The first thing that comes to mind when I look at this card is, why did Topps choose these 3 for this card? With my limited knowledge of A's stars and 1969 baseball, I would have gone with Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue and Rollie Fingers. But, looking back at the timeline in all these player's careers helped me see better, for myself, the answer to my question.Sal was the up-and-comer who had established himself well the year before and really hit his stride in 1969. He was selected to his first All-Star Game, hit 31 home runs and batted .281. Bert was an obvious choice. He was just scary on the base path, swiping 62 that year. His previous year he led the majors with another 62 steals, was 11th in MVP voting and was selected to his first All-Star Game. Danny finished 2nd to Yaz in the AL batting titled in 1968, "The Year of the Pitcher", hitting .290 to Yaz's .301.
As for Reggie, Vida and Rollie, they were all still fresh outta the minors from Iowa and Vancouver! And along with Catfish, they would go on to become legends a little later winning 3 championships in a row for Oakland.
I picked up this card on eBay last week for 25 cents, along with 5 more commons all for a quarter or two each. This was the first time I had seen the team stars format for this set, since I mostly only have lower numbered cards. I really love this card and can't wait to find more like it for the other teams!
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4 comments:
I like that Satin looking warm up jacket? Cater is wearing under the sleeveless.
Also remember that this picture was probably taken before 1969. Even if it was not, Fingers and Blue were unproven rookie starters. If the picture were taken in 1969, Jackson would have been on the card - as he was having his best year.
It was probably taken in 1968 or (since it's a high-number card) in spring training of 1969. Certainly not pre-1968, since the uniform says "Oakland".
It was taken in 1969--Cater has the centennial patch on his sleeve, which was worn only in 1969 by all major league teams
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