The 1975 Topps countdown, worst to best (No. 240-221)

 

Arrrrrgh, I am really trying to prevent myself from preordering a hobby box of 2024 Heritage.

It's very tempting given what year Heritage is covering and the devil on my shoulder is reminding me that I promised years ago that I'd buy a case when we got to this year.

A case is out of the question these days. A hobby box is probably a foregone conclusion but I'm trying to hold off until near release date or just after (I can't be one of those people who buys a hobby box six months later, sure the savings are great but I have a somewhat timely blog to run!).

So hopefully I don't cave. I will have this countdown to keep me focused and hopefully it won't get me too charged up to start looking up Dave and Adam's or Steel City Collectibles or one of those other sites. I'll just keep telling myself that I'll pull a dumb color swap or black-and-white variation and what the hell am I going to do with those?

So I'll put that out of my mind for now and get to the latest round of the 1975 Topps countdown. We are closing in on finishing up two-thirds of the set. Once this episode ends there will be exactly one-third of the cards yet to count down.

Here we go again:

 

240. Rudy Meoli (card 533)

This card is pretty unusual and somewhat fascinating. Not the most complimentary photo of Rudy Meoli who is checking out a high, possibly foul pop-up. He could be out here. But it's an every-game aspect of the sport and I like those cards. I also like that grand signature.

 

239. Greg Luzinski (card 630)

The Bull is looking in for the pitch inside a border color that matches quite nicely with the Phillies uniforms of the day.

238. Ken Forsch (card 357)

Ken Forsch has his brother beat (Bob was back at No. 392), thanks to another border-color-uniform match.

237. Bob Montgomery (card 559)

I am not clear on that domed building in the background but it adds an interesting element to this card. The scene reminds me of similar view on a road in the Buffalo suburbs where I used to play tennis. There was a similar structure and I didn't know what it was.

236. Hal McRae (card 268)

I'm covering a couple of cards at this stage that were huge favorites when I was a kid but probably don't look like much to those who didn't collect at this time (sorry about the blurry image, that's not the card, that's me). Hal McRae was in the first three packs that I ever bought. For awhile I thought it was the first card I ever saw, but that card is Darold Knowles. McRae must have shown up shortly afterward in the packs.

235. Felix Millan (card 445)

Major, major favorite as a kid. The Mets cards were huge in this set thanks to where I lived. Objectively it's a standard candid shot with Millan's face in the shadows. It's certainly no 1976 Topps Felix Millan.

234. Jerry Grote (card 158)

The Mets cards look good on the tan-blue border combos. Look at Grote choking up.

233. Terry Harmon (card 399)

Nice shot of Harmon -- and his shadow -- making a backhand stab.

 

232. Mike Caldwell (card 347)

I remember this card arriving in a large trade of '75 cards that year. It was one of my favorites in the assortment and Caldwell became a low-key favorite all the way through his breakout with the Milwaukee Brewers -- yeah I was proud when he became a 20-game winner, like I had something to do with it.

231. Rusty Staub (card 90)

A Babe Ruth shot for Rusty Staub although there's no visible sign of a bat. Staub, after refusing to sign with Topps for a few years, was back to being featured on baseball cards in 1974 but that card and this one makes me wonder if Topps really had full access as far as him posing for pictures, kind of like Mike Marshall.

230. Al Hrabosky (card 122)

This is Al Hrabosky's final card without facial hair and as someone who started his baseball viewing in the late '70s it really looks weird. But Hrabosky is a great '70s character so I love his cards.

229. Jay Johnstone (card 242)

Another major character of the game. Remember when baseball players were called "flakes"? You never hear that term anymore. The photo shot is a little unusual for 1975. Usually that particular pose is cropped tighter.

228. Jim Rooker (card 148)

I love the blue-orange border combo in this set and it goes reasonably well with the Pirates. Just a nicely-constructed photo/baseball card.

227. Doyle Alexander (card 491)

No one who grew up on cards showing all-action all-the-time has much respect for the action cards in the early 1970s. Objectively they're not great, but they were so cool when I was a kid. This one I never saw but I do like it. And Alexander isn't painted neck-to-ankle in another team's uniform (a 1977 Topps joke there).

226. Rich Hebner (card 492)

This card arrives immediately after the Doyle Alexander card when it's ordered by card number. They're right next to each other in a binder. And since they're both green-purple-bordered cards and both action cards, I can't think of one without the other. I like this one a little better, probably because I'm a sucker for those giant team logos on the outfield wall, a '70s and '80s staple. That's the Braves logo and maybe the Astros?

225. Larry Haney (card 626)

This is actually a photo of Dave Duncan, and that cost this card a few ranking points. Still a cool shot, still absolutely nobody in the stands.

224. Ray Burris (card 566)

It's not until I scan-and-crop some of these cards that I realize how diamond-cut they are. ... This is a regal-looking shot and Ray Burris' full name in the signature adds to that.

223. Bob Watson (card 227)

More childhood favorites with this card and the next one. Another original-three-packs card. I liked the red helmet matching the top-red border, I liked the glasses, I liked the black bat.

222. Ron LeFlore (card 628)

Probably one of my top two or three favorite cards from those first three packs. Ron LeFlore was a huge name during my early baseball fan days. I dedicated a full blog post to him.

 

 

221. Leo Cardenas (card 518)

Great batting cage shot.

OK, there we go. Two-third of the set down. One-third to go. I think there will be at least one more '75 countdown episode before I get my hands on some 2024 Heritage. Hopefully there will be one or two more, if I can pace myself.