1974 Deckle Dating: Dave Nelson

Very up-close photo of Texas speedster Dave Nelson.

On the back we have a date and location - Oakland, on Saturday, July 28, 1973. In a day game, the Rangers fell to the A's, 6-4. Nelson got a single and a walk in five plate appearances. Elsewhere the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen set the record for the largest audience at a music festival, NASA launched Skylab 3, and Lee Majors, TVs Six Million Dollar Man, wed a young actress named Farrah Fawcett.

Nelson's other oddball cards from 1974 are all spring training shots. But his base Topps card may be from the same series. It's a night game, and the background is somewhat dark and murky. July 28 was a day game but this could certainly be Oakland. The two teams played a doubleheader on Sunday. The second game ended around 7:15 local time, probably too early for the lights to be on, though it is possible the photographer was there for the two games in daylight and stayed as it got darker. Nelson did lead off the top of the ninth, popping out to cap an 0-for-5 night in a 7-4 loss. It is more likely that this was Monday night, July 30, when Texas's Jim Bibby no-hit the A's! Bibby had a five-run lead before he even took the mound, as the Rangers teed off of Vida Blue with five runs in the first, even though Nelson grounded out to lead off the game. (He ended up 2-for-4). Sure, this could be a completely different park and game, but its cool that there's a bit of a higher probability that it was a no-hit game.