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Cardboard appreciation: 1974 Topps Don Hood

(I currently owe at least a dozen people cards. Please know that many of them will be on their way in the next seven days. I appreciate all the cards I receive, it's just that the wallet and the clock are always conspiring against me. Time for Cardboard Appreciation. This is the 75th in a series):


I'm trying to tie three things together, so let's see if I pull this off.

There are a lot of reasons to show this 1974 Topps Don Hood card. There is the palm tree. There is the chain-link fence. There is Hood's resemblance to Burt Reynolds, which has been mentioned many times.

There is the Coca-Cola sign, which gives me the chance to show this:



Yes, it's crass consumerism. Yes, it's filled with '70s hippy children. However, it is in the top 10 of things that remind me of my childhood, as sad as that might be.

But, really, I am showing the Hood card because this will serve as my post about The National, currently taking place in Baltimore. I've been to Baltimore before. Some of it is very nice, some of it is rather disturbing. But I am not in Baltimore or at The National this year, as vacation time has been used up until the fall.

Instead, I am enjoying the reports from other bloggers quite a bit, and I hope they continue.

I am also showing the Hood card to let those of you know who don't know already that there is a new blog devoted to the 1974 Topps set. As I've said before, this is the first set that I ever saw as a child and the first baseball cards I ever held in my hands. It's the second set I completed upon my return to collecting and I'm looking forward to the online journey through the set. Part of me was considering starting a '74 Topps blog after I finished the '75 one, but I really didn't want to do it at all. These things are a lot of work you know. I'm glad Steve has taken up the challenge instead.

Finally, I am showing the Hood card to recognize the end of the latest "Best of the 1970s" poll, which featured a more accomplished Orioles pitcher than Don Hood -- Jim Palmer.

No, the 1974 Jim Palmer card did not win. But there was a fierce battle between the 1973 Palmer and the 1978 Palmer.

The '73 Palmer took a huge lead and then the '78 Palmer steadily closed the gap before finally moving into the lead. That was when the '73 Palmer made a late charge and won by a single vote.


Congratulations to the '73 Palmer, the best Palmer card of the 1970s -- 14 votes to 13 votes over the '78 Palmer.

The 1975 Palmer was third with nine votes. I was pleased to see that as it's one of my favorites. (Meanwhile another favorite, the '79 Palmer didn't get a single vote. Phooey). The 1976 and 1977 Palmers tied for fourth with 6 votes apiece.

So, here's to Baltimore, '74 Topps and Palmer. It seems like the place to be in this National state of mind.

Go vintage!

Comments

I liked Don Hood in "The Longest Yard".