Tom Terrific.
51 years ago today! Back when this was still spring training time.
The same photo was used for his 1973 Topps base card.
April 2, 1973 does seem far too late for a photo that appeared on a card in the third series of the 1973 set, especially this was the first year Topps started testing releasing the whole set at once. This
post on Net54 indicates that the final series was printed over the winter, so there is no way this could be April 2, 1973. The Mets were off that day, before traveling to Kinston, NC to play an exhibition against the Yankees the next day. My first thought was - what if this was April 2, 1972? I looked it up, that is the day that Gil Hodges, the Mets Manager, died of a heart attack on a golf course in West Palm Beach.
Interesting. What if Topps just made up dates and figured nobody would actually take the time to double check the info.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even know these '74 Deckles existed until I saw a few at a show last month. Kinda wish they were a little more affordable.
ReplyDeleteI suspect Fuji might be on to something. It would've been a lot harder for folks to look these dates up back then.
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