The 1975 Topps countdown, worst to best (No. 143-124)

 

Happy Canada Day. Normally on this day I like to write a Canadian-centric post. I don't have anything like that for today -- not one of the players on this edition of the 1975 Topps countdown is from Canada. I could use an O-Pee-Chee for the occasion, but that wouldn't be a Topps card.

But there's another card thing I like to do in recognition of Canada Day and I did do that.

 

Today I purchased the second-to-last card I needed for the 1975 Topps Dodgers OPC team set. The Garv card here will be coming my way and then all that's left is Ken McMullen (there are still other Dodger-related cards in the set to chase, such as postseason cards and leader cards).

Any time I land a Garvey need I feel a surge of achievement since his cards are in such demand.

 

So that'll be coming my way soon but for now it's time for the latest edition of the 1975 Topps countdown. We're closing in on the final 100 cards but not quite there yet! Apologies to anyone who considers some of these cards their absolute favorites. I can see that. Frankly all of the last 400 cards or so have been my absolute favorites.

 

 

143. Willie Crawford (no. 186)

 

The yellow-red Dodgers cards were favorites of mine in '75 -- with the star or without. It's amazing how interesting you can make a batting pose simply by propping up your batting helmet.

 

 

142. Reggie Smith (card 490)

 

Reggie Smith has a lot of cards and a lot of cards that I cite as my favorite (see: 1976 Topps, 1977 Topps, 1979 Topps). The vigor that Smith is putting into this batting pose is impressive and amusing.

141. Jim Hunter (card 230)

Catfish doesn't seem too enthused about posing here, but he doesn't have to do a lot because Topps trotted out a matching border and that's all you need to get a high ranking.

140. Buddy Bell (card 38)

OK, this is going to be a little long. I have liked this card since I was a boy and the reason I liked it then was that Bell seemed so happy and carefree in this picture. That was my perception of him for much of his career -- happy and carefree.

That's why when I interviewed Johnny Wockenfuss a few years ago I didn't make the connection to Bell when Wockenfuss was trying to explain who collided with him at home plate and gave him a concussion.  Wockenfuss had ALS and he couldn't remember much, including Bell's name. The way he described Bell, as a big, bruising sort who always wanted to get in a fight, did not connect with the image I had of him from this baseball card. After failed guess after failed guess, only when Wockenfuss said that the player who ran him over liked to hit to the opposite field did I correctly guess Buddy Bell.

Baseball cards can mess you up.

 

139. Jim Lonborg (card 94)

The collection of bats make this entire card.

138. Mike Hargrove (card 106)

I believe this is the first card with the rookie cup to appear on the countdown. They really have the power all by themselves to create a magnificent card. My first Mike Hargrove was his marvelous 1976 Topps card, which is why I was not impressed when I saw this one.

137. Bill Lee (card 128)

The expression on Bill Lee's face is everything. He seems quite lively -- jaunty even. As a kid I thought Lee looked very dignified in this card, which is not exactly Lee's vibe.

 

136. Mario Guerrero (card 152)

Another excellent look at Fenway Park. The picture features the Buck Printing Company sign that was atop the company's building on Ipswich Street behind the park. Also, Guerrero is about to blast that shortstop baseball out of the photo frame.

 

 

135. Rick Monday (card 129)

 

Here is my favorite profile shot in the entire set. I love how Rick Monday seems so invested in the action on the field and also how he looks a bit like a manager with his teammates in the background seemingly sitting lower than him (wonder if that's George Mitterwald in the background).

 

 

134. Dave Lopes (card 93)

 

What seems like a common batting pose swing is enhanced by Davey's always-amazing mustache and all those trees in the background. Vero Beach 💙

 

 

 

133. Dusty Baker (card 33)

Another card where facial expression is everything. Also you've got a Mets logo and an American flag and Dusty Baker's trademark wrist bands. This card has it all.

132. Cookie Rojas (card 169)

Another card where the player appears to be accumulating points based on what he's featuring in the photo -- bat on shoulder, batting doughnut on bat, cat-eye glasses on face and a batting cage in the background.

131. Jack Billingham (card 235)

A somewhat unusual pitching pose here in that you can see all of Billingham from hat to cleats, but he's not facing the camera straight-on. It's cool and I like the red-orange border with the Reds cards.

130. Bob Grich (card 225)

I should do a post on players that I liked as a kid based strictly on their baseball cards. Bobby Grich would be way up there. Grich gets a pretty regal shot as he looks down on the picture-taker as if he's 7 feet tall. This is a great border combo for the Orioles, too.

129. Andy Thornton (card 39)

Speaking of great border color combos. Andre Thornton is displaying the first baseman's pose that I like so much. Nothing about this card would resemble Thornton in future cards but it's still a great card.

128. Bob Tolan (card 402)

I was also a fan of Bobby Tolan's cards as a kid (especially that '77 one). Batting cage shots will dominate the countdown from this point, if they haven't already.

127. Larry Milbourne (card 512)

The second rookie cup to show up on the countdown. Larry Milbourne also looks mighty in this shot and the bat he's toting looks like a child's toy. I recall being suspicious as I turned over the back and saw that Milbourne had just 138 at-bats and no home runs in 1974.

126. Larry Biittner (card 543)

What? A first baseman's pose in front of a batting cage? That's almost too much of a good thing, even though it makes little sense to be fielding throws at first from this spot. I like Biitner's signature, too, with the dot squiggle for the double I's.

125. Bob Moose (card 536)

An odd card as it likely shows a photo of Bob Moose from three years prior to the 1975 Topps set. Moose was a regular mustache-wearer by 1974. I thought this card was amazing when I was youngster as a friend of mine had it and he always had all the cool stuff. I also remember being less enamored when I much later realized the picture was old.

124. Tim Foli (card 149)

One of the first cards I ever pulled in 1975, this has always been a special card to me. Foli looks confident as hell and the glasses add some extra intrigue. Great signature, too.

And that's a good spot to end it: An Expo on Canada Day.

By the next episode, I'll have my Garvey OPC!