Card fact: This is the first and only Topps card of Jim Wynn featured in Dodger gear. He is airbrushed into an L.A. uniform in the 1974 Topps traded series, and he is airbrushed into a Braves cap (while wearing a Dodger jersey) in the 1976 Topps set.
What I thought about this card then: This is another one of those cards that I saw for the first time in my trip to Cooperstown in 1975. It became one of my all-time coveted cards because I didn't obtain it for years. It was one of the last Dodgers I needed to complete the '75 team set.
What I think about this card now: It doesn't really look like Wynn. But I think that's just because his enormous smile in the photo. He was more serious-looking on most of his other cards.
Other stuff: Wynn came over to the Dodgers from the Astros in a deal that sent Claude Osteen to Houston before the 1974 season. Wynn bounced back from a miserable '73 season and helped the Dodgers reach the World Series in '74. He was named the National League's Comeback Player of the Year.
It was Wynn's last great season. He tailed off in '75 and was dealt to the Braves in the deal that gained the Dodgers Dusty Baker. Wynn closed out his career with Atlanta, the Yankees and the Brewers.
But before his arrival in L.A., Wynn spent 1963-73 as a hard-slugging center fielder for the Astros. Nicknamed the "Toy Cannon," he hit more than 200 home runs for Houston, a considerable feat since he played his home games in the monstrous Astrodome.
Wynn, who had his uniform number retired by Houston, now does TV postgame analysis for the Astros and does community work for the team.
(EDIT: Wynn died at age 78 on March 26, 2020).
Back facts: Yaz remains the last Triple Crown winner. And Topps is just plain redundant with that blurb at the bottom (EDIT: Miguel Cabrera won the Triple Crown in 2012).
Other blog stuff: We have completed the entire N.L. All-Star starting roster with the addition of Wynn:
AL
1B - Dick Allen
2B -
3B - Brooks Robinson
SS - Bert Campaneris
OF - Bobby Murcer
OF - Jeff Burroughs
OF -
C - Carlton Fisk
P - Gaylord Perry
NL
1B - Steve Garvey
2B - Joe Morgan
3B - Ron Cey
SS - Larry Bowa
OF - Hank Aaron
OF - Pete Rose
OF - Jim Wynn
C - Johnny Bench
P - Andy Messersmith
Four Dodgers on the team. That's why the N.L. won, you know.
One of the very first baseball "facts" I learned as a kid was the one where Yaz was the last Triple Crown winner. At that time, it had only been about 11 or 12 years and I thought it would happen again at some point.
ReplyDeleteWynn had an impressive set of sideburns.
Isn't Wynn's helmet an airbrush job on this card, too?
ReplyDeleteIf it's airbrushed, it's an awfully good job for the '70s. The L.A. logo is spot on, and there is no discoloration on the helmet at all, like with most airbrushing at this time. To me, the sun reflection on the helmet is a giveaway that it is not airbrushed. They would never think to airbrush in a reflection at that time.
ReplyDeletePlay at the Plate,
ReplyDeleteYes, the AL had a triple crown winner in 1966 and 1967. It seemed so easy!