Not Princess Leia's Father

Eddie Fisher had been appearing on Topps cards since 1960, and this one would be his final one:

Card #439 -- Eddie Fisher, Chicago White Sox

It's interesting that Fisher is shown in his White Sox uniform, as he spent most of '72 on the Angels. It was his second stint with the ChiSox, after playing with them from 1962-'66. They used a different uniform then, so there wasn't the option of just digging into the Topps archives for an old photo.

Notice how the uniform number appears on Fisher's sleeve. The Chicago White Sox liked to put them in different places. While it's easy to blame owner Bill Veeck for that, they continued the practice after he sold the team (and after he passed away), eventually placing the number near the crotch by the late 1980s.

During Fisher's first stint with the Sox, he was traded to the Orioles and helped the team in its run for the pennant. He missed out on getting into that year's World Series, however, as three of the four games were complete-game wins for the O's.

Shortly after this card showed up in wax packs, Fisher was playing for the Cardinals, who released him after the season was over. His major league career was over.

The Player That Never Was

The photo on today's card is definitely airbrushed. That's because the player had not been in a major league game since 1970:

Card #466 -- Jose Arcia, Kansas City Royals

As it turned out, he never made it back to the majors for the Royals or anybody else.

Jose Arcia was a Cuban-born player signed by the Houston Colt .45s in 1962 but ended up taking a long road to get to the majors. After six years, a change from pitcher to fielder, eleven minor league teams and three trades among the major league clubs, he didn't get to "The Show" until 1968 when the Cubs selected him in the Rule V draft. He stayed with the Cubs for the entire year, mostly as a bench player. In 1969, Arcia was drafted again to be a member of the Padres. He spent two years for the Padres but turned out to be a poor hitter and baserunner. After the '70 season, he was sent back down to the minors.

Topps may have assumed he'd make the Royals' roster for '73, but he would remain in the minors until 1976.

An Award-Winning Year

Although Nolan Ryan had an amazing year in 1973 -- setting the all-time single-season strikeout record and throwing a no-hitter -- he didn't get the Cy Young Award that season. He was beaten out by this guy:

Card #160 -- Jim Palmer, Baltimore Orioles

In fact, despite all his records and the fact that he was a feared pitcher, Nolan Ryan never won a Cy Young in his Hall of Fame career. Jim Palmer, on the other hand, won three of them in a four-year period. He was arguably the best American League pitcher of the 1970s because he had a luxury that Ryan didn't always have: a terrific team backing him up.

The photo on the card demonstrates the high-kick delivery that was Palmer's trademark. He was a boy wonder when he came up as an 19-year old. In his first major league win, he helped his own cause by hitting a home run. He pitched his first World Series game in 1966 and beat Sandy Koufax with a complete game shutout. He went through a rough time the next couple of years, needing to be sent back to the minors and having surgery on his arm. In 1969, he regained his form and threw a no-hitter.

In 1970, he notched his first 20-win season. In 1971, he was one of four pitchers who won 20 games for the Orioles. In fact, from 1970-'78 he had at least 20 victories in every season but 1974. That season saw him develop elbow trouble that placed him on the DL for eight weeks. In 1983, Palmer's age was showing. After being sent to the minors for a while, he came back and helped the team to the World Series once more. The Orioles released him early in 1984 and he was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 1990. Despite that status, he still attempted a comeback in 1991 but hung it up for good during Spring Training.

A bit of trivia: Jim Palmer is the only pitcher who has ever won World Series games in three decades. He's also the only player who appeared in all of the Baltimore Orioles' six World Series.

A Busy Picture

Sliding at home and scoring is a man who celebrates his 63rd birthday today:

Card #97 -- Willie Montanez, Philadelphia Phillies

It's pretty obvious he's playing at Candlestick Park, considering the number of Giants players shown in the photo. There's a catcher waiting for the throw and a pitcher backing him up, while a third baseman and left fielder are visible as well. Meanwhile, the next batter waits his turn. With that many players showing (even without uniform numbers), perhaps the game can be pinpointed.

Montanez scored in three games at Candlestick during '72. In the first one, he scored on a home run. In the second, he was the first of two who scored on a triple. That doesn't match with the action. That leaves the third game on July 16, when he ran from second on a Don Money single in the 4th inning.

Willie Montanez had a long career. He first came up in 1966 with the Angels but wasn't a full-time major leaguer until 1970. He was with the Phillies until '75 and bounced around with seven other teams between then and 1982, when he finished his career back in Philadelphia.

He was known as "Hot Dog" due to the way he played. At first base, he would often do a move after catching a fly ball that looked like he was putting a gun into its holster. During a pickoff attempt, he sometimes tagged the runner repeatedly even if he was safe. If he hit a home run, he sometimes ran around the bases slowly. These antics often irritated teammates, opponents and fans alike. It definitely rubbed raw nerves on his managers.

"Puff"'s Younger Brother

The last entry to this blog featured Graig Nettles, who enjoyed a long career in the majors. His brother's career wasn't quite as long or successful:

Card #358 -- Jim Nettles, Minnesota Twins

Though Nettles is shown as a Twin here, he didn't play for them at all in 1973. Instead, he spent the season in the minors. After the season, he was traded to Detroit. After that, he was all over the place, from the majors to Japan to Mexico and back.

After spending 1970-'72 in Minnesota, he never strung together two straight seasons with any club. He came up with Detroit in '74 and failed to make the team in Cleveland during Spring Training the next year. He didn't get back in the big leagues again until 1979, when he played 11 games for the Royals. Finally, there was one game with Oakland in '81 when he came in as a defensive replacement in the ninth but didn't get to the plate.

After retiring as a player, Nettles managed in the minor leagues from 1983-'96. At one of those stops (A-level Madison in 1986), he even came up to the plate for one last time. He failed to get a hit and went back to the dugout.

"Puff"

"When I was a kid, I wanted play baseball and join the circus. With the Yankees, I've been able to do both."

Card #498 -- Graig Nettles, New York Yankees

Graig Nettles was a big cog in the Yankees' late 1970s dynasty. 1973 was his first season with the club, which means he arrived just in time for the beginning of the Steinbrenner Era. Nettles got a great deal of mileage from his time with the Yankees, not only for his on-field performance at the "keystone" position but for his off-kilter quotes in the locker room like the one quoted above.

That said, there's a major problem with the photo above. It's an obvious airbrush job, one that is badly done. The helmet and stirrup socks may match, but they're not the same blue color the Yanks use on their uniforms. But more than that, the interlocking "NY" logo only appears on the team's white, pinstriped home uniforms, not the road grays. Given the fact that Topps was based in the same city as the Yankees were, one would think that little mistake would have been caught.

Though not Hall of Fame-caliber, Nettles was one of the best third basemen of his era. With Cleveland, he set the all-time major league single-season record for assists at the position in 1971. He still holds second place all-time in that stat (behind Brooks Robinson). Though a right-handed thrower, he batted from the left side and was a long-ball threat with Yankee Stadium's short right field fence. He led the American league in home runs in 1976...with 32, one of the lowest league-leading totals of the "live ball" era. Most importantly, he was a big help to the teams that won four pennants and two World Series between 1976 and '81. Though he was known for colorful comments in the locker room -- many of which were sharply-worded barbs at his team's owner -- when he and Peter Golenbock wrote a book titles Balls that chronicled the failed '83 season, he was quickly traded away.

Despite his banishment to San Diego, he responded by helping the Padres get to the World Series for the first time ever. He spent three years in the city of his boyhood before finishing up with a season in Atlanta and one more in Montreal. When he finally retired, he was 43 years old. Despite the increased number of long balls since his retirement, Nettles still owns the American League record for most homers by a third baseman.

Swiped!

Here's the player who scored the final run in the history of the Washington Senators before the franchise moved to Texas:

Card #111 -- Dave Nelson, Texas Rangers

This picture has been roundly criticized, since having two opposing players more prominent than the person named on the card is not usually a good thing. However, it helps determine when the play took place.

First of all, the picture was obviously taken in 1972 (since there were no Rangers in '71) at Oakland. Dave Hamilton is pitching. There were three players who wore uniform number 11 in 1972. However, Dwain Anderson and Marty Martinez can be ruled out since the second baseman lacks sufficient melanin in his skin to be either of those players. That leaves Ted Kubiak, who actually began the season as a teammate of Nelson in Texas. Kubiak played against the Rangers at home six times in 1972.

That brings us to July 30, 1972. It was the second game of a doubleheader between the two teams and only 10 days after Kubiak was traded (which explains why he was looking down...he was probably asking Nelson how he was doing without being obvious about it). Nelson led off and went 3-for-5 in the game, and this picture was taken during one of two hits. In both cases, he managed to steal second base afterward. In the first, he lined a single to center and then stole second before scoring on a Ted Ford double. In the seventh, Nelson lined a single to left, scoring the go-ahead run. He then stole second, and scored on an Elliott Maddox triple. That hit by Maddox ended Hamilton's night. The Rangers ended up winning both ends of the doubleheader.

Either way, Dave Nelson has just stolen second and is safe. In all, he stole 51 bases in 1972, good enough for second place in the American League. He was also caught stealing 17 times that year, which was the most in the league. In 1973, he played in his only All-Star game. Although the card shows him as a third baseman, he switched to second base that season.