Saturday, September 25, 2021

Wood vs. Wood #41

 Last time, the 1987 card ran away with the voting, 9-1. Maybe this time a '62 will win for the first time. Today it's a battle of the Reds:

Too bad my copy of Cliff Cook's card was folded into quarters at some point, it kind of obscures the logo on his jacket. He is presumably at the Reds spring training site in Tampa. The '87 card features Bo Diaz in his catcher's gear minus mask, presumably warming up a pitcher between innings. The red railing makes me wonder if this is West Palm Beach, Topps took a lot of photos there in the '80s.

Cliff Cook was a power-hitting prospect who hurt his back and was unable to live up to his considerable potential. This card was out of date soon after it was printed, as the Reds traded him to the expansion Mets in May of '62 for Don Zimmer. He hit 193 minor league home runs but only seven in the majors. After his career he worked in sporting goods, and is now retired.

Bo Diaz was a fine catcher for the Indians, Reds and Phillies, hitting 87 HR over 13 seasons. Sadly, he was killed a year after his retirement in a freak accident while adjusting a satellite dish on his roof.


5 comments:

  1. I'll go with Bo this round. It features a better design (in my opinion), nicer photo, and I'm familiar with the player. That doesn't mean it wasn't close. Cook's advantages are the Gold Star rookie and the fact that he's featured on a vintage piece of cardboard.

    p.s. Sad to hear that Diaz passed away at such a young age.

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  2. Cliff wins based purely on that star rookie logo.

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  3. I'll go with Cook and his Reds jacket. Didn't know about Diaz's death.

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