A little something extra

No, this is not a repeat of yesterday’s post. It’s not even the same image.But a comment on yesterday’s post guessed at what this post — and the surprise — would be. Sort of.I received a thank you package in the mail from Andy of the Baseball-Referen…

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Every 100 cards of this set, I conducted an update of the 1975 Topps set. From the time I was a kid, there were always elements about the set that I wanted to quantify, and this blog was the perfect opportunity to do that:Which border color combination…

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Card fact: Hank Aaron is airbrushed into Brewers gear after the Braves dealt him to Milwaukee on Nov. 2, 1974.What I thought about this card then: Not much. I traded the Aaron card in order to get the ’75 card of my favorite player, Ron Cey. It’s just …

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Card fact: This is Bob Apodaca’s first solo card. He appears on a four-player rookie card in the 1974 Topps set (there is both an error version and corrected version of his ’74 card. His name is spelled “Apodaco” in the error version).What I thought ab…

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Card fact: This is Vic Harris’ last Topps card until the 1978 Topps set.What I thought about this card then: Never saw it.What I think about this card now: I know the Harris 1978 card well. He’s with the Giants. It took me a long time to realize that t…

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Card fact: This is the last Topps card issued of Bob Oliver during his career.What I thought about this card then: This is one of the first cards I ever saw in 1975. It came out of my brother’s first packs of cards. It’s still strange to see this card …

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Card fact: We’re getting down to the wire here. This is the last card featuring a photo of a player posing with a bat.What I thought about this card then: I never saw it.What I think about this card now: I upgraded this card a year or so ago after bein…

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Card fact: Rico Carty is airbrushed into an Indians cap and uniform. I can only guess at what uniform he was really wearing. He played for Texas, the Cubs and Oakland in 1973 and in 33 games for Cleveland in 1974.What I thought about this card then: Di…

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Card fact: This is the last card in the set of a player wearing a powder blue uniform. Yup, we’re really nearing the end.What I thought about this card then: I didn’t see it. However, Jerry Terrell has the honor of being the first card pulled by my bro…

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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 …

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Card fact: This is the final Topps card issued during Lindy McDaniel’s career. His last major league season was in 1975.What I thought about this card then: My brother had this card. To us, McDaniel looked like the definition of a veteran major leaguer…

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Card fact: This is John Morlan’s only Topps card.What I thought about this card then: I never saw it. No clue who John Morlan was until completing the set in 2004.What I think about this card now: I give my 9-year-old self a lot of flack for thinking p…

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Card fact: This is the last of five players with the last name “May” in the set. The others were Lee, Carlos, Milt and Rudy.What I thought about this card then: My brother had this card. We thought the card was weird and May a bit odd-looking. It’s not…

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Card fact: This is the only Topps card of Jack Heidemann in which he’s featured wearing long hair and a mustache. From 1970-73, he’s clean-shaven. When he reappears on a Topps card in 1977, he’s also clean-shaven.What I thought about this card then: Ne…

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Card fact: This is Dave Pagan’s first solo card.What I thought about this card then: I didn’t see it.What I think about this card now: He looks like a guy who we would have made fun of as kids.Other stuff: Pagan was signed by the Yankees in 1970. After…

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Card fact: Well, well, rookie cup, where have you been? It’s been 135 cards since the last rookie cup. And this is the final Topps All-Star Rookie cup card in the set.What I thought about this card then: My friend, the A’s bandwagon fan, had this card….

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Card fact: This is the final checklist card in the set.What I thought about this card then: No idea.What I think about this card now: Nothing that I haven’t said already. Checklists don’t exactly evoke deep thoughts.Other stuff: The pink-yellow border …

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Card fact: This is the final Topps card of Danny Cater issued during his career.What I thought about this card then: My brother had the mini card. I thought Cater looked old and British.What I think about this card now: He still looks vaguely British. …

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Card fact: This card seems to illustrate to me, more than any other in the set for some reason, how difficult it is to be a catcher — simply from the stance that the position requires. Personally, I try to avoid squatting as often as I can. And if I h…

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Card fact: Brent Strom is wearing an airbrushed Padres cap (a not very accurate one, too). He was likely wearing an Indians cap, or less likely, one from a minor league team.What I thought about this card then: Ladies and gentlemen, as kids we may have…

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Card fact: This is the only Topps card of Mike Phillips in which he is wearing a mustache. He has 11 Topps card and in 10 of them, he is clean-shaven.In fact, he looks so different on this card that I’ve often wondered whether Topps took a photo of som…

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Card fact: This is the final Topps card issued of Jim Northrup during his career. He retired after the 1975 season.What I though about this card then: Never saw it.What I think about this card now: It is blatantly obvious that Northrup is wearing a Tig…

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Card fact: This is the final card Topps card issued of Harmon Killebrew during his playing career. He had appeared in just about every Topps flagship set from 1955-75 (he’s not in the 1957 set).What I thought about this card then: I had the mini card. …

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Card fact: This is the final card of Steve Kline issued by Topps during his playing career.What I thought about this card then: Didn’t see it.What I think about this card now: He’s not really wearing an Indians cap. He’s actually a Yankee in disguise.O…

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Card fact: This is the final team card in the set. I’ll commemorate it by noting which color combinations were used with each team:1. Orange-yellow (8): Yankees, Braves, Reds, Rangers, Twins, Angels, Royals, Phillies2. Brown-orange (6): Cubs, A’s, Astr…

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Card fact: I’ve lost track of the number cards in which the signature doesn’t match the name listed on the bottom. But here is another example. Ted Martinez refers to himself as “Teddy.”What I thought about this card: I first saw this card in the posse…

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Card fact: This is Charlie Moore’s first solo card. He appeared on a four-player rookie card in the 1974 Topps set.What I thought about this card then: No knowledge of it.What I think about this card now: Moore is one of those guys that uses circles in…

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Card fact: Chuck Dobson is wearing an airbrushed Angels cap and uniform. Dobson was acquired by the Angels in June of 1974. This is also Dobson’s first Topps card since the 1972 set and the final Topps card issued during his career.What I thought about…

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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 tha…

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Card fact: This is the final Topps card issued of Paul Casanova during his playing career.What I thought about this card then: I had the mini card. I didn’t have any thoughts except I would always confuse him with long-ago Cubs all-star Phil Cavarretta…

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Card fact: This is Morris Nettles’ rookie card.What I thought about this card then: I didn’t see it.What I think about this card now: This is the first 1975 O-Pee-Chee card I ever obtained. When I was trying to complete the set in 2004, the dealer that…

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Card fact: This is the final Dodger card in the 1975 Topps set.What I thought about this card then: I didn’t see it. It was one of the last Dodger cards I needed to finish the team set.What I think about this card now: It’s a happy card as Lee Lacy pos…

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Card fact: This is the seventh time that there has been back-to-back cards of players wearing powder blue uniforms. Five of those occasions involved Phillies players.What I thought about this card then: I didn’t see it. The first Greg Luzinski card I s…

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Card fact: This is Joe Hoerner’s penultimate Topps card. His final card is in the 1977 set as a Ranger.What I thought about this card then: This was a card that I obtained early in the ’75 season and I traded it in that deal for some ’75 minis.What I t…

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Card fact: This is one of the cards that I pulled out of those first three packs of cards I ever bought.What I thought about this card then: It helped me become a Tigers fan at an early age, since I also pulled the Mickey Stanley and John Hiller cards …

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