OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 DICK WILLIAMS

Good day everyone!

On the blog today, we focus on the OPC to Topps difference for Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams in their 1977 sets:

OPC version

Topps version

Williams was about to take the helm of the Montreal Expos in 1977 after three years with the California Angels, and OPC was quick to get him a dedicated card as opposed to the Topps team card appearance shown here.

Williams would take the Expos to two 90+ win seasons (in 1979 and 1980) after a couple of sub-.500 seasons in 1977 and 1978.

Over the course of his 21-year managerial career, Williams managed five first-place teams, reaching the playoffs with four of his teams: Red Sox, A's, Expos and Padres.

He guided three of THOSE teams to the World Series, and finished with 1571 wins, four pennants and two World Series wins.

All of that eventually led to Williams being inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 2008.

A solid baseball man and lifer in the sport with a much deserved place in Cooperstown.

MISSING IN ACTION: 1974 A'S MANAGER CARD-DICK WILLIAMS

On the blog today, we have a "missing" 1974 manager card for the Oakland A's Dick Williams, Hall of Famer who guided the team to their second straight championship in 1973, but was left out of the 1974 Topps set because he was unceremoniously fired by volatile owner Charles Finley:

As manager of the Oakland A's, Williams arrived just in time as the team was just about to become the dynasty they'd turn out to be, winning the American League West in 1971 (losing to the Baltimore Orioles in the playoffs), but then winning the following two championships in 1972 and 1973 before Williams went on to manage the California Angels in 1974.

Over the course of his 21-year managerial career, Williams managed five first-place teams, reaching the playoffs with four of his teams: Red Sox, A's, Expos and Padres.

He guided three of THOSE teams to the World Series, and finished with 1571 wins, four pennants and two World Series wins.

All of that eventually led to Williams being inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 2008.

A solid baseball man and lifer in the sport with a much deserved place in Cooperstown.

MISSING ALL-STAR MANAGERS: 1974 DICK WILLIAMS

Continuing with my "Missing All-Star Managers" cards thread here on the blog, today we come to the 1974 set and the American League skipper for the 1973 game, Oakland A's manager Dick Williams:

Now, while Topps did return to having All-Star cards in their base set that year, instead of the multi-player (or manager in this case) format they utilized, I went with a base-card version as I did with the starting nine for each league a few years back.

The colors do just "pop" here don't they?

As manager of the Oakland A's, he arrived just in time as the team was just about to become the dynasty they'd turn out to be, winning the American League West in 1971 (losing to the Baltimore Orioles in the playoffs), but then winning the following two championships in 1972 and 1973 before Williams went on to manage the California Angels in 1974.

Over the course of his 21-year managerial career, Williams managed five first-place teams, reaching the playoffs with four of his teams: Red Sox, A's, Expos and Padres.

He guided three of THOSE teams to the World Series, and finished with 1571 wins, four pennants and two World Series wins.

All of that eventually led to Williams being inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee in 2008.

MISSING ALL-STAR MANAGER: 1975 DICK WILLIAMS

Hello all!

On the blog today, we're going to go ahead and beginning adding the All-Star manager to the base All-Star cards between 1975 and 1979, beginning with the American League's manager in the 1974 game, Dick Williams:

Now, Williams was the manager based on his 1973 A.L. Pennant winning, and title winning, year with the Oakland A's, their second straight World Series win.

Funny thing is by the time the 1974 "Mid Summer Classic" came around, Williams was now managing the California Angels after a stormy end to his Oakland run, hence the Angels designation on the card.

Williams had the A's at just the right time, coming in for the 1971 season and winning 101 games for the burgeoning dynasty, winning it all in 1972 and 1973.

Over the course of his 21-year managerial career, Williams managed five first-place teams, reaching the playoffs with four of his teams: Red Sox, A's, Expos and Padres.

He guided three of THOSE teams to the World Series, and finished with 1571 wins, four pennants and two World Series wins.

All of that eventually led to Williams being inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 2008.

1971 DICK WILLIAMS: AN AIRBRUSH JOB FOR THE AGES

Classic…

That's the word that jumps in my head when I look at this card.

An airbrushing job that is just CLASSIC!

Remember "Colorforms"? That's exactly what it looks like: a green die cut cap-shaped sticker was placed over the cap Dick Williams was wearing in the photo.

I especially love the black outlining going on, and the fact that the airbrushed cap is sharper than the ever-so-slightly-blurred photo of Williams in Yankee Stadium.

Funny enough, the photo used by Topps is at least a couple of years old, as Williams is in his old Boston Red Sox uniform, the team he last managed in 1969.

I should re-do this card…

As manager of the Oakland A's, he arrived just in time as the team was just about to become the dynasty they'd turn out to be, winning the American League West in 1971 (losing to the Baltimore Orioles in the playoffs), but then winning the following two championships in 1972 and 1973 before Williams went on to manage the California Angels in 1974.

Over the course of his 21-year managerial career, Williams managed five first-place teams, reaching the playoffs with four of his teams: Red Sox, A's, Expos and Padres.

He guided three of THOSE teams to the World Series, and finished with 1571 wins, four pennants and two World Series wins.

All of that eventually led to Williams being inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee in 2008.

MANAGING A MANAGER SUB-SET THE RIGHT WAY...1978

I always thought Topps nailed it when it came to their manager cards in the 1978 set. The horizontal orientation, the dual images of both player and manager, and the full playing statistics that, at the time, were not readily accessible in the pre-internet world we lived in.

Up until that point, and sadly, ever since, manager cards were usually run of the mill "throw-ins" that really didn't add much to the set, and you were left wondering if the slots wouldn't have been better served with some players that were left out, or some other sub-set that could garner more interest. 

But for this set, all teams but the Brewers had their managers represented with nicely designed and well thought out cards. 

***Milwaukee hadn't yet named their manager for the upcoming season when cards went to press. However I created a George Bamberger card below to finally "complete" the sub-set.

All told, no less than six of the managers are Hall-of-Famers (either as managers or players): Earl Weaver, Whitey Herzog, Bob Lemon, Dick Williams, Tommy Lasorda and Sparky Anderson. And that number will most assuredly go up by two once Joe Torre and Bobby Cox are inducted as well. Some can even make a case for Billy Martin to eventually get in as well, possibly bringing us to NINE members of the Hall. Not too shabby for a sub-set.

Of these managers, the most accomplished as players were Bob Lemon and Joe Torre. Lemon fashioned a Hall of Fame career as a pitcher for the famed Indians staffs of the '40's and '50s, while Torre was a one-time MVP with the Cardinals in 1971, after a solid career as a power hitting catcher for the Braves in the '60's as a power hitting catcher with the Braves.

However, Alvin Dark and Bill Virdon were no slouches either, with both winning Rookie of the Year awards, in 1948 and 1955 respectively.

Sure, there were some guys that really didn't leave much of a mark in baseball history, but overall, this sub-set was one of the better executed sub-sets of the decade in my eyes. It's a shame that Topps decided to abandon this format for their Manager cards after this set.

Anyway, now onto the cards themselves. Enjoy!

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

***This card was never issued. I've created here to complete the sub-set***

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST 

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST 

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST