the country.

Today's trivia will deal with players who led the Major League in an offensive category by the widest margin. Remember now, this is the MAJOR League leader, not just their league-leader.

Answers will be posted tomorrow…

1. What player led the Majors by the widest margin in batting average in a season during the decade?
2. Who had the widest margin of a lead in home runs in a season during the '70's?
3. Who led the Majors in Runs Batted In with the largest margin over the second place finisher?
4. Who had the largest lead over second place in Runs in a season during the decade?
5. Who posted the most hits in a season over the second-place finisher during the decade?
6. Here's an easy one! Who had the widest lead in stolen bases during a season in the 1970's? 

1. Rod Carew, 1977 with a 50-point lead over Dave Parker.
2. George Foster, with 11 more home runs than Jeff Burroughs, 52 to 41.
3. Johnny Bench in 1970 and George Foster in 1977 with a 19-RBI-lead over second place finishers Tony Perez and Greg Luzinski.
4. Pete Rose, 1976, when he had 17 more runs (130) than second place finisher Joe Morgan.
5. Pete Rose, who had 230 hits in 1973, 27 more than Rod Carew.
6. Lou Brock, with a 59-stolen base lead over second place finisher Davey Lopes, 118 to 59.    

DEDICATED "ROOKIE CARDS" #11: 1974 BILL MADLOCK

Today's "Dedicated Rookie Card" goes to four-time batting champ, Bill Madlock, then of the Chicago Cubs.

Take a look at my design:

I found this really sweet image of "Mad Dog" batting during the 1974 season, his first in Chicago.

Madlock initially came up with the Texas Rangers at the end of the 1973 season, and was part of the mega-trade that sent former Chicago pitching-ace Fergie Jenkins to the Rangers in October.

Topps did get the "fixes" in time to have a Texas Rangers Jenkins card, while Madlock was portrayed as a Chicago Cub on the multi-player rookie (which I happened to profile the other day as part of my "#600" post!) he made his debut on.

As I stated at the top, Madlock was a four-time batting leader, which is easy to forget sometimes.

He led the National league in back-to-back seasons in 1975 and 1976 with the Cubs, then in 1981 and 1983 while a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In between he put in two and a half seasons on the West Coast with the San Francisco Giants, then after his Pittsburgh days he went on to suit up for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit Tigers before retiring in 1987.

A three-time all-star, Madlock finished off his career with a .305 average, 20008 hits, 163 homers and 860 runs batted in over 1806 games and 7372 plate appearances.

Watch for my "Mad Dog" "Nicknames of the 70's" design, which I'll be working on shortly!

NICKNAMES OF THE '70'S #14: "CAPTAIN HOOK" SPARKY ANDERSON

"Captain Hook".

A great nickname for a GREAT Hall of Fame manager, Sparky Anderson, he of the "Big Red Machine" Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers.

So let's give him the next slot in my "Nicknames of the 70's" thread shall we?

Take a look:

I used a 1975 template and a fantastic photo of Anderson with his Hall of Fame catcher, Johnny Bench after (what else?), waiting for a relief pitcher!

It would have been too easy to use some portrait shot of him, but this photo just seemed "right", even WITH his back to the camera.

I used the 1975 template since he was at the height of his league domination with the Reds and his juggernaut lineup: Bench, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, Ken Griffey, George Foster et al. 

But the nickname, of course, comes from the fact that Sparky was really one of the first managers to rely heavily on his bullpen.

When you look at the "Big Red Machine" teams of the mid-70's you find solid Major League starters like Don Gullet, Gary Nolan, Jack Billingham, etc.

But there was never a true "ace", which was actually rather abundant in the Majors during the decade.

However, the Reds DID have solid guys out of the pen like Tom Hall, Rawly Eastwick, Pedro Borbon, Clay carroll and Will McEnaney.

These were guys that could come in at any time during the game and pitch as long as Sparky needed them to.

So while so many other teams during the decade had guys completing 20 or more of their starts every season, the Reds didn't even have one of their starters complete 10 or more in either of their World Champion years.

But how can you argue with success, right?

And Anderson found a lot of success in his 26-year managing career!

Three world titles (the third coming in 1984 with the Tigers), seven first place finishes, two more pennants (1970 and 1972), and 2194 career victories.

He also won two Manager of the Year Awards, in 1984 and 1987 (the award was instituted in 1983, or he almost assuredly would have won a couple with Cincinnati), and guided five All-Star teams (four in the N.L., one in the A.L.).

Just a classic manager who managed some classic teams!

It's amazing to think that when he took over the Reds in 1970, he was only 36 years of age! It's easy to remember him like the grandfatherly figure he was the last part of his career.

Sparky Anderson, "Captain Hook", a Hall of Famer inducted into Cooperstown in 2000 by the Veteran's Committee.

Great guy…

POST #600!! SO LET'S LOOK AT THE 600'S OF THE DECADE!

Well, another hundred posts have gone by and I find myself at #600 for the blog!

Thank you all for reading this far. It's been a blast and I hope to keep it going for a long while!

So let's dive right in and check out cards numbered "600" through the decade of the 1970's…

1970 Willie Mays

 

 

Was never a fan of this card. The boring 1970 template paired up with a boring photo of the "Say Hey Kid" has always made this one of my least favorite Willie Mays cards.

What a shame, but then again the 1970 was a bit on the boring side anyway.

Nevertheless, it's Willie Mays, beyond super-star, beyond legend…

1971 Willie Mays

 

 

Well what do you know, two years in a row for Mays!

Nice card of the future Hall of Fame star at the tail end of his career.

The 1971 black-bordered template has always been one of my favorites!

Love this card!

1972 Al Kaline

 

 

Great card of the Tigers great!

What a set, and what a nice colorful slab of cardboard showing perhaps the most popular Detroit Tiger player ever!

1973 Dave McNally

 

 

The Baltimore star pitcher in the prime of his career. One of the anchors of that Baltimore pitching staff also featuring Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar, etc.

184 lifetime wins, 3.24 E.R.A., and a .607 winning percentage, and the winner of 20+ four years in a row between 1968 and 1971.

1974 Rookie Outfielders (Bill Madlock)

 

 

If not for Madlock, a forgettable card if there ever was one.

But hey, you have a future four-time batting champ, so it's a keeper for sure!

I'll be designing a "dedicated rookie card" for Madlock in the near future, so keep an eye out for it!

1975 Rod Carew

 

 

Great card of the perennial batting champ and future 3000-hit club member!

In the prime of his career, 1975 would be his fourth batting championship in a row, sixth of his career.

For good measure he'd go on to tack on two more in 1977 and 1978.

Another future Hall of Fame star on a beautiful piece of cardboard!

1976 Tom Seaver

 

 

I have always loved this card. I don't know why since it doesn't have a great action shot, but I've always been a fan of the 1976 set design, and it's "Tom Terrific" in the prime of his career.

Another future Hall of Fame player, winner of 311 games, and over 3600 career strikeouts.

One of those "legends beyond legends"! I was lucky enough to be at his 300th win at Yankee Stadium (Phil Rizzuto Day) in 1985. Will never forget it!

1977 Jim Palmer

 

 

Great card of the Orioles Hall of Fame hurler!

Beautiful action shot on the clean 1977 design.

Palmer was just incredible that decade! Eight-times a 20+ game winner, sub-3.00 earned run average, and six-time all-star in the '70's.

The best pitcher in the American League for the decade.

1978 Frank Tanana

 

 

A pitcher with a very bright future until injuries curtailed his career.

Great set and nice card for the Angels flame-thrower.

Even with his injuries he went on to win 240 games with 2773 strikeouts and 34 shutouts over 21 seasons.

Very underrated career!

1979 George Foster

 

 

I have always hated this card! I'm sorry, but the "blank" batting helmet Foster is wearing just annoys the heck out of me!

The reigning home run champ in the National league, former Most valuable Player in 1977, member of the "Big Red Machine", and yet the card reeks of "unauthorized" garbage!

Ugh. Lousy way to wrap up the decade and cards numbered 600.

But a nice collection nevertheless!

Six out of ten cards bearing future Hall of Famers isn't bad, right!?

Now onto 700!!!