1975 Topps - 70 more cards in the binder, 122 to go....

Just recently did a "u-pick" Ebay lot of 1975 Topps to go into my set.  I am down to 122 cards to go and my goal is to have that complete by summer.

I thought I would showcase 6 of my favorite cards that entered the binder today and why I chose them along with a bit of history about that player.

The Jackie Brown card is a great commercial for Red Man.  He just might have put the whole pouch in for the picture.  Jackie spent 8 years in the majors as a player and another 9 years as a pitching coach for the Rangers, White Sox, and Rays.

Wilbur Wood first became known to me while completing my 1973 Topps set.  A knuckleballer, who learned his craft from Hoyt Wilhelm, Wilbur was a 4-time 20 game winner in the majors with a league-leading 24 wins in 1972 and 1973.  Wood would see a major decline in his career after a 1976 Ron LeFlore liner shattered his kneecap in 1976.

Oscar Gamble, The Big O, perhaps, best known for his hair was a valuable platoon player for the New York Yankees.  He was discovered by Kansas City icon, Buck O'Neil, playing in a semi-pro league.  O'Neil would convince the Cubs to draft Gamble.  Besides the hair, Gamble is also known for having one of the worst batting stances of all time, crouching down so that his back was almost parallel to the ground.  He claimed it helped him see the ball better.

Darold Knowles, who is obviously disinterested in having his picture taken, was either possessed or checking out the girl in the upper deck.  Darold played 16 major league seasons and appeared in all 7 games of the 1973 World Series.  To this date the only pitcher ever to do so.

Ross Grimsley was chosen because he was born just up the road in our state capital of Topeka, KS.  Please don't think any less of him or me based on the monstrosity that is currently going on with the state legislature.  Grimsley came from a baseball family as his father played for the 51 White Sox and his grandfather was a career minor-leaguer.  Nicknamed "Scuz" because of his grooming habits.  Billy Martin accused him of throwing spitballs and having vaseline in his hair (actually, he didn't like washing it during winning streaks).  In Manning v. Grimsley, a Red Sox fan successfully sued the Orioles and Grimsley for Grimsley purposely throwing a ball into the stands when he was warming up and injuring the fan.  The Orioles defense was the fan was heckling Grimsley and thus, interfering with his work.

Finally, Cookie Rojas, the 5-time All Star 2nd baseman for the Kansas City Royals.  Rojas played 16 seasons for the Reds, Phillies, Cardinals, and Royals,  He was elected to the Royals Hall of Fame in 1987.  During the 1972 All Star Game he hit a pinch hit 2-run homer to become the first non-American player to hit a homer for the American League in All Star Game history.  I'll bet you never use that piece of trivia again.'

To see my 1975 Topps Wantlist, look here.  If you have anything let me know and we'll see if we can work out a trade.