Happy New Year!

I decided that New Year's Day was the perfect time to feature the first card of the 1973 Topps set. That was back in 2011, and today is the first day since the that I've had January 1 fall on a regular day when this blog runs an entry. So here it is:

Card #1 -- All-Time Home Run Leaders

This card was also the first of the All-Time Leaders subset, which appears later in the set.

None of the players shown here need much of an introduction. All are Hall of Fame Sluggers and at the time were the only players ever to hit 600 career home runs. Two of the players were still active and within grasping reach of the record. Willie Mays hit six homers and retired after the season, but Hank Aaron smacked 40 to finish with 713 round-trippers.

This was the first of four straight years where Aaron was featured on Topps' #1 card. He had also appeared as a league leader on the #1 card in 1963, so the run of #1 cards put him ahead of Ted Williams for the honor of the most appearances on a first card in the Topps set.

2014 will be the final year of this blog (assuming nothing bad happens to me which forces me to take an extended break). I still have quite a ways to go with the set, however, so so keep coming back to see what I've got planned. Oh, and by the way...once the cards run out, I'll have some more stuff to show. I'll also have a surprise ready as a way of saying "Thanks" for your readership. You'll have to see what that is, but I promise you'll like it.