CUSTOM SPECIAL INSERT: 1971 TOPPS ROOKIE ALL-STARS THURMAN MUNSON REDO

Hello everyone!

On the blog today, my special insert card for my "Series 16" set, a redo of the never-released Topps 1971 Rookie All-Stars card of Thurman Munson:

Profiled here on the blog a while back, Topps had a prototype set made of the 1970 Rookie All-Stars, with Munson as the key player.

It was just a paste-up 5x7 set on card-stock that never ended up getting released, but that set did make it out there into the collecting world, thus creating the "unicorn" status for uber-collectors.

I wanted to create something special as far as an insert for my Series 16 set, so I just recreated the Munson card with the original template, with a new image of the future Yankees captain.

I guess you can say the future Yankee dynasty of the late 1970's started right here with this guy when he came up and won the American League Rookie of the Year in 1970.

Soon after he was joined by the likes of Graig Nettles, Sparky Lyle, Ron Guidry and Willie Randolph, on their way to back-to-back titles as well as an American League pennant in 1976.

Not only did he take home the Rookie of the Year in 1970, but he'd go on to win the Most Valuable Player award six years later, to go along with seven all-star berths as well as three Gold Gloves.

For three consecutive seasons he drove in 100+ runs with LESS than 20 homers, topping out at 18 in 1977, while hitting over .300 each and every time.

I particularly love his M.V.P. year, where he had 665 plate appearances yet only struck out 38 times while collecting 186 hits over 616 at-bats. Pretty amazing stuff. He even stole 14 bases as well!

What an age for catchers huh? You had Munson, Carlton Fisk, Gary Carter, Johnny Bench and Ted Simmons all putting in all-star seasons after all-star seasons.

Sadly we all know how Munson's story played out. I remember that day like it was yesterday and will never forget it.

 

WTHBALLS GUM PACK CUSTOM SET: THURMAN MUNSON

On the blog today, we spotlight my Thurman Munson mini-card, from my custom "Gum Pack" special set released a few months back, showcasing 25 of the legends that played the game during the 1970s:

Just a fun little set that included some of my all-time favorite players, like the Yankee captain himself.

I guess you can say the future Yankee dynasty of the late 1970's started right here with this guy when he came up and won the American League Rookie of the Year in 1970.

Soon after he was joined by the likes of Graig Nettles, Sparky Lyle, Ron Guidry and Willie Randolph, on their way to back-to-back titles as well as an American League pennant in 1976.

Not only did he take home the Rookie of the Year in 1970, but he'd go on to win the Most Valuable Player award six years later, to go along with seven all-star berths as well as three Gold Gloves.

For three consecutive seasons he drove in 100+ runs with LESS than 20 homers, topping out at 18 in 1977, while hitting over .300 each and every time.

I particularly love his M.V.P. year, where he had 665 plate appearances yet only struck out 38 times while collecting 186 hits over 616 at-bats. Pretty amazing stuff. He even stole 14 bases as well!

What an age for catchers huh? You had Munson, Carlton Fisk, Gary Carter, Johnny Bench and Ted Simmons all putting in all-star seasons after all-star seasons.

Sadly we all know how Munson's story played out. I remember that day like it was yesterday and will never forget it.

1971 TOPPS ROOKIE ALL-STARS: THURMAN MUNSON

On the blog today, THE "never-released" 1971 Topps Rookie All-Star card everyone would be gunning for these days, Thurman Munson, which would have been a SWEET card to have in any collection:

I guess you can say the future Yankee dynasty of the late 1970's started right here with this guy when he came up and won the American League Rookie of the Year in 1970.

Soon after he was joined by the likes of Graig Nettles, Sparky Lyle, Ron Guidry and Willie Randolph, on their way to back-to-back titles as well as an American League pennant in 1976.

Not only did he take home the Rookie of the Year in 1970, but he'd go on to win the Most Valuable Player award six years later, to go along with seven all-star berths as well as three Gold Gloves.

For three consecutive seasons he drove in 100+ runs with LESS than 20 homers, topping out at 18 in 1977, while hitting over .300 each and every time.

I particularly love his M.V.P. year, where he had 665 plate appearances yet only struck out 38 times while collecting 186 hits over 616 at-bats. Pretty amazing stuff. He even stole 14 bases as well!

What an age for catchers huh? You had Munson, Carlton Fisk, Gary Carter, Johnny Bench and Ted Simmons all putting in all-star seasons after all-star seasons.

Sadly we all know how Munson's story played out. I remember that day like it was yesterday and will never forget it.

1970'S ALL-DECADE TEAM: A.L. CATCHER THURMAN MUNSON

LET THE ARGUMENTS BEGIN!

Today on the blog, we move on to the American League and my pick with the top catcher in the league for the 1970's, New York Yankees great Thurman Munson:

Now, Carlton Fisk is obviously a close second in my book, and he arguably can be in the top spot for many, but with Munson putting in the full decade, taking home an MVP in 1976 as well as the Rookie of the Year in 1970, and leading the Yankees to two straight World Championships in 1977 and 1978, he gets the nod from me here.

For three consecutive seasons he drove in 100+ runs with LESS than 20 homers, topping out at 18 in 1977, while hitting over .300 each and every time.

I particularly love his M.V.P. year, where he had 665 plate appearances yet only struck out 38 times while collecting 186 hits over 616 at-bats. Pretty amazing stuff. He even stole 14 bases as well!

As for Fisk, I think we can fairly say he was incredibly the A.L.'s best catcher for the 1980's, displaying what an unbelievable career he had both in terms of production AND longevity for a Big League catcher.

Two amazing guys that came up at the same time and were heated opponents.

REVISITING A BLOG POST FROM 2015: 1970 THURMAN MUNSON DEDICATED ROOKIE

On the blog this fine day, thought it'd be fun to go back eight years here and revisit my blog post for my 1970 "Dedicated Rookie" card for the great Thurman Munson, one of my childhood heroes, and one of my favorite card creations I've ever done:

Here's the original write-up for that post, which originally appeared here in February of 2015:

"I guess you can say the future Yankee dynasty of the late 1970's started right here with this guy when he came up and won the American League Rookie of the Year in 1970.

Soon after he was joined by the likes of Graig Nettles, Sparky Lyle, Ron Guidry and Willie Randolph, on their way to back-to-back titles as well as an American League pennant in 1976.

Not only did he take home the Rookie of the Year in 1970, but he'd go on to win the Most Valuable Player award six years later, to go along with seven all-star berths as well as three Gold Gloves.

For three consecutive seasons he drove in 100+ runs with LESS than 20 homers, topping out at 18 in 1977, while hitting over .300 each and every time.

I particularly love his M.V.P. year, where he had 665 plate appearances yet only struck out 38 times while collecting 186 hits over 616 at-bats. Pretty amazing stuff. He even stole 14 bases as well!

What an age for catchers huh? You had Munson, Carlton Fisk, Gary Carter, Johnny Bench and Ted Simmons all putting in all-star seasons after all-star seasons.

Sadly we all know how Munson's story played out. I remember that day like it was yesterday and will never forget it."

EXPANDED LEAGUE-LEADERS: 1977 A.L. RUNS BATTED IN

Today on the blog, we move on to the American League for their top three RBI men of the 1976 season, in my on-going “expanded league leaders” thread that seems to be a hit with many of you out there:

 

 

We begin with the “Big Bopper” Lee May, Baltimore Orioles slugger who led the A.L. with his 109 RBIs in the Bicentennial season, along with 25 homers and 61 runs scored.

The RBI total was one short of his career-best set back in 1969 while still with the Cincinnati Reds, when he also hit 38 homers, totaled 321 bases and made his first All-Star team.

It would be the third, and last 100-RBI season of his solid 18-year career, finishing up with 1244 over 2071 games and 7609 at-bats during somewhat of a “dead-ball” era in terms of offense.

Right behind him with 105 RBIs was the American League MVP for 1976, the New York Yankee captain Thurman Munson, who guided the team to their first World Series berth since 1964, hitting 17 homers, hitting .302 and even stealing a career-best 14 bases while making his fifth All-Star team.

Munson drove in 100+ runs three seasons in a row between 1975 and 1977, while also topping the .300-mark each time, as well as 180+ hits, anchoring an A.L. powerhouse team that would win-it-all in 1977 and 1978.

In third place with 102 RBIs for the Boston Red Sox, legend Carl Yastrzemski, who had yet another solid season on his way to a Hall of Fame resume by the time he was done with his MLB tenure.

For “Yaz”, his 102 RBIs were paired up with 21 homers, 71 runs scored and 80 walks, along with his 13^th All-Star nod, while putting in time between first base and the outfield.

So there it is for the top RBI men of the American league in 1976, expanded here on a 1977 league-leader card.

CUSTOM SPOTLIGHT: 1980 THURMAN MUNSON

On the blog today, a spotlight on a custom card I quite possibly wanted to create since I was a kid, a 1980 card for the great Thurman Munson, from my "Whole Nine" set released last year:

 

As an eleven year old ripping open packs back then, I genuinely thought there would be a card for the Yankee captain in my youthful ignorance.

As a matter of fact my friends and I were shocked when we realized there was no Munson card of any kind in the 1980 set.

Such a great career cut short by tragedy, though as I recall, Munson was seriously considering retirement by the end of the decade because of nagging injuries and missing his family because of the grind of a full-season.
Nevertheless, a Rookie of the Year in 1970, an MVP in 1976, and two straight championships in 1977 and 1978. A wonderful career for the New York Yankees legend.

Munson, who came out of Kent State in his native Ohio, became an instant Yankee favorite in 1970 while becoming the leader of the organization in transition on the field.
By 1976 he was a legitimate star, winning the American League Most Valuable Player Award while leading the Yanks to their first World Series since 1964, followed by consecutive championships in 1977 and 1978.
Of course, this was all shattered when he died while piloting a small plane in August of 1979, shocking everyone, including myself as a 10-year old Yankee fan who idolized the catcher on a team filled with big personalities, like Reggie Jackson, Rich Gossage and Sparky Lyle.

Such a loss.

MINOR LEAGUE DAYS- THURMAN MUNSON

Today's blog post has New York Yankees great Thurman Munson added to my long-running "Minor League Days" 1971 sub-set, though for him those days were not that far behind when this card would have seen the light of day:

 

The young catcher was already an American League Rookie of the Year, which he took home the previous season, giving the struggling franchise a glimmer of hope that would pay off later on when he'd help lead them back to glory, winning two straight championships in 1977 and 1978.

His stretch between 1975 and 1978 is also incredible since he averaged about 185 hits over the four-year span, something I believe hasn’t been matched by any other MLB catcher before him, and only Ivan Rodriguez since.
Such a great career cut short by tragedy, though as I recall, Munson was seriously considering retirement by the end of the decade because of nagging injuries and missing his family because of the grind of a full-season.
Nevertheless, a Rookie of the Year in 1970, an MVP in 1976, and two straight championships in 1977 and 1978.

A wonderful career for the New York Yankees legend.

 

NICKNAMES OF THE 1970'S: "TUGBOAT" THURMAN MUNSON

Time to go and give the Yankees captain, Thurman “Tugboat” Munson, a “Nicknames of the 1970’s” card, using the 1977 format since he was coming off of arguably his best Major League season:

Munson was just coming off of an MVP season in 1976, batting .302 while driving in over 100 runs for the second straight season while leading the Yankees to their first World Series appearance since 1964. He also burned on the base paths, stealing a career-high 14 bases!
What amazes me is that over 616 at-bats and 665 plate appearances the man struck out only 38 times. Just incredible.
His stretch between 1975 and 1978 is also incredible since he averaged about 185 hits over the four-year span, something I believe hasn’t been matched by any other MLB catcher before him, and only Ivan Rodriguez since.
Such a great career cut short by tragedy, though as I recall, Munson was seriously considering retirement by the end of the decade because of nagging injuries and missing his family because of the grind of a full-season.
Nevertheless, a Rookie of the Year in 1970, an MVP in 1976, and two straight championships in 1977 and 1978. A wonderful career for the New York Yankees legend.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER- 1977 SUB-SET

Time for the next entry in my long-running “Awards” thread with the 1976 MVPs on a 1977 card, two heavy-weights of 1970’s baseball, Joe Morgan and Thurman Munson:

In the National league, Morgan took home his second consecutive MVP with another incredible season that saw him hit .320 with 27 homers and 111 runs batted in, those last two numbers being career highs for the future Hall of Fame member.
As if that wasn’t already enough, he also stole 60 bases while scoring 113 runs for the “Big Red Machine”, who went on to win their second straight World Series, this time against the New York Yankees and THEIR MVP, catcher Thurman Munson.
For Munson, who also won the A.L. Rookie of the Year in 1970, he had what anyone would consider a “typical” Munson year, as he once again hit over .300 (.302), with a career-high 105 runs batted in and 17 homers while collecting 186 hits and scoring 79 runs.
Surprisingly, he also swiped 14 bases while only striking out 38 times over 616 at-bats while getting named to his fifth all-star team.
Of course, we know hat tragically, just less than three years later, Munson would die in a plane crash August of 1979, leaving many to wonder if he would have made the Hall of Fame like his 1976 MVP mate Joe Morgan.

1975 "IN ACTION"- THURMAN MUNSON

The next player showcased in my 1975 “In Action” thread is none other than Yankee catching legend Thurman Munson, who was right in the middle of a brilliant career run in 1975:

The 1975 season would produce the first of three consecutive 100-RBI seasons for Munson while also batting above .300, while also bringing him his third straight Gold Glove Award.
The all-star catcher would go on to nab the American League Most Valuable Player Award the following year, while moving on to two straight World Series championships in 1977 and 1978.
Sadly, as we are all too aware, tragedy would strike in August of 1979 when Munson was killed while piloting his private plane on an off-day in Ohio, breaking the hearts of many a baseball fan in New York City, including yours truly.
Still only 32 years of age, we can only wonder where Munson’s career could have taken him had he lived to play well into the 1980’s.
Perhaps Cooperstown?
“The Captain”, R.I.P.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR- 1971 SUB-SET

Next up in my “awards sub-set” thread is a 1971 card celebrating the previous season’s Rookies of the Year, in this case pitcher Carl Morton of the Montreal Expos and catcher Thurman Munson of the New York Yankees:

In the National League, after a brief cup-of-coffee in 1969 on the inaugural Expos team, Morton came back in 1970 and put together an excellent rookie year, posting a record of 18-11 with a 3.60 earned run average and four shutouts over 43 appearances, 37 of which were starts, with a whopping 284.2 innings pitched.
He would go on to put in eight years in the big leagues, never really matching the numbers he put up that first year, but a solid starter nevertheless, finishing up with a career 87-92 record with a 3.73 E.R.A., 13 shutouts and 650 strikeouts over 1648.2 innings of work.
Over in the American League, a young stud out of Kent Sate in Ohio named Thurman Munson was almost a unanimous R.O.Y. winner, being named on all but one ballot, the one other vote going to Cleveland Indians rookie Roy Foster.
The 23-year-old batted .302 with a very nice .386 on-base-percentage while catching 125 games for the surprising Yankee team that finished in second place with a 93-69 record, this after the “dark days” of ball in the Bronx between 1965-1969.
Of course, we all know that Thurman would go on to become a beloved figure in NYC sports, helping the team come back to top-form with two World Championships in 1977 & 1978, as well as being named Most Valuable Player in the American League in 1976 when he anchored the team to it’s first World Series appearance in 12 years.
Sadly, the Munson story does NOT have a happy ending, as we were all shocked numb on that August 2nd, 1979 day when he was killed while flying his private plane on an off-day in Ohio, absolutely crushing yours truly, having his favorite player gone in an instant.
Nevertheless, Munson left the game with an excellent .292 career batting average, driving in 100+ runs three straight years while topping .300 each time, and being named to seven all-star teams in his brief 11-year career.

FUTURE STARS- THURMAN MUNSON

Here’s a card that I feel came out nice, a “Future Stars” 1978 card for Yankees all-star catcher Thurman Munson:

Munson, who came out of Kent State in his native Ohio, became an instant Yankee favorite, winning Rookie of the Year in 1970 while becoming the leader of the organization on the field.
By 1976 he was a legitimate star, winning the American League Most Valuable Player Award while leading the Yanks to their first World Series since 1964, followed by consecutive championships in 1977 and 1978.
Of course, this was all shattered when he died while piloting a small plane in August of 1979, shocking everyone, including myself as a 10-year old Yankee fan who idolized the catcher on a team filled with big personalities, like Reggie Jackson, Rich Gossage and Sparky Lyle.

FAVORITE CARDS OF THE DECADE

The topic of “favorite cards” has been coming up a lot lately, and it’s amazing how many of us all have the same favorites considering the choices of that great decade of the 1970’s.

I never did post one solid “favorites” entry here in the three-plus years of “wthballs”, so here are my top-10 favorites in order:

#1 1976 Johnny Bench

My lord this is the perfect card in my eyes! It has NEVER lost any of it’s luster as far as baseball card perfection. The colors, the “all-star”, the photograph, the legend! 

I’m still in awe of it.

#2 1978 Reggie Jackson

“Mr. October” at his best! That swing immortalized on cardboard, with (of course) the all-star designation, in the hey-day of the “Bronx Zoo”. If it was’t for that ’76 Bench, this would be it!

#3 1977 Rusty Staub

Beautiful action shot of “Le Grand Orange” with the Tigers. Again, the colors, the action, and that “all-star” banner across the bottom. Awesome!

#4 1977 Dave Kingman

The colors along, and how the card design goes with the action shot of “Kong” makes it a classic. But you throw in that color-perfect N.L. All-Star banner at the bottom and it’s a keeper. Great card for the ages!

#5 1979 Rod Carew

I have always loved this card because it was Carew doing what he did best: HIT! Just a great, colorful in-game shot along with that always-present “all-star” banner!

#6 1979 George Brett

Same as with the Carew, this Brett card was a perfect compliment to the Carew in my eyes. I remember pulling this out of a pack for the first time back then and just stopping dead in my tracks. Beautiful card.

#7 1976 Lou Brock

Really, what needs to be said about THIS beauty!? Brock about to do what he did so well during his Hall of Fame career! Another steal coming right up for “The Franchise”!

#8 1971 Thurman Munson

It took me YEARS to finally get this card! I remember plunking $5 for this at a show way back when, and for a kid my age with limited cash, at a SHOW, I gulped a bit, but needed to finally own it. One of the all-time great action-cards, featuring a young Yankee captain. Classic!

#9 1976 Carl Yastrzemski

Just a majestic card of the Red Sox legend, presumedly watching one of his 400+ home runs leave the yard. The colors, the photo, only the second card besides the Munson to NOT be an all-star card.

#10 1977 Mark Fidrych

The only non-action card on this list. It is PURELY because of the time and place, and meaning in my life. I guess you can say my sentimental pick. 1977 was my first year of hard-core collecting, but 1976 was my first year following the game somewhat seriously. And to a seven-year old like me, “The Bird” was bigger than life. He was just awesome!

So when I pulled my first ’77 Fidrych from a cello pack (always remember) and saw that smile, that hair, and the AMAZING rookie trophy AND all-star banner, I was just freaking psyched beyond words!

I STILL get a smile on my face looking at this card!

Honorable mention:

1976 Al Oliver

1979 Larry Bowa

1971 Vada Pinson

1976 Fred Lynn

So what do I gather from all this?

Well, I love action photos on cards, I LOVE the 1976 set, and boy do I love the “all-star” designation on a player’s regular card (instead of a separate all-star sub-set.

I HATED when Topps went back to an all-star sub-set in 1982! Is it just me? Or do any of you out there prefer the 1975-1981 all-star ON the “regular” card?

DEDICATED "ROOKIE CARDS" #13: 1970 THURMAN MUNSON

You knew it would just be a matter of time before I went and designed a "Dedicated Rookie Card" for former Yankee catching great Thurman Munson.

Take a look:

 

 

And for those who don't remember, here's what his actual rookie card from Topps looked like:

I guess you can say the future Yankee dynasty of the late 1970's started right here with this guy when he came up and won the American League Rookie of the Year in 1970.

Soon after he was joined by the likes of Graig Nettles, Sparky Lyle, Ron Guidry and Willie Randolph, on their way to back-to-back titles as well as an American League pennant in 1976.

Not only did he take home the Rookie of the Year in 1970, but he'd go on to win the Most Valuable Player award six years later, to go along with seven all-star berths as well as three Gold Gloves.

For three consecutive seasons he drove in 100+ runs with LESS than 20 homers, topping out at 18 in 1977, while hitting over .300 each and every time.

I particularly love his M.V.P. year, where he had 665 plate appearances yet only struck out 38 times while collecting 186 hits over 616 at-bats. Pretty amazing stuff. He even stole 14 bases as well!

What an age for catchers huh? You had Munson, Carlton Fisk, Gary Carter, Johnny Bench and Ted Simmons all putting in all-star seasons after all-star seasons.

Sadly we all know how Munson's story played out. I remember that day like it was yesterday and will never forget it.

ANOTHER CLASSIC CARD: 1971 TOPPS VADA PINSON (#275)

Another one of my favorite cards from the classic 1971 Topps set is card #275, Vada Pinson, one of the most underrated players of his day.

 

Is he safe, or out?!

 

What a nice action shot of Pinson at the plate right after a slide, looking at the ump to see what the call is.

On top of that, who's the catcher with his back to the camera, ball in hand? None other than the king of photo-bombing other players' cards, former Yankee captain Thurman Munson!

Vada Pinson is SO underrated it's a sin!

I mean, here's a guy who had a brilliant 18-year career, garnering 2757 hits, 485 doubles, 127 triples, 256 homers, 305 stolen bases and over 1300+ runs and 1100+ runs batted in!

Four times he had over 200 hits in a season, and lead his league in a major statistic seven times (runs, hits, doubles and triples).

I'm sure playing the outfield in the National League during the era of Clemente, Aaron and Mays doesn't help!

But this guy put up some pretty hefty years for Cincinnati! 

For example check out his line in 1959, his first full season in the big leagues: 131 runs scored, 205 hits, 47 doubles, nine triples, 20 homers and 84 runs batted in, with 21 stolen bases thrown in and a .316 batting average!

In 1961, when teammate Frank Robinson won his N.L. M.V.P. award after leading the Reds to the World Series against the Yanks, Pinson quietly put together his own amazing year, hitting .343 with 101 runs scored, 208 hits, 34 doubles, eight triples and 16 homers along with 87 runs batted in and 23 stolen bases.

I put Pinson in that class of players like Dave Parker, Al Oliver, Ted Simmons and Steve Garvey. Players that inexplicably got little or no "love" when it came time for Hall of Fame consideration.

AN ALL-TIME CLASSIC CARD: 1971 LINDY McDANIEL

The 1971 Topps Lindy McDaniel (#303) card has always been another of my favorites from the set.
For me, it always seemed like the perfect "classic" baseball photograph with McDaniel on the mound at the "old-OLDER" Yankee Stadium in 1970.
Besides the fact that the black-bordered 1971 set always looks nice, the photo is perfectly cropped to show the in-game action and the vastness of the stadium behind him.
There were a few Yankee players that were given an awesome card in this set. Earlier on this blog I profiled the Ron Woods and Thurman Munson cards, and in the future I plan on posting on the Roy White issue as well.
Just a nice card that reflects the era it was snapped in very well.
As for McDaniel, he had a nice 21 year career in the big leagues, proving himself mainly as a reliever. He lead the league in saves three times and finished with 172 in his career.
1970 was arguably his finest year in the Majors, as he appeared in 62 games for the Yankees, with a 9-5 record and 29 saves to go along with a nifty 2.01 E.R.A.
At the time of his retirement after the 1975 season, he was second all-time (behind Hoyt Wilhelm) in game appearances by a pitcher with 987.

About as "classic" a photo as you can get...

ONE OF THE ALL-TIME CLASSIC CARDS: 1971 THURMAN MUNSON

When I started this blog, it was really with the intention of writing about my favorite cards, such as 1976 Johnny Bench, or 1979 Rod Carew, which I've already written about in past posts.

Since then I've kind of gotten sidetracked with all the other stuff, like recreating cards, pointing out funny or odd cards, or even creating cards that for some reason were missed altogether. 

As fun as that all is, today I'll go back to my original intent and write about a card that had perhaps the biggest impact on me upon first seeing it: 1971 #5 Thurman Munson.

While that '76 Bench card is still my favorite, the '71 Munson just absolutely blew me away when I first saw it at a card show back around 1980 or so. 

I was just getting into serious "collecting" and absorbing older cards like a sponge, and when I saw this card I thought it was the coolest card I ever saw. I swear I think it made me sweat because I wanted it so badly.

It had so much: the black card design, the horizontal orientation of that amazing action shot, and the super-cool "rookie trophy" on a card of one of my favorite players. It was just jaw-dropping.

All these years later I still think the card holds up well, and it's still one of my favorites. Add to the fact that to really get a "mint" copy of it, you had to search high and low and throw some decent cash around to get one, and it just grew in stature as the years went by.

I could never really tell who the Oakland A's player is making the slide at home. Maybe Joe Rudi? And check out the crowd in the background. Yes it's a little blurry and out of focus, but you can clearly see their transfixed stare at the play, waiting for the outcome.

It all makes for a classic card of a great player from the 1970's.

Man, that 1971 set is fantastic all-around isn't it?

ACCIDENTAL PHOTO BOMBING: PART IV

Man, I sure have a few gripes about the 1973 set, but one thing I WILL admit is just how good it was for spotting star players on other people's cards!
Today we have two of my favorite "accidental photo-bombs", both featuring plays at the plate.
One is a "before" shot while the second is an "after". That is, one card shows a play developing while the other shows the result of what seems to be a collision at the plate.
The first card is Topps Terry Crowley card, #302, with Crowley about to smash full-on into Yankee great Thurman Munson. Awesome photo here. The photographer even managed to get the ball just coming into the frame of the shot. Just the right moment. It's a shame the crowd is a bit out of focus because you can see them all fixated at what is about to transpire. Great card.
The second card is one of my favorite action cards of all-time, #542 Pat Corrales from the same set. It has everything: agony, flying dust and debris, and what seems to be an umpire about the throw out an arm for an "out" call. Look at Corrales face! He is writhing in agony from what I guess was the shot he took from none other than Hall of Fame pitcher Fergie Jenkins! Fantastic photo. But it seems Corrales had the last laugh since you can clearly see the ball in his hand. OUT!
These two cards show the successful side of "action cards" from the 1973 set that had so many "fails".

Crowley about to smash into Thurman Munson at the plate.

Corrales takes his licks against Fergie Jenkins and comes out on top!

PS- The Crowley card also reminds me of present day Yankee Stadium with the empty seats! No joke. I was just there this past Friday night and once again, there were a TON of empty seats, especially in the field level sections.
Seems like a bunch of those fake "johnny-come-lately" corporate fans that came out of the wood-work around 2000 have started to disappear. Good riddance!
It's also a pity that the new stadium happened to open right after the economy tanked in 2009, causing a bunch of companies to abandon all the "perks", including those high-priced seats around the field.

ACCIDENTAL PHOTO-BOMBING IN THE BASEBALL CARD WORLD: PART I

Wasn't it always fun to spot a star player who was caught in the action shot of someone else's baseball card?
I think the first time I took notice was on Carlton Fisk's 1977 Topps card, where he's waiting for a throw at home while Willie Randolph was trying to sliding in.
Over the years I spotted a bunch more of these cards and kept a mental note for no reason whatsoever. But now I can actually put it to some use by starting a thread that I'll revisit from time to time, called "Accidental Photo-bombing...".
Each time, I'll present a couple of cards where stars "snuck" into someone else's baseball card.
I don't know how many there are out there, but I know I already have about ten off the top of my head.
Today we'll start with two of my favorites: the 1971 Chris Short (#511), and the 1974 Fran Healy (#238).
On the Chris Short card, we can easily spot Pete Rose taking a lead off Second Base while Short is delivering a pitch. Classic stuff.

Dig the "Alpo" ad in the background!

Next up is the Healy card, featuring a great action shot on a horizontal design. That's Thurman Munson sliding safely into home in what seems to be a night game. Pretty cool.
Funny enough, Healy would be Munson's back-up catcher just a couple years later, where he would end his career as a player and move on to a successful career as an announcer.

Is this a night game?