36 years ago today, 53-year old minnie minoso (according to the copy editors of the time) got a base hit in a game and became the oldest player to hit safely. his feat warranted a record breaker card in 1977, and o-pee-chee decided to crop the photo a little differently than topps. here is minoso's 1977 o-pee-chee record breaker card:
here's the topps front:
the easiest way to spot the difference is to compare where the outside chalk line hits on the left side of each card. it's a pretty minimal difference.
now the o-pee-chee back:
and the topps back:
these days, most believe that minoso was actually born in 1925, not 1922, meaning he was merely 50 when he went 1 for 8 for the white sox in 1976 - his first turn in the big leagues since 1964. at 50, he would be the fourth oldest to hit safely in a major league game behind jim o'rourke (who doesn't get a mention on the card back even though he was older than nick altrock), altrock, and charlie o'leary.
minoso did get a chance to break the record (again) in 1980 when the chisox brought him back for a few games, but he was 0 for 2. in related news, i saw minoso bat as a member of the saint paul saints (the only saints game i have been to) in 2003, making him the only man to play in a professional baseball game in seven different decades (he had previously suited up for the saints in 1993).
voici à vous, 1977 record breaker (minnie minoso)!