#57 - Darold Knowles (OAK)

Another of my childhood A's memory players who played for the World Champs. I didn't know there was a league named after Ban Johnson, as one of the "stars" shows.  Babe Ruth, yes.  Cal Ripken, yes.  But Ban Johnson?  He's the founder of the American League in 1901.  Darold has some interesting post-season numbers.  He has no stats at all for either the 1972 or 1974 post-seasons despite being with the A's then, and no stats for the 1973 ALCS.  He did, however, pitch in all seven games of the 1973 World Series against the Mets.  Just days after the 1974 World Series victory, Knowles was traded to the Cubs for Billy Williams.  The 1974 season, with the DH being only one year old by then, was the only season of Knowles career that he didn't have a single plate appearance.

Cartoon: Darold pitched a no-hitter before his career even began?  Was this in the minors?  Little League?  Playing Strat-O-Matic with his kid brother?  And he lost the no-no.  But back in the 80's or 90's sometime, MLB revised their rules for deciding what a no-hitter was.  They concluded that a no-no must be a nine inning game for the pitching team.  So if Darold lost a no-no, he could have pitched only 8 innings as the visiting pitcher because the home team didn't need to come to bat in the bottom of the ninth.  I remember a number of no-hitters were erased by the rule change, including losing no-no's and rain-shortened ones that completed 5 innings.  So, sorry Darold.  Your cartoon might even be obsolete today.

Ballpark background: Texas Ranger gray uni's combined with California gold tops and wedding gown white bottoms combined with the outfield fence in Oakland means that this was played in Oakland.  At the Coliseum.

Situation ID: I believe I've identified exactly when this picture was taken.  I checked games in 1973, and determined that it was taken on July 28, 1973.  Card blogger "wobs" at 1974 Topps - Pennant Fever (who is now far ahead of me in blogging this same '74 set - click here for his post) suggested some Ranger names for the runner on second base.  What's interesting about this "action" shot is that the runner is standing on top of the base with his hands on his hips.  That's because, as a relief pitcher, this photo was taken during Knowles' warmups.  Checking all the 1973 home games vs. the Rangers when Knowles relieved while a runner was on second revealed only one possibility.  The runner is Jim Mason and Knowles is relieving John "Blue Moon" Odom after Mason's single knocked in Billings from second base and Mason took second on the throw back in, knocking Odom out of the game.  So, this was taken in the top of the 5th inning on 07/28/73.  Here's the link with the box score and play-by-play account.

#41 - Bobby Floyd (KC)

Who?  I remember this card from my youth, but never really thought much of it.  I simply don't have a place in my memory for Floyd. Bobby finished his career just one homer shy of Duane Kuiper.  This was his last card, as he played his last game in June of '74.  Notice his three different names.  His full name is Robert, his card goes by Bobby, but he signs Bob.  There is a discrepancy between the stats on this card and Baseball Reference.  His '73 season shows him going 25 for 78 with a .321 average.  BR gives him an additional hit, 26, for a .333 clip.  Who has the typo?  Was there even a typo?  Could a scoring decision have been reversed after his career was over, giving him an additional hit?  Bobby was traded from the Orioles in mid-June in the 1970 campaign, depriving him of a World Series ring.  He didn't play much at all for the O's that year, having only 2 at bats.  He picked it up in KC at the old Municipal Stadium, hitting .326 in a limited role the rest of the way.

This is the first card in this set of a second baseman.  Forty-one cards in.  And it's not a full 2B card, as Bobby is a utility player who splits time at another IF position.  I have a dummy post that I placed earlier in the set to act as a temporary place holder for labels that haven't been used yet.  So right after I post this, I need to go in and wipe it out from that dummy post.  If you click on the Dodgers team label or the DH position label in the lower right margin, this dummy post will show up.  I think I'm correct that there is still one team yet to appear, the Dodgers.  I know there hasn't been a DH position yet in this set, so after those are done, my dummy post will have served its usefulness.

Cartoon:  Evidently, Bobby never used his hobby against opposing pitchers.  Otherwise he might have broken Hank Aaron's record.

Ballpark background:  Oakland Coliseum.  Where else?  It leads the ballpark backgrounds so far in this set, according to my label list that is keeping count.  Which park will win it all in '74?

#35 - Gaylord Perry (CLE)

Gaylord Perry is a Hall of Famer with a 22 year career, his longest stint being the first 10 years of his career with the Giants.  He played for seven more teams in the remaining 12 years of his career.  I once saw him in an old-timer's game with all 8 teams across his jersey front.  He played with a great Giants team over his 10 years, with fellow Hall of Famers Juan Marichal, Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda and Willie McCovey all on the same team.  Of course, the year he was traded to the Indians, he had his career best in wins, ERA, strikeouts and won the AL Cy Young award.  Typical of Giants in those days.  The year after Cepeda was traded, he won the MVP and a World Series with the Cards.  Mays won a pennant with the Mets after he was traded.

In a strange set of events, Gaylord pitched a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals and Bob Gibson on September 17, 1968, winning 1-0.  The very next day, the Cards returned the favor as Ray Washburn no-hit the Giants in a 2-0 victory.  Back to back no-no's at the 'Stick.  What a series to have tickets for.  Only 14,000 fans saw either game, and I can only wonder how few saw both.  Only 4700 saw that second game.  In a legendary story, a previous manager of Perry's allegedly said that because of his weak hitting he thought a man would be put on the moon before Perry hit a major league home run.  One hour after Apollo 11 landed, Perry hit his first home run.  But, according to snopes.com, this story could very well be an urban legend made up only after Perry hit the round tripper.  Either way, it's a good story, and either way, the Indians had dumb looking hats.
Cartoon:  If Gaylord heads an insurance company, how come he's doing door-to-door selling?  "Hi, I'm a future hall of famer.  You might die at any moment, are you covered?  Also, somebody might get electrocuted by your doorbell button."  I know that line anywhere.  I must admit, I've never sold insurance door-to-door in a baseball hat.  Raffle tickets for Little League, maybe, but never insurance.

Ballpark background:  This is unmistakably the Oakland Coliseum.  Behind Perry is the third base dugout.  Or is it the first base dugout?  You know, I'm thinking the tarps were on the outfield sides of the dugouts, so this is probably the first base dugout.  That would make sense because the first base dugout at the Coliseum has always been the visitor's dugout.

#27 - George Scott (MIL)

I always like seeing players with the same last name as me.  Knowing my family tree extensively, I am sure there is no relation.  Other notables are Jake Scott, the Miami Dolphin safety from the undefeated team, Fast Freddie Scott from the Detroit Lions past, Luke Scott who played for the Astros a few years ago, and a few assorted NFL linemen.  There's also that Astros dude that used sandpaper on the ball, Mike.  Byron?  A few namesakes include a professional mile runner, professional golfer and a Chicago news anchorman.  George Scott had a decent career of 14 years, was a slugger for a good part of it, and was coming off one of his two best years when this card was released.


Cartoon: Note, George is only ONE of the flashiest fielding first sackers in the bigs.  We all know the cartoonist knows Willie Montanez is simply THE flashiest, he just can't say it.  Not PC, even in 1974 terms.  And George's cartoon is backhanding a ball from behind.  His next move is to cross dribble between his legs twice, then an alley-oop to Michael Jordan at the hoop.  Oh, wait.  Maybe it will be to Wilt the Stilt at the top of the key for a sky hook.  Okay, wrong sport.  After I post this, I'll go onto YouTube to try to find some George Scott flashy action.  I know he was flashy, because his last year he played part of a year with the Royals and his uniform number was 0.  Having a number of 0 in the 70's was flashy, almost by definition.

Ballpark background:  Add one part Brewers road uniforms, one part yellow shirt behind George's right thigh, one part yellow sock just below George's right knee, then we sprinkle a bunch of yellow in the crowd beyond him, top with a sloping dugout roof toward the field, mix well, bake at 475 for 15 minutes, and out pops the Oakland Coliseum.

Situation ID: [Updated 03-20-11]  This action shot of Scott was at the Oakland Coliseum.  It looks as if he is watching a popup.  If this photo was taken in 1973, then it was likely on Saturday, August 18, a day game, when cleanup hitter Scott fouled out to first baseman Deron Johnson leading off the second inning off of pitcher John "Blue Moon" Odom.  The A's took the game 6-3, on their way to their second of three consecutive WS victories.  Here, George has no middle name shown on this card, while his BR page lists Charles as his mid-moniker.

#26 - Bill Campbell (MIN)

Bill Campbell played for seven teams over 15 years.  This card appears just after his rookie year.  This photo was taken while Bill was a rookie.  Looking at his career, Bill got screwed out of possible World Series rings by both Bucky Dent and Don Denkinger.  Did you know that Denkinger was the home plate ump for the Bucky Dent game?  I'm not sure that's even a coincidence, but it struck me as interesting just long enough to type it.  Bill pitched in one World Series, in 1985 with the Cards, and appeared in three games.  He relieved John Tudor after Tudor got rocked for 5 runs in 2.1 innings in game 7, a day after Denkinger's botched call.  What a relief appearance.  Hey, Bill, you're down by five runs in the World Series after the ump tossed it for us.  C'mon in and hold'em while we rally to win.  Of course, that's no big deal.  The Angels came back and won under similar circumstances.  Oops, sarcastic jab from a recently less disgrutled Giants fan.

Notice Campbell's vitals.  He's 6'-3 1/2".  I've never noticed a 1/2" mark on anybody's height before on a card.  Heck, I'm 5'-10 1/2" and I always round down to 5'-10".  Like on my driver's license.  His BR page says 6'-3", so I'm going with that.  Maybe Topps was bored the day they did Bill's card.  Maybe Topps was experimenting with a new card design software package and was fiddling with the stacked fractions feature.  No?  How would you know?

Cartoon:  Bill operated a radio in 'Nam.  So did Robin Williams.  Robin Williams is a Giants fan, so I doubt he likes Bill.  But one never knows.  Plus, Williams is more funny by default.  I'm sure when Robin Williams and Billy Crystal go to a game together, they talk about Bill in 'Nam.  Old school mic.  Say, didn't Radar carry a radio on his back in M*A*S*H*?

Ballpark background:  Oakland Coliseum, no doubt about it.  I like Bill's Twins uni, too, set against the green seats of the Coliseum.  I think it would be funny if the artist airbrushed "Twinks" on his threads to see if anybody would notice.

#22 - Cy Acosta (CWS)

While I remember this card from my youth, I never really made the connection of "Cy" as a name with Cy Young.  I'm not sure if Cy is a nickname for Cecilio, or whether there is a reference to Cy Young.  If the latter, they picked the wrong guy.  He spent only four years in the bigs, with 1973 being his best.  The 1974 season would be his last with the Sox, and would only make six appearances for the Phils in '75.  He never started a game in his career, and came entirely out of the bullpen.  In '73, he appeared in 48 games, finished 42 of them, yet had only 18 saves.  I wonder what his role was?

I discovered a few discrepancies between his card and what Baseball Reference has on their website.  His
'72 and '73 ERA's BR has as 1.56 and 2.23, along with 60 strikeouts in '73 and 97 innings tossed.  I wonder why the difference?

Cartoon: What's a "hopping" fastball?  Oh, I get it.  It's a two-seamer with four legs and a smile. 

Ballpark background: This photo was taken at the Oakland Coliseum.  I was able to figure this out mostly because it looks just like it

#17 - Doug Bird (KC)

Doug played the first half of his career with the Royals.  He later played for the Phils, Yanks, Cubbies and BoSox.  Doug had the misfortune of playing for pennant or Workd Series winners just a year or two shy of that team actually winning.  Doug played against the Yanks in the three ALCS between 1976-78.  He beat NY in one '76 playoff series, and lost one to the Yanks in the '78 ALCS.  The Royals won the pennant in 1980.  He played for the Phils in '79 (1980 WS champs) and the Yankees in 1980 (1981 AL champs).

At 6'-3", Doug is tall, but at only 175 lbs., he is skinny.  Bean pole.  You don't see players like this anymore.  Tim Lincecum may come the closest to what used to be much more common.  Doug's sideburns look good enough to toss on the barbecue.  I think I saw him walking down the street in an episode of Streets of San Francisco when I was a kid.

Cartoon: Again, this cartoon wouldn't happen today with the restrictions in the contracts.  I've never seen somebody ski in a baseball uniform, and have certainly never seen such short poles.  Maybe his legs acted as poles.


Ballpark background:  Here, Doug is posing for a shot at the Oakland Coliseum.  The grass looks a bit dry in the area where his teammates are playing.  I fully remember those huge scoreboards attached to the light towers behind the bleachers from my youth.  I may even be able to figure out what the advertising is if I give it enough thought.

#13 - Tom Hilgendorf (CLE)

I certainly remember Tom Hilgendorf, but probably only from my card collection.  Here, Tom is in a pose similar to ones I remember doing on Little League picture day, and ones my kid does in pee-wee.  Tom had a rubber arm and noodle neck in 1964-65.  Pitching 19 innings in 110 degree heat?  What about the humidity?  I'm sure it was about 95%.  Like Mickey Lolich, Tom is a switch hitting pitcher.  Hmmm, I'm only at card 13, so we'll see if this is rare.  Perhaps a label for switch hitters would be appropriate.  Tom is in serious danger of pulling his stirrups up so tight that there will be daylight at the narrow part of his ankle.  That's the way we did it in senior Little League.  We even slit the stirrup and inserted elastic to get that thin stripe look, with no solid.

Cartoon:  Hey, Tom can sure make a hand saw hum with the head of that hammer.  Look at the sound waves coming off that thing!  Yet another off season activity that today's contract might limit?

Ballpark background:  It looks here like the Oakland Coliseum.  Tom is wearing the Indians' gray uni's, so this isn't Cleveland.  The metal bleacher sections with two groups of seating per section (center aisle) is consistent with Oakland.  At the top of the picture over Tom's left shoulder is a small triangle of white.  The center field gate is open and there is a concrete ramp leading up from it to the outside (the Coliseum playing surface is below ground level).  There's also a distance mark on the left-center field fence, and quite a bit of real estate between Tom and the foul line.  This all adds up to Oakland.  Tom is near the stands on the first base line.

#7 - Jim Hunter (OAK)

Jim "Catfish" Hunter.  Or, simply Catfish Hunter, as I knew him as a kid.  I grew up 20 miles east of Oakland and the A's won their first of three consecutive World Series in 1972 when I was eight.  These came in the middle of five consecutive division titles.  It was a great time to be a kid.  I wasn't old enough to know that the Charlie Finley A's were a tiny blip invaders in a market that had been dominated by the Giants and Mays, McCovey, Marichal, Cepeda, Perry and Bonds.  Their three trophy seasons only produced one season with a million in attendance.  When you're a kid, things like that don't matter.

Catfish would end up in the Hall of Fame, and looking at his numbers from '71-'73 here, it's no wonder.  All the A's players were intimate household names.  Here, he's seen with a mustache, another crazy scheme of eccentric owner Finley.  Finley paid any of his players 50 bucks to grow a 'stache.  In those days, fifty bucks was a lot of cash, so most players joined in.  Finley also relaxed facial hair and hair policies from the rest of baseball.  The A's were also known as "The Mustacheo A's" in the early 70's.  Rollie Fingers grew a handlebar mustache during that time and it became his career trademark.

Finley also started a uniform revolution.  The A's started wearing white shoes in the 60's, along with a bit of color with their yellow vest uni's and green undersleeves.  In 1972, the A's changed their look radically, with the donning of double-knit polyester pullover jerseys and pants without a belt, favoring an elastic waistband instead.  Their hats took the traditional Gothic "A" and added an apostrophe and an "s."  Their official colors were Kelly Green, California Gold and Wedding Gown White.  Announcer Monte Moore always talked about the colors.

This picture of Catfish was taken on a Sunday, as the A's wore white on Sundays and either green or gold the rest of the week.  This 1974 year would be his last with the green and gold, as he had a dispute with Finley and ended up with the Yankees the next year.  Catfish Hunter will always hold a special place in my heart, as such things stick in the mind of a kid the rest of his life.