Here’s my original write-up back in December, 2013 for the first 1970 creation:
I already designed a "missing" 1979 card for him, which I posted here a while back, and I'm in the middle of designing a 1978 card for him in a Texas Rangers uniform ("Photoshopping" a Texas uniform is turning out to be quite a b*tch!).
But for today, allow me to present to you all a "missing" 1970 edition of the Mike Marshall hit-parade, showing the former all-star reliever in a Seattle Pilots uniform, for whom he played in 1969 totaling 20 games and 87.2 innings of work.
For the somewhat forgettable season he posted a 3-10 record along with a 5.13 earned run average.
But things would change rather quickly for Marshall, as he soon became arguably THE relief pitcher in the Majors by 1972, pitching for the Montreal Expos before moving on to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
1972 would see him post his first truly great year, as he went 14-8 with 18 saves and a sparkling 1.78 earned run average over the course of 65 games of relief work.
It was a sign of things to come.
While over in L.A. he'd win a Cy Young Award in 1974 when he posted a season for the ages, appearing in a still-record 106 games, going 15-12 with a 2.42 E.R.A., saving a league-leading 21 games while totaling a mind-boggling 208.1 innings out of the 'pen!
Incredible!
As I stated in my previous post regarding Marshall, he was a constant headache for Topps, at first refusing to pose for a photo on a baseball card, and eventually refusing to appear on a card all-together.
Hence the missing Marshall cards in 1978/79/80.
His missing 1970 card seems to be more of a decision by Topps rather than Marshall himself, since his playing time in '69 was a bit sparse. But I can't be 100% sure.
Anyway, here's a design I whipped up for a 1970 Mike Marshall card showing him in that great Seattle Pilots foam-green uniform before they became the Milwaukee Brewers the following year.
