Wednesday, April 27, 2016

AIRBRUSHING: 1972 LEE MAY

Here’s another of those airbrush jobs that has some quirkiness not only in execution, but of circumstance, the 1972 Lee May Topps card:


As we all know by now, May was traded to the Houston Astros as part of the deal that brought Cincinnati what many consider the final piece to the “Big Red Machine” dynasty of the mid-70’s, Joe Morgan.
Must have been rough for May, being that he was holding his own as a player, was an all-star, but had to watch his former teammates go on to glory while he would never taste the sweetness of a world championship.
I’ve always been irked by the fact that the Houston “H” logo on his cap here was off center! His cap is going one way but the logo goes another.
It’s not the worst airbrush job, but why fall short on the EASY part, the location of the logo?
Anyway, another quirk is the fact that while Lee May’s base card in the 1972 has him with his new team, Morgans base card has him as an Astro player as well.
Yes it all comes down to series-release dates, giving Topps the ability to get May as an Astro, and even Morgan as a Reds player in their “Traded” sub-set later on.
But it does make for an interesting little “aside” regarding this trade nevertheless...

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