Well, three out of the four posts I've made this week have some sort of mention of 1975 Topps, so why not make it 4-for-5, that always sound better than 3-for-4 in the baseball realm.
Once I get through this episode of the countdown, there will be just 100 cards left, which means nothing but greatness ahead.
So let's get to it, no fancy intro this time.
123: Ed Kranepool (card 324)
Still quite a few Mets cards remaining as they really cleaned up in this set. I remember hearing Ed Kranepool talked about with the same reverence as Tom Seaver from Mets fans when I was a kid in the '70s.
122. Bob Reynolds (card 142)
I really liked this card in '75, it looked like Bob Reynolds was pointing at me, and that's all you want as a young fan, for a ballplayer to point you out.
121. Jim Bibby (card 155)
Every Rangers card was great in 1975, but this was one of the best. Jim Bibby seemed like he coming through the card, no doubt because he was 6-foot-5.
120. Pat Bourque (card 502)
This is the ultimate in the first baseman's pose, show that ball in the glove! Also, this card is all about yellow and green.
119. Jose Cardenal (card 15)
Jose Cardenal had one of the ultimate 1970s Afros, which is why this card is where it is. Still not as great as his 1977 card though.
118. Frank Duffy (card 448)
I have known this card for a long time, almost 50 years, it was everywhere in 1975, and in mini size, too. Frank Duffy was a "common" and I didn't think much of it, but years later it's a classic great pose.
117. Ed Kirkpatrick (card 171)
The casual catcher's pose is highly underrated.
116. George Hendrick (card 109)
One of the most-pleasing uniform-border matches in the set. I could fill a whole page with this card.
115. Jack Brohamer (card 552)
Even though Jack Brohamer is likely posing, it still seems like too tough a task to be smiling through it and it gives the impression that Brohamer is absolutely delighted when he fields a ball during a game.
114. John Milner (card 264)
John Milner has a lot of 1970s cards in which he's in this same pose, year-after-year, but this is the best-looking one.
113. Bake McBride (card 174)
More rookie cup greatness and the signature in which Bake McBride puts "Bake" in quotes is great. This card was a favorite of mine as I pulled it on a family vacation on a hot day. Nine-year-old me is mad this isn't in the top 100.
112 Dave Kingman (card 156)
I first knew Dave Kingman as a New York Met. I'd go to my grandma and grandpa's and there he was on the TV as a Met. So when I came across this card later (I never saw it in '75), it was strange seeing him as a San Francisco Giant. It didn't seem real.
111. Willie Horton (card 66)
Willie Horton is wearing a helmet and a big ol' mustache. It was my first look at a handlebar fu manchu mustache, I'm quite sure. Had I known that Willie Horton kept the same helmet his whole career and just repainted it depending on his team, I never would have traded away this card (which I did).
110. Ted Simmons (card 75)
The most regal look in the '75 set. Ted Simmons has an air of superiority about him, no doubt brought on my his long mane of hair. This card shocked me as a youngster. But there is absolutely no doubt that it's great.
109. Don Wilson (card 455)
There are other cards in this set of players who were dead when it was released -- most related to the MVP subset -- but there is just one card of a player who was active during the 1974 season and then was dead when the set was released. Wilson died of carbon monoxide poisoning on Jan. 5, which apparently was too late for Topps to remove the card or write anything about Wilson's passing on the back.
108. Garry Maddox (card 240)
Another favorite, I pulled this card from the same pack as the Bake McBride. It was really a great pack. The way this photo is shot is everything, I love the cloudless blue background with the blue border and Maddox looks cool as hell.
107. Home Run Leaders - 1974 (card 307)
More grand posing for the sluggers of the day. Both seem to have spotted something somewhat concerning in the sky.
106. '74 A.L. Championships (card 459)
This is a nifty double-play turn and the teams match the ALCS combatants, but it appears that this is a photo from a regular-season game, given the lack of a matching play in the '74 ALCS and also the rather sparse crowd in the stands. Probably would have awarded a better rating if it was playoff shot.
105. World Series - 1974, Game 4 (card 464)
A's pitcher Ken Holtzman hit a home run in Game 4 of the World Series and this appears to be that play. Moment-in-time cards are the very best cards, it's just too bad the Dodgers had to suffer here.
104. '74 N.L. Championships (card 460)
Steve Garvey is dusting himself off after sliding into second with a double while the Pirates' Frank Taveras sadly berates the baseball for arriving late. I've long loved this card and it has a special spot in my heart among Dodger cards in my collection.
As we near the top 100. I can tell you there is one more leaders card to get to, two more postseason cards and two more Highlights cards. But that's all I'll tell you.
Except ... more to come!
Comments
Honorable mention to 1973 Topps Pat Corrales and Oscar Gamble, 1977 Topps Maury Wills and Carlton Fisk, 1972 Topps In Action Willie Mays and Luis Aparicio and many, many others.
My favorite part of Bourque's card is on the back where it says something like: "He came to the Twins during the season blah blah blah... No, wait, he's back with the A's now"
Willie Horton was one of my favorite players growing up in Detroit. My mother in law got his auto at an event nearby some years ago. It was on a customized card that also shared his faith journey on the back. That photo is clearly from Lakeland where the Tigers have trained for decades.