Topps Cards That Never Were - 1977 Reggie Jackson

For this entry, I am deviating once again from my previous course of making final season cards for Hall of Famers.  This Topps Card That Never Was is for Reggie Jackson's 1976 season in Baltimore.

The 1977 Topps release features Reggie Jackson in an airbrushed Yankees' uniform/helmet, from what appears to be an Oakland Athletics' photograph.  Not a very inspiring photo as you can see below...

Also, I didn't realize that Reggie Jackson played in Baltimore until well in the '90s!  I remember when I saw the 1988 Score tribute that showed Jackson in an Oriole uniform.  I was blown away and thought it was an error/trick/etc.  I then dug out my "Total Baseball" encyclopedia and looked up Mr. October.  I couldn't believe that I had completely missed the fact that Reggie Jackson was an Oriole for one glorious summer.

So, 20 years later and armed with the firepower of Photoshop, I decided to end this travesty.  Ergo, enjoy the custom made 1977 Topps Reggie Jackson card in all it's Baltimorey goodness!  

PS - I will gladly take requests, just leave a comment!

Topps Cards That Never Were: 1976 and 1977 Frank Robinson

Life is yet again making a major intrusion into such frivolities and luxuries like baseball cards and breathing. As a consequence, my participation in the card world suffers mightily. That's about all you'll get out of me because I do not like mixing professional me with the 12 year old lurking inside of me who is waiting for a pack of 87 Topps.

So, I'll have to return to the old standby of cards that never were. I have a semi backlog now, and it seems to be sufficient blog fodder. Moving on, today's candidate is the great Frank Robinson. Frank has one of the few distinct honors of being dissed in not one, but two sets of Topps cards. Apparently Topps thought a tiny head shot of him on the team cards was sufficient for a Hall of Famer, but I disagree. Mr. Robinson was one of the best to ever play the game, and he would second that comment in a heartbeat.

Always overshadowed by Aaron, Mays and Mantle, Robinson never really got his due. Sure, he was (in my opinion) the Barry Bonds of the 50s, 60s and 70s. Not because of ROIDS, but because Frank does have a rather acerbic personality.

Alas, the end of Frank's playing career was coupled with the beginning of his managerial career. It took until 1975 for Frank to be named the first black manager in MLB history, but he had to be a player manager first. I guess he had to "prove" himself as a player/manager before becoming a full manager. I always wondered if it was because he was an awesome player, or because he was black that he had to be a player/manager first...

He looks so non-Frank Robinson in this picture...

And here's to you Mr. Robinson

Here are Frank's stats from 1975 and 1976:

YEAR	CLUB	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	AVG
1975	Indians	49	118	19	28	5	0	9	24	.237

1976	Indians	36	67	5	15	0	0	3	10	.224

Topps Cards That Never Were: 1977 Hank Aaron

Before I began this blog, I came up with a list of topics and recurring themes. Prior to ever posting, I had ideas for at least 60 posts, and about 5 themed topics. I even wrote out 10 of them, and was waiting to scan some cards to go with the posts. Alas, we no longer have a scanner, so I need to focus on other topics besides how my collection was amassed.

Looking for an idea, low and behold, Bad Wax dumped a treasure map right in my lap. One of my recurring topics was to discuss Topps cards that were never made for sure fire HOFers. All I needed was some free imaging software, and a Google search engine, and I was set. After reading Bad Wax’s post, I now have free imaging software with somewhat understandable instructions, and I can now unleash my homemade cards on the world.

Which brings me to the topic at hand, why in the world did Topps not print cards for the last seasons of baseballs greatest players? Was it really that important to have a no name nobody who scratched 50 ABs in their fifth season deserve a card, and leave out immortals like Aaron, Mays, Schmidt, etc.? It absolutely boggles my mind.

So, I decided to honor all those baseball legends who ended up on the Topps cutting room floor for the likes of Enzo Hernandez.

First up would be The Hammer, arguably still the reigning Home Run King. I made two versions of this card because I like both action shots I found. The DH turned out much better than I thought it would, but I’m not completely satisfied with the font type and color.

Version 1 - "Aaron at the Bat"

Version 2 - "Run, Aaron, Run"

Here is Aaron’s line from 1976 in 77 Topps format:

Year	Club	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	AVG
1976	Brewers	85	271	22	62	8	0	10	35	.229

Not too shabby for a 42 year old at the twilight of his HOF career, and much more deserving of a 77 Topps card than many others from that set.

Which card do you like best?

EDIT: After seeing Punk Rock Paint's awesome version of the 77 Aaron card, I forgot that those cards didn't list DH, they listed DES. HITTER. So, I edited the picture to be more accurate. Also, PRP, do you remember the font style you used for your version? Mine is almost, but not quite right.