Night Owl Cards

  I hate to be the blog known for bringing up the deaths of past ballplayers. Part of me wishes the blog could be happy and light all the time. But whenever I hear about one of the players from my younger days moving on, I feel like I need to recognize it as a form of respect from a longtime baseball fan. Today I heard that Bill Plummer passed away. He's known as the backup catcher to Johnny Bench during the 1970s. I've mentioned before that I almost had the chance to interview Plummer. He was managing a minor league team in California at the time and a player from our area was playing for the team. But the interview with the player fell through (he wasn't keen on talking) and I never talked to Plummer. Plummer is the 181st player or manager featured in the 1975 Topps set who has died -- yes, I keep track of that, too. It's alarming that so many of those people who I collected in my first year of buying cards are no longer with us. So, I decided to put a positive spin o