The front: Nice, classic baseball pose of Chambliss waiting
for the pitch to be thrown.
The back: Chambliss’s 37 doubles were ten more than the next
highest Brave, Dale Murphy.
The player: Chris Chambliss was the AL Rookie of the Year in
1971 with the Indians, but blossomed into a star after being traded to the
Yankees in 1974. In 1976 he hit .524 in the ALCS, cementing his name
permanently in baseball history with a walk-off, pennant-winning home run in
the deciding Game 5, plowing through raucous fans that were blocking his way
through the baselines. He was a key member of the Yankees’ 1977 and 1978
championships, but after the 1979 season was traded to Toronto for Rick Cerone,
to replace the late Thurman Munson. The Blue Jays flipped Chambliss to the
Braves, where he continued to be one of the most consistent hitters in the
major leagues, hitting 20 home runs in 1982 and 1983. Overall, in 2,175 major
league games, Chambliss hit .279 with 185 HR and 972 RBI.
The man: Chambliss was a long-time hitting coach, including
the Yankees during their four World Championships in five years from 1996-2000.
Though often considered a managerial candidate, he never got a chance at the
job, and was often considered an example of the bias against African-American
candidates in hiring managers.
My collection: I have 33 of his cards, from 1973 to 1987. I
would be interested in trading for 1972 Topps #142, 1974 Topps #384, and 1976
Hostess #58.
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