The back: The fact that he was a substitute teacher was also very interesting to me as a kid. Imagine one day you come in to school and your substitute teacher is a real big leaguer!
The player: Strain played in 169 major league games, for the Giants in 1979 and 1980, and the Cubs in 1981. He hit .250 with 1 HR and 29 RBI in 520 ABs.
The man: After his playing career Strain went back to teaching, for 20 years at Cherry Creek High School in Colorado. He was also a Giants scout, signing Sergio Romo among others. He is now an Assistant Coach at Metropolitan State University in Denver, a team head coached by his son Ryan Strain, who was a Giants minor leaguer for two seasons.
My collection: I have eight of his cards, from 1978 to 1982. I would be interested in trading for 1979 Cramer Phoenix Giants #9.
Unless he or one of the faculty said something, I doubt very many kids would've had any clue that he had been a professional ballplayer.
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