The front: Relaxing in the dugout with a mouth full of chewing tobacco.
The back: Fryman had had a long career and looked older than his real age of 40 on this card, but he still had three more seasons in him.
The player: A two-time All-Star, Woodie Fryman pitched for six teams over 18 seasons, primarily as a reliever until joining the Expos for a second time in 1978. Fryman was twice traded for a Hall-of-Famer (Jim Bunning, Tony Perez) and had perhaps his best season in 1972, when he was waived by the Phillies after a poor start, and went 10-3 with a 2.06 ERA, winning the division clincher against second-place Boston on the next-to-last day of the season. Overall in 625 games (322 starts) he went 141-155 with 58 saves and a 3.77 ERA.
The man: Widely regarded as a "Kentucky Gentleman" and one of baseball's good guys, Fryman returned home after his career to run his family's farm. He died of complications of Alzheimer's and heart disease in 2011 at the age of 70.
My collection: I have 35 of his cards, from 1967 to 1983. I would be interested in trading for 1966 Topps #498.
I like how as Fryman's career got to his later years, there were a lot more photos of him sitting down.
ReplyDeleteI like how his hat in the photo matches with the one on the card.
ReplyDelete