Good day everyone.
Up
on the blog today, we begin a card by card spotlight of the
never-issued 1971 Topps All-Star Rookies set, beginning with
Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Larry Bowa:
This is a fun looking set that would have been cool to pull from packs way back when!
Now,
as my buddy Tim Jenking ("Pilot Sighting!") mentioned in a write-up he
had on the SABR blog some five years ago, these were never made into
cards, but prototypes that were pasted onto poster board.
Well,
as is usually the case with this stuff, somehow one full set made it
out and began floating on the auction circuit some years ago, giving
many their first look at perhaps the rarest Topps odd-ball set.
Basically
if you remember the players that got a Rookie Trophy on their 1971
card, that's who represents the full checklist here, with the biggie
being New York Yankees catcher Thurman Munson.
I love the way this set looks, and look forward to posting each one for you all to see them, if you haven't already.
As for Bowa, the future five-time all-star and two-time Gold Glove winner would make a
great addition to guys like Greg Luzinski, Garry Maddox and Mike
Schmidt, helping the organization become a powerhouse in their division
later in the decade.
Bowa would make an immediate impact, finishing third in National League Rookie of the Year voting, and if it wasn’t for a guy named Dave Concepcion of the “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati Reds, would have been the perennial N.L. Short Stop in the all-star game between 1974 and 1980.
Nevertheless, Bowa wrapped up his solid career with a half season playing for the New York Mets in 1985 after three and a half years with the Chicago Cubs, playing his entire career in the National League East, and finishing with 2191 hits, a .260 average, 318 stolen bases and just under 1000 runs scored with 987.
Bowa would make an immediate impact, finishing third in National League Rookie of the Year voting, and if it wasn’t for a guy named Dave Concepcion of the “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati Reds, would have been the perennial N.L. Short Stop in the all-star game between 1974 and 1980.
Nevertheless, Bowa wrapped up his solid career with a half season playing for the New York Mets in 1985 after three and a half years with the Chicago Cubs, playing his entire career in the National League East, and finishing with 2191 hits, a .260 average, 318 stolen bases and just under 1000 runs scored with 987.
Keep an eye out for future posts covering this uber-rare Topps sub-set!
For those that want a little more info, here's the Tim Jenkins piece I mentioned earlier:
