Sunday, April 19, 2020

1981 Topps Cardinals Future Stars


Skipping “front” and “back” for this card and just focusing on the players.

Tito Landrum
The player: Tito Landrum was a backup outfielder for three teams over nine season, mostly for the Cardinals. In 607 regular season games he hit just .249 with 13 HR and 111 RBI. However, he excelled in the postseason. In 1983, with the Orioles, he hit the game-winning home run in the ALCS clincher. Two years later, with the Cardinals, he subbed for the injured Vince Coleman and played in all 12 postseason games, hitting .385, including a home run in Game 4 of the World Series.

The man: After his playing career, Landrum, who now goes by his birth name of Terry, earned a physical therapy degree at NYU, and has maintained a physical therapy practice in Manhattan since the late 1990s.

My collection: I have 20 of his cards, from 1981 to 1988. I would be interested in trading for 1984 Fleer Update #69.

Al Olmsted
The player: Al Olmsted spent seven years in the minor leagues, mostly for the Cardinals. 1980 was his only major league season. He made five starts and was 1-1 with a 2.86 ERA. After the season he was traded to the Padres in the Rollie Fingers/Terry Kennedy deal. He has a terrible 1981 season at AAA Hawaii (8-9, 5.95 ERA) which is why he didn’t get another shot at the big leagues.

The man: Olmsted seems to have kept a low profile since his playing career ended. Anyone know where he is now?

My collection: This is the only card of his in my collection. I would be interested in trading for 1981 TCMA Hawaii Islanders #13.

Andy Rincon
The player: Andy Rincon pitched well in 1980 and 1981, going 6-2 with a 2.16 ERA. However, he was hit in the arm by a line drive by Phil Garner in 1981, and was never the same again. After a much less successful 1982 (2-3, 4.73), his major league career was over.

The man: According to the 1982 Topps Blog, Rincon is the Principal of a company called AJ’s Mall.

My collection: I have two of his cards, 1981 and 1982 Topps. I would be interested in trading for 1983 Riley’s Louisville Redbirds #17.

2 comments:

  1. Terry "Tito" Landrum actually went back to school after he was done playing baseball, and has a physical therapy practice in New York. There was a card shop outside of St. Louis, it's been closed for awhile, that had a ton of his bats and game used stuff that they got from him.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tito is the only one I remember.

    ReplyDelete