I have a poll up in the corner. Go ahead and vote for me.
About a month ago, I received my first 1976 SSPC cards. Which sent me into a frenzy.
I had to have more. So I now have about 87% of the set. Somehow I'm really low on Royals and Phillies. Which would make more sense if it was 1980....
Anyway, I detailed in an earlier post some of the things that fascinated me about the set.
Here then are 8 more things that grab my attention about 1976 SSPC:
8. Duke Snider
I have no Duke Snider cards from his playing days. And I doubt I will anytime soon. Now I have one of him as a "Hitting Instructor"
7. Ex-
Those aren't Manager cards. They're Ex-Manager cards.
6. Toledo Mud Hens
There's also Tidewater Tides. And Ken Crosby is pictured on a card in pinstripes, that I'm guessing might be Syracuse or Manchester.
5. Ray Fosse
What's fascinating about Ray Fosse? I think this picture is from 1972 or so. One thing about the SSPC set is that they kept up with the flurry of trades in December of 1975 by changing the team name on the back of the card. But they left the picture on the front of the player in the uniform they played in in 1975. Except Fosse. He was traded back to the Indians, and I think they found an old picture.
4. Willie Randolph in a Pirate uniform
Awesome.
3. Helmet numbers
I'm sure there are Cub fans out there that can correct me on this, but I've never seen (noticed?) numbers on the front of Cubs' helmets before.
2. Bluntness
"The Dodgers gave up on Tom..." The back of Earl Williams card says "He never liked catching..." while Dave Kingman's says "The San Francisco Giants decided they'd had enough of Dave's striking out..."
1. Jimmie Reese
'Nough said.
There's so much to like about SSPC. The Randolph is probably my favorite in the entire set because it's the only solo card to feature him as a Pirate, as far as I know. The Snider is a close second.
ReplyDeleteI never knew about the Ex-Manager listings before this post. Now I have to go back and check if I have any.
I'm sure the Giants and A's hadn't filled their skipper positions yet, so they just left the former managers in there. Both write-ups mention the firings.
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