Card fact: This is the first and only solo Topps card of Chris Ward.
What I thought about this card then: I didn't know it existed. In fact, it is yet another Cubs card from this set that features a player I knew nothing about until I tracked down the card while completing the set in 2004. The Cubs sure had a lot of players in '74 that made little impact.
What I think about this card now: The cap he's wearing looks like some sort of denim trucker's cap.
Other stuff: Except for a single at-bat in 1972, Ward's entire major league career occurred in 1974 when he played 92 games for the Cubs. He finished with 28 hits in 137 at-bats, hitting a mere .204.
Ward would return to the minors for the 1976 and 1977 seasons, playing in the Chicago, Cleveland and San Diego organizations.
Back facts: Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell was a U.S. congressman in North Carolina. In fact, his tour as a congressman ended just before this card came out as he did not win a fourth term in 1974. But Mizell went on to serve in the Ford, Reagan and Bush administrations.
Other blog stuff: On this date in 2005, the sports of baseball and softball are dropped from the Olympic Summer Games. Summer without baseball. This makes no sense.
