Thursday, September 30, 2010

Too soon?

A cool think in 1987 Topps Traded is that they got in some early 1987 highlights on the card backs. The weirdest was on Dion James's card - "At Shea Stadium, 4-12-87, Dion's batted ball struck a bird in flight and fell for a Double vs. Mets."

I remember watching that play on TV, though I don't remember whether it was live or on a reply. The New York Times account of the play has a couple of odd quotes. James says that "The bird died a hero," a phrase usually referred to bats, not living things. And the paper also notes that Mets shortstop Rafael Santana gave the bird to the "reluctant" ballgirl, even though he said "the girl looked like she was upset." Real chivalrous, Rafael. Nothing says gentleman like giving a girl a dead bird.

What's even cooler about this card is that James's photo was taken at Shea, which means it had to have been taken that day or at least that weekend.
at

2 comments:

  1. Collective TrollSeptember 30, 2010 at 11:34 AM

    Dude!!! I SO remember that!!! I wrote a letter addressed to "Ball Girl for Mets" and my Mom mailed it for me. I never got a reply. I'm sure it wasn't actually delivered... Anyway, the bird didn't die a hero - it was murdered by a brave! Yes, I was a Mets fan as a kid. My Mom and I watched WWOR every night together through the 80s...

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 30, 2010 at 11:34 AM

    Or in true Topps laziness, that photo was actually taken in 1984. ZING!

    Not possible, I know, because James wasn't with the Braves in '84. But whatever. Still funny.

    It's not? Screw you, man.

    Out.

    ReplyDelete