The card, in brief: The photo itself is pretty standard, so I'll just point out the great orange uniform. This was the first year of the bright orange Astros uniform. Here's a great article about how it was almost even wilder.
Playing career, in brief: Ken Forsch came up with the Astros as part of the starting rotation in 1971. He moved to the bullpen in 1974 and put up excellent numbers over the next five seasons. In 1979 he returned to the rotation and was better than ever, going 11-6 with a 3.04 ERA, leading the NL in WHIP and BB/9. After the 1980 season he was traded to the Angels straight up for Dickie Thon. Both players had three excellent seasons for their teams. Then, on April 7, 1984 Forsch dislocated his shoulder, an injury which effectively ended his career, managing just a brief comeback in 1986. The very next day, April 8, Thon was hit in the eye socket by a Mike Torrez pitch, permanently damaging his sight and derailing his own promising career. Odd coincidence that two guys traded straight up for each other suffered devastating injuries a day apart, three years later.
Post-playing career, in brief: After his retirement Forsch worked in commercial real estate, and was a member of the Angels front office for many years, winning a World Series ring in 2002. He is now retired and living in California.
My collection: I have 34 of his cards, from 1971 to 1986. I would be interested in trading for 1979 Hostess #51.
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