#330 - Mike Marshall

Card fact: This is the official halfway point of the 1975 Topps set. I have reviewed 330 cards and there are 330 more to go. You didn't think I'd get this far did you?

What I thought about this card then: I did not see it. Mike Marshall's 1976 Topps card was the first one of his that I knew. It was also an action shot and it was a favorite. I read a long time ago that at some point in Marshall's career, he refused to pose for photos for Topps, so Topps was forced to take photos of him during games. That worked out pretty well for the collectors, who got some cool photos of Marshall. But later Marshall disappeared from card sets altogether, so I think he put the kiebash on having his photo in card sets completely.

What I think about this card now: Marshall has that look about him that is standard for relievers today, but wasn't too common then. I think Marshall, Rollie Fingers and Sparky Lyle blazed the trail for the wild-looking closers to come.

Other stuff: Mike Marshall is known for his record-shattering relief performances during the 1974 season, as well as for his passionate opinions on pitching methods. In 1974, Marshall appeared in 106 games and 208 1/3 innings pitched. All of them came in relief. He also appeared in 13 straight games for the Dodgers. That record, along with the 106 games pitched, remain major league records. Marshall won the National League Cy Young Award in '74 and finished third in the MVP voting. He was an All-Star in both '74 and '75.

Marshall also played for the Tigers, Pilots, Astros, Expos, Braves, Rangers, Twins and Mets. His emergence in relief pitching actually started with the Expos during the 1972 season, when he finished fourth in the Cy Young voting. The following year he pitched in 92 games for the Expos, which helped Montreal land Willie Davis in a trade with the Dodgers for Marshall.

Marshall was later traded to the Braves for Lee Lacy and Elias Sosa in mid-1976. He never did pitch quite as often as with the Dodgers, although he enjoyed a resurgence with the Twins in the late '70s, appearing in 90 games in 1979.

Marshall has several degrees and a Ph.D. in kinesiology, a word that confused the heck out of me as a kid. He has taught college courses on pitching and human movement and believes his methods would eradicate pitching injuries. But his beliefs have been at odds with conventional pitching methods.

(EDIT: Marshall died on June 1, 2021 at age 78).

Back facts: Take a look at those fascinating numbers in 1973 and 1974. He appeared in 106 games in relief and had just 21 saves. He could have set a save mark that would have lasted forever!

Other blog stuff: The orange-brown combo is creeping back toward the top again. After all those pink-and-yellow league leaders cards, orange-brown is now just one card away from pink-yellow.

#313 - Leading Firemen

Card fact: This is the final league leader card in the set. I think the term "leading firemen" is just as dated as the color scheme in this set.

What I thought about this card then: I didn't see it.

What I think about this card now: I still need it for my Dodger collection. Those are some far-out sideburns by Doc Marshall.

Other stuff: Calling relievers "firemen" was pretty common when I was collecting cards as a kid. Topps would use the term to sum up the league-leading relievers just about every year through the '70s and into the early '80s. In 1982, Topps stopped calling them "firemen" and merely listed Bruce Sutter and Rollie Fingers as 1981's "Leading Relievers." But then in 1983 and 1984, it was back to "Leading Firemen"!

Back facts: This was the formula that was used to determine the "leading firemen" at the time. They would add a pitcher's saves and his relief wins and come up with a total. I think now it's rather common knowledge that a relievers' wins doesn't say a lot about his success. Any card that shows league leaders for relief pitchers sticks to the pitchers with the most saves.

When I was young, I thought the people who came up with the "fireman formula" were the folks at Rolaids. They advertised the "Rolaids Relief Award" for the top relievers of the year and that formula was displayed in their advertisements. I thought that if it wasn't for Rolaids no one would even care about relievers. Rolaids had lifted the relief pitcher from an afterthought into someone worth recognizing!

Little did I know that it was just a gimmicky sponsorship thing.

Other stuff: Today is Gaylord Perry's 72nd birthday. You thought he was older, didn't you? Me, too.

#6 - '74 Highlights, Mike Marshall

Card fact: It's the first Dodger of the set! If I knew as much about cards then as I do now, I would be thrilled that a Dodger player appeared in a "highlights" subset. It doesn't happen nearly as often as you might think.

What I thought about this card then: Sadly, I didn't even know it existed. And that's the way it stood for decades. Since highlight cards weren't included in your garden variety team checklist, how was I to know there was another Dodger to collect? Finally, when I returned to collecting in 2005 by focusing on the first set of my childhood, I stumbled upon this card. Boy, was my face red. All of those years of proclaiming I had completed the '75 Dodger set way back in the late '70s turned out to be nothing but a lie. OK, I never proclaimed it to anyone. But it still tore me up.

What I think about this card now: I'm not crazy about the picture. Marshall is surrounded by manager Walter Alston, catcher Steve Yeager and shortstop Bill Russell. Something bad appears to be going down.

Other stuff: Pitching in 106 games a season is amazing, especially with the way relievers were used in the '70s. But I'm kind of surprised that the record is still standing. Now that relievers barely pitch an inning, you'd think someone would have no problem throwing in that many games. But the closest anyone has gotten is Mike Fetters with 97 in 2002.

Back facts: Not only did Marshall set records for game appearances and innings pitched in relief, but he appeared in 13 straight games and closed 84 games. All of those records are still intact. Here is Dr. Marshall's web site. There is a lot to absorb there. If you know the history of Mike Marshall, you know he has many, many thoughts on pitching.

Other blog stuff: I officially have the first 110 cards of the set scanned. Working hard, people. ... OK, back to scanning.