#57 - Darold Knowles (OAK)

Another of my childhood A's memory players who played for the World Champs. I didn't know there was a league named after Ban Johnson, as one of the "stars" shows.  Babe Ruth, yes.  Cal Ripken, yes.  But Ban Johnson?  He's the founder of the American League in 1901.  Darold has some interesting post-season numbers.  He has no stats at all for either the 1972 or 1974 post-seasons despite being with the A's then, and no stats for the 1973 ALCS.  He did, however, pitch in all seven games of the 1973 World Series against the Mets.  Just days after the 1974 World Series victory, Knowles was traded to the Cubs for Billy Williams.  The 1974 season, with the DH being only one year old by then, was the only season of Knowles career that he didn't have a single plate appearance.

Cartoon: Darold pitched a no-hitter before his career even began?  Was this in the minors?  Little League?  Playing Strat-O-Matic with his kid brother?  And he lost the no-no.  But back in the 80's or 90's sometime, MLB revised their rules for deciding what a no-hitter was.  They concluded that a no-no must be a nine inning game for the pitching team.  So if Darold lost a no-no, he could have pitched only 8 innings as the visiting pitcher because the home team didn't need to come to bat in the bottom of the ninth.  I remember a number of no-hitters were erased by the rule change, including losing no-no's and rain-shortened ones that completed 5 innings.  So, sorry Darold.  Your cartoon might even be obsolete today.

Ballpark background: Texas Ranger gray uni's combined with California gold tops and wedding gown white bottoms combined with the outfield fence in Oakland means that this was played in Oakland.  At the Coliseum.

Situation ID: I believe I've identified exactly when this picture was taken.  I checked games in 1973, and determined that it was taken on July 28, 1973.  Card blogger "wobs" at 1974 Topps - Pennant Fever (who is now far ahead of me in blogging this same '74 set - click here for his post) suggested some Ranger names for the runner on second base.  What's interesting about this "action" shot is that the runner is standing on top of the base with his hands on his hips.  That's because, as a relief pitcher, this photo was taken during Knowles' warmups.  Checking all the 1973 home games vs. the Rangers when Knowles relieved while a runner was on second revealed only one possibility.  The runner is Jim Mason and Knowles is relieving John "Blue Moon" Odom after Mason's single knocked in Billings from second base and Mason took second on the throw back in, knocking Odom out of the game.  So, this was taken in the top of the 5th inning on 07/28/73.  Here's the link with the box score and play-by-play account.

#55 - Frank Robinson (CAL)

Uh, what do I say?  Well, let's start out with a total bummer.  Frank's first ten years in the major leagues was as a Hall-of-Fame outfielder in the National League, but with the complete misfortune of having three other outfielders named Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente in their glory years outshadow him at nearly every turn.  I mean, what more can you do than start out with the all-time rookie HR record and never look back?  Short of being Babe Ruth, not much.  And if his NL days weren't enough, his first year in the AL with the Orioles, he won the bleeping triple crown.  I'm not talking about just any triple crown, I'm talking about .316/49/122 in the pitching dominated late 60's.

But to give Frank the credit he deserves, one could talk for years.  I don't have time to do that here.  But I will say I enjoyed seeing him up close as skipper of my Giants in the early 80's.  Frank gave the umps quite a bit of his mind, and other things, when necessary.  Frank didn't have the best managing career, but he had some bad teams.  But 16 years of that after a HOF career as a player is really quite a combination and fairly unheard of.  Frank was hired as the first black manager in baseball back in the mid-70's with Cleveland.  That it took nearly 30 years from Jackie Robinson to Frank Robinson is still a head-scratcher.  Frank was traded in Sept of the 1974 season, and although late, I'm still including Frank's card in the "Traded with no Traded Card" category.

One of the things I really like about cards like this is all the small print on the back.  It means "full major league career."  Frank certainly had that.

Cartoon:  Well, nobody else does, because Frank watches movies standing up.  He is blocking everybody else's view.  You can tell by the look on his shadow's face that he's enjoying this Western.  Of course if Frank played today, he'd have an in-home theater room where he could watch without bothering anybody else.

Ballpark background:  Not a clue.  It appears as if Frank is wearing a home uni, but the Angels had a very light colored gray road uni that might look white in the sun.

#52 - Al Oliver (PIT)

Al Oliver.  A name that brings back some terrible memories.  Some are terrible because he was a good player for another team that beat you.  Some are terrible because he was signed by your team and was terrible.  He played 18 years in the majors, a bit over half of them with the Pirates.  I always viewed him as a good player, but not the caliber of a Clemente or Stargell.  Then when my Giants signed him in 1984 after a number of All-Star seasons, a few 100 RBI years and 8 consecutive tours over .300, things looked promising.  But he was a bust.  Even though he batted over .300 for most of his stint with the G-Men, he had so few RBI.  He knocked in only 34 in 360 at bats, and became an automatic boo for the fans.  They offed him to the Phils in August to ease the pain.  It was the beginning of the end of his career.

But that doesn't really taint his career overall.  He won a ring with the great 1971 Pirates team, and was a strong visual impression in the black and gold. He finished his career with an impressive .303.  I remember Al shipping off to Texas and taking his last initial as his uniform number - 0.  He played like anything other than a zero.  I know this paved the way for Odibe McDowell doing it with the Rangers later on in the 80's.  Or at least I think so.

Cartoon: Al is showing off his new Rawlings first baseman's mitt.  Al made numerous pitches to Willie McCovey and Willie Stargell to adopt the same piece of leather, but to no avail. 


Ballpark background: Candlestick Park. 

#47 - Dick Ruthven (PHI)

I would care to guess that this is Mr. Ruthven's first Topps card of his 14 year career.  I Googled 1973 Topps Dick Ruthven and came up with nothing.  So unless Mr. Stufflestreet at 1973 Topps Photography knows something I don't, I'm going with this card being his first.  In any case, his 1973 season was his rookie year.  His ML debut was in April of that year, so I think he was with the club through spring training '73 and this photo was taken there [see update below].  The pitcher's followthrough pose is one of my favorite poses in baseball card tradition.  His powder blue uni was the Phils' road outfit back then.  I must say I never liked the "swoopie P" Philly threads, and I hated the powder blues.  I much prefer today's modern/retro get-ups with the little blue stars as "i" dots. 

Ruthven pitched for the Phillies twice in his career, and saw post-season action with most of those powerful teams of the late 70's and early 80's.  He received a ring in '80, after getting a no-decision in game 3 vs. the Royals.  Dick pitched nine innings and left with a tie game.  The Royals won in the 10th for one of their two victories.  He also pitched for the 1984 Cubs team, but apparently didn't make an appearance in the playoffs against the Padres. 

Cartoon: Dick lists electronics among his hobbies, but the cartoonist is showing electricity.  Tharn't much 'lectronics that go into a regular light bulb.  A soldering iron fixing a transistor radio with the Phillies game on (Harry Kalas I'm guessing was the announcer in 1974) might be a better cartoon.  I'm launching my career on this blog of cartoon critic.  Gary Larson beware.

Ballpark background: This doesn't appear to be like any major league park I remember seeing, so I'm guessing that the Phils are playing at another team's spring training site. [Update: A reader named Shawn sent me a photo of a early/mid-70's era Shea Stadium showing this section of fence as being in front of the left field bullpen.  Shawn pointed out part of the "3" in the 358 sign right behind Ruthven's right behind.  His body is blocking the rest of the number.  Thanks Shawn!]

#45 - Dave Johnson (ATL)

Dave Johnson, who would later(?) be known as Davey, had a career of 13 seasons in the bigs, a majority of them with the Orioles.  This card is the first card in the set showing a full time second sacker.  It's also the first card in the set, to my knowledge, where the player had at least one World Series ring each as both a player and manager.  Davey got rings with the O's in '66 and '70 and as manager of the famous Mets team of '86.  His 1974 season would be his last full season in the bigs.  He had a blowout year in '73, smacking 43 homers (breaking Rogers Hornsby's all time 2B HR record) and batting in 99.  His numbers were way off in '74 (.251/15/62), and after only one at bat in the 1975 season - a run scoring double - Davey was released by the Braves early in April.  He missed the rest of the '75 season as well as the entire '76 season.  Does anybody know why?  He was signed as a free agent by the Phillies in '77, seeing limited action in '77 and in '78 as well, when he was traded to the Cubs in August.  He played his last eight weeks of big league ball on the North Side before being cut after the season ended.

This photo is a bit strange for an action shot.  The ball is seen behind Davey's behind.  It is easy to jump to the conclusion that he swung and missed.  But... He hit right handed, so this was snapped on his follow through swing.  It looks like he either fouled the ball at the plate and it bounced up behind him or maybe it hit off the catcher or umpire and ricocheted back.

Cartoon:  Davey is a licensed pilot.  Speaking of pilot, here he is shown in a TV cartoon series pilot flying by the Umpire State Building, cutting in front of Bugs Bunny who is waiting on top of the tower to catch that ball.  The show never debuted.  This blog post used two past tense conjugations of verbs that ended in silent T's, just so you know.  Ricocheted and debuted.
Ballpark background:  I can see Mets uniforms in the dugout beyond Johnson, and this looks like the Shea Stadium dugout shown in other card shots over the years.  So, I'm going with Shea Stadium.  Final answer.

#42 - Claude Osteen (LA)

Claude Osteen pitched for a long time, an 18 year career, most impressively with the Dodgers.  Although he pitched for a successful team in the Dodgers, with a WS victory ('65) and a pennant ('74) the season after his trade, the bookends of Osteen's blue tenure, he finished his career just one game over .500, just shy of both 200 wins and 200 losses.  He was a permanent fixture in the Dodger rotation, albeit not the most successful one.

Claude was traded in the off season to the Astros, so his '74 picture never had its fulfillment.  In fact, he was traded yet again late in the '74 season from the Astros to the Cardinals.  He finished his ML career the following year with the White Sox.  With Osteen's card, every baseball team has now been represented in this 1974 set. 


Cartoon: Well, somebody needs to have a nickname of Goober.  Wonder who it might be?  The cartoonist got the TV series reference right with the combat boots, the helmet and grenade.  I wonder if he ever threw that pitch.  Now that's what would be known as an exploding fastball.  Yuk, yuk, yuk. 


Ballpark background: It really looks to me like there's ivy on the centerfield fence behind him.  I know of only one place that could have happened in a 1973 photo shoot.  Wrigley Field.  I'm a bit troubled by the lighter green above what appears to be the top of the ivy, but from an angle such as this, the wire "fan guard" as it were might look like this.  I know there are some bleacher seats left empty for a batter backdrop, and they are painted green.  I sat there once in the mid 80's.  The "400" distance marker would be a clincher, but maybe Osteen is blocking it due to the camera angle?  I don't know.  If this is Wrigley, it would be the first appearance in the set.

#40 - Jim Palmer (BAL)

Nineteen seasons in the big leagues, six World Series appearances, three rings.  I'd say Palmer belongs in the Hall of Fame, for sure.  He was the center of a great Baltimore pitching staff of the late 60's and 70's.  He also did underwear commercials, and the chicks dug him.  Or is that digged him?  My spell checker is placing a squiggly red line under the word digged, so maybe the chicks dug him.  I remember great matchups between the A's and O's in my childhood: Blue, Odom, Hunter and Palmer, Dobson, McNally, Cuellar.  Never were it an easy task to beat the Orioles.  The A's took them down twice in the '73 and '74 ALCS, and the O's won in '71.  I remember this card when I was a kid, but somehow the image isn't what I remember about Jim Palmer.  Maybe it's the shadow from his hat that crosses his eyes.  I don't know.  Either way, it wouldn't have been easy to get a hit off him.

Cartoon: What happened in game 11?  How lucky were his socks then?  Did this have anything to do with underwear?  Socks are classified as underwear, right?

Ballpark background: Palmer is wearing home whites, and the batter's rump is in road gray.  The blueish fence in the background is consistent with other Oriole players in this set whose card photos were obviously taken at Memorial Stadium.  So, that's what I'm guessing.

#32 - John Grubb (SD/WASH)

John (Johnny?) Grubb.  Yes, there's a lot here.  This is the first Padre card of the set, and it's also the first Washington/Nat'l League card.  I love how they spell "National" and "League."  His name is John on this card, but it is Johnny on his BR page.  Though the card makes a big deal out of his 21 at bats in 1972 and his being one of the Padres leading hitters in 1973, he makes the NL All-Star team in 1974.  And not for the Washington National Leaguers.  Nope, these boys in yellow are the Sandy Eggo Padres, like in waffles for breakfast on the beach.  The beach in San Diego is beautiful, and sandy.  There are numerous waffle shops near the beach.  I know, I went there this summer. 

Grubb played a 16 year career, but was only approached being a regular player with the Padres.  He played for that amazing 1984 Detroit Tigers team, picking up a World Series ring against...hehehe...his former team.  Dontcha just love it when that happens?  He racked up 99 homers in his career, one shy of triple digits.  I love the color scheme of the Padres cards.  Kind of a mix of goldenrod (remember your Crayola sets?) and butterscotch, this color in the Padre pennants is simply delicious.  John's also one of those crossover players, batting left while throwing right.  This picture of him looks like some dude named Kevin I used to know.  Except Kevin never wore a hat.  He looks here like, "Hey, there's a deranged Mets fan on LSD that's going to try to fly off the edge of the third deck!"

Cartoon:  He hit safely in 5 of the 6 games he started?  Well, you can go 1 for 4 every day and hit safely in all 162 games, shattering Joe DiMaggio's record, yet end up with a .250 average.  Actually, though, for only playing in 7 games, hitting in 5 of them for a .333 average is not something to laugh at.  But it's a cartoon, so I'll laugh at it because that's what cartoons are for.  And, say, what kind of middle name is Maywood, anyway?

Ballpark background:  With just a light tower over his right shoulder and a flag pole over his left, this was so obviously taken at Shea Stadium it's not even funny.  That's because just a few cards prior in the set was #29 Phil Niekro at Shea Stadium, and there's the same lights and flagpole.  Not funny, I know.  But Shea Stadium nonetheless.

#28 - Manny Sanguillen (PIT)

Manny Sanguillen was a childhood fixture for me.  He was the catcher for the Pirates.  I forgot that he played some outfield, as the bottom star reminds me.  It didn't matter, he was the catcher.  His card said catcher, and that's how kids laid out their cards when playing or trading.  Manny was the epitome of a bad-ball swinger.  Maybe one of the most famous bad-ball swingers in baseball.  Bad Vlad and a few others come to mind as well.  But, when you can consistently put up a .300 average for a catcher in the 70's, you can swing at as many bad pitches as you want.  And if you hit them for base hits, all the better.  He was also instrumental in the Bucs two championship teams in 1971 and '79.

Manny is from Panama, and is only the second foreign born in this set so far.  He's also shown on a horizontal layout.  I'll be keeping track of horizontal player cards in the labels.  All team cards and some special cards might be horizontal, too, but I'll just keep track of players.  I'm not sure why his home is listed as Panama, Republic of Panama, but I'm sure Topps had a reason to put it this way.

Cartoon:  Manny is the anti-Benjie Molina.  I wonder if this cartoon is drawn out of regard for how fast Manny gets down the line to back up first base, or because Manny wears his gear to the plate and runs around the bases.  [Update 2-6-11:  I just noticed that this cartoon shows Manny as a left handed catcher!]

Ballpark background:  This is a difficult ballpark to determine.  It seems he's wearing a road uniform, as the uni color appears to be slightly darker than the white trim in the elastic belt and sleeve.  There is real grass, which was kind of a rarity in the NL in the mid 70's.  The dark seats that go all the way down to the field and the dark barrier are also problematic for me.  Not Candlestick or Shea.  Could this be Wrigley with a painted brick barrier?  The batting cage is in the background.  Maybe it was a spring training facility of somebody in the Grapefruit League.  I simply don't know.  So, I'm placing this in the category of undetermined.

#25 - Ken Singleton (MON)

Ken Singleton had a pretty good career spanning 15 seasons.  He played in two World Series with the Orioles, winning the second in 1983.  Here, he just got through his best season in Montreal, at .302/23/103.  He looks really young and really good.  One batting glove.  Cool old Expos hat.  Ken's ready to play, and he could be on my team. 

Cartoon:  Ken throws either righthanded or lefthanded?  Huh?  In baseball?  His card says he throws right, and so does Baseball Reference.  He was a switch hitter.  Did the cartoonist mess up?  Or does he really throw with both hands, but only with right in a real game?  I like how he makes downward arm motions and the balls come out perpendicular to his motion.  Singleton has some guns, I guess.  Mechanical help.

Ballpark background:  It looks like Ken was posing behind the Little League snack shack.  You know, the one where I bought much of my 1974 set.  Singleton's got on a home uni, and after looking at some Google images of Parc Jarry, I'm sure this pic was snapped during spring training.  There appears to be a foul line crashing into a chain link fence with no foul pole.  Maybe this was on a practice field.  [Update: 1975 Topps has a card of Expos' Bob Bailey showing the same building.  The palm trees in that card give it away that this is indeed spring training.]  [Update: Notice the wax stain down the middle of the back of the card.  I think the wax from the packs picked up some dirt from grubby little kid hands like mine.]

#24 - John Hiller (DET)

John pitched 15 years for the Tigers, and only the Tigers.  He had a pretty decent career, and his 1973 was a terrific year out of the bullpen.  He saved 38 games (as we would calculate that today) and had an ERA of 1.44.  He didn't quite fit the role of the current closer, as he finished far more games than he saved, and had 15 decisions.  This meant that he was often brought in to take care of multiple innings at the end of the game.  This is reflected throughout his career stats.

Although I was a fairly aware baseball fan during his career, and although I remember this card very well, I must say that I don't remember much of John Hiller as a pitcher.  Did he get the notice that he deserved?  Did I ignore him or the Tigers?  I don't know.  John is also a Canadian who grew up in Toronto.

Cartoon:  I guess Toronto had sandlots just like every other North American city.  I wonder if this cartoon is a public service of Topps for those US card collectors who are ignorant of Canada.  You know, Toronto has sandlots just like every other North American city.  I already said that, didn't I?

Ballpark background:  This photo is a real poser, but I think I have an answer.  First, I wondered about the huge beam that was about to hit Hiller in the head.  What was this thing hanging from?  What was this thing to begin with?  It looks like it's stuck in the air.  Is this some kind of minor league park with a weird roof?  Next, I noticed the red barrier that stops at the 3rd base dugout.  This says County Stadium in Milwaukee, but the lack of an upper deck that wraps at the foul pole would kind of eliminate that choice.  Until I looked through Google images and finally Clem's Baseball.   It seems that from 1954 until 1974, the 3rd base stands extended only a few dozen yards beyond third base.  Grandstands ran from just about that point to near the left field corner, and a separate bleacher section in the outfield.  If this Hiller photo was taken in 1973, then the pieces of the puzzle fit rather nicely.

The thing just to the left of his head is the edge of the upper deck on the third base side, with the "loge" or press box level in between the top and bottom of this thing.  I'm guessing the angle (i.e. steepness) of the upper deck is the same as the angle of a line drawn from the camera lens to the upper deck itself.  This would give an illusion of nothing holding up the upper deck.  The supports holding up the upper deck would be just out of this picture.  The grandstands down the left field line look from all the Google images to be more steep than the permanent stands behind home plate and extending to the edge of the upper deck.  The thing sticking out of Hiller's right shoulder is the top of that grandstand, while the thing sticking out of his lower left back that angles just above the outfield fence beyond is the edge of that grandstand as it follows the angle down.  There's a player just behind his left glute with the foul pole above his head.  Just to the right of that foul pole is a slightly angled view of the edge of the bleachers.  So, it makes real sense why that red barrier at the dugout and the yellow face of the dugout edge look so much like County Stadium when I visited in 1986.  My guess is County Stadium.

#20 - Nolan Ryan (CAL)

Uhhhhhhm, now how cool is this.  My next card in the set is Nolan Ryan, just a couple of hours at most after the Texas Rangers win the AL pennant.  I didn't plan this either.  I was sitting here uploading the scans and the highlights were on the TV.

Okay, what can I say about Nolan Ryan?  All time strikeout leader with 5714.  Twenty-seven big league seasons, 324 career wins, all time walks leader with 2795, all time record seven no-hitters.  member Baseball Hall of Fame.  Only one World Series appearance, with the 1969 Mets, where he got a ring.  He finished out game 3 with 2.1 innings pitched in a 5-0 Mets win over the Orioles.  This 1974 card came just after his record setting single season record of 383 strikeouts.  As a batter, he had a lifetime .110 average, and hit twice as many career home runs as Duane Kuiper, with two.

Ryan pitched in the radar era, where the speed of his pitches could be measured, even if not on every pitch.  He was the fastest pitcher of my childhood for sure, and I'm certain he would be amongst the top today.  Maybe still the fastest.  I certainly wouldn't want to face him.  Everybody knew he was the fastest pitcher and struck out the most batters.  There were always arguments against him, even for the Hall of Fame because of his W/L record, and how he never played for many great teams.  His long stints with the Angels, Astros and Rangers were with some sub-par teams.  My biggest mistake of his career was staying home from his sixth no-hitter in Oakland because I was sick that night.  I was planning to go sit in the bleachers, like I normally did.

Cartoon:  Nolan sells footballs.  Now nice.  And pricey ones, judging by the tag.  I'm not sure he operates a sporting goods store anymore.  He's going to the World Series and runs a team.  Probably doesn't have the time.  "Hi, I'd like to purchase some Nolan Ryan commons.  Got any?"  "Not in my store, son.  They're all star cards here."

Ballpark background:  I simply can't make out what is behind Ryan.  The blue fence looks like it could be Dodger Stadium, but all the stuff behind it kind of eliminates that.  The background is too blurry.  Are there trees?  People?  I think the Angels played spring training in Palm Springs in the 70's.  Could this be another Cactus League park?  Ryan has an Angels road uniform on.  There seems to be a tunnel over the fence, but what is all the yellow stuff?  Mystery to me for sure.  Any input? [Update: Fleerfan - see comments below - has identified the ballpark in the background as Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.  I'm not very familiar with that old ballpark, especially with all the blurry background in the photo.  But after looking at Fleerfan's link, calling that one out must have been a slam dunk.  So, I'll update my labels for this post.  Thanks, Fleerfan!]

#18 - Gary Thomasson (SF)

This is one of my favorite cards in the 1974 set.  It's because Gary's pose is so classic first baseman.  And he's left handed which adds to the effect.  He also looks like a real major league first baseman.  He's one of the guys that played first base after Willie McCovey, my favorite all time player, was traded to the Padres.  And I didn't hate him for it.

For a few years in the 70's, the Giants changed their uniforms slightly.  The letters across the chest were changed from black w/ orange trim to orange w/ black trim.  I'm not sure I like them.  Gary was also notable in 1977 when he led off the entire season, in the top of the first on Opening Day in LA, and hit a home run.  The Giants didn't quite turn that into a wire-to-wire season like they did their 2003 Opening Day leadoff homer.  But Gary didn't seem to need that, as he played the following year during the second half of the season with the WS champs Yanks.

Cartoon: I don't recall reading that Gary was a professional musician.  It looks here like he's playing the trumpet with the sound coming out upside down.  I wonder what instrument(s) Gary actually played, and how much did he make.  I'm sure he wasn't a member of Led Zeppelin, so maybe baseball paid more.


Ballpark background: Gary is pictured here at Candlestick Park.  Notice the horrid green of the artificial turf.  Yuck.  There's a player or coach just off his right shoulder.  Above this figure is the left field foul pole.  As the lower deck seats change from orange to a dingy red, the box seats changed into bleacher seats, divided by a chain link fence.  The upper deck curves around the foul pole, but behind the bleacher section, which is about 30 feet itself behind the fence where the scoreboard is located.  The upper deck in left field may be the furthest stands from the field of any ballpark ever.  It was no fun to sit up there.  And those were the end zone seats for football.

#11 - Jim Bibby (TEX)

   

Okay, card lovers.  I admit I don't like early era Ranger uniforms.  I know the font selected is trying to give a pioneer days, Texas ranch feel.  Not great on baseball threads.  Either way, Bibby looks like business.  This is a good pose and he looks like a really solid athlete.

Jim's glove is a bit worn, and he's got the old fashioned open wrist strap type.  No designed hole to stick your finger through.  The grass behind him is a bit shoddy for today's standards.  Groundskeeping has come a long way in the last two decades.  Being traded from the NL to the AL during the '73 season, Bibby is one of the first players to lose his batting privileges due to the DH.  He pitched a no-hitter against the A's in '73 and became a member of the We Are Family, Buccos championship team of 1979.

The '74 season was Jim's workhorse year, starting 41 games and going 19-19.  That's 38 decisions, folks.  He was just one win and loss away from being both a 20 game winner and a 20 game loser.  Imagine a 20-game winner with a record under .500.  Man, baseball has changed.

A personal note on card graphics here.  I had a 20 year career in architecture, so I know a bit about hand drafting.  This original card border was drafted by hand, most likely with a pencil, and reproduced a bit on the primitive side.  If you look at the upper right curved piping, you can notice that the drafter didn't put the circle template down correctly, as the arcs fall just short of the straight lines.  In the lower left, the opposite occurs.  The arcs overshoot their tangent.  The line value also changes around the card, especially where lines meet arcs.  Today's computer software designs just don't have that.  If I were a high school drafting teacher, the Topps graphic artist would get a B-.  Okay, enough of my geekiness.

Cartoon:  Jim's brother played with the NY Knicks?  Wow.  It's one thing for family members to play baseball, it's another to split sports.  Notice that each cartoon character is left handed.  Conspiracy?

Ballpark background: Here, Jim is having his picture taken at Yankee Stadium during the 1973 season, likely August 7th (a twi-night double header) or 8th (day game).  He was traded from St. Louis to Texas after the Rangers' first visit to the Bronx Zoo, so this pic was likely taken on their last visit.  It's an overcast day, so time of day is hard to pin down.  The tiny crowd in the bleachers may indicate either Yankee futility or early afternoon warm-up photos.

#10 - Johnny Bench (CIN)

One of the greatest catchers to ever play baseball.  Today, Johnny and Yogi Berra are viewed just about as the two greatest ever.  Johnny revolutionized catching with his patented one hand behind the back style.  Not many injuries from foul tips or wild swingers.  And this is the guy flat in the middle of that monster Big Red Machine lineup.  It's enough to be a power hitting catcher, but that fact is overwhelming in knowing just how good a hitter he was.  I hated the Big Red Machine back in the 70's, being a Giants fan myself, but just to be honest, it was a very respectful hatred.  Except for Pete Rose.

Do you get the idea that the Topps editors wanted its collectors to know about Johnny's 1970 and '72 seasons?  I wonder why.  But I'd like to call attention to the double-knit polyester pullover pajama uniform Bench is wearing.  And the half-calf stirrups.  You won't find that in today's game, although it's nice that he didn't pull them up high enough to just see the stripes up the sides of the legs.  Solid leggings look a bit better.  Especially on a player like Bench.  If Johnny ever had an air-brushed card photo, would the artist use Krylon paint?

Cartoon: I didn't know that Johnny sang country music.  He's from Oklahoma, so I could guess that he listened to it.  I wonder if his singing ever started any bar fights.  Say, it looks like the Topps cartoonist had a good job for a while.  Must have been seasonal work.  Did this guy file for unemployment once the season started?

Ballpark background: Johnny is sporting the Reds road uniforms, and the players in the dugout in the background are displaying New York Mets home threads.  My eddicated guess is that this ballpark background is Shea Stadium.

#9 - Mickey Lolich (DET)

Uhm, what can I say?  This is Mickey Lolich.  I always liked Mickey.  I always associated him with the '68 Tigers championship team, where he won three of their four WS games.  I had his '71 Topps card in my shoebox, and for some reason I just loved it.  He has a very similar pose on the two cards: the my-followthrough-just-stopped-and-I'm-waiting-to-see-if-the-batter-hits-a-line-drive-at-my-head pose.

Here, Mickey is donning the Tigers' new road uniforms, with the orange "D" on the cap, and the added piping and blue and orange striping.  In my opinion, this is a major downgrade from their classic road uni's.  The Tigers also adopted the double knit polyester pullover pajama uniforms, with the elastic waistband and no belt.  Mickey was a switch-hitting pitcher, a very rare breed indeed.  I also notice a drastic increase in sloppy penmanship from his '71 autograph to the one here.  Mickey is also the first player in this card set to weigh 200 lbs or more.

Cartoon: Mickey relaxes by riding a motorcycle?  So does Jeff Kent.  Times have changed in just a few decades with guaranteed contracts - and their severe off-the-field activity clauses.  These days, a player riding a motorcycle is grounds for contract termination and Tweet humor.

Background ballpark: This picture was taken at Comiskey Park.  Notice the break in the double decks in center field, and the scoreboard.  I also love the arched openings that so define Old Comiskey.  Also notice what appears to be two-tone grass just behind his back, and a sliver just off his right shoulder.  In the early 70's, Comiskey Park had a bizarre playing surface configuration.  Astro-turf in the infield, and real grass in the outfield.  Foul territory had a seam between grass and artificial turf stretching from first and third bases to the stands.

#7 - Jim Hunter (OAK)

Jim "Catfish" Hunter.  Or, simply Catfish Hunter, as I knew him as a kid.  I grew up 20 miles east of Oakland and the A's won their first of three consecutive World Series in 1972 when I was eight.  These came in the middle of five consecutive division titles.  It was a great time to be a kid.  I wasn't old enough to know that the Charlie Finley A's were a tiny blip invaders in a market that had been dominated by the Giants and Mays, McCovey, Marichal, Cepeda, Perry and Bonds.  Their three trophy seasons only produced one season with a million in attendance.  When you're a kid, things like that don't matter.

Catfish would end up in the Hall of Fame, and looking at his numbers from '71-'73 here, it's no wonder.  All the A's players were intimate household names.  Here, he's seen with a mustache, another crazy scheme of eccentric owner Finley.  Finley paid any of his players 50 bucks to grow a 'stache.  In those days, fifty bucks was a lot of cash, so most players joined in.  Finley also relaxed facial hair and hair policies from the rest of baseball.  The A's were also known as "The Mustacheo A's" in the early 70's.  Rollie Fingers grew a handlebar mustache during that time and it became his career trademark.

Finley also started a uniform revolution.  The A's started wearing white shoes in the 60's, along with a bit of color with their yellow vest uni's and green undersleeves.  In 1972, the A's changed their look radically, with the donning of double-knit polyester pullover jerseys and pants without a belt, favoring an elastic waistband instead.  Their hats took the traditional Gothic "A" and added an apostrophe and an "s."  Their official colors were Kelly Green, California Gold and Wedding Gown White.  Announcer Monte Moore always talked about the colors.

This picture of Catfish was taken on a Sunday, as the A's wore white on Sundays and either green or gold the rest of the week.  This 1974 year would be his last with the green and gold, as he had a dispute with Finley and ended up with the Yankees the next year.  Catfish Hunter will always hold a special place in my heart, as such things stick in the mind of a kid the rest of his life.

#1 - Hank Aaron

Henry Louis Aaron. What can you say? This card shows a 20 year career that is just one home run short of the all time record. 713. It must have been a terrible off-season, waiting all that time to get a shot in April. Hate mail by the truck load, much of it racist, with death threats and all. Move over Babe, here comes Henry.

Topps must have been in a slightly awkward position having to plan and announce their new home run king months in advance. Of course, it happened without too much consternation. They couldn't say what date, though, but did it matter to all the kids out there? I remember watching 714 and 715 on TV and getting caught up in the historical occasion. This card in my collection is a constant reminder.

The photograph of Hank leaves a lot to be desired. His smile is a bit too big, and his hat and uniform logos aren't visible. Maybe they wanted a big smile to go along with the occasion. Five other cards show the entire collection of Topps cards in his career to that date (see upcoming posts). The 1974 is by far the worst. It's been great to see Hank turn out to be such a spokesman - statesman, even - for baseball.

Ballpark background: [Update 09-05-10: I always enjoy trying to figure out the ballpark in the background on a ballcard.  This shot appears to have been taken at the 1973 All-Star game in Kansas City.  Notice the scoreboard just behind Hank's head.]