A CLOSER LOOK AT THE 1980 NOLAN RYAN CARD & IMAGE...OR IS IT?

Recently the image of what looks to be the one used on that iconic 1980 Topps Nolan Ryan card showed up online, and I wanted to take a closer look at it since it is a classic!

Take a look:

Now, right off the bat it does look like it is the same image, but when you look closer you can see it's not the exact same one.

For example, look at the glove: on the card his glove is "touching" the "0" on his jersey, while on the photo it is not, it is more on the "3".

The question though is: is it the same game, same pitch?

I know Topps went to great lengths in the late-70's and early-80's to airbrush was seemed to be inconsequential things in the background.

Did they do the same here with the first baseman, who is clearly visible on the untouched photo?

I'm almost positive this is the same game. But it could be from another at-bat, innings, etc.

When you compare some of the blurry shapes from the stands in the background, they line-up, so I'm sure we're looking at the same game.

But why the odd, almost random airbrushing?

Regardless, an amazing find here!

By the time the card came out, as we all know, Ryan was plying his trade down in Houston after signing with the Astros as a Free Agent, making him the first million-dollar-a-year player in league history.

He was already entering his 14th season as a Big League pitcher, and incredibly was just about to go on to another 13 as a top-notch pitcher! These were not seasons of a guy who was "hanging on" (remember Steve Carlton?).

The man performed well up to his 46th birthday.

A once in a lifetime treat for fans to see someone like this come along.

324 wins, 61 shutouts, 5714 strikeouts and seven no-hitters.

Mind boggling.

ANOTHER 1970'S AIRBRUSH JOB- 1974 RICH STELMASZEK

Up on the blog today, we take a look at the airbrushed image used for former catcher Rick Stelmaszek, who found himself traded to the California Angels after coming up with the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers to begin his MLB career:

Clearly you can see how the people at Topps simply worked on his cap while cropping the photo just so that his original Texas Rangers jersey was out of view.
I'll give an "A" for effort on the shading/shadowing on his cap though!
After coming up in 1971 for six games with the Senators, Stelmaszek spent the 1972 season In the Minors before making it back to the Big Leagues in 1973, going on to appear in seven games for the now relocated franchise before a trade in May sent him to the Angels.
He’d appear in 22 games for California, one of the MANY catchers the Angels seemed to have at that time, batting .154 for them and a combined .143 between the two organizations.
It was a short-lived tenure with his new team, and he would find himself playing for his hometown Chicago Cubs by the time the 1974 season opened up, playing in 25 games and batting .227 with 10 hits over 56 at-bats while filling in behind the plate.
Those would actually be the last Big League games for Stelmaszek, though he would toil in the Minors for another four years, each year for a different organization, retiring as a player after the 1978 season.
All told, he finished with a .170 batting average, with 15 hits over 88 at-bats in 60 lifetime games, driving in 10 runs while scoring four himself.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1975 RICK SAWYER

Here’s another one of those fun cards to create for a player who appeared in one game the previous season, a 1975 “not so missing card” for former pitcher Rick Sawyer of the New York Yankees:

Sawyer appeared in the first game of his somewhat brief four-year career, throwing 1.2 innings on April 28th of 1974 and giving up three earned runs on two hits and a walk.
He’d appear in only four games the following season, not factoring in a decision over six innings pitched, before finding himself as a member of the San Diego Padres after a trade for Gene Locklear in June of 1976.
He performed very well, going 5-3 with a 2.53 earned run average the rest of the way over 81.2 innings pitched, with two shutouts and four complete games over 13 appearances.
He would play his only “full” season in 1977, appearing in 56 games for San Diego, posting a record of 7-6 over 111 innings of work, but sported a bloated 5.84 ERA, which would turn out to be the last MLB action he’d see.
After spending the entire 1978 season in the Minor Leagues with the Cleveland Indians organization, he’d retire, finishing up with a record of 12-9, with an ERA at 4.49 over 74 appearances and 200.1 innings pitched.

A MISSING ROOKIE CUP- 1979 JOHN HENRY JOHNSON

The next rookie that had a “missing rookie cup” on their Topps card is the 1979 card for former pitcher John Henry Johnson of the Oakland A’s, who had a nice rookie year in 1978:

Johnson made the jump to the Big Leagues at the age of 21 and was immediately a starter for Oakland, and went on to post a record of 11-10 with an earned run average at 3.39 over 33 appearances, 30 of them starts.
He completed seven games while tossing two shutouts, striking out 91 batters in 186 innings of work for an Oakland team that would finish 69-93.
The following year was a rough one for Johnson, as he would start the season 2-8 for Oakland before finding himself traded to the Texas Rangers for Dave Chalk and Mike Heath in June, where he’d almost mirror those first half numbers with a 2-6 record, combining for a 4-14 showing with an ERA at 4.63 over 31 appearances.
Though he would go on to pitch another six seasons in the Majors over the next eight years, he’d never again find the success of that rookie year, mainly working out of the bullpen for the Rangers, Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers until 1987.
By the time he retired, he finished with a record of 26-33, with an ERA of 3.90 over 214 appearances and 602.2 innings pitched.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 SKIP PITLOCK

Here’s one of those cards I love creating, a 1976 “not so missing” card for former pitcher Skip Pitlock, who faced one single batter in his one appearance on a Big League mound in 1975:

Pitlock was coming off of a 1974 season that had him appear in 40 games for the Chicago White Sox after spending the previous three years in the Minor Leagues.
In 1974 he went 3-3 with a 4.43 earned run average over 105.2 innings, starting five of those games and collecting one save.
When the season opened in 1975 he was a member of the White Sox staff, and appeared in a game on April 10th, relieving Stan Bahnsen against the Oakland A’s.
He faced Billy Williams, with Williams knocking in a run on a single, and was promptly taken out in favor of future Hall of Famer Rich Gossage.
Turns out that would be it for the lefty, as he would go on to spend the rest of the season, and the 1976 season in the Minor Leagues for the Oakland and California Angels organizations, appearing in a combined 43 games before retiring as an active player for good.
Overall, Pitlock finished 8-8 in his Major league career, posting an ERA of 4.53 over 59 appearances, 20 of them starts, with a complete game and a save over 192.2 innings pitched.

A CAREER-CAPPER FOR "THE MONSTER"- 1970 DICK RADATZ

Here’s another card I’ve been wanting to do for a long while: a “career-capping” 1970 card for former reliever Dick Radatz, aka “The Monster” because of his massive 6’ 6”, 230lb frame:

The career relief pitcher split the 1969 season with the Detroit Tigers and Montreal Expos, appearing in 33 games between the two and collecting the final five saves of his seven-year career.
This was a career that began in all-star fashion with the Boston Red Sox in 1962, when he posted a 9-6 record with a league-leading 24 saves over 62 games, with an amazing 144 strikeouts in 124.2 innings pitched.
Over the next two seasons he was even better, winning 15 and 16 games in 1963 and 1964 respectively, along with an astounding 162 and 181 strikeouts, all out of the bullpen!
His 1964 season was one for the ages as far as relief pitchers go: 16-9 with a 2.29 earned run average, with 29 saves and 181 strikeouts in 157 innings pitched and 79 appearances.
Sadly for him his decline came rapidly, dropping to a record of 9-11 with an ERA of 3.91 the following year, then to 0-5 in 1966, which saw him traded to the Cleveland Indians in June.
After a 1967 season that saw him appear in 23 games with the Indians and Chicago Cubs, he spent 1968 in the Detroit Tigers Minor League system, actually splitting time as a starter and reliever, but there was never a call back up to the Majors.
That would come in 1969, with the aforementioned 33 appearances between Detroit and Montreal, which would end up being the last of his career.
By the time he retired, Radatz had a record of 52 and 43 with an ERA of 3.13 over 381 appearances, all out of the bullpen, with 120 saves and 745 strikeouts in 693.2 innings pitched.
But oh those first three seasons!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 JACK KUCEK

Here’s a fun card I could not pass up to create, albeit with an obviously out-dated image from a year prior, a 1978 “not so missing” card for former White Sox pitcher Jack Kucek, sporting the shorts experimented with in the Summer of 1976:

As with my previous card of Larry Monroe, here we see what looks to be a Spring Training shot of Kucek wearing the shorts, which I do believe if from 1977.
Has anyone confirmed the White Sox tried the shorts again during Spring Training of 1977 after using them for a short while during the season in 1976?
Nevertheless, this would have been awesome to have pulled from packs back then! Kucek was just about to pitch in his fifth Major League season in 1978, all with the Chicago White Sox, though each and every one was brief, topping out with 10 appearances in 1978.
He’d move on to the Philadelphia Phillies for a short time in 1979, appearing in four games after starting the season in Chicago, throwing 2/3 of an inning.
In 1980 he’d get the most action he’d see in his MLB career, this with the Toronto Blue Jays, yet ironically that would be the last season of his career, and on top of it would not even make Topps’ set in 1981 even with 23 appearances and 68 innings pitched.
All told, by the time he finished after that 1980 season, he ended up with a record of 7-16 over 59 appearances and 205.2 innings of work, collecting two saves and a 5.12 earned run average over seven years.