GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1974 KEN BRETT

Thought it'd be fun to give former pitcher Ken Brett a do-over for his 1974 Topps card, which originally showed him airbrushed into a Pittsburgh Pirates uni after coming over from the Philadelphia Phillies:

 

So here we have a 1974 card for Brett showing him with the team he suited up for in 1973, the Phillies, for whom he went 13-9 over 31 appearances, 25 of those starts, with 10 complete games and a shutout thrown in.

For those that need a refresher on the original Topps had out there, here you go:

 

Brett was traded over to the West side of Pennsylvania from the Philadelphia Phillies for Dave Cash. Somewhat of a lopsided trade as Cash gave the Phils a guy who’d get on base on front of sluggers Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski.
Brett on the other hand would win 22 games for the Pirates over two seasons before heading to the Bronx as part of the Doc Medich/Dock Ellis/Willie Randolph big swap in December of 1975.
Nevertheless he did put in a solid 14 years in the Major Leagues, retiring after the 1981 season and 349 appearances.
He wound up with an 83-85 record playing for 10 teams between 1967 and ’81, starting just under half of his games.

GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1972 KEN BRETT

On the blog today, we have a do-over for Ken Brett and his 1972 card, which originally showed him as a member of his upcoming team, the Milwaukee Brewers, in one of those "cheeky" up-shots Topps was prone to using back then:

 

Here's the original as-issued card for those that need a refresher:

 

After parts of four seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Brett found himself as part of a blockbuster 10-player trade that had key players George Scott headed to Milwaukee while Tommy Harper come to Beantown.

Still only 23 as the season opened in 1972, he'd play for the Brewers one season before getting traded again at season's end.

In his one year in Milwaukee Brett would go 7-12 with a 4.53 earned run average over 26 appearances, 22 of them starts, with two complete games and a shutout in 133 innings of work.

He would go on to play 14 years in the Big Leagues, pretty much as both a starter and middle reliever between 1970 and 1981, his final year.
He’d finish with a record of 83-85, with an ERA at 3.93 over 349 appearances, 184 of them starts, with eight shutouts and 11 saves.
Of course, he’d have a younger brother named George who’d come up in the mid-70’s and end up making quite a name for himself, straight to the Hall of Fame!
I’ve always wondered where exactly the Brett family lived in Brooklyn, where Ken was born, since I too hail from there, more specifically Bensonhurst.
If anyone has any idea I would greatly appreciate the info, as I suspect they lived in Bay Ridge, but I really have no proof of that.
Anyone know?

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1970 KEN BRETT

Today we have a “not so missing” card for Brett the elder, Ken Brett, who was left out of the 1970 set as a young up-and-comer for the Boston Red Sox:

Brett appeared in eight games for the Red Sox in 1969 at the age of 20, a couple of years removed from that magical 1967 season when he appeared in one game during the regular season, the first of his career, but appeared in two games during the World Series, all at the age of 18.
In 1969 he went 2-3 with a 5.26 earned run average over 8 games and 39.1 innings pitched, all of those appearances starts.
He would go on to play 14 years in the Big Leagues, pretty much as both a starter and middle reliever between 1970 and 1981, his final year.
He’d finish with a record of 83-85, with an ERA at 3.93 over 349 appearances, 184 of them starts, with eight shutouts and 11 saves.
Of course, he’d have a younger brother named George who’d come up in the mid-70’s and end up making quite a name for himself, straight to the Hall of Fame!
I’ve always wondered where exactly the Brett family lived in Brooklyn, where Ken was born, since I too hail from there, more specifically Bensonhurst.
If anyone has any idea I would greatly appreciate the info, as I suspect they lived in Bay Ridge, but I really have no proof of that.
Anyone know?

ANOTHER AIRBRUSHED PHOTO SPOTLIGHT: 1976 KEN BRETT TRADED CARD

Time to take a closer look at another airbrushed photo Topps used for their 1976 traded set, the Ken Brett image showing him as a member of the New York Yankees, albeit a mere two-game stop in his 14-year Major League career:

Seems this original image was a dream for the re-toucher since they didn't have to deal with a cap. logos, etc. Just some fake pinstripes, which were well done, and voila!
As for Brett, he came to the Bronx as a part of the HUGE deal that included Dock Ellis and Willie Randolph, for pitcher Doc Medich.
Needless to say the Yanks made out like bandits on this one, as Ellis had a great season for the Bronx Bombers, going 17-8 with a 3.19 earned run average, while Randolph...well, no need to see what was the KEY acquisition here!
As for Brett? He made it to May of 1976 before getting traded to the Chicago White Sox along with Rich Coggins for slugging first baseman Carlos Lee.
He’d end up pitching for 14 years, retiring after the 1981 season after getting to play with younger brother George in 1980 and 1981.
On a personal note: I always wanted to know where in Brooklyn the Bretts were originally from, seeing that Ken was born there before they moved out West.
I knew a couple of Brett families in Bay Ridge, which was the next neighborhood over from me, though both told me they weren’t related to the baseball family.
Nevertheless, it always stuck with me.

A NICE AIRBRUSH JOB- 1974 KEN BRETT

Today we’ll look at a nice airbrush job by the Topps folks, the 1974 Ken Brett card, which has him painted into his new teams garb, the Pittsburgh Pirates:

Not a bad paint-job! Nicely done.
Brett was traded over to the West side of Pennsylvania from the Philadelphia Phillies for Dave Cash. Somewhat of a lopsided trade as Cash gave the Phils a guy who’d get on base on front of sluggers Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski.
Brett on the other hand would win 22 games for the Pirates over two seasons before heading to the Bronx as part of the Doc Medich/Dock Ellis/Willie Randolph big swap in December of 1975.
Nevertheless he did put in a solid 14 years in the Major Leagues, retiring after the 1981 season and 349 appearances.
He wound up with an 83-85 record playing for 10 teams between 1967 and ’81, starting just under half of his games.