So here we go:
Sadly I could NOT find a suitable color image of the at-bat, but it didn’t really matter since all my other 1972 Highlight cards had black and white images with a slight tint on them anyway, so the image I did find suited the thread.
As we all remember, the American League entered the bottom of the third inning trailing the National League 3-0 after home runs by Johnny Bench and Hank Aaron.
After a lead-ff single by Luis Aparicio to start the inning, Oakland’s young slugger was called upon to pinch hit for starter Vida Blue, and what followed was historic, as Jackson sent the pitch soaring into the light tower above the roof of Tiger Stadium, cutting the lead to 3-2.
By the time the inning was over, the A.L. took the lead 4-3 thanks to another two-run homer by yet another future Hall of Famer, Frank Robinson after a walk to Rod Carew.
When you look back at this All-Star game, it was about as loaded a game with superstars as ever, with Hall of Famer after Hall of Famer making up the roster. Just amazing.
Although Reggie Jackson already made his mark in the Majors by the time this home run happened, it was for many the first time they really noticed the young slugger on such a national stage.
I’ve always been in awe of the footage, with Jackson running the bases like a King among men, knowing of course what the future was bringing very shortly: three straight championships beginning in 1972 with the Oakland A’s, followed by two more while with the New York Yankees in 1977/1978, with the birth of the “Mr. October” moniker.
It’s as if the phrase “larger than life” was created for him as he marched towards a Hall of Fame career through the 1970’s and 1980’s, whether you loved him or hated him.
Me? I loved him as a kid growing up in Brooklyn at the time he brought his talents to the Bronx. I still do!
It really is a shame Topps didn’t celebrate iconic events in baseball through their baseball card sets over the years, like this homer or Carlton Fisk’s 1975 World Series homer, etc.
Then again, gives me the opportunity to do stuff like this right here decades later!
