#653 - Lee Richard

Card fact: This is another name spelling error in the set. On par with the Cuellar/Cueller goof, Lee Richard has no "s" on the end of his name. Thanks to the addition by Topps, I thought his name was "Lee Richards" for a long time.

What I thought about this card then: I, as well as my brother, was amused by the back of the card, which you will see later.

What I think about this card now: I have been questing for a much more centered version of this card for a while. But somehow it always slips my mind.

Other stuff: Richard was known for his electric speed. He was used quite often as a pinch-runner and sometimes almost exclusively. The White Sox selected him sixth overall in the 1970 draft.

Richard played in 87 games, mostly at shortstop, for the 1971 White Sox, but hit just .231 with 17 RBIs. He went back to the minors for most of the next two seasons before re-emerging in '74 as a utility infielder -- which explains the "infield" designation on his card here.

Richard lasted one more season with the White Sox in 1975, then was sent to the Cardinals, who used him for 66 games in 1976. He hit .209 for his career in 239 games.

Back facts: Laziness is killing me. I didn't post Sunday, and I missed publishing on Richard's birthday by two minutes. Oh well, it's still Sept. 18 in part of the country.

As for the write-up at the bottom, "'Bee Bee' has great speed," was the single most hysterical thing that I read on the back of a baseball card in 1975. I vividly remember my brother and I with tears in our eyes as we laughed uncontrollably over what we considered such a bizarre statement. I can't fully explain why we thought it was so funny. We just latched onto players with below-average statistics and found whatever we could to ridicule. We were baseball card bullies, I guess.

The "Bee Bee" nickname, by the way, didn't have to do with his speed. Richard acquired it in high school when he was a pitcher, and the name refers to the speed of his fastball at the time.

Other blog stuff: On this date in 1976, Indians player-manager Frank Robinson delivers a pinch-hit single in his final major league at-bat.

#634 - Cy Acosta

Card fact: This is the final Topps card of Cy Acosta.

What I thought about this card then: I had no idea Acosta existed.

What I think about this card now: I'm fairly certain that this photo is from the same photo shoot as Acosta's 1974 Topps card. In that photo, he is wearing the road White Sox uniform while standing near a dugout.

Other stuff: Acosta is the only player named "Cy" since the mid-20th century (his actual first name is Cecilio). As you might know, "Cy" was a pretty common name for ballplayers during the 19th and early 20th century.

Acosta came to the White Sox from the Mexican League. He was used as a reliever and enjoyed a decent season for Chicago in 1973, pitching in 48 games with a 2.23 ERA, 10 victories and 18 saves. But he didn't fair as well in '74 and was purchased by the Phillies before the 1975 season. He played in six games for Philadelphia.

After '75, Acosta returned to the Mexican League and pitched there until 1986.

Acosta is also known as the first American League pitcher to bat after the designated hitter was installed. In 1973, DH Tony Muser was used as a defensive replacement for Dick Allen in the eighth inning. Allen was not used as the DH, and Acosta struck out in his at-bat.

Back facts: Players with Mexican League stats fascinated me as a kid. All those strange team names.

Other blog stuff: The pink-yellow border combination moves into the overall lead with its 54th card.

#624 - 1975 Rookie Pitchers

Card fact: This is the last Dodger player card I needed to complete the team set for '75 Topps. Those 4-player rookie cards always eluded me.

What I thought about this card then: I didn't see it. In fact I didn't see it for quite awhile after 1975.

What I think about this card now: What a bad-ass crew, even if they weren't the most successful pitchers. I think Jim Otten is airbrushed, and I don't know why the background is blurred out.

Other stuff: Each player's first solo Topps card:

Doug Konieczny, Astros: 1976 Topps (his only solo Topps card)
Gary Lavelle, Giants: 1976 Topps
Jim Otten, White Sox: none
Eddie Solomon, Dodgers: 1978 Topps (he was alternately known as Eddie and Buddy on his cards. He died in a car accident at age 34).

Most successful career: Lavelle was a relief workhorse and two-time All-Star for the Giants, for whom he pitched for most of his 13-year major league career.

Most awesome middle name: For the second straight card, I have to go with the player without a middle name, Eddie Solomon.

Other blog stuff: The pink-yellow border combination takes the overall lead with its 53rd card. Also, this marks the end of the last subset in the '75 set. Up next, a player who just celebrated a milestone birthday.

#619 - 1975 Rookie Outfielders

Card fact: I'm quite certain that is an airbrushed White Sox cap atop Nyls Nyman's head. Tommy Smith's cap may or may not be airbrushed, too.

What I thought about this card then: No knowledge of it.

What I think about this card now: No future stars there, eh? Also, Topps must have struggled to find a shot of Jerry Turner. You don't see the absolute profile shot too often.

Other stuff: Each player's first solo Topps card:

Benny Ayala, Mets: Not until 1980 Topps, with the Orioles.
Nyls Nyman, White Sox: 1976 Topps. His only one.
Tommy Smith, Indians: 1977 Topps. As an airbrushed Mariner. Also his only solo Topps card.
Jerry Turner, Padres: 1977 Topps

Most successful player: Turner and Ayala both played 10 seasons, with Turner playing in more than 300 more games than Ayala. Turner also has slightly better stats. Even though Ayala got into a few postseason games with the Orioles as one of Earl Weaver's platoon favorites, I'll give the edge to Turner.

Most awesome middle name: Nyls Nyman already has the best first name. Throw in Rex and Wallace as your middle names and it's no contest. Also, where did John Webber Turner get "Jerry"?

Other blog stuff: The pink-yellow border combination becomes the third border combo with 50 cards. It is just two off the overall lead with a few more rookie cards to go.

#614 - 1975 Rookie Pitchers

Card fact: Welcome to the rookie portion of the '75 Topps retrospective. Sometimes called "rookie stars," sometimes "rookie prospects," Topps took the understated route in 1975 and merely described the players by their respective position.

This was the period when Topps featured four rookies on one card, which is the format that I know and love best. Topps went with this format from 1974-1978. After (and before), Topps featured three or even two rookies per card.

What I thought about this card then: I never saw it. Topps used the orange-yellow border combination and the pink-yellow border combination for its rookie cards. But I only saw the pink-yellow combination when I was collecting in 1975.

What I think about this card now: That is a lineup of mediocrity right there.

Other stuff: For the rookie cards, I thought it'd be interesting to note what each player's first solo card was -- if they ever had a first solo card.

Jack Kucek, White Sox: 1977 Topps (his only solo card).
Dyar Miller, Orioles: 1976 Topps
Vern Ruhle, Tigers: 1976 Topps
Paul Siebert, Astros: no solo card, unless you want to include the late '80s Pacific Senior League set.

Most successful player: Vern Ruhle, who had cards every year from 1975 through 1987 and was later a longtime pitching coach. Unfortunately, he's also the only deceased player of the four.

Most awesome middle name: Dyar Miller has a "K," baseball scorekeeping shorthand for a strikeout, as his middle name, and he was a pitcher. That is fantastic.

Other blog stuff: As you can see, I'm mixing it up a little bit for the rookie cards. I'm not going into detail about the players, because that's really too much work. Hope you like it.

#579 - Skip Pitlock

Card fact: This is Skip Pitlock's second and final Topps card. His other card is in the 1971 set.

What I thought about this card then: No knowledge of it. I didn't have any knowledge of Pitlock either until I acquired this card while completing the set in 2004.

What I think about this card now: The slanted background returns. And those shadows in the bottom left corner look slightly ominous.

Other stuff: Pitlock would pitch to just one more major league batter after this card was issued. He faced Billy Williams of the A's in 1975, giving up a run-scoring single.

Pitlock came up with the Giants and was a starter in 1970, going 5-5. He spent the next three full seasons in the minors, two in the Giants organization and one in the White Sox organization. When he returned to the majors in 1974, he was a reliever, appearing in 41 games for Chicago.

Pitlock was traded to the A's in June of '75 in the deal that landed the White Sox Chet Lemon. Pitlock retired after the 1976 season.

Back facts: It seems to me that the trivia question in that cartoon would be tough to illustrate, which probably explains why you see what you see there.

Other stuff: The green-light green border combination reties the orange-brown combo for the overall lead with 49 cards each.

#572 - Roger Nelson

Card fact: This is the final Topps card of Roger Nelson's career.

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

What I think about this card now: Where to begin? This does not look like a man who played major league baseball. And what is that insignia on his melted cap, a treble clef?

Other stuff: Nelson never pitched for the White Sox after he was traded to them in October 1974. In fact, he was released by the White Sox in March of '75, probably before a lot of kids pulled his card out of a pack that year.

Nelson came up to the majors as a member of the White Sox. Then after a visit with the Orioles, he was selected by the Royals in the expansion draft. He became a key part of Kansas City's first starting rotation, going 7-13 with a 3.31 ERA.

Nelson didn't do much the next two years, but had a 2.08 ERA in 34 games in 1972 for K.C. That enabled the Royals to trade him to the Reds for Hal McRae. Nelson had two mediocre years for the Reds, then bounced around between the White Sox, A's and Royals until 1976.

Back facts: Topps makes a valiant effort in the write-up, but it's all for naught as the White Sox went and released Nelson.

Other blog stuff: The orange-brown border combo regains sole possession of the overall lead with this card, the 49th orange-brown bordered card.

#554 - Rich Gossage

Card fact: You might expect the card to say "Goose Gossage," but card companies didn't start identifying Gossage as "Goose" on the front of cards until the mid-1980s when Fleer and Donruss began doing so.

What I thought about this card then: It seems a little odd to see Gossage without his trademark Fu-Manchu, but not terribly so, as my brother had this card and we were acquainted with Gossage before he went all New York on everyone.

What I think about this card now: Always liked the red White Sox caps.

Other stuff: Gossage was one of the most imposing relief pitchers of his time, part of a new breed of reliever that included Al Hrabosky, Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter and Sparky Lyle. Except for one season when he went 9-17 for the 1976 White Sox, Gossage was a reliever exclusively. He led the league in saves three times, the first time in 1975.

His best seasons came with the Yankees. He was famously signed by New York after the 1977 season, even though the Yankees already had Lyle, who had just come off a Cy Young-winning season in '77. Gossage took over the closer role with a standout '78 and became the Yankees' primary reliever through the 1983 season.

Gossage later pitched for the Padres, Cubs, Giants, Rangers, A's and Mariners until 1994. He was voted into the Hall of Fame in 2008. He makes many public appearances and is active in his community in Colorado Springs, Colo., which is where he grew up.

Oh, and one more thing ... George Brett.

Back facts: That is some kind of season he had in 1971 at Appleton.

Other blog stuff: On this date in 1982, Cal Ripken Jr. began his consecutive games played streak by starting at third base against the Blue Jays.

#528 - Eddie Leon

Card fact: This is the last card Topps issued of Eddie Leon during his career.

What I thought about this card then: This is another card that I associate with my childhood friend, Jennifer. Along with Eric Soderholm, Dock Ellis and Ellie Rodriguez, Jennifer had this Eddie Leon card. The image on this card has been burned into my brain, and every time I see the card, I can see the inside of my friend Jennifer's house.

What I think about this card now: Leon doesn't appear to be anywhere near home plate in this photo, yet he's got the bat and the helmet.

Also, the green-purple border goes well with the photo.

Other stuff: Leon was a second baseman and shortstop for the Indians and White Sox from 1968-75. He started for Cleveland in 1970 and 1971 and again for the White Sox in 1973.

Like many middle infielders of the time, he didn't hit very well. He was your prototypical "get the runner over" player. He bunted a lot. In 1970, he led the American League in sacrifice hits.

Back facts: You can see the "Traded to the New York Yankees 12/5/74" added at the end of the write-up. This is the second straight card that Topps added a last minute transaction to the write-up.

In another similarity to the last card, this card features a player who participated in one game for the new team mentioned by Topps and then moved on. Like Mac Scarce, Leon played in a single game for the Yankees. But unlike Scarce, that was Leon's last major league appearance. Scarce played again in 1978.

Other blog stuff: A happy birthday to Davey Lopes who is 66 years old and the first base coach for the Dodgers today.

#504 - Buddy Bradford

Card fact: This is the second and last card of a player named Buddy in this set. The other was Buddy Bell.

Actually, there is a third player named Buddy in the set. Buddy Solomon was a pitcher for the Dodgers that we'll see when the Rookie Prospects cards show up. But he is referred to by his given name "Eddie" in this set.

What I thought about this card then: I didn't see it. In fact, there was an African-American pitcher named Larry Bradford who pitched for the Braves in the late '70s. By the time I was aware of Buddy Bradford, I assumed they were the same person and Buddy decided to go by his given name of "Larry."

What I think about this card now: It is all kinds of miscut. I might have to search out a new copy at the card show coming up.

Other stuff: Bradford was a platoon-type player for several teams, mostly the White Sox, between 1966-76. He didn't hit for a high average (.226 for his career), but he had some power, which kept him attractive to some teams. The Indians, Reds, Cardinals and the White Sox, for a second time, all traded for him.

After his major league career ended in 1976, Bradford played for a year in Japan. He later became a successful businessman.

Back facts: OK, I am going to say this one time. The final pitch that Don Larsen threw to pinch-hitter Dale Mitchell that was called strike three by Babe Pinelli and clinched the only perfect game in World Series history was NOT A STRIKE. Too close to take? Maybe. But irksome just the same.

Other blog stuff: Today's date produced plenty of baseball breakthroughs. On this date in baseball:

• The Cardinals debuted their "birds on a bat" uniforms in 1924.
• Pete Rose made his first major league plate appearance in 1963 (he walked).
• The Astros and Dodgers played the first MLB game on synthetic grass in 1966.
• The Royals, Padres, Expos and Pilots all made their MLB debuts and each won in 1969.
• Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's all-time home run record with No. 715 in 1974.
• Frank Robinson made his debut as baseball's first African-American manager in 1975.
• The Mariners registered their first major league victory in 1977.
• Jim Abbott made his major league debut in 1989.
• Chan Ho Park was the first Korean to play in an MLB game in 1994 (his team was no-hit by Kent Mercker)

#480 - Carlos May

Card fact: Carlos May is one half of one of the brother combinations in this set. His brother, Lee May, was featured way back on card #25.

Other brothers with cards in this set are Phil and Joe Niekro, Gaylord and Jim Perry, Graig and Jim Nettles, Bob and Ken Forsch, and George and Ken Brett.

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

What I think about this card now: I love how the player in the background practically GLOWS because of the White Sox's uniform. Please let it be Dick Allen, please let it be Dick Allen, please let it be Dick Allen.

Other stuff: May started off strong with the White Sox, despite getting most of his right thumb blown off during a mortar unit cleaning accident while in the Marine reserves. His incident was a mild childhood obsession of mine.

May was named the Sporting News rookie of the year in 1969, even though Lou Piniella won the actual MLB rookie of the year award that year. May continued to put up decent numbers for Chicago throughout the early 1970s. But by the mid-70s, he was expendable and acquired by the Yankees the day after his birthday in 1976.

May played in the World Series for the Yankees that season, but it was his last hurrah. He didn't play much in '77, and ended his career with the Angels that same year. He then played four years in Japan, and now works in community relations with the White Sox.

Oh, and he's the only guy to wear his birthdate, "May 17," on the back of his uniform. He switched his uniform number from 29 to 17 after his first season.

Back facts: I think Topps was being a little generous giving May a card number ending in zero. May took a downturn in 1974.

Other blog stuff: The No. 1 song in the country on this date in 1975 was "Black Water" by the Doobie Brothers. "And I ain't got no worries, cause I ain't in no hurry at all."

Sure would like to be that dude.

#446 - Bart Johnson

Card fact: This card is in the top five of the cards that we made fun of the most as kids in 1975. Bart Johnson is right up there with Bruce Ellingsen and Gene Locklear.

What I thought about this card then: It horrified me. I believe it was the combination of Johnson's overgrown curly hair and his name, "Bart," that made me never want to have the card. My brother owned it, and I was so happy he was stuck with it.

What I think about this card now: It's not as bad as I thought then. It's fairly apparent that Johnson is bad-ass. His 1974 Topps card is awesome.

Other stuff: Johnson was a very talented athlete, who played basketball in college and was recruited by John Wooden. He selected baseball over basketball because he said his chances of making an impact in the pros was better in baseball.

Johnson possessed a terrific fastball, but he enjoyed only limited success on the mound. Injuries were a bit of a problem. An offseason basketball injury had him playing the outfield early in his career. But he returned to pitching and was both a starter and a reliever. He was at the height of his success in 1974, winning 10 games.

A herniated disc caused by a slip on a wet mound cost him the entire 1975 season. He returned to lose 16 games for the White Sox in 1976 and his last season was in 1977.

Johnson was kind of an outspoken character. When the White Sox wanted to send him down early in 1974, he threatened to retire and try out for the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics.

After his career, Johnson became a longtime scout for the White Sox.

(EDIT: Bart Johnson died at age 70 on April 22, 2020).

Back facts: I suppose it could have been worse when I was a kid. Johnson could have been "Clair Johnson" on the front of his card.

Other blog stuff: On this date in 1975, the Number 1 song in the country was "Fire" by the Ohio Players. They were the ones who featured lovely ladies on their album covers, covered in whipped cream or honey or something. I don't know. I was 9.

#422 - Brian Downing

Card fact: This is Brian Downing's first solo card. He makes an appearance on a four-player rookie card in the 1974 set.

What I thought about this card then: This was a card I didn't see until I was trying to complete the set about six years ago.

What I think about this card now: Downing seems transfixed by something off-camera.

Other stuff: Brian Downing was a catcher-outfielder-DH type who came up with the White Sox. He was dealt to the Angels in the deal for Bobby Bonds (and Rich Dotson, Thad Bosley and Chris Knapp), which proved to be Downing's big break.

Downing enjoyed a breakout year in 1979 when he hit .326 in 148 games and made his first All-Star team. The Angels won the A.L. West that season, and there was a lot of talk about Downing's weight-training prior to the season and how it led to his great season. It was the first time that I heard of a baseball player weight-training. That may seem silly to younger fans who know players to train with weights on a regular basis. But it just didn't happen in the 1970s.

Downing continued to play well for the Angels, helping them to another pennant in 1982 and 1986. His time behind the plate decreased and he became more of an outfielder and DH. Downing's career lasted until 1992 with the Rangers.

Back facts: I think the term is "clothes-line hit" or "he clothes-lined that." A "clothes line" is what holds up your delicates in the summer breeze.

Other blog stuff: The green-light green border combo makes a return after being absent for 63 cards. With this card, it is now in third place among the color combos. Only orange-brown and pink-yellow are ahead of it.

#400 - Dick Allen

Card fact: This is the first time that an all-star card has landed on a century number, meaning I need to update the all-star list AND update the state of the set on the same post.

Normally, I do both under the heading of "other blog stuff." But this time I will feature the all-star update in the "card fact" portion. Here it is:

AL

1B - Dick Allen
2B -
3B - Brooks Robinson
SS - Bert Campaneris
OF - Bobby Murcer
OF -
OF -
C - Carlton Fisk
P -

NL

1B - Steve Garvey
2B - Joe Morgan
3B - Ron Cey
SS -
OF - Hank Aaron
OF - Pete Rose
OF -
C - Johnny Bench
P -

What I thought about this card then: I didn't have it. But I vaguely recall someone else having it. I remember some cool kid I knew owned it, and I thought it was unattainable. Not that I wasn't a cool kid or anything.

What I think about this card now: Just a great card. But I've had a difficult time getting it well-centered. This one is better than what I had.

Other stuff: Lordy, where do you start? Allen was one of the most controversial figures in baseball history. He started out as a powerful star for the Phillies, winning N.L. Rookie of the Year honors in 1964, but was relentlessly booed by Philadelphia fans during his time there. Because of perceptions that he was difficult, he was traded to St. Louis for Curt Flood, a deal in which Flood famously refused to go to Philadelphia.

Allen was then traded to the Dodgers, who after a year, sent him to the White Sox in the Tommy John deal. Allen enjoyed a resurgence in Chicago, capturing the A.L. MVP award in 1972 and recording three strong seasons, despite a '73 season abbreviated by a broken leg. But Allen left the White Sox in mid-September after a feud with teammate Ron Santo. The White Sox shipped him to the Braves in the offseason. Allen later returned to Philadelphia for 1975 and 1976 and finished his career with Oakland in 1977.

Throughout the latter stages of his career, Allen is pictured wearing a helmet, even while in the field (such as on this card). Allen began wearing a helmet in the field in Philadelphia when fans started hurling objects at him.

Topps used three different first names for Allen during his career. It started out with "Richie," which is what he was called while with the Phillies. Then with the 1970 set, Topps shortened Allen's name to "Rich." It stayed that way until 1973 when it became "Dick." Allen said that he was always called "Dick" growing up and thought "Richie" was a little boy's name.

Allen is considered by many as a Hall of Famer and possibly the most obvious example of a player being undeservedly left out of the Hall. Detractors say Allen's career was a little too short and his fielding was not good.

(EDIT: Dick Allen died Dec, 7, 2020 at age 78, while still waiting for election to the Hall).

Back facts: There is the sad fact, White Sox fans. Traded to the Braves, right on the back of his White Sox card!

Other blog stuff: Inventory time! After 100 more cards, let's see what we have:

1. COLOR COMBINATIONS

Orange-brown has poured on the coal and padded its lead after holding only a one-card edge after 300 cards. Some of the earlier leaders/favorites, like green-light green, purple-pink and green-purple have fallen way behind. Last-place yellow-green didn't have one card in the past 100:

1. Orange-brown: 40
2. Pink-yellow: 34
3. Green-light green: 27
4. Yellow-red: 27
5. Purple-pink: 26
6. Green-purple: 25
7. Blue-orange: 20
8. Brown-tan: 20
9. Orange-yellow: 19
10. Red-orange: 19
11. Tan-light blue: 19
12. Yellow-light blue: 19
13. Red-blue: 18
14. Green-yellow: 17
15. Red-yellow: 17
16. Light blue-green: 16
17. Brown-orange: 15
18. Yellow-green: 12

2. POWDER BLUE UNIFORMS

Eleven more cards, including this one, to total 49 so far.

3. LOOKING UP

Just two more players looking to the skies for a grand total of 11. That's got to increase later in the set.

4. DUDE LOOKS LIKE A LADY

One guy who seemed like a gal to me back then. So the grand total is 9.

5. DECEASED

Eleven more departed players to add -- including a couple of recent ones in Ed Kirkpatrick and Ron Santo who weren't even in the last 100 cards. The total is at 39.

6. CHAW

Jackie Brown is the third player to display a chaw on cardboard thus far.

7. MLB SONS

Four more players who had sons who played in the majors. That's 19 total.

8. ROOKIE CUP/ALL-STARS

7/11

9. MOST POPULAR FIRST NAME

Jim has passed Dave/David and is now the overall leader with 17 players with that name.

10. MINIS

We had a mini surge. A total of 55 cards in the set thus far I have in mini form. That is 13.8 percent, up slightly from 100 cards ago.

All right, time to hit the next 100! Up next, one of the worst airbrush jobs in the entire set. Just awful.

#373 - Bill Sharp

Card fact: Bill Sharp received three Topps cards during his major league career. This is the second of the three.

What I thought about this card then: My brother had this card. It was not one of our favorite cards. But it wasn't one of the cards that we poked fun at in 1975. Just missed the cut, I guess.

What I think about this card now: I can see why we didn't like it as kids. The hair sticking up out of his cap is a little annoying.

Other stuff: Sharp was a defensive standout who was picked in the second round of the 1971 amateur draft by the White Sox. He started well during part of a season in 1973, and remained a regular in the outfield for the White Sox in 1974.

Chicago traded Sharp to Milwaukee in May of 1975. He continued to start for the Brewers into the 1976 season, when a knee injury began to affect his playing time. He didn't play in the majors after 1976.

Back facts: Topps likes the term "ballhawk." It was used in one of the cartoons earlier in the set. I also like Topps' long-winded praise of Sharp's defensive abilities.

Other blog stuff: Tom Seaver is 66 years old today. I just posted his card over the weekend. I'll feature a card of someone on his birthday yet!

#348 - Tony Muser

Card fact: This is the final Topps card featuring Tony Muser as a White Sox player. He was traded to the Orioles in the middle of the 1975 season.

What I thought about this card then: This was another one of those cards that I saw both in regular form and in mini form (I had the mini card). In fact, it seemed every kid I knew who collected cards in 1975 had the Tony Muser card. It was just always there.

What I think about this card now: I'm sure there have been some teams that have worn the "TV" numbers on the sleeves of their uniforms recently, but I don't remember them being as large and apparent as they were for the White Sox in the '70s.

Other stuff: Muser was a part-time, role-player kind of a first baseman, mostly with the White Sox and the Orioles. He was given the starting first base job for the White Sox in 1973, and his wikipedia page almost laughingly mentions Muser's career highs of 4 home runs and 30 RBIs that year.

Muser was more of a contact hitter and solid fielder. But as his time with the Orioles progressed, he stopped hitting. He spent 15 games with the Brewers in 1978 and that was that. He became a coach and eventually worked his way up to managing the Royals for five years. He is now an instructor in the Padres organization.

Back facts: OK, I must address the write-up.

It says:

"Tony is unbelievably consistent."

He's not just "consistent," but so consistent that you cannot believe it. And what is the proof that he is consistent beyond belief?

"He regularly hits around the .285 mark ..."

Well, I'm sorry. If someone is going to be UNBELIEVABLY consistent, then they must hit .285 on the nose every time. Not "around," not "regularly," but every time and always.

Other blog stuff: The orange-brown color combination has just broken a two-way tie at the top with "pink-yellow" to be the overall color combination leader, so far, with 33 cards.

#327 - Jerry Hairston

Card fact: This is a card of the father of not one, but two current major leaguers.

What I thought about this card then: I had the mini card, and I didn't think much of it because the whole time I had it, it was in terrible shape. Creases everywhere. I think I salvaged it from another kid who had mutilated it. I couldn't stand to see it suffer anymore and took it for my own.

What I think about this card now: Jerry's got that "I just spotted a flying saucer" look on his face.

Other stuff: Jerry Hairston is one of three three-generation families in major league baseball. The others are the Bells and the Boones. Hairston's father, Sam, was a Negro League player who played in the majors for the White Sox in 1951. Hairston's brother, Johnny, played very briefly for the Cubs in 1969.

Meanwhile, his sons Jerry Jr. and Scott play for the Padres.

All of this has been very confusing for me. Hairston threw me for quite a loop when I was a young collector. He played for the White Sox in the mid-1970s, then he disappeared. He wasn't much of a player, so I totally forgot about him. Then, around 1983, I started seeing him on baseball cards again. "Who is this guy?" I wondered. I figured it couldn't be the same player from the mid-70s. It must be a different Jerry Hairston.

Well, not only was he the same Jerry Hairston, but he would go on to play all the way until 1989. He spent his entire career -- except for half a season with the Pirates in 1977 -- with the White Sox. He never reached 300 at-bats in any season as he was used mostly as a pinch-hitter.

And the reason why he disappeared from the majors is he played in the Mexican League from 1978-80.

Believe me, when I found out that there was a Jerry Hairston playing in the majors in the late 1990s, I thought that the Jerry Hairston on this 1975 Topps card was STILL playing. Much to my relief, it was his son.

That's the kind of confusion you can create when you give your kid the same name as you AND disappear to play in the Mexican League.

Back facts: The cartoon asks: "Who the 'Iron Horse'?" I just love it when cartoons speak gangsta.

Other blog stuff: Here is the regular-sized card next to that wrinkly mini card that I saved:

#299 - Bucky Dent

Card fact: The orange-yellow color combination had been dead last until Bucky Dent came along. Now it's tied for second-to-last.

What I thought about this card then: Somebody had this card, probably my brother. I thought it was kind of a cool shot.

What I think about this card now: Dent's card features the rookie cup logo, but he had a card all to himself in the 1974 Topps set, too. That was a bit unusual back then. The rookie cup card was often a player's first card, or his first solo card -- something other than one of those 2-player or 4-player rookie cards.

Other stuff: I do not associate Dent with his time with the White Sox (or the Rangers) at all. I think of Dent as a Yankee and I think of him upsetting Red Sox fans everywhere with that cheap-ass home run in the 1978 special playoff game at Fenway Park. I watched the game, after coming home from school, in the basement rec room of my friend, a Yankee fan. It was depressing.

Dent symbolized, for me, the undeserved attention heaped on Yankee ballplayers. Dent was a mediocre hitter at best. Most of Dent's best offensive seasons were in his early years with the White Sox. With the exception of the 1980 season -- in which he was inexplicably voted to start the All-Star Game -- Dent's numbers declined while with the Yankees. Eventually, he was traded to the Rangers for Lee Mazzilli, and his career ended in 1984.

Dent later became a manager in the minor leagues and was a bench coach with the Reds as recently as 2007. He also runs a baseball school.

Back facts: Bill Robinson played at this time, but I am going to go ahead and assume that by "B. Robinson," the cartoon means Brooks Robinson.

Also, did you know that not only was Bucky Dent's first name Russell, but that the last name he was born with was "O'Dey"?

Hmmm ... "Russell F--- ing O'Dey" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Other blog stuff: We have our shortstop for the Topps All-Rookie team. Here is what we have so far:

1B - Mike Hargrove
2B - ?
3B - Bill Madlock
SS - Bucky Dent
OF - Bake McBride
OF - ?
OF - ?
C - Barry Foote
P - Frank Tanana

#276 - White Sox/Chuck Tanner

Card fact: I have two of them:

1. This is the fourth team card to use the light blue-tan color combination. That's more than any other color combo used on a team card.

2. This is the only White Sox team card to use the floating heads. The Cubs started the "floating heads on team cards" trend in the 1971 set and used it again in '72 and '74. But suddenly, the White Sox appeared as floating heads in the '75 set and the Cubs used the traditional (or "untraditional" for them) team shot. Then, in 1976, the Cubs reverted back to the floating heads and the White Sox the team shot and everything was normal from there on out.

The question: Why oh why did the White Sox get the floating heads in 1975? This has perplexed me for decades!

What I thought about this card then: Floating heads! Floating heads! They're so funny!

What I think about this card now: This has to be the goofiest card in the whole set. And there are a lot of goofy cards in the set.

Other stuff: The White Sox finished 80-80 in 1974 (what happened to the other two games?). They declined after that and Chuck Tanner was out of a job after the 1975 season. Chicago re-emerged in 1977 under Bob Lemon and "the Southside Hitmen."

Back facts: Roger Nelson is listed in the right-hand column, about midway through. Nelson was purchased by the White Sox from the Reds in the fall of 1975, and Topps responded by airbrushing Nelson into a White Sox cap on his '75 card. But Nelson never played for the White Sox. He was released by the team in March of 1975. Oops.

Other blog stuff: Let's see if Topps left out anyone notable from the White Sox's 1974 team.

The White Sox used 40 players in 1974, and Topps featured 26 of them in the set, plus a guy who didn't play for the White Sox. But it didn't leave out anyone too notable. Bill Stein had the most at-bats for a person who didn't get a card, with 43. Up-and-coming Lamar Johnson batted 29 times and didn't get a card. Among the pitchers, poor Bill "Bugs" Moran pitched 15 games for the White Sox and started five, recording a 1-3 record. It would be his only major league season. But he never got a card.

So, here is where the White Sox rate with the other teams shown so far, in terms of percentage of players in the set from the respective 1974 squads:

1. Tigers 78.37% of players featured
2. Orioles 78.13%
3. Giants 71.43%
4. Royals 70.59%
5. Red Sox 70.27%
6. Angels 68.89%
7. Expos 68.29%
8. Cardinals 65.12%
9. White Sox 65.0%
10. Phillies 62.5%
11. Padres 55.8%

#243 - Jim Kaat

Card fact: I'm stumped for facts on this card. I will say that Topps did a pretty good job getting a photo of Kaat in a White Sox uniform in his 1974 card as he was acquired off waivers from the Twins in August of 1973.

What I thought about this card then: I had the mini card. I've mentioned this before, but 1975 was unique in that you could go the entire card season having the mini card of someone, but not the regular-sized card. When I finally picked up the regular-sized card of Kaat, it looked freakishly large.

What I think about this card now: It looks freakishly large.

Other stuff: Jim Kaat was one of those few major league players who played in four decades. When he retired, he held the mark for the most seasons in an MLB career for a pitcher. That, and his tremendous fielding ability -- he once held the record for his position with 16 Gold Glove awards -- were his on-field claims to fame. He also won 25 games for the AL champion Twins in 1965.

At this point in his career, Kaat was known mostly for his association with one organization -- the Senators/Twins. But he was let go by Minnesota in 1973 and the White Sox picked him up. Kaat proceeded to record back-to-back 20-win seasons for Chicago. But the White Sox then traded him to the Phillies after 1975. That's when Kaat began to bounce around from Philadelphia to the Yankees to St. Louis.

Kaat later became known for his broadcasting. He was an announcer for CBS and ESPN as well as the Twins and Yankees. I know him for his time with the Yankees. He was the voice of reason, along with Ken Singleton, that balanced out Michael Kay. Sadly, Kaat has retired from regular broadcasting, but Kay is still going.

One last thing: Kaat always looks amused. I like that.

Back facts: Kaat pitched for nine more years after this card came out. How would have Topps fit nine extra years AND the cartoon onto the back of this card?

Other blog stuff: I'll just show the regular card and the mini card side-by-side. That's always fun. At least for me.