Joy of a team set, chapter 24 (and a magazine article update/request)

 

I'm battling a dying keyboard on my laptop so I've been posting on my phone, both here and on the 1993 Upper Deck blog (new post over there, sorry I can't link right now!)

 

It's not fun, so posting has been/will be sporadic until there's a resolution. This also comes at a super-inconvenient time because I am working on not one but two Beckett articles this month.

 

The first one I will finish writing next week (I sure hope it won’t be on my phone). Then I'll start the next one. More on that later.

 

But first I want to do another Joy Of A Team Set post. I wanted to note another 1970s anniversary. A lot of that stuff happened 50 years ago now, you know.

 

I've already done a JOTS for the Swingin' A's, it was my very first Joy post. But what about the team the A's played in the World Series that year?

 

The 1973 Mets barely reached .500 but made it to the seventh-and-final WS game. That was a novelty then but fairly commonplace now with allowing all sorts of Wild Card teams to advance. You could say the '73 Mets are pioneers! Or the harbinger of the awfulness to come.

 

So, anyway, let's see the Mets from the 1973 Topps set:

Favorite card runners-up: 5. Jerry Grote, 4. Jon Matlack, 3. Duffy Dyer, 2. Jim Fregosi 

 

Team's claim to fame: I just mentioned it. Notable players from that '73 team missing in that set include Don Hahn, Harry Parker, Ron Hodges and, of course, Rusty Staub, who was boycotting Topps. Outside of Staub, the '73 set did pretty good.

Worst-conditioned card: I was surprised to see that almost all my '73 Mets are in great shape. That's not easy to do with a popular team in a vintage set, especially for '73, whose cardboard seems to actually crumble.

Favorite element on the back: With '73 it's got to be the cartoons. But I couldn't decide which one I like best, so I picked four.

Former or future Dodgers: Jerry Grote, Ted Martinez, Bill Sudakis and Joe Pignatano and Rube Walker on the manager card.

 

Players I've talked to: None. A little before my time.

 

 

Most '73 card: Matlack pulls out the win with the rookie cup, which made its debut in '73, along with the equipment strewn on the field and the random guy with his back to the camera.

 

A Mets Mays card that rarely gets cited:  There he is, right there in the lower corner AS A MET.

Speaking of which, my favorite card in the team set:

Of course it's Willie Mays!

Mays is wonderfully not airbrushed at all. In fact, except for a couple guys in the high numbers, Felix Millan and that interesting Phil Hennigan, the Mets are pretty consistent, with many of the players in pinstripes.

 

That is unusual for '73 Topps and that brings me to the topic of my other Beckett article.

 

Yes I'm doing a story on the 1973 Topps set.

 

And I need your help. If you like the '73 set, maybe even collected it at the time, I want to talk to you for the story. You will be quoted.

 

If that appeals to you, send me an email or reach out on Twitter. I'm probably looking for 2 or 3 knowledgeable folks who I can shoot the shit with about '73 Topps!