AIRBRUSHING THROUGH THE 1970'S: 1973 BOB BARTON

Today on the blog I thought it'd be fun to take a look at the original airbrushed image used for Bob Barton and his 1973 card:

 

After putting in parts of three seasons with the San Diego Padres, Barton was traded over to the Cincinnati Reds for Pat Corrales in June of 1972, spending the rest of the year in the Minors.

Barton played in only three games for the NL West champs in 1973 where he went hitless in his sole at-bat, with a walk thrown in, while backing up Johnny Bench in two of those games.
In 1974 he’d find himself back with the Padres, where he’d play in 30 games during the 1974 season, batting .235 with 19 hits over 81 at-bats, which would end up being the final action he’d see in the Majors, closing out a 10-year career which started out with the San Francisco Giants back in 1965.
Overall, he’d finish his career with a .226 average, playing in 393 games and collecting 237 hits in 1049 at-bats, with 66 runs batted in and 54 runs scored.

GIMMIE A DO-OVER OF ONE OF MY OWN- 1975 BOB BARTON

Back in December of 2015 I created a 1975 "missing in action" card for former catcher Bob Barton, using a photo I was not 100% happy with. 

Well today I can finally post up an "upgrade", with a much better image, so here goes:

 

For those that want to see my original card from six years ago, here it is:

 

As you can see, much better this time around, and I'm glad I came across this new photo to improve on the card.

Here's my original write-up for the post way back when:

"Barton played in 30 games for San Diego in 1974, the last Major League games he’d suit up for in his 10-year career.
He batted .235 that season, with 19 hits over 81 at-bats.
For his career he finished off with a .226 average over 393 games, mainly all as a catcher with the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds between 1965-1974.
Of course I’ll always remember him for his hilarious 1972 Topps “In Action” card, which always struck me as a riot!"

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1974 BOB BARTON

On the blog today we have a “not so missing” 1974 Bob Barton card for the former Major League catcher, who appeared in only a few games for the Cincinnati reds during the 1973 season:

Barton played in only three games for the NL West champs in 1973 after coming over from the San Diego Padres, for whom he suited up the previous three years (remember the hilarious 1972 “In-Action” card?).
In those three games he went hitless in his sole at-bat, with a walk thrown in, while backing up Johnny Bench in two of those games.
In 1974 he’d find himself back with the Padres, where he’d play in 30 games during the 1974 season, batting .235 with 19 hits over 81 at-bats, which would end up being the final action he’d see in the Majors, closing out a 10-year career which started out with the San Francisco Giants back in 1965.
Overall, he’d finish his career with a .226 average, playing in 393 games and collecting 237 hits in 1049 at-bats, with 66 runs batted in and 54 runs scored.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1975 BOB BARTON

I came across this image of Bob Barton at the end of his career, so I figured I’d create a “missing” 1975 Topps card for him to cap it all off:

Barton played in 30 games for San Diego in 1974, the last Major League games he’d suit up for in his 10-year career.
He batted .235 that season, with 19 hits over 81 at-bats.
For his career he finished off with a .226 average over 393 games, mainly as all as a catcher with the San Francisco Giants, San Diego padres and Cincinnati Reds between 1965-1974.
Of course I’ll always remember him for his hilarious 1972 Topps “In Action” card, which always struck me as a riot!

HILARIOUS: 1972 BOB BARTON "IN ACTION" CARD

OK, so let's take a gander at what I consider one of the funnier cards out there during the decade: the 1972 Bob Barton "In Action" card.

Now in this case "In Action" MUST BE quoted since the photo is about as NON-action-packed as you can get.

Take a look:

Brilliant!

Barton looking around while at the backstop, probably after watching a foul ball head that way.

My favorite is the elder security guard/police officer looking up, probably watching the flight of the ball.

Just awesome!

I swear that officer is more of a prominent figure in the card to me than the player himself!

As for Barton himself, he put in 10-years as a Major League catcher, playing for the Giants, Padres and Reds before his time was up after 1974.

His best year was easily 1971 when he played in 121 games for San Diego, hitting .250 with 94 hits over 376 at-bats, with 17 doubles, two triples and five homers to go along with 23 runs batted in.

He never played in more than 61 games in any other year during his career.

He'd retire with a lifetime .226 average, with 237 hits over 1049 at-bats, nine homers, 34 other extra base hits and 66 RBI's for his troubles.

And one awesome classic "In Action" card in 1972!

"IN ACTION" HUH? I BEG TO DIFFER MY FRIENDS...1972 BOB BARTON IN-ACTION CARD

Seriously…"In Action"?!

One of my all-time favorite laughers of a card is the 1972 Bob Barton "In Action" specimen.

Take a look:

Now folks, that is SOME action going on here! Ha!

Can anyone out there NOT focus on the grandfatherly security guy in the stands following the flight of the ball?

Absolutely riotous!

I remember the first time I saw this card in some bin at a flea market in the early-80's and HAD to buy it immediately.

Just too good of an image to pass up for a ten/eleven year old boy…

As for Barton, he did forge out a ten year career as a spot catcher for the Giants, Padres and Reds.

The only season he played somewhat "full-time" was in 1971, appearing in 121 games, good for 413 plate appearances and a .250 average with five homers and 23 runs batted in.

He played his last Major League season in 1974 at the age of 32 before leaving the game for good.

But wow, what a great card for all of eternity...