The 1975 Topps countdown, worst to best (No. 480-461)

 

Not a lot of preamble before getting into the countdown. No time. This is always my least favorite weekend of the year, trapped in the craziness-before-the-craziness of the school year. Even if I wanted to get away, every last store, restaurant, highway, gas station, resort, beach, mountain, lake, museum, sporting event, is overflowing with people/people-occupied vehicles.

So, work it is!

 

Just one thing before the rundown, I've got card No. 474 in the 1975 Topps buyback quest to show!

This arrived through the help of a couple of people on the X-Twitter. Many thanks to @JustinStirewalt and @imitationbacon1 (hey, I don't make the names) for helping me procure it.

In the warm afterglow of this acquisition I landed another '75 buyback that is en route. Extra bonus: it's also a Dodger. I have a whole separate checklist for Dodger buybacks that I cross off.

All right, you won't see this Marshall card on the countdown for awhile. But we are getting to a couple more notable cards that objectively should have showed up by now -- they aren't great. But amusement is a factor in this countdown and these cards do amuse.

Onward:

480. Phillies team (card 46)

I have a soft spot for the 1970s Phillies teams from the second half of the decade. Kinda weird as some of my first rooting experiences involved wanting the Dodgers to beat these guys in the playoffs. No one said fandom is logical.

479. Brewers team (card 384)

I enjoy this card. First, everyone, except the bat boys, is standing, it's the only team card like this in the set. It's very zoomed in, which I like. It showcases a typically wild mid-70s sportcoat, the famed beer barrel can be seen in the background and George Scott is grinning away in the top left. Also, Del Crandall seems very amused by it all, that's always struck me.

478. Bobby Murcer (card 350)

I held out as long as I could with this card. It is the first All-Star card to show up in the countdown. It's a legendary card as Bobby Murcer is shown as a Giant (airbrushed) who somehow was named an American League All-Star and is appearing in Yankee Stadium. Both are things that National League teams never did at that time. Kids had to be very confused. Or amused. Anyway, it's one of the great conversation-starters in the set.

477. Leron Lee (card 506)

This was a childhood favorite and one of the early cards in my collection. Lee showed up as a Dodger in the following year's Topps set and that solidified my devotion to this card.

476. Nate Colbert (card 599)

Here we go, the last "looking up" card in the set. I've mentioned before that Nate Colbert has one of the greatest smiles in baseball card history and it's making this whole card.

475. Mike Phillips (card 642)

Mike Phillips has the key helmet-mustache combo going here, it's well-centered and you can see the photographer's flash going off in his helmet.

474. Rowland Office (card 262)

Another classic that's often cited among the "Bad Baseball Cards" crowd. Of course, it's not bad at all. It's great. Rowland Office's super-tall noggin is even more apparent because the whole picture is off-center, as if something very bad is going on over on the right.

473. Tim Johnson (card 556)

I didn't like this card as a kid. Another one that reminded me of an angry gym teacher. Then I looked at the back and saw the lifetime .224 average. No wonder he was angry.

472. Jim Nettles (card 497)

Decent card. It may even be better than his brother's card in this set. They're in similar poses. But Jim is not Craig unfortunately.

471. Rich Gossage (card 554)

For such a high-powered pitcher, I always thought this card didn't do him justice. He seems a little sad about it.

 

 

470. Mets team (card 421)

You put Yogi on a card, it's automatically going to be ranked higher. This is another team card in the set where the players are close-up and idenifiable. It's impressive because it also looks like the Mets have about 25 more players than every other team.

 

469. Earned Run Average Leaders (card 311)

Buzz Capra halves the star power of this card, but I don't care because someone named "Buzz" led the league in earned-run average.

468. Don Gullett (card 65)

The last of the four red-yellow Reds cards I've showed here. Gullett is the most notable. He was about the best pitcher in the land for a brief period. Then the Yankees snapped him up, as they often did then, and injuries set in.

467. Tom Griffin (card 188)

Your standard pitching pose -- as a youngster I was always interested in his stats on the back. The first year he struck out 200 and then he didn't come close to that afterward. Also, it looks like someone in the back is on his cell phone.

466. Brian Downing (card 422)

Another card that's weirdly cropped. But it does appear to be a warm-and-festive day.

465. Eduardo Rodriguez (card 582)

Topps really planned out the color scheme for some of these Brewers cards. I've always had trouble having this card stick in my brain, and that's come up during the buyback chase as I have to remind myself of which cards I have buybacks for over and over.

464. Bill Greif (card 168)

Bill Greif seems to be looking to the stands for someone. Either that or he really wants to show off how he got his uniform top over his warm-up jacket.

463. Craig Kusick (card 297)

Another card that matches quite well. Craig Kusick looks a little angry. Or maybe it's the shades.

462. Alan Foster (card 296)

A big-time favorite card of mine during that first year of collecting. And I didn't even know that Alan Foster started as a Dodger. 

461. Tommy Davis (card 564)

Here we are, what I believe (I need to recheck) is the final hatless photo in the set to be featured in the countdown. I've always enjoyed this card. And I had no idea Tommy Davis was a Dodger at the time either.

OK, that's it, done with another segment.

Those of you who can enjoy this holiday coming up -- you know, you people with four days off now -- have fun.

I'll enjoy the two that I have. But I'm probably staying put.