The 1975 Topps countdown, worst to best (No. 580-561)

 

One thing that I know I will always have with the 1975 Topps set is a topic for this blog.

While I've run out of things to write about for some sets (or just plain have nothing to say period), that will not happen with '75 Topps, somewhat amazingly since the set is nearly 50 years old, and I did an entire blog on the set that finished -- urp -- almost 12 years ago.

 

In fact, aside from this post, I've got another '75-related post coming up this week regarding something I just stumbled upon. And just wait for 2024 Heritage, next year's going to be obnoxious with NOC '75 commentary.

 

Will I have the worst-to-best '75 Topps countdown wrapped up by then? Who knows. Let's just live in the moment ... or the past, I guess. It's time for cards No. 580 through 561 on the countdown. 

 

Get ready for not a lot of excitement. We've cleared many of the up-the-nose shots and the airbrushing but there's a whole bunch of stop-and-stare on the way.

 

580. Bob Hansen (card 508)

 

Bob Hansen's crazed look would have instantly gone in the reject pile had I pulled this card as a kid in 1975. But I never saw it. Nearly 30 years later when completing the set I stumbled across this card of a player I never heard of and practically took a step back. Quite concerning, especially with that bat in his hand.

 

 

579. Milt Wilcox (card 14)

Milt Wilcox appears to have been hypnotized by whatever is off in the distance. Aside from a slightly off-center hat on his head, there's not much to this card.

578. Bruce Dal Canton (card 472)

Bruce Dal Canton was the first person I was aware of with a space in the middle of his last name, probably the first person I knew named "Bruce." He looks happy on this card but in my mind I didn't like his laugh. Don't ask me why. But it's why it's No. 578.

577. Bob Locker (card 434)

Terrific mustache, commanding signature, I should like this card more than I do. Maybe when I find a better-centered copy.

576. Bill Sharp (card 373)

Bill Sharp's '75 card is a come down from his action-packed '74 rookie card. The super-tight focus was not a favorite look for me as a kid.

575. Jim Mason (card 136)

 

Very few of these "good glove, bad bat" players get a break in this countdown, that's just how I judged cards back in the day, many of us still do. And if that same player has a hair thing that looks like they're trying to be Marlo Thomas, well, there's another strike.

574. Clarence Gaston (card 427)

Not the last "looking up" or airbrushed photo (yeah, both are happening here) in this countdown but it's one of the last. I kind of liked this card in '75, it came out of one my all-time favorite pack pulls while on vacation the summer of '75.

573. Fritz Peterson (card 62)

Some somewhat well-hid airbrushing on this card as well. The Snidely Whiplash look may appeal to some, doesn't do a whole lot for me.

572. Joe Hoerner (card 629)

There is just not a lot to discuss on a lot of these cards but at least we can see a dugout here. Hoerner's hair flip bothered me as a kid.

571. Gene Lamont (card 593)

More stopping and staring. Gene Lamont, who I knew strictly as a manger and a coach, looks exactly like one here.

570. Frank Tepedino (card 9)

Frank Tepedino later became a New York City firefighter and was on the scene during 9/11. If you want interesting, read about that story, don't look at this card.

569. John Morris (card 577)

John Morris was 33 when this photo was taken. 33! He looks like every dad I knew in the '70s.

568. Hal Breeden (card 341)

Imagine you're me, finally getting up the nerve to finish the 1975 set you collected as a kid, hunting down all those cards you never saw from a time when you thought you knew every name and turning up -- who?? Cards like Hal Breeden's, no offense, took the wind out my chase. It couldn't be that I didn't know everyone in the '75 set, but, oh, yes, it be.

 

 

567. Steve Rogers (card 173)

I've got a love-hate relationship with the shadows-across-the-face photos from this time period. Some I think are wonderful, enhanced by my childhood imagination, while others, like this one, just seem pointless. The shot is so tight that I have no idea what's happening here, maybe he's trying to pick someone off. Weird card.

566. Buzz Capra (card 105)

The first Buzz Capra card I saw was his 1976 Topps card. I thought it was cool (yeah, I know his hair is flipping up -- I was a complicated child). His name was Buzz. I needed to know more. Then I got his '75 Topps card. I wasn't interested anymore.

 

 

565. Cy Acosta (card 634)

Cy Acosta is doing that thing that Satchel Paige said you should never do. I like how his uniform matches with the team name colors.

564. Morris Nettles (card 632)

A nice sample card for this entire portion of the countdown. Close-up shot, wearing the actual uniform of the team represented, very little background. End of story.

563. Rookie Pitchers (card 618)

I have some interest in this card as I always liked Rick Rhoden as a Dodger. Also, seeing Scott McGregor as a Yankee is fun, a nice reminder of a trade that backfired on them. But it's still a card of four tiny headshots.

562. Rich Folkers (card 98)

 

I get claustrophobic viewing this card. The cropping job makes it appear as if Folkers is pitching inside a box ... with the lid on ... with not enough air holes. Could've been a nicer card.

 

 

561. Willie Davis (card 10)

I go back and forth over whether this is Willie Davis in an Expos uniform or one of the finest airbrushing jobs in the entire set. Not a lot of room for his signature. 

OK, that's the end of installment five in the countdown. I guessed last time that you would see a lot of team checklists this time out, but that didn't happen.

Probably next time. Along with a whole bunch more stop-and-stare shots. But we're not even one-fifth of the way through.

 

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