1975 CHRIS SPEIER: A BEAUTY EVEN WITH THE "SMUDGE"

Here's a card I always loved: Topps 1975 Chris Speier:

What a nice card with a great photo!

But there IS something "off" about it, and that's the strange "smudge" or smokey blob immediately in front of his face-shoulder-bat, obscuring a bit of the background.

What exactly is that?

Strange. My first impression was a film smudge, but it almost looks like the "smudging" stops right when it gets to Speier, as if it's behind him in the photo.

But this card represents to me what the 1975 and 1976 sets were all about: actions shots bursting with border colors of the players I first got into as a kid getting infatuated with the sport.

Just love those sets!

As for Speier, he forged a nice 19-year career spanning 1971 to 1989, playing for the Giants, Expos, Cardinals, Twins and Cubs.

His first five years in the Big Leagues were his best, making three All-Star teams and even getting a bit of M.V.P. support in 1972.

Pretty much a baseball lifer, Speier continued with a Major League career after his playing days in various coaching jobs up until 2012 with the Reds.

He even filled in for Dusty Baker as Manager of Cincinnati when baker fell ill for a spell, eventually finding himself as Special Assistant to G.M. Walt Jocketty.

LONG TIME NO SEE: 1971 FLOYD WEAVER (#227)

Here's another guy who went at least five years between Topps baseball cards: pitcher Floyd Weaver.

Check out his 1971 card:

This was his first card since appearing in the 1966 set as a member of the Cleveland Indians, seen here:

After appearing in 32 games for the Indians during the 1965 season, where he went 2-2 with a 5.43 E.R.A., Weaver would not appear in a Major League game again until 1970, when he was now pitching for the Chicago White Sox.

In his return season, he got into 31 games, posting a 1-2 record with a 4.38 earned run average, with three of his appearances being starts.

The following year would find him wearing a Milwaukee Brewers uniform, where he would play the final 21 games of his career, going 0-1 with a 7.24 E.R.A. over 27.1 innings of work.

But that would be it for Weaver as far as big league action went, as he'd play another two years in the Chicago Cubs minor league system before calling it a career at the end of 1973.

All told, Weavers final MLB numbers were: 4-5 with a 5.21 E.R.A., with five starts among his 85 game career.

One final note on Weavers baseball days: while I cannot confirm this, according to his Wiki page, he still holds the record for most strikeouts in a collegiate baseball game, with 21 in a nine-inning game, when he K'd that amount on May 10th of 1961 while pitching for Paris Junior College.

THEN AND NOW #12: BILLY WILLIAMS 1976

Here's a colorful 1976 "Then and Now" card for Hall of Famer Billy Williams:

After 16 stellar seasons playing at Wrigley for the Chicago Cubs, Williams took his talents over to Oakland where he played the last two years of his career for the A's, generally as their designated hitter.

In his 18 years in the big leagues, Williams put up some great numbers: 2700+ hits, 400+ homers, 1400+ runs batted in and 1400+ runs scored.

If not for a guy named Johnny Bench, he'd also have TWO Most Valuable Player awards as well, finishing second to the Reds Hall of Famer in both 1970 and 1972.

He finally found his way to Cooperstown in 1987, and rightfully so.

JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT- 1970'S BASEBALL TRIVIA PART #65

Thursday trivia time again.

This week let's look at teams at the bottom of some offensive stats during the 1970's.

PLEASE NOTE: For questions #3-#5 we'll exclude the 1972 season since it wasn't a FULL season.

Answers posted tomorrow!

1. What team hit the fewest home runs in a season during the 1970's? 
2. What team posted the lowest batting average in a season during the decade?
3. What team scored the fewest runs in a season during the '70's?
4. What team stole the fewest bases in a season during the decade?
5. What team hit the fewest extra-base-hits in a season during the 1970's?

 ***SPOILER ALERT! ANSWERS BELOW: 

1. The Houston Astros of 1979. They hit only 49 homers all seasons!.

2. The 1972 Texas Rangers. They hit a miserable .217 as a team!

3. The 1971 Padres scored only 486 runs that year! But note: the 1972 Angels scored only 454 runs during the shortened season.

4. The 1973 Pirates stole only 23 bases all year. Please note: the 1972 Tigers stole only 17 bases during the shortened season.
5. The 1976 Braves hit only 282 EBH as a team that year. Please note: the 1972 Rangers had only 239 during the shortened season.     

MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #3: 1972 BOB GIBSON

Let's give "Gibby" an "in action" card in the 1972 Topps set!

Check out my card:

So once again…guys like Jerry Johnson, John Ellis and Tom Haller get "in-action" cards in the set, but THIS GUY doesn't?

Does anyone out there even know what Topps criteria for those in-action cards were?! For the life of me I can't figure it out.

I managed to find a nice night-game shot of Gibson to use for the card.

You know, if I find myself feeling up to it, I swear I'm tempted to make an "in-action" 1972 card for every single player in the set!

We shall see…let's start with the stars first…

NICKNAMES OF THE '70'S #3: "SPACEMAN" BILL LEE

Here's a fun card to design: a 1975 card showing one of my favorite characters from the decade, pitcher Bill Lee, then of the Boston Red Sox.

Check it out:

Lee was "something else". A perfect product of the times a'la Bill Walton from the NBA.

He brought a lot of that "hippie"/counterculture attitude to the game, which made him extremely popular with fans, but NOT with the people running the game.

As a pitcher, Lee was a solid starter for the BoSox during the mid-70's, winning 17 games a season three years in a row from 1973-75.

But his career would be someone derailed because of the very personality that made him popular.

His clashes with managers and management for both the Rex Sox and the other team he played for, the Montreal Expos, would make him expendable, eventually getting dumped by Montreal in 1982 because of a one-game walk-out he staged over the team releasing Rodney Scott.

He'd never play in another Major League game again.

His post-baseball days have been incredibly productive, as Lee has authored books, played semi-professionally, barnstormed, and even released his own wine, "Spaceman Red"!

He's even STILL active PLAYING ball at the ripe old age of 67!

The man is the definition of "character"!

If you're into professional athletes with a lot to say, do yourself a favor and read any of his books! Hilarious and insightful on pro-sports from a free-spirit perspective.

For his Major League career, Lee finished his 14-year run with a 119-90 record, with a 3.62 earned run average over 416 games, 225 of which were starts.

THEN AND NOW #11: WILLIE MAYS 1973

Time to give the "Say Hey Kid" Willie Mays the spotlight on my "Then and Now" Super Veteran thread.

Take a look:

I went with the 1952 Topps card since I'm sure they would not have used his 1951 Bowman had they created this card themselves 41 years ago (ugh…1973 is 41 years ago?! Man I am getting old).

A nice addition to the virtual "set", don't you think?

As for Mays, what on earth even NEEDS to be said here that has not been said already?

The man was, is, and forever will be a legend, a seemingly mythic creation of someone's fantastic mind as far as baseball players go.

I can't even believe it's already been 35 years since his induction into the Hall of Fame!

Time is flying by...