Card fact: This could be the first airbrushed card in the set. I'm not sure. Something doesn't seem quite right about the photo. Locklear was traded from the Reds to the Padres in June of 1973.But I guess that's not a fact, is it? It's more of a suspicion, huh? How about this: it is a fact that I don't know if this photo is airbrushed or not.
Also, to me, this color combination screams the '70s more than any other in the set. I'll have to come up with a very '70s-specific name for the design.
What I thought about this card then: This is the first of several cards from the set that freaked us out as boys. Some '70s ballplayers were just too weird for us, and Locklear definitely fit the description. As I've said before on this post, I would trade cards with my friends or brothers and try to slip cards like Locklear in with the other cards. Then when the tradee discovered the Locklear card, he'd let out a squeal of horror and whip it back at me or whichever person traded it to him.
What I think about this card now: Man, kids can be cruel can't they? You're not going to complete the set if you refuse to own one of the cards.
Other stuff: Locklear became a commercial artist. His web site is here.
Back facts: Part of what made a card less desirable to us as kids, beside the player's outwardly appearance, were the statistics on the back. If the player had lousy statistics, that made the card even more horrifying. Locklear's stats weren't as bad as some other players we'll see, but all it took were a couple sub-.200 averages for us to pass judgment.
Oldie but goodie: This is the original Locklear that we all tried to trick someone else into acquiring. As you can see, I was the unfortunate kid who ended up with Locklear last. Apparently, everyone else was on to me.Other blog stuff: If you like the set retrospective, take a look at the sidebar. I've added a list of set specific blogs. Some aren't active, but I'm hoping by putting them on the sidebar that one or two will be inspired to post again.
4 comments:
I love that you saved your original "kid" cards... I didn't trade in 1975, but in the early 80's there was a many a Gene Locklear card and I was normally the kid who got stuck with it... The bad thing was, the card was in pretty good shape when you began, but the time it was over and you were totally stuck with it, it was all beat up...
I agree with the Troll, you can see the evidence of all the "whipping" back and forth that card experienced. It adds character. The border colors on that one are perfect of the Padres.
Locklear almost sounds like a freaky name to a kid too. Did you torture the card? It looks a little ratty.
It's funny because we kids thought Locklear was cool because he was a full-blooded American Indian. He had the reputation of being a tremendous natural hitter, and I remember when the Yankees acquired him there was hope that they would get him to live up to his talent. I remember John Sterling, in his pre-announcer days (he had a radio phone-in show on WMCA) saying that Locklear had a "great bat" and the Yankees might have pulled of a heist. I used to think, "damn, put him in the lineup and he'll be a star." His final career stats were pretty good, but he never got a chance to play everyday. Maybe he was another one of those left handed hitters who couldn’t hit lefty pitching. The Yankees already had Rob Blomberg doing that.
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