OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 BOMBO RIVERA

Time for another look at some OPC to Topps image variations, this time the 1977 difference for Montreal Expos outfielder Bombo Rivera:

OPC version

Topps version

Another one of those strange "zoom-in" differences that OPC decided on as opposed to the cropping Topps used.

As for Rivera, he would play in 68 games in 1976 for the Expos, hitting a very respectable .276 with 51 hits over 185 at-bats, with 22 runs scored and 19 RBIs.
After a full 1977 season in the Minors, he was back in the Majors for 1978, now with the Minnesota Twins, where he would play over the next three seasons, hitting .271, .281 and .221 before spending all of 1981 in the Minors again.
In 1982, still only 29 years of age, he was back in the Big Leagues, though now with the Kansas City Royals, where he’d appear in only five games, the last five of his career it turned out, as he’d hit .100 with one hit over 10 at-bats.
Far from retiring, he took his talents to both Japan and Mexico, where he ended up playing another six seasons, through 1988, finally retiring as an active player.
Overall, for his MLB career, he finished with a .265 average over 335 games, with 220 hits in 831 at-bats, with 109 runs scored and 83 RBIs between 1975 and 1982.

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 PHIL NIEKRO

Here's a really odd OPC to Topps "image variation" set for you all, the slight, and I mean really slight image change for Phil Niekro and his 1977 cards:

OPC version

Topps version

I have no idea why the change between the two companies and their cards, as you can see that all OPC did was slightly zoom in a touch, and place the facsimile autograph a little higher on the card. Very strange.

Also seems to be a little brightness added to the OPC card as well.

As for Niekro, incredibly, though getting a bit of a "late-start" in his career, the man would end up putting in 24 years in the Majors, pitching his knuckler until the age of 48 in 1987.

It is astonishing to think Niekro didn’t have a full season on Big League duty until 1967 at the age of 28, yet still went on to pitch those 24 seasons, winning 318 games with a very nice 3.35 ERA along with 45 shutouts and 3342 strikeouts before he was done at the age of 48!
I always thought it amazing that at the age of 44 in 1983, he took home the last of his five Gold Gloves, ALL of which were garnered beginning his age 39 season in 1978.

Just an amazing talent!

REVISIT: OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 DAVE ROBERTS

On the blog today, and interesting OPC image variation to spotlight, that the 1977 cards of former #1 overall pick Dave Roberts:

OPC Version

Topps Version

I covered the craziness of the Topps Blue Jays edition way back in 2013, explaining how Roberts never actually ended up playing for the them at all!

Funny story with that actually.
Roberts, who was the #1 overall draft pick by the San Diego Padres in 1972 out of the University of Oregon, never really panned out as the star infielder San Diego was hoping for.
In all fairness, that 1972 draft wasn't exactly teeming with stars. You have to go all the way to the third round to find a legitimate "star", those being Dennis Eckersley and Gary Carter. But you DID have Chet Lemon go late in the first round. Oh well...
Regardless, Roberts did manage to stick around with the Padres on the Major League level for four years, but in 1976 he spent the entire year in the minors, not really showing enough to be promoted before the year was up.
In October of 1976 San Diego sold Roberts, along with Dave Hilton and John Scott to the Toronto Blue Jays, seemingly giving up on their failed future star.
With that, Topps went ahead and airbrushed Roberts (along with Hilton, who I profiled earlier on this blog) in a Blue Jays uniform in anticipation of his new team for the upcoming season.
Only problem is Toronto then managed to turn right around and trade Roberts BACK to San Diego for pitcher Jerry Johnson in February of 1977, immediately making this an outdated card before it even came out!
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Topps must have been scratching their heads with this one.
Check out the airbrushed Blue Jay logo on Roberts' cap...a bit on the small side don't you think?

As for OPC, they had him in the correct uniform, that of the San Diego Padres, for whom he'd go on to play another two seasons before putting in two years with the Texas Rangers, followed by a year with the Houston Astros and one final MLB season with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1982.

All told, the former top pick finished his 10-year career with a .239 average, with 483 hits over 2017 at-bats in 709 games, with 194 runs scored and 208 RBIs, putting in time out in the field at every position except for pitcher.

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 LARRY HISLE

The next OPC to Topps image variation we cover here on the blog is that of Larry Hisle and his 1977 cards, which is really just a cropping change:

OPC version

Topps version

As you can see, OPC decided to zoom in on the image Topps used for their 1977 card, just as we have seen with other cards that year.

Nothing big, but different nonetheless.

For posed shots like these I actually prefer the zoomed in OPC cards since there's no need to be backed up for such photo.

As for the man Hisle himself, had some productive years with the Twins, even leading the American League in runs batted in in 1977 with 119, and driving in another 115 in 1978 as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.

But that 1978 season would be his last solid year, as he'd scratch out another four years with Milwaukee, never appearing in more than 27 games in any of those seasons due to injuries.

He'd retire after 1982 with 166 lifetime homers, 674 R.B.I.'s, and 1146 career hits.

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 MIKE JORGENSEN

Good day all!

On the blog today, we take a closer look at another OPC to Topps image variation, this one the 1977 cards of former Montreal Expos first baseman Mike Jorgensen:

OPC version

Topps version

Seems OPC decided to crop in a bit on the photo Topps used of Jorgensen swingin, with the Topps image more to my liking to be honest.

Jorgensen put in 17 years as a Major League player, originally coming up with the New York Mets in 1968 at the age of 19, and playing through the 1985 season with the St. Louis Cardinals.

In between, he had his best years with the Expos between 1972 and 1976, even taking home a Gold Glove in 1973.

In 1975 he pretty much set career bests with 116 hits, 18 homers and 67 runs batted in over 445 at-bats, hitting .261 while also collecting 79 walks.

Never truly a full-time player, he finished up with a .243 batting average, with 833 over 3421 at-bats in 1633 games.

 

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.

OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 ROY HARTSFIELD

Today on the blog, another image/card variation between Topps and OPC, this time the 1977 cards for inaugural Toronto Blue Jays manager Roy Hartsfield:

OPC version

Topps version

While I do like what Topps did with their card, giving the new franchise skipper a horizontal layout with the coaches listed as well (like earlier in the decade for manager cards), I definitely prefer what OPC did, just giving the field manager a card of his own.

Funny enough, OPC did NOT do the same for the other new franchise manager, Darrell Johnson of the Seattle Mariners, instead giving the same honor to the Montreal Expos skipper, Dick Williams, the other Canada-based leader.

As for Hartsfield, he certainly did not have an easy task taking over a new team, as the Blue Jays struggled (as any new franchise would), going a combined 166 and 318 record over his three-year tenure.

His Blue Jay teams would lose 107, 102 and 109 games respectively in those three seasons, finishing last each time in the tough American League East.

As a player, Hartsfield played three years in the Big Leagues, 1950 through 1952, all for the Boston Braves, hitting .273 over that time while playing second base.

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 ALVIS WOODS

Up on the blog today, we take another look at OPC to Topps image variations, this time the difference for Alvin Woods and his 1977 cards:

OPC version

Topps version

While Topps inserted Woods onto a multi-player rookie card, OPC gave him a dedicated rookie card in the set since he was representing a Canadian team, the newly formed Toronto Blue Jays.

Woods ended up having a decent seven year MLB career, starting off with a nice 1977 rookie year when he hit .284 over 122 games, collecting 125 hits in 440 at-bats.

He'd play through the 1982 season with the Blue Jays before putting in four years in the Minors, eventually making it back to a Big League field in 1986 as a member of the Minnesota Twins when he hit a robust .321 over what turned out to be the last 23 games of his career, going 9-for-28 at the plate.

Overall, he finished with a career .271 batting average, with 538 hits in 1986 at-bats over 618 games, driving in 196 runs while scoring 233 himself.

 

OPC VARIATIONS: 1977 SAM EWING

On the blog today, we have the 1977 OPC card issued for Toronto Blue Jay designated hitter Sam Ewing, who was left out of the Topps 1977 counterpart:

Ewing appeared in 11 games for Chicago during the 1973 season, batting .150 with three hits over 20 at-bats, while playing first base.
He’d be stuck in the minors the next couple of seasons, putting up nice numbers before getting called up again in 1976 after hitting a very nice .351 for the White Sox Triple-A team Iowa Oaks.
In November of 1976, he’d be selected by the Toronto Blue Jays as the 57th pick of the expansion draft, and he’d have a nice year for the new organization, batting .287 with 34 runs batted in over 97 games in their first year as a Major League club.
However, after hitting only .179 in 1978, he’d find himself in the Minors again, before playing in Japan during the 1979 season for the Nippon Ham Fighters, hitting 15 homers while batting .286.
That production got him back with the White Sox organization in 1980 playing for Iowa, but he never got the chance to appear in another Major League game, finishing up with a .255 batting average with 92 hits over 361 at-bats in 167 games.

 

OPC VARIATIONS (OF A SORT): 1977 DOUG HOWARD

On the blog today, an OPC "variation" of a different sort, a spotlight on Doug Howard's 1977 OPC card, even though he never got a Topps card that year:

OPC card

Actually he never got a Topps card at all for his brief career, something I remedied a FEW times on the blog over the years, including my own 1977 Indians Topps version, seen here originally posted 10 years ago:

WTHBALLS creation

Funny enough he never ended up playing a game for the Blue Jays on the Major League level, so I went and designed a card with him shown as a Cleveland Indian, for whom he suited up in 1976.

He appeared in 39 games for the Tribe, and batted .211 with 19 hits in 99 official at-bats.

It was the most time he saw in any of his five seasons in the big league, and his only season as an Indian. 

Turns out it was the last Major League action he'd see in his five-year career.

He came up with the California Angels in 1972 and played for them three years before moving on to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1975, but he never did appear in a Topps set, even with his 97 career games and 233 at-bats.

Would have been a nice hole filled in as far as the more obscure players from the decade, especially when you think of some guys that DID get a card in the 1977 set who saw far less action in '76 like Jim Holt, Larry Cox or Jack Kucek.

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 MIKE WILLIS

Today on the blog, a rarity these days, a first post for a player after 12 years of doing this, this time pitcher Mike Willis and the differences between his 1977 cards by OPC and Topps:

OPC version

Topps version

Of course, being that he was on the inaugural 1977 Toronto Blue Jays team, this was big stuff for OPC, so they went and gave him his own card in the 1977 set, as opposed to Topps who had him on one of the multi-player rookie cards.

In 1977, his first taste of the Majors, Willis appeared in 43 games, throwing 107.1 innings, with three starts thrown in, going 2-6 with a decent 3.94 E.R.A., striking out 59 batters.

He would end up pitching five years in the Big Leagues, all with Toronto, going 7-21 over 144 games, pitching to a 4.59 earned run average in 296 innings.

He would start six games, even tossing a complete game in 1978, while also collecting 15 saves while striking out 149 batters.

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 JOHN SCOTT

Up on the blog today, we take a closer look at the image, or in this case card variation for John Scott in 1977, as he was about to become an "original Blue Jay" during their inaugural baseball season:

OPC Version

Topps version

Of course, OPC gave him a dedicated card in their set, given that these cards are for the Canadian market and I'm sure there was intense interest in the new team North of the American border.

In the Topps set, Scott was given a spot in their multi-player rookie card sub-set, which just so happened to be on the same card as future Hall of Famer Andre Dawson.

Not bad!

Scott would get a card in the 1978 set, as he played 79 games during that inaugural 1977 season.
But in 1975, he went 0-9 over 25 games with the San Diego Padres, though scoring nine runs with two stolen bases in pinch-running duties in his second taste of the Big Leagues.
In 1974 he appeared in 14 games for San Diego, collecting a single over 15 at-bats in his first Major League action, with three runs scored and a stolen base.
That aforementioned 1977 season with Toronto would be the last of his career, batting .240 with 56 hits in 233 at-bats, with 26 runs and 15 runs batted in, finishing up his brief three year career with a .222 batting average before moving on to Japan for a few seasons before calling it a career in 1982.

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 RICK CERONE

Up on the blog today we move on to an unusual OPC image variation, that of former catcher Rick Cerone, who had a multi-player rookie card debut with Topps in 1977, though as a member of the Cleveland Indians, whereas with OPC he got a dedicated card as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays:

OPC version

Topps version

Cerone, who would soon be part of the inaugural Toronto Blue Jays team of 1977, began his 18-year Major League career with the Cleveland Indians with seven games in 1975, batting .250 with three hits over 12 at-bats while getting his first taste behind the plate.
He would go on to play through the 1992 season, with 1980 easily his best season as he surprised everyone, especially us kids here in NYC when he hit .277 with 14 homers and 85 runs batted in after taking over as the first full-time catcher after the tragic death of Thurman Munson the year before.
His efforts that year got him a seventh-place finish in American League MVP voting, yet ironically he’d never get to play full-time in any season the rest of the way.
Nevertheless, he retired with 1329 games under his belt, with three tours in the Bronx, batting .245 based on 998 hits in 4069 at-bats along with 436 runs batted in and 393 runs scored.

 

OPC VARIATIONS: 1977 DOUG AULT

Next up in the "OPC to Topps Image Variations" theme are the two cards for former Toronto Blue Jay Doug Ault, who had his rookie cards in the 1977 sets:

OPC version

Topps version

As we've seen with other Blue Jay cards in the OPC 1977 set, he was given a nice dedicated card as opposed to the multi-player rookie card Topps offered up.

An "original Blue Jay" from their inaugural 1977 season, Ault made his Major League debut in 1976 with nine games for the Texas Rangers, hitting an even .300 with six hits over 20 at-bats.

Once selected by the Blue Jays via the expansion draft, Ault got to see substantial playing time in 1977, appearing in 129 games, manning first base and putting in a respectable rookie year, hitting .245 with eleven home runs and 64 runs batted in.

In his first game with the team, opening day, Ault was the Jay's first "Hero", hitting two home runs and leading the team to a win over the Chicago White Sox.

He followed that up with an injury riddled 1978 season that saw him appear in only 54 games, hitting .240 with three homers and seven RBIs, also putting in some time in the outfield.

He would spend all of 1979 in the Minors before making it back in 1980, playing in 64 games, hitting only .194 in what turned out to be the last Big League action of his career.

He would play a year in Japan followed by two more years in the Mexican League before becoming a Minor League coach and Manager into the 1980's.

Sadly, after some tragedies and business failures, on December 22nd of 2004 he took his own life at the age of 54.

OPC IMAGE VARIATION- 1977 LEON HOOTEN

Interesting OPC to Topps image variation to spotlight today, that of former pitcher Leon Hooten in the 1977 sets, showing him as an "original" Toronto Blue Jay:

OPC version

Topps version

As we all know, there was a scramble of sorts back then to have the two new Major League franchises Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners represented in the upcoming card set, which led to many quirks.

In this example, Hooten never ended up playing in the Majors for the Jays, with only his scant 1975 action as an Oakland Athletic his MLB tenure.

Hooten appeared in six games for the A’s during their 1974 season, the third straight World Championship season for the franchise.
He didn’t factor in a decision, but put up a nice 3.24 earned run average, allowing three runs over 8.1 innings, with a strikeout and four walks.
He’d spend the next two years in the Oakland Minor League system before getting selected by the upstart Blue Jays in the Expansion Draft as the 59th pick, but he would never play for them, not even in their Minors system.
But he did walk away with an appearance on a Topps card, getting a spot in their “Rookie Pitchers” card #478 along with Jim Gideon, Mark Lemongello and Dave Johnson.

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 BOB BAILOR

The next OPC to Topps image variation to get the spotlight here on the blog is the one for "original" Blue Jay Bob Bailor:

OPC version

Topps version

While Topps gave him a spot in their multi-player rookie card, OPC of course gave him a dedicated card celebrating the new Canadian franchise.

Bailor originally made his Big League debut as a Baltimore Oriole in 1975 when he appeared in only five games, before returning for another nine games in 1976, collecting three hits over those 14 appearances with two runs scored and a triple among the scant highlights.

1977 would see him suited up for the new Toronto Blue jays franchise, being their second overall pick in the expansion draft held on November 5th, 1976.

With a chance to play everyday, Bailor did not disappoint, hitting a very nice .310 over a full rookie year, with 154 hits in 496 at-bats, stealing 15 bases and scoring 62 runs.

Surprisingly, he didn't get a single vote for Rookie of the Year, though he had tough competition with Eddie Murray leading the way followed by the Oakland A's Mitchell Page.

Nevertheless, he was one of the bright spots of the Blue Jays inaugural season for sure.

While he would never come close to that performance over the next eight seasons of his career, he did provide his team with a player who could fill in both all over the outfield and infield, putting in time "around the horn" as a solid utility man for the Jays, New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers before calling it a career after the 1985 campaign.

All told, he finished with a career .264 average, with 775 hits in 2937 at-bats in 954 games, with 90 stolen bases and 339 runs scored along the way.

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATION (OR NOT): 1977 TOM BRUNO

Somewhat interesting post today regarding OPC to Topps image variations, with this one being the fact that the player who had a 1977 OPC card didn't get their first Topps card until 1979, pitcher Tom Bruno:

OPC Rookie in 1977

Topps Rookie 1979

Bruno actually made his MLB debut with the Kansas City Royals in 1976, appearing in 12 games and going 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA over 17.1 innings.

After being selected by the new Toronto Blue Jays franchise in the expansion draft over that Winter, Bruno got himself a card with the 1977 OPC set suited up with his new team.

Topps decided NOT to give Bruno a card, not even on a multi-player rookie card, while Bruno would go on to appear in 12 games for the Jays, going 0-1 with a bloated 7.85 ERA in 18.1 innings of work.

Turns out he would get on a Topps card until 1979, now a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, on one of the worst sub-sets (in my humble opinion) in Topps' long history, the black and white multi-player rookie prospects cards of that year.

Turns out Bruno's 1978 season was excellent, with 18 appearances and 49.2 innings pitched, posting a record of 4-3 with a sparkling 1.99 earned run average, with three starts and a save thrown in.

He’d finish his career after the 1979 season, posting a record of 2-3 with a 4.23 E.R.A., with 27 strikeouts over 38.1 innings and 27 appearances, ending up with a record of 7-7 with a decent 4.22 E.R.A., 80 strikeouts and a single save over 69 games and 123.2 innings pitched.

OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 GARY WOODS

Today we take another look at a Topps & OPC image variation in their 1977 sets, this one of Gary Woods, who appeared on a multi-player rookie card for Topps, while he got his out "dedicated rookie" North of the border:

OPC version

Topps version

As we all know, with OPC putting extra emphasis on the Canadian teams in their sets, it stands to reason they would go ahead and give a player their own card, so here we have Woods on a nice card for himself, though his Topps card where he appeared alongside future stars Steve Kemp and Tony Armas wasn't too shabby!

Woods actually made his MLB debut in 1976 as a member of the Oakland A's, appearing in six games and hitting .125 over that limited time.

With Toronto in their inaugural season, he would get into 60 games, playing centerfield and hitting .216 with 49 hits over 227 at-bats, scoring 21 runs while driving in 17.

He'd only appear in eight games the following year, while spending all of 1979 in the Minors before making it back to the Big Leagues in 1980 with the Houston Astros for 19 games, hitting a blistering .377 over that time.

He'd put in one more year with Houston before heading to the Chicago Cubs in 1982, where he would play the next four years, the last of his nine-year career, generally as a fourth outfielder at all three slots.

All told, Woods hit .243 over his career, with 251 hits in 1032 at-bats, with 117 runs scored and 110 RBIs, hitting 13 homers while stealing 19 bases.

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 RICK MONDAY

On the blog today, we look at the image variation for Rick Monday and his 1977 OPC & Topps cards, after his trade from the Northside of Chicago to the sunny West Coast and the Los Angeles Dodgers:

OPC version

Topps version

While Topps was stuck going with Monday still suited up and designated as a Cub, the fine folks at OPC did their airbrushing best to get him in as a Dodger, leading to the gem you see here.

A solid player who also gained some attention for his flag-saving maneuver in the outfield one day when some clowns were trying to burn an American flag, Monday was in his prime when these cards would have been pulled from packs in that glorious Summer of 1977.
After putting in some good seasons with the A’s between 1966 and 1971, Monday was traded for pitcher Ken Holtzman over the Winter of 1971/72, and he didn’t disappoint the Cubs’ faithful, averaging about 20 homers a season with about 60 runs batted in.
He had his best season in Chicago in 1976 when he slammed a career-high 32 homers with 77 RBIs, which got him traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers which netted the Cubs future batting champ Bill Buckner and infielder Ivan DeJesus.
He’d go on to play the last eight seasons of his career in L.A., retiring after the 1984 campaign with a career .264 average, with 1619 hits and 241 homers, along with 775 RBIs and 950 runs scored, while being a part of the World Champion 1981 Dodger team.
One of the better overall #1 picks from the draft for sure!

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 DOC MEDICH

On the blog today, the next cards spotlighted in the fun OPC/Topps image variation thread are the 1977 cards for former pitcher Doc Medich:

OPC Version

Topps Version

Funny OPC edition, as they tried getting him "suited up" with his upcoming team for the 1977 season.

After a solid full season with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1976, Medich found himself sent off to the Oakland A's along with five others (including Tony Armas) in a massive trade that fetched the Pirates Chris Bratton, Phil Garner and Tommy Helms.

Incredibly one-sided for the A's when you also account for Rick Langford, Doug Bair and Mitchell Page as part of the deal heading West!

Medich opened the 1977 season with Oakland, pitching well by going 10-6 for them over 26 appearances, all but one of those starts.

He was then sent to the Seattle Mariners where he appeared in only three games before finding himself out East with the Mets, where he appeared in one single game, throwing seven innings, closing out an active if not eventful year.

A solid starter over his 11 year career, he came up with the New York Yankees, winning as many as 19 games in 1974 before getting traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Willie Randolph deal, then the three 1977 clubs mentioned above, then the Texas Rangers where he pitched between 1978 and 1982, finally closing out his career with 10 starts at the end of '82 with the Milwaukee Brewers.

By the time he hung them up, he finished with a record of 124-105 over 312 appearances, with a 3.78 ERA and 16 shutouts in 1996.2 innings, with 955 strikeouts against 624 walks.