MISSING IN ACTION- 1972 JIM NELSON

Here's a "missing" 1972 card for fomer pitcher Jim Nelson of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Take a look at what I came up with:

Nelson had a brief two-year career, spanning 1970-1971 for the Pirates, and in 1971 appeared in 17 games, posting a 2-2 record with a very nice 2.34 ERA over 34.2 innings of work.

In those two years he'd finish with a 6-4 record, with a 3.06 earned run average and 53 strikeouts over 32 games and 103 innings.

I don't know what happened but he would spend the 1972 season on the Buc's Triple-A team in Charleston of the International League, but then never again play in pro-ball.

MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #46: 1972 ROLLIE FINGERS

Today we go and give future Hall of Fame relief pitcher Rollie Fingers of the Oakland A's a "missing" 1972 In-Action card.

Take a look:

Bear with me on this one, the photo used is actually Fingers pitching in a game from 1972, so I'm a little off here.

But I tell you, as long as I tried, I could NOT find an image of him in-action during a game from 1971, or even 1970 for that matter!

Nevertheless, nice colorful image of the anchor out of the bullpen for the three-time World Champ A's of the 1970's.

Fingers would put together a wonderful 17-year career which would see him win both a Cy Young and MVP Award in 1981 with the Milwaukee Brewers, Lead the league in saves three times, post sub-2.00 ERA's 12 times and finish up with a sparkling 2.90 career ERA over 944 games and 1701.1 innings pitched.

He was named to seven all-star teams, both in the A.L. and N.L., before closing out his career in 1985, finishing with a 114-118 record with 341 saves.

One of the great characters of the decade! But a force out of the 'pen as well.

He was voted into the Hall in 1992, his second year on the ballot, garnering 81.2% of the vote.

HILARIOUS: 1972 BOB BARTON "IN ACTION" CARD

OK, so let's take a gander at what I consider one of the funnier cards out there during the decade: the 1972 Bob Barton "In Action" card.

Now in this case "In Action" MUST BE quoted since the photo is about as NON-action-packed as you can get.

Take a look:

Brilliant!

Barton looking around while at the backstop, probably after watching a foul ball head that way.

My favorite is the elder security guard/police officer looking up, probably watching the flight of the ball.

Just awesome!

I swear that officer is more of a prominent figure in the card to me than the player himself!

As for Barton himself, he put in 10-years as a Major League catcher, playing for the Giants, Padres and Reds before his time was up after 1974.

His best year was easily 1971 when he played in 121 games for San Diego, hitting .250 with 94 hits over 376 at-bats, with 17 doubles, two triples and five homers to go along with 23 runs batted in.

He never played in more than 61 games in any other year during his career.

He'd retire with a lifetime .226 average, with 237 hits over 1049 at-bats, nine homers, 34 other extra base hits and 66 RBI's for his troubles.

And one awesome classic "In Action" card in 1972!

NICKNAMES OF THE '70'S #35: THE "WAMPUM WALLOPER" DICK ALLEN

Time to get my Dick Allen "fix" in and present to you all my "Nicknames of the 70's" card for the former slugger.

Take a look at what I came up with:

I used the 1974 template since he was in the middle of a great run with the South Side Pale Hose.

As I've stated many times, I have always been a fervent fan of Allen and his "'tude", kind of like what Albert Belle ended up being a couple decades later.

Allen, whether during his "Richie" or "Dick" years, could flat out rake.

Six times he'd top 30 homers, with a high of 40 in 1966 while still with the Phillies.

He'd also top 100 runs scored twice, 100+ runs batted in three times, and even top 200 hits, which was during his amazing rookie year, where he also hit 29 homers, scored 125 runs and drove in 91.

Needless to say, he took home the Rookie of the Year that year, and in 1972 would take home the MVP trophy while with the White Sox when he paced the American League with 37 homers and 113 RBI's, while just missing out on the Triple Crown, batting .308, just ten points off the league-leading mark by perennial winner Rod Carew.

By the time he left the game at the age of 35, Allen hit over 350 homers, batted .292 and scored 1099 runs with 1119 RBI's.

The seven-time all-star also led his league in triples once, walks once, on-base-percentage twice and slugging three times.

I'm not saying the man is a lock-tight Hall of Fame candidate, but I do think in light of some of the guys already in, HE should also be in there.

The fact that the most support he got was an 18.9% showing in 1996 seems like a joke to me.

What do you all think?

JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT- 1970'S BASEBALL TRIVIA PART #112 (A REVISIT OF #30)

Trivia Thursday again, and today we'll revisit my set from Christmas, 2013.

Take a shot and see what you can get. This trivia focused on stolen base leaders of the 1970's.

All questions deal with league leaders. As usual the answers will be posted tomorrow.

1. Among all stolen base leaders of the 1970's, who had the most hits in the season they lead the league in swipes?

2. Who had the LEAST amount of hits in a season they lead the lead in steals?

3. Who hit the most home runs in a stolen base leading season during the decade?

4. Who hit for the highest average among all stolen base leaders of the '70's?

5. On the flip side, who hit for the lowest average the year they lead the lead in steals?

***SPOILER ALERT! ANSWERS BELOW: 

1. Lou Brock, Cardinals. 200 in 1971.

2. Davey Lopes, Dodgers. 103 in 1976.
 
3. Bert Campaneris, A's. 22 in 1970.
 
4. Bobby Tolan, Reds. .316 in 1970.

5. Omar Moreno, Pirates. .235 in 1978.

TRADED: 1979 SPARKY LYLE

As a young Yankee fan in 1979, I was confused and heartbroken when my older cousin Tony told me that one of my favorite Yanks, Sparky Lyle, was traded to the Texas Rangers.

What made it more confusing was tearing open Topps packs a couple months later to see Lyle STILL donning the pinstripes.

So here is an "updated" 1979 traded card for the former all-star reliever, showing him on his proper team:

Really the best usable image I could find of him in Texas garb believe it or not.

Traded in November of 1978 to Texas, it would be the trade that got the Yankees Dave Righetti, though he wasn't the main cog in the massive 10-player transaction that also included Juan Beniquez, Mike Heath and Domino Ramos, among others.

What a great career Lyle put up: 899 lifetime appearances, ALL in relief, a Cy Young Award in 1977 when he went 13-5 with a 2.17 ERA and 26 saves over 72 games, two top-10 MVP finishes in 1972 and 1977, three all-star nods, and two championships as part of the famous "Bronx Zoo" Yankee teams of the late-70's.

A character among characters, funny enough he is currently involved with the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League not 10 minutes from my home. And he's still the life of the party!

MISSING IN ACTION-1975 MARVIN LANE

Here is a missing 1975 Topps card I created for former Detroit Tiger Marvin Lane.

Take a look:

Lane played in 50 games during the 1974 season, easily the most action he ever saw during his five-year career, all with Detroit.

For the year, he batted .233 with 24 hits over 103 at-bats, scoring 16 runs with four doubles, a triple and two homers while driving in nine.

In the three previous years he played in only 22 games total, and after missing the 1975 season he would come back in 1976 to appear in 18 games in Motown before closing the books on his Major League playing time.

All told, he'd finish with a .207 career average with 37 hits and 23 runs scored over 90 games and 210 plate appearances, with three homers and 17 RBI's.