FINALLY SOME JUSTICE FOR THE 1975 BOBBY MURCER ALL-STAR

Well it took me long enough, but I’ve finally gotten around to “correcting” an awful move by Topps from 1975, having Bobby Murcer on a Yankee card instead of the terrible airbrushed specimen they put out:

I mean, come on! The Yankees were just coming out of the lean years, Murcer was our one bankable star who started the All-Star game the year before, and we opened packs to find him painted into a San Francisco Giants uniform, yet STILL having “A.L. All-Star” on the front.
For a kid back then, it was heart-breaking.
Anyway, I may have to actually print this one out to slip into my 1975 binder alongside the original to really make it all complete!
Murcer really did have a very nice career, especially those seasons between 1969 and 1977 when he drove in over 80 runs eight times, while topping 90 five of those seasons.
He hit as high as .331 (1971) while hitting as many as 33 homers (1972), while also leading the league in runs scored with 102 in 1972, OBP with a .427 mark in 1971 and total bases with 314 again in 1972.
He made five straight All-Star teams from 1971 through 1975, and was in the top-10 in MVP voting three straight years: 1971-1973.
Much more importantly, the man was one of the nicest human beings on the planet, as I can attest to, meeting him on more than a few occasions.
He was just as “real” as it got.
Rest in Peace Bobby. You are truly missed.

ONE OF MY FAVORITES: 1979 LARRY BOWA (#210)

Here's another card I always liked, the 1979 Topps Larry Bowa card (#210):

A rainbow of purples!

I just loved the way the colors of his uniform, the Phillies banner along the bottom of the card, and the "All-Star" banner all went well together, making for a nice overall look with a decent action shot of Bowa following through in an at-bat.

Now if only that "Topps" logo and baseball was NOT an element of the 1979 design, I think we would have had a much nicer set design…

I don't know why, but it was always easy for me to forget that Bowa had three All-Star cards in his career: 1975, 1979 and 1980, book-ending Dave Concepcion's three-year run as N.L. All-Star at the position.

He kind of always fell under the radar with me when it came to the "All-Stars" of my youth, especially with Concepcion hogging up the shortstop spotlight in the latter half of the '70's.

Another thing I find funny is that I always considered the 1979 an "ugly" set, yet I now have profiled quite a few cards from '79 that are some of my favorites (Carew, Brett, Palmer, Bowa).

Guess I had it all wrong (just like my feelings on the '73 set as this blog goes on)…

Go figure...

A BEAUTY FROM 1979...#340 JIM PALMER

I can't really put my finger on the "why" of it all, but this card has always looked like a masterpiece to me.

The king on the mound, looking in...

Here's Jim Palmer, arguably THE starting pitcher in the American League during the decade, looking like the "all-star" he is on the mound.
I just love the color, the photo that Topps used, and that bright beautiful "all-star" banner across the bottom of the card.
My only gripe would be the big ugly "Topps" logo they decided to slap on their cards that year. Odd since they didn't have any competition in 1979, unlike two years later with Donruss and Fleer.
Regardless, what a great card from my youth! For me, a classic!
As a kid growing up in the 1970's, Palmer was one of those guys that seemed to always be an all-star.
I remember when the 1979 set came out, I was ten years old, and I didn't yet realize that Topps used all the starters from the previous year's all-star game as their "all-stars" on baseball cards.
So of course, I was CONVINCED that the A.L. all-star card for this set would be Ron Guidry, right?
So when I saw THIS card, I was both pissed off AND psyched because I wanted Guidry as an all-star, but loved the way this card looked!
What else can you say about the dominance of Palmer in the '70's?
EIGHT 20-win seasons out of ten, 186 wins, three Cy Young awards, eight years of sub-3.00 E.R.A, and 44 shutouts!
Incredible run if there ever was one...

ANOTHER CLASSIC: 1977 TOPPS DAVE KINGMAN #500

I remember the first time I ever laid eyes on a 1977 Topps Dave Kingman card (#500). I thought it was "majestic"! 

Seriously! I ripped open a wax pack back in 1977 at the age of eight, flipped through the cards looking for any Yankee players, and THIS beauty caught my eye.

Just look at it: Kingman following the flight of what seems to be one of his many BOMBS, with that awesome blue "N.L. All-Stars" banner running across the bottom.

What made it all work for me was the fact that the "Mets" name across the top, Kingman's uniform, and the All-Star banner all matched perfectly, making for an esthetically flawless card in my book.

Much like the 1977 Rusty Staub card, which I profiled on this blog some time ago, I am always a sucker for a card where the design AND photo are color coordinated! Some 1976 A's and Reds cards come to mind as well.

Take a look at Kingman's card:

"Kong" following one of his moon shots.

Kingman was such a freakin' enigma when he played. While he was bashing homers no matter where he went, he often came across as a bit "flighty" or "distant" to teammates and the press alike, leading him to be less than popular in his 16 year career.

On top of his personality, Kingman personified that "all or nothing" player, often hitting 30+ homers with less than favorable batting averages, piling up strikeouts like few others in the league.

Take his 1982 season as an example. Kingman lead the N.L. In homers with 37, yet managed to eke out a .204 batting average with a league leading 156 strikeouts.

Adding to the enigmatic legend, in 1986 Kingman hit 35 home runs for the Oakland A's, yet never returned to the Major Leagues, thus setting a record that still stands today for homers in a final season of a career.

As a matter of fact, in his three years playing for Oakland, the LAST three years of his career, Kingman smashed 35, 30 and 35 home runs. 100 home runs for a guy who hung them up soon afterwards without warning.

By the time he was done both frustrating and exciting fans, he belted a very respectable 442 homers for the Giants, Mets, Yankees, Angels, Padres, Cubs, and A's.

What's amazing about that home run number was that he hit those 442 homers in just 6677 at-bats! Consider that Hank Aaron had over 12000 at-bats and you get the sense of Kingman's homer "ratio" (a favorite Oscar Gamble quip). Amazing. But at the same time, in those 6677 at-bats he also whiffed 1816 times! 

Again, it was all-or-nothing with "Kong", but it was a fun ride watching him play.

"GIMME A DO-OVER"- PART XV: 1979 #50 STEVE GARVEY

I wasn't the biggest fan of the 1979 set for it's design. There was something about the layout that bothered me big time, even as a kid way back when.
There were also a ton of boring, and I mean BORING photos used that year. Just bland shots that made for a less than desirable set in my eyes. I guess I got spoiled by four straight nice card sets in the 1975-1978 editions.
However, I generally did like a bunch of the all-star cards that year, especially (as written before) the Carew and Brett cards. The Larry Bowa card was another one that stuck with me as well.
There was something about that all-star banner that enhanced even a card that would have been "bleh" without it (like the Don Money card).
Sadly, Topps blew it with their Steve Garvey card that year. Just another one of those boring pictures that was easily forgotten.
Looks like Garvey was in between pitches during an at-bat against the Giants. That's catcher Marc Hill in the forefront.
Ho-hum.
Anyway, I've redesigned the card with a shot of Garvey at the plate, waiting for a pitch. Just a nicer shot of him with some decent color going on. Hope you all agree.
On a side-note: I have to say, I am STILL amazed that Garvey did not garner more support among Hall of Fame voters when he was eligible for induction. Yeah, I've read all the books that detailed who is worthy and who isn't, and how Garvey wasn't as good as his stats make it seem.
But I still have to disagree on his Hall omission. As a kid growing up in the 70's and 80's, Garvey was THE National League first baseman. And the way I saw it, and still do, the player who came to dominate a position during an era of the game should get into the Hall.
I'm sure many of you don't agree, especially with all the "new" stats that are worshipped these days.
But to me, guys like Garvey and Dave Parker are Hall of Famers. They made an impact on the game during their careers that should be honored with a plaque in Cooperstown.
If Jim Rice gets a nod, why not these two?
Anyway, my little rant for today. Take it for what it's worth (really not much, admittedly).

Topps issued Garvey card in 1979.

My re-design of card #50.

YOU LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERYDAY...

Go figure! Even though I actually started collecting the 1975 set when it came out 38 years ago, I NEVER knew or even realized that the all-stars in the set, much like Topps 1971 football set, were all color coordinated with a specific boder scheme: yellow and red.
Yeah, I know, DUH! I feel dumb even writing this here on the blog!
Somehow this never dawned on me! And upon coming to this realization a few days ago I was stunned. I can't believe with all my card collecting mania over almost four decades I never caught on to it.
Wow...
Anyway, with this fact slapping me in the face, I also realized that when I created the "missing" Reggie Jackson all-star card in one of my first posts on this blog, I had it wrong.
So today I offer up the CORRECT "missing" Reggie Jackson all-star card, with the correct color borders as per the 1975 Topps scheme.
I have righted a wrong, and I feel the world is back on track again...

1975 Reggie card as issued by Topps.

Corrected with yellow & red color scheme and All-Star status.

ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE CLASSIC CARDS: 1976 REGGIE JACKSON

Sometimes a card's design matches up perfectly with the image used. Everything falls into place and we have a perfect little piece of art in the form of a baseball card. 

As I've written before, I feel this way about the 1976 Johnny Bench, as well as the 1977 Rusty Staub. 

Today I'm posting about another of those classically designed cards where everything falls into place and looks just perfect to me: the 1976 Topps #500 Reggie Jackson card.

I have always gawked at this card as a piece of baseball card perfection. The green and yellows in both the card borders AND the player photo itself, the awesome all-star designation at the lower left, and the aura of the "mighty" Reggie Jackson with his shades on, looking at his bat, ready to smash another homer of some unlucky pitcher.

Just a classic card.

By now I'm sure you've all picked up on the fact that I feel the 1976 set is full of fantastic cards. Just so many great looking cards because of both photos and card design. I know I concentrate on the star cards when I speak of my "favorites", but there are many common player cards that I feel this way about as well. 

I hope to have a nice full post going over the set in general in the future, as it's just too great a set to pick apart piece by piece instead of thoroughly examining it in it's entirety.

But for now let's appreciate the Reggie card, even though he was an Oriole by the time the 1976 season rolled around.

A classic card of a classic icon.

"MR. OCTOBER" AND THE "BRONX ZOO"

The 1970's were an interesting decade for baseball in many unique ways, and one of those was the fact that the '70's can be arguably defined by no less than THREE dynasties: the Oakland A's, winners of three consecutive championships from 1972-1974, the "Big Red Machine" Cincinnati Reds who won the next two World Series in 1975 and 1976, and last but not least the "Bronx Zoo"-era New York Yankees, who fought their way to the NEXT two championships in 1977 and 1978.
Three teams who won SEVEN World Series from 1970-1979. Add to the fact that the Reds lost the Series in 1970 and 1972, and the Yanks lost in 1976, and you realize that these teams represented HALF the teams who even PLAYED in a World Series that decade. On top of THAT, the Pirates were bookend World Series champs to those dynasties, winning in 1971 and 1979, with the Orioles a legitimate "almost dynasty", winning the series in 1970, but could have easily won a couple more here or there. As a matter of fact that 1970 Oriole team was the best American league team of the '70's record-wise, sporting a 108-54 won-lost total. (I'll be profiling them and the 1975 Reds, the National League team with the best one-season record of the 1970's, in a later post).
For the Yankees and the "Bronx Zoo" years, Reggie Jackson was indeed the "Straw that stirred the drink" as he famously stated in his now-classic interview with Robert Ward in Sport Magazine during Spring training before he ever even played an official game for the team. Granted, he didn't actually come up with that himself, as Ward somewhat goaded Jackson into that quote. But when it was all said and done, Jackson sealed the aura of "Mega-Star" later that Autumn when he became "Mr. October" with his monstrous World Series performance against the Dodgers, leading the Yanks to their first World Series win since 1962, the longest drought in Yankee-land since the pre-Babe Ruth days.
The following year, Topps graced us with one of my all-time favorite baseball cards: Reggie's regular issue (#200) with him following through with his classic "all-or-nothing" swing.
This is one of those cards I consider "perfect": The great sun-drenched action photo of Jackson with his "cool" shades, an even-toned beige-colored feel throughout the card, including the script-style "Yankees" along the lower left, and yes, that favorite of mine, the "All Star" designation in the upper right.
I still love looking at this card!
As cheesy as it sounds, I STILL remember where I was when I pulled my first '78 Reggie card out of a wax pack: coming out of a corner grocery store in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn after my mom sent me to the store for milk. I used 20¢ of the change for ONE pack. Boy was I psyched! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do:

"CHARLIE HUSTLE AND THE BIG RED MACHINE"

Pete Rose.
Regardless of what you think of him, all of us must acknowledge his intensity, drive and hard-nosed approach to the game of baseball on a team that dominated throughout the mid-1970's and beyond.
Baseball's all-time hits leader had an amazing decade: garnering six 200-hit seasons (in addition to two 198 hit campaigns), an MVP award in 1973, and being selected to nine out of ten National League all-star teams while playing three different positions: outfield, third base and first base (he was also an all-star at second base in the '60's, making that four positions as an all-star!).
Arguably, even though he won his MVP in '73, 1976 can be considered his most productive season of the decade with his 130 runs, 215 hits, 42 doubles, and .323 batting average, which got him a fourth place finish in MVP voting (won by teammate Joe Morgan). On top of all that, the Reds went on to sweep the Yankees for their second-consecutive championship.
Also up for debate is, in my opinion, his 1976 Topps card being the coolest Pete Rose card of the 1970's, maybe even his career. What an intense shot of "Charlie Hustle". Now THIS is a close-up portrait done the right way on a baseball card! The glare, the photo perfectly coordinating with the card colors, and yes, once again the "all-star" designation in the lower left only enhances the overall feel.
Oddly, Rose was actually selected as an outfielder for the 1975 all-star game, batting lead off, but his card lists him as "3rd Base" which is where he played for the 1976 game. Ron Cey is ALSO shown as the third baseman for the N.L all-stars on HIS 1976 card, leaving us without an outfielder on the N.L. team among Topps cards that year, but TWO third basemen.
Regardless, I have always been a HUGE fan of this card, and if it wasn't for his teammate Johnny Bench's card of the very same year (profiled earlier on this blog), THIS could be my all-time favorite baseball card. It just slammed home that aura that Pete Rose had back then, on a team that steam-rolled through baseball, dominating the sport with a core of Hall-of-Famers like Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, Johnny Bench, and yes, Pete Rose. HE is a Hall-of-Famer in my eyes, no matter what baseball tells me.

"LE GRANDE ORANGE" ALL DECKED OUT IN BROWN

Topps' 1977 set was a great example of clean design. White borders with an italicized color-coded team name at the top along with the players name and position, which was set inside a flag at the upper right.

Coming off of the previous two years that exploded with color, the 1977 set was a nice change of pace and had some instant card classics for me that still hold up to this day.

One of these was card #420, Rusty Staub.

What an awesome looking card. The brown "Tigers" up top sat well with the action shot of Staub coming out of the batter's box. To top it all off, the "A.L. All-Star" banner that ran across the bottom evened the card design out, giving it the perfect platform.

Always one of my favorites!

The Tigers were well represented that year with All-Stars, having Ron LeFlore and Mark Fidrych joining Staub, and I'll be writing about the Fidrych card soon enough, so keep an eye out for it. Talk about a classic card!

"Le Grande Orange" in action

A COUPLE OF DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH

I've always considered the 1979 Topps set one of the more boring, uninspired sets of the decade. The design was flat, it lacked any kind of color or excitement, most of the "important" players had lame photos, and I swear it seemed like Topps used a different kind of card stock, which felt less "slick" (I'm probably imagining this one, but I STILL insist). 

Even their good idea of having an "All-Time Record Holders" sub-set fell flat on its face with horrible design choice (see below. Ugh).

Funny enough however, the set did include what ended up being two of my favorite cards of the decade: George Brett (#330) and Rod Carew (#300). For some reason, the way the photos interacted with the rest of the card design ended up working well together. The blue tones of the Brett card image play well off the brown, yellow and red of the card design, while the overall blue and red tones on the Carew card work well with the Twins design color scheme.

Two classic cards depicting two classic players. I'm sure what help's even more is the fact that both cards show "action" shots, instead of some lame photos like Mike Schmidt and Reggie Jackson, or sadly Thurman Munson's last card and Ozzie Smith's first card.

As a side note, many baseball fans will point out that Carew was actually an Angel for the 1979 season, and there are some out there who went ahead and designed a "card that never was" with Carew as an Angel. I've also drawn one up and included it here to add to the virtual "collection.

Topps regular issue card as a Twin

My own "corrected" update as an Angel

THE MISSING ALL-STAR CARD MYSTERY...

As I mentioned earlier, I was always a fan designating an All-Star on the player's regular issue card, which was in practice by Topps between 1975 and 1981.
For all except that last year (1981), Topps simply picked the starting nine for each league of the previous year's All-Star game. Yet for some reason, they inexplicably forgot to slap the "All-Star" on the following three cards, 1975 Reggie Jackson, 1978 Richie Zisk and 1979 Freddie Patek, and to this day I have no idea why.
If anyone has any idea why this was done please let me know. It would put to rest a mystery that has been bouncing around in my head ever since. As a matter of fact, I remember back when the 1979 set came out, it had what seemed to be my entire elementary school searching for that ever elusive American League All-Star card! Every boy in that school was on a mission for that card, not knowing that it never existed.
Since many of you out there enjoy the practice of designing or making up your own cards, I took the liberty of "fixing" these mistakes myself and present them here. The left side represents what was actually issued, while the right side shows "what should have been."
It's especially sad for Patek since this would have been the only All-Star card of his career. For Zisk, it would have marked a two-year run on All-Star cards since he was correctly designated as an All-Star the following year, which was his only A.S. card to this point.
For some of us this actually matters, as sad as it may seem. ;)

 

 

THE MONA LISA OF MY YOUTH...

Topps 1976 #300 Johnny Bench.
Where do I even begin with what is my all-time favorite baseball card? First off, can a man actually be "in love" with a piece of cardboard? Ever since I pulled one of these our of a wax pack when I was seven years old, I was mesmerized.
What a bad-ass look on his face, standing there with an inexplicable dust-cloud hovering around him at home plate. This was a time when the Big Red Machine was terrorizing everyone on their way to two straight championships, including a sweep in the World Series that very year of my beloved Yankees.
Yeah Pete Rose may have been the hard-nosed leader of this juggernaut, but looking at this card always made me this Bench was one dude not to mess with!
The photograph, the cropping, the overall coloration in the card's design, and of course the "All-Star" designation screaming out to you on the lower left, this card has it all, and it's held up in my eyes all these years later.
Simply a classic baseball card.