Here's a card that I wanted to fill a void with: a 1978 Bruce Dal Canton card showing him as a Chicago White Sox player.
Take a look:
By the time the 1978 season opened, Dal Canton was no longer in the
Major Leagues, and would only pitch in 6 games for Iowa in Double-A
ball for the organization.
But he did pitch in eight games, good for 24 innings of work the
year before, going 0-2 with a 3.75 earned run average with the South
Siders..
He did appear in Topps' 1977 set, but as a member of the Atlanta Braves, for whom he pitched in 1975 and 1976.
So this card I fills in that missing final piece of his 11-year career.
Between 1967 and 1977 Dal Canton threw for the Pittsburgh Pirates,
Kansas City Royals, Braves and White Sox, and fashioned a 51-49 record
with a 3.67 E.R.A.
His most productive season would arguable be 1974 with the Royals,
when he started 22 games and went 8-10 with two shut outs and a 3.13
E.R.A.
But overall Dal Canton was used out of the 'pen, as he only started 83 of the 316 lifetime Major League games he appeared in.
An interesting bit I came across reading up on him was that he was
originally signed by the Pirates based on an open tryout!
He was
actually a high school teacher when he walked on the field and showed
enough stuff for the club to set him off on his Major
League career!
Pretty cool stuff. I wonder if that can even happen in these days of hyper-scouting.
