Here's Rollie Fingers, frozen at a pivotal moment in his delivery:
He's striding forward, stiff-lipped, eyes staring at the target, right wrist cocked and hiding behind him in the shadows. In just another fraction of a second that ball will be hurled toward the catcher's mitt at high speed.
But do you know what really gets me about this card?
The background.
It's just a wall of spectators, as far as the card borders allow you to see in every direction. If you look closely, you might see more than one of them shading their eyes with their hand on that bright, sunny afternoon. And the only thing separating all of them from the field?
A waist-high fence.
Not even a solid fence. A chain-link fence.
There's no protective netting. No padded wall. No rolled-up tarp in front of them. Nothing. You can see everything. You can even see some of their feet peeking out from under the bottom railing. They may as well be on the field.
If you were the first baseman going over to field a foul pop-up, you'd probably be able to smell their suntan lotion and hear every word of every casual conversation. Every word of support. Every jeer. How visceral it all is.
Adding just a little more to this card, the A's won the World Series the year before, 1973. And the year before that, 1972. They'd also win it all in 1974.
And adding still more, in 1974 Mr. Fingers would appear in a major league–leading 76 games, going 9-5 while putting up 18 saves and a 2.65 ERA. He struck out 94 batters over 119 innings. (He'd also win the Playoff MVP award.)
So, if you were a kid opening packs of Topps baseball cards during the summer of '74 and you found Rollie Fingers about to fling one toward home plate, you'd probably be feeling pretty good—A's fan or not.
And for giving collectors an idea of what that feeling on the mound might have been like—a superstar surrounded by fans as far as the eye can see, anticipating your every pitch—1974 Topps #212 has a place in my box of favorite cards.
Beautiful card! You might also like this card's twin: the 1974 Topps Blue Moon Odom.
ReplyDeleteThanks Fuji! You know, I'm wondering if that Odom photo was taken during the same game. I think I see a couple of identical people in the stands on both cards.
DeleteMaybe it was. Looks like there are a few people wearing blue shirts. Maybe they were playing the Royals or something.
DeleteThe photographer did pretty well that day, huh?
DeleteAlthough I prefer closer shots of players on their cards, your observations about the background does make this card more interesting. My favorite A's card from this year, aesthetically speaking, is Bill North. Not one of the marquee players on the team, but he was at least the starting center fielder.
ReplyDeleteImpressive mutton chops there on Mr. Bill North.
DeleteI can't think of any examples off the top of my head, but there's quite a few cards out there that feature a wall of people in the background, and I've yet to see a bad looking one of them!
ReplyDeleteTrue! You can even find more right there in the 1974 set (Jon Matlack, Tom Seaver, and as Fuji mentioned above, John Odom).
DeleteI always wonder, esp with today's cards - how many, if any, fans know they are on cardboard? I enjoy spectator shots, with their expressions and dress.
ReplyDeleteImagine flipping through a stack of cards and somehow noticing yourself in the background of one?
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