1974 Topps #330 - Juan Marichal
This fantastic Juan Marichal buyback is probably the single best card that I got out of the 97 buybacks that were included in the lot. I love the framing on this shot of the infamous high leg kick delivery from Marichal. This card would have probably bumped any other card #330 with little to no thought required, but as it stands now it makes the set without competition. I really don't see this one ever being replaced in the set, but I guess you never know.
1974 Topps #404 - Jim Howarth
Two straight '74 Giants to start the post. Unlike Juan Marichal though, Jim Howarth here actually has some pre-existing competition for his binder slot:
1978 Topps #54 - Tom Johnson
Tom Johnson and his curly hair are in, but only because I don't have any other #54 buybacks yet. He played for just five seasons as a reliever, and this is a fairly boring card. I wouldn't bet on Tom hanging around too long as my franken-set continues to grow.
1969 Topps #403 - Bob Miller
I guess nobody had a comb handy when Bob Miller was posing for this shot. My mom would have been angry with me had my grade school pictures ever turned out this way. I understand why Topps took hat-less photos, but as a general rule they really bother me. I don't have any other #403 buybacks though, so Bob is safe within the binder for the time being.
1974 Topps #556 - Dave Campbell
1974 was actually Dave Campbell's final season as a player, but he carved out a decent career for himself as a broadcaster later in life. Either way, it's nice to start filling the binder with some higher numbered cards like this. Speaking of which...
1973 Topps #620 - Tommy Harper
This Tommy Harper represents the best Red Sox buyback I landed in the entire lot. Tommy had a great year in the lead-off spot for Boston in 1973, swiping 54 bases (a team best mark that stood until Jacoby Ellsbury broke the record in 2009) and even getting a few MVP votes. I'd say this is one of the top 5 cards that I received in this big lot, and I'm happy that it doesn't have any other cards #620 to compete with.
1978 Topps #543 - Larry Harlow
Larry Harlow looks about as excited in this photo as I was to pull his card from this buyback lot. About the only interesting thing I can say about this card is that Larry pitched 2/3 of an inning in relief during a blowout in 1978.
1974 Topps #165 - Willie Davis
Willie Davis was coming off of three straight Gold Glove awards when this card was printed up. He was actually dealt to the Expos in the 1973 off-season for Mike Marshall, who would win a Cy Young with LA in '74. As the only #165 buyback I've got so far, he's in.
1973 Topps #446 - Jerry Reuss
Next up we've got a smiling Jerry Reuss from '73 Topps. Jerry is probably most known for sticking around forever. He's one of a small group of players who've appeared in MLB in four different decades, and he racked up more than 200 career wins despite never enjoying a 20-win season.
1976 Topps #250 - Fergie Jenkins
Last card for today, another HOF pitcher as promised. This one wasn't actually part of the lot, picked it up while browsing eBay late one night for $2.22 with free shipping. Obviously it would be preferable to have a buyback in the franken-set that features Fergie with the Cubs (or even the Red Sox), but for just a couple bucks this is what I've got for now. It's also the only #250 buyback I have, so Fergie makes the cut for the time being.
Nice to get back on track with the franken-set here, it's been a lot of fun so far. Now that I'm finally through the initial big lot I can hopefully show off some higher quality singles that I've picked up over time as I've been working my way through posting these. More to come soon, but for now I'm at a nice tidy 125 unique buybacks in the binder!
Franken-set Progress: 125/792 (16%)
6 comments:
I hope to mail you some buybacks shortly that I picked up for you when I was in Vancouver.
Sweet, thanks Angus!!!
Ooof, a little painful to see a high-numbered 1973 stamped.
If you think that's bad wait until you see some of the buybacks I have coming up!
I was going to post a link to Jerry Reuss' website, where he had original Topps photos including the one on that 1973 card, but he apparently let the domain expire, because it no longer comes up. Bummer.
I love that Marichal card, it's kind of a shame that they put the buyback stamp on his leg instead of on the opposite side of the card. Same goes for that Howarth card; it makes you wonder how much consideration goes into where to stamp the buybacks.
Very cool project
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