#46 - Phillies/Danny Ozark

Card fact: We have another Buffalo native in the set with Danny Ozark. This Buffalo native takes notice of things like that.

What I thought about this card then: (*sigh*) checklist cards were boring.

What I think about this card now: I am amused by the fact that the Phillies logo in the background is only partly visible, but the Mets logo is fully visible.

Other stuff: Danny Ozark seemed so old to me when he was leading those great late 1970s Phillies teams. He actually was in his early '50s and lived to be 85 before dying earlier this year.

Back facts: So, as kids, we sent away for all 24 team checklist cards, just like the ad says, and when we received them back, they weren't made from the same card stock. They came on a fold-out sheet, and they were flimsy and index-card like. The backs were white. It was disappointing. My brother and I split up the cards, 12 apiece, but I have only a couple of them left. I know I had the Phillies checklist, but it disappeared somewhere.

When we get to one of the "send away" checklists I do have, I'll show it here.

Other blog stuff: Now it's time to see if Topps featured all of the prominent Phillies from 1974. After crunching the numbers, I've determined that Topps featured cards of 25 of the 40 players to participate in a game for the Phillies in 1974 (one player, Mike Wallace, was airbrushed into a Yankees cap).

That percentage (62.5) isn't close to the only other team I've done this for -- the Tigers (78.37). But the Phillies seem to have had a lot of fringe players on the '74 team, probably because it was a transition period as they built themselves into a perennial contender. The most prominent players left out of the Topps set were two relievers -- Frank Linzy, at the end of his career; and Jesus Hernaiz, a guy I've never heard of. So, Topps had it covered with the Phillies.

The standings so far:

1. Tigers 78.37% of players featured
2. Phillies 62.5%

#45 - Joe Rudi

Card fact: I am going to go out on a limb here and say this is the best-matched color-combo with a team in the entire set. A player wearing green and gold framed by a green-and-gold border. Rudi is one of six A's in the set to feature green and gold in the design.

What I thought about this card then: Blissfully unaware. Rudi was not kind to the Dodgers during the peak of his career (see 1974 World Series). I would have hated him if I knew who he was.

What I think about this card now: Joe Rudi is a classic name. He sounds like an Old West gunslinger. He looks like one, too.

Other stuff: By the time I knew Rudi, he was hobbled by injury and a disappointment for the Angels and the Red Sox. Now he works in real estate in Oregon. I guess no one can be a gunfighter forever.

Back fact: The write-up on Rudi was outdated by the time the card set hit the streets in 1975. Rudi hit the Series-clinching home run in Game 5 of the 1974 World Series. I'm guessing that was even more thrilling than his 1972 Series accomplishments.

Other blog stuff: Just finished scanning card No. 414. Too bad it's not April 14th.

#44 - Pat Dobson

Card fact: This is the last color combination in the set: yellow-red. There is a variation of this combo, which we will see with our first All-Star, coming up soon.

What I thought about this card then: Never saw it.

What I think about this card now: Dobson looks like he is posing for an old-style portrait. And I love how he has the collar out on the jacket he's wearing under his uniform. It reminds me of the collar-out shirts we wore under sweaters back in the early 1980s. So sauve. That look got ALL the girls.

Other stuff: Pat Dobson has some rather distinctive cards. He's hatless on his 1970 card, wears an airbrushed cap on his '71, features a staggering, open-mouthed gape on his 1972 card, looks like Will Ferrell on his '76 card, and displays an awesome fro/crap-eating grin on his '78 card. Now that's a body of work for you.

Back facts: Dobson was born where my great aunt and uncle once lived. ... Also, why is there a gap after the 1974 stats? Creative white space?

Other blog stuff: OK, we have covered all the color combinations, so now it is time to list them, in order of appearance:

1. orange-brown
2. yellow-light blue
3. purple-pink
4. orange-yellow
5. green-purple
6. brown-orange
7. yellow-green
8. red-yellow
9. green-light green
10. brown-tan
11. blue-orange
12. pink-yellow
13. light blue-green
14. red-blue
15. tan-light blue
16. yellow-red

So, there you are. Sixteen color combinations in the '75 set. But you knew that already, right?

#43 - Cleon Jones

Card fact: There are two players with the last name of Jones in this set. This is the first. A free pet rock to those who can guess the other player. And by free I mean, go to the park and get one yourself.

What I thought about this card then: A friend of mine had this card. He was one of those kids that you find in New York state who had to own everything that featured a Yankee or Met logo on it. He was an only child.

What I think about this card now: Jones is a former Cardboard Appreciation subject. As I mentioned in that post, Jones seems to feature a harder edge on his cards as his career goes along. This is one of the cards I was thinking of when I wrote that post.

Other than that, Jones is going to have a hard time running the bases on that field behind him, where a dash to third base is all uphill. Also, the fans will have to tilt their head to the right to read the scoreboard.

Other stuff: Mets cards were so cool when I was a kid. I'm not sure why I didn't end up being a Mets fan, because I really liked '70s Mets cards.

Back fact: You can see the decline in Jones' stats after he hit .340 in 1969. He had a strong season in '71 and then some struggles. The 1975 season actually was a very difficult one for him. He was arrested and then released by the Mets. This is Jones' final card featured during his career.

Other blog stuff: Approaching 400 cards scanned. Woo-hoo!

#42 - Joe Coleman

Card fact: This is the first Tigers player presented in the 1975 Topps set. The first Tiger card was the team card/checklist.

What I thought about this card then: Another card that missed me as a kid. Because of that, I am woefully lacking in knowledge about a pitcher who won 20 games twice shortly before I started becoming interested in baseball. To this day, I confuse Coleman with Jerry Coleman, the former Yankees infielder and longtime baseball announcer.

What I think about this card then: I am officially keeping count of the number of players pictured with a chaw in their mouth. Here is #1.

Other stuff: Wikipedia says Coleman helped the Pirates win the 1979 World Series. Coleman pitched in 10 games for the Pirates in 1979, compiling a 6.02 ERA and did not pitch in the postseason.

Back facts: I am quite sure that if I had this card as a kid, I would wonder who the "Nats" were.

Other blog stuff: This is the first tan-light blue color combo card. I have covered almost all of the color combinations. When I do, I will list each of them. And that's because I know you have all waited years to figure out how many combinations there are.

#41 - Cesar Geronimo

Card fact: The first orange-brown card that is not a Highlights card.

What I thought about this card then: Didn't have it. But there are two things I remember about Geronimo. First, I knew of this particular Geronimo years and years before I knew of this Geronimo. And, no, it didn't take me until I pulled the '09 Allen & Ginter Geronimo card before I knew who he was.

Secondly, I remember Geronimo being praised for his defense more than any individual player from the late 1970s, except for maybe his teammate, Dave Concepcion. Personally, I was focused on Geronimo's pedestrian hitting skills, because I hated the Big Red Machine. And I couldn't wait for that No. 8 spot in the batting order to come around.

What I think about this card now: Severe tilting in the background of this card, and the card is miscut. But I do like that the Reds name is in red.

Other stuff: The Reds featured a good share of lefties in their lineup during their Machine days. Morgan, Griffey, Driessen, Geronimo, and, Rose switch-hit.

Back facts: Cartoon violence! Who doesn't love the '70s?

Other blog stuff: The blog will be taking a break for the Thanksgiving holiday. But I'll see you real soon!

#40 - Bill Singer

Card fact: Another player who was awarded a card number ending in zero based on his 1973 performance. Singer ran into injury problems in 1974 and pitched in only 14 games.

What I thought about this card then: Some cards just never register with you no matter how long you have them. I have had the mini of this card for almost 35 years, and I can tell you I never had a thought about Singer when I was a kid. I didn't know he was a Dodger up until two years before this card was issued.

What I think about this card now: I just noticed yesterday the mountains in the background of the photo. Scenic.

Other stuff: Singer has been traded for some top-flight pitchers. The Dodgers acquired Andy Messersmith from the Angels in a deal for Singer (the Dodgers also sent Frank Robinson, Bobby Valentine, Billy Grabarkewitz and Mike Strahler to the Angels in the deal and still came out on top). Later, the Rangers acquired Bert Blyleven by trading Singer and Roy Smalley to the Twins.

Also, Singer's racially insensitive remarks to Dodgers assistant GM Kim Ng are well-documented. Let's just say Singer appears to have learned his lesson.

Back facts: Singer and Claude Osteen both won 20 games for the Dodgers in 1969 and L.A. still finished in fourth place. Wow.

Other blog stuff: It's not actually blog related, but today is the 61st birthday of the first Dodger I ever pulled from a pack of baseball cards in 1975. Happy birthday, Steve Yeager (card #376).

#39 - Andy Thornton

Card fact: This is Thornton's first card.

What I thought about this card then: I didn't see it, and this is a good example of: if a player wasn't on a baseball card, then he didn't exist. I never saw the Thornton card in the 1976 set either. Then Topps didn't issue a card of Thornton in the 1977 set. By the time I finally came across him somewhere in 1977, I thought he was rookie, when he had actually spent five years in the majors.

What I think about this card now: I had a difficult time typing "Andy" in the post title. I never heard anyone call Thornton "Andy." But you can see he signed his name "Andy" on the card. He's "Andy" again with the Cubs in the '76 set. Then, all of a sudden, in the '78 set he is "Andre," with the Indians, and that's how he stayed.

Other stuff: Indians fans can moan about their fate all they want, but hoodwinking the Expos by sending Jackie Brown to Montreal for Thornton is one of the biggest trade heists of the '70s.

Back facts: Thornton bounced around a lot before landing with the Indians. Not only did he play for both the Cubs and Expos in 1976, but he played for minor leagues teams in the Philadelphia, Atlanta and Chicago organizations from 1967-73.

Other blog stuff: I hope to make major progress in scanning this set as I'm on vacation this week. I'm up to 342 cards filed.

#38 - Buddy Bell

Card fact: Finally, we have reached our first dude who looks like a lady. Or at least that's what we thought when we were kids.

What I thought about this card then: "He looks like a girl."

What I think about this card now: It's quite the light-hearted card. Fresh-faced, long-haired "Buddy" offers a smile and a swing for the photographer. And we smile along with Bell as he admires his blast.

Other stuff: Bell is the third player in the set so far that went on to become a major league manager (Bill Russell and Dusty Baker are the other two).

Back facts: I think I mentioned this before, but Buddy's real first name, David, is also the first name of his son, former major league third baseman David Bell. His middle name, Gus, is the first name of his father, former major leaguer outfielder Gus Bell.

Also, a quick note about the birth dates. When we were kids, any player with a birth date in the 1950s, like Bell, was a youngster. An up-and-coming player. Of course, now all these guys are in their late 50s. I feel old.

Other blog stuff: This color combo just screams summer: blue sky/green grass. But I don't know what to call it.