NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1979 TIM BLACKWELL

On the blog today we have a card that I never realized was "missing", though really "not so missing", and that is a 1979 card for former catcher Tim Blackwell, the subject of a few other creations here on the blog over the years:

Blackwell appeared in 49 games for the Chicago Cubs in 1978, hitting .223 with 23 hits over 103 at-bats, with eight runs scored and seven runs batted in.

It was his first year with the Cubs after splitting the 1977 season with the Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos after coming up with the Boston Red Sox, playing for them in both 1974 and 1975.

Never really a full-time player, the bulk of his MLB tenure was with the Chicago Cubs between 1978 and 1981, where he had his best year, in 1980 when he played in 103 games, hitting .272 with 87 hits and setting personal bests in pretty much every category because of the extra playing time.
After a couple of years with the Montreal Expos in 1982 and 1983, he retired, finishing up with a career .228 average, with 238 hits in 1044 at-bats in 426 games.

 

A 1976 REDO OF ONE OF MY OWN- TIM BLACKWELL

On the blog today is a “re-do” of one of my own early creations, a 1976 “missing” card for former Boston Red Sox Tim Blackwell, the original of which appeared here in March of 2015.
I’ve since found a great Topps Vault image that makes for a much better version, so here goes:

Blackwell was actually "missing" from both the 1976 AND 1975 sets (Which I remedied some time ago with a 1975 edition as well here on the blog).
The guy posted over 135 plate appearances both seasons, yet Topps didn't have him on a card until the 1978 set, which is ALSO strange since in 1977 he only appeared in 17 games, good for only 25 plate appearances (???).
So weird…
For the 1975 season, (relating to the card here), Blackwell played in 59 games, good for 157 plate appearances, which saw him hit .197 with 26 hits, 15 runs scored and six runs batted in while filling in for Carlton Fisk and the Red Sox.
After his first two MLB seasons with the Red Sox, Blackwell was purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies, and only got into four games during the 1976 season.
He collected two hits over those contests, spread out over eight at-bats, and would find himself playing for the Montreal Expos the following year, before finding his groove with the Chicago Cubs in 1978, who he’d play for through the 1981 season.
After two more years with the Expos in 1982 and 1983, his MLB career would come to a close, batting .228 with 238 hits in 1044 at-bats in ten seasons, generally as a back-up/platoon catcher.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1975 TIM BLACKWELL

Time for yet another “missing” card for a guy who I have already created a couple of others over the years, former catcher Tim Blackwell, who started off his Major League career with the Boston Red Sox in 1974 but didn’t get a spot in Topps 1975 set:

Blackwell appeared in 44 games for the Red Sox in 1974, hitting .246 over 122 at-bats, collecting the first 30 hits of what turned out to be a 10-year career.
Never really a full-time player, the bulk of his MLB tenure was with the Chicago Cubs between 1978 and 1981, where he had his best year, in 1980 when he played in 103 games, hitting .272 with 87 hits and setting personal bests in pretty much every category because of the extra playing time.
After a couple of years with the Montreal Expos in 1982 and 1983, he retired, finishing up with a career .228 average, with 238 hits in 1044 at-bats in 426 games.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1977 TIM BLACKWELL

Here’s a “not really” missing 1977 card for veteran Major League catcher Tim Blackwell, he of the Village People mustache (later on) and 10-year career:

After his first two MLB seasons, with the Boston Red Sox as an occasional back-up to Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk, Blackwell was purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies, and only got into four games during the 1976 season.
He collected two hits over those contests, spread out over eight at-bats, and would find himself playing for the Montreal Expos the following year, before finding his groove with the Chicago Cubs in 1978, who he’d play for through the 1981 season.
After two more years with the Expos in 1982 and 1983, his MLB career would come to a close, batting .228 with 238 hits in 1044 at-bats in ten seasons, generally as a back-up/platoon catcher.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 TIM BLACKWELL: "1976 PROJECT"

For today's "1976 Project" card, we have a guy who was all over the place as far as Topps goes: former catcher Tim Blackwell.

Check out the card first:

Blackwell was actually "missing" from both the 1976 AND 1975 sets (I'll be tackling that one in the future).

The guy posted over 135 plate appearances both seasons, yet Topps didn't have him on a card until the 1978 set, which is ALSO strange since in 1977 he only appeared in 17 games, good for only 25 plate appearances (???).

So weird…

For the 1975 season, (relating to the card here), Blackwell played in 59 games, good for 157 plate appearances, which saw him hit .197 with 26 hits, 15 runs scored and six runs batted in while filling in for Carlton Fisk and the Red Sox.

We'd soon get familiar with Blackwell once he took his catching gear over to Chicago's North-side, along with his "Macho-Man" mustache that would have made ANY of the guys in the Village People proud.

Blackwell carved out a 10-year career in the Major Leagues, playing for Boston, Philadelphia, Montreal and the Chicago Cubs, before retiring after the 1983 season.