A "Pat" on the Back...

Mutton chop sideburns? Check. Wild 70s hairstyle? Check. Palm trees in the background? Check.

Card #34 -- Pat Dobson, Baltimore Orioles

I can't figure out whether Dobson is trying to look intense for his card, or if he's just annoyed to be dealing with the photographer. The cartoon on the back of this card is interesting. It says, "Pat suffered a broken toe in 1969." As if there are people who otherwise would have enjoyed it.

A member of the 1968 World Champion Tigers, Pat Dobson is perhaps best known to baseball fans as one of the four pitchers on the 1971 Baltimore Orioles staff to win 20 games. However, he followed those 20 wins up with an American League-leading 18 losses in '72 and the Orioles traded him to Atlanta after the season. He split the '73 season with the Braves and Yankees and won another 19 games in '74. Then another subpar year in '75 landed him in Cleveland, where Dobson finished his career in 1977.

At the time this card came out, Pat Dobson had a 61-61 lifetime record. He would add another 61 wins to that total before he finished. Sadly, he passed away in 2006 from leukemia.

A Nice New Cap

Airbrushed or not? I think it's real, but the cap looks really nice either way:

Card #543 -- Alan Foster, California Angels

Foster appears to be wearing an Angels jersey -- you can see the top of the "G" on his jersey --so it's definitely not an old picture from his time with the Tribe in '71 or his '67-'70 stint in Dodger blue. The stats on the back do mention that he spent most of '72 at Salt Lake City, so this photo likely came from Spring Training as there's little chance Topps got his picture during the time he pitched his eight games in relief for the team in 1972.

As it turned out, 1972 would be Alan Foster's only year with the Halos. He was sold to the Cardinals just as the season was getting ready to begin. So despite being part of the final series that year, Topps didn't seem to be worried about getting an airbrush artist busy getting Foster into a St. Louis uniform. 1973 was his best year in the majors, seeing Foster moving to the starting rotation and getting his first winning record. He pitched for two years with them and finished up with the Padres between 1975-'76.

"Catching" Up With the New Guys

All three of these guys would have more Topps cards. In fact, one of them would have his sons on their own Topps cards a generation later.

Card #613 -- 1973 Rookie Catchers

Bob Boone was a legacy. His father was Ray Boone, who had been an infielder with the Indians and Tigers, among others, between 1948 and '60. He played 19 seasons, mainly with the Phillies and the Angels. While not known for his batting, he was among the finest defensive catchers of his era. He was a key member of the Phillies' 1980 World Series champions and helped lead the Angels to two AL West titles in the 1980s. He would go on to manage, and also raised two major league sons: Aaron and Bret Boone.

Skip Jutze wasn't in the majors anywhere near as long as Boone was. After a short stint with the Cardinals in '72 (hence the airbrushed cap), he was able to start 78 games for the Astros in 1973. That would be his most productive year, though. He was a part-timer through '76 and played his final season as an original member of the Seattle Mariners in 1977.

Mike Ivie had already appeared on a Topps card in 1972 but hadn't yet shed the rookie label. In fact, he never played in the majors in 1972 or '73. He wasn't destined to make the majors as a catcher, so he switched to the infield and became a successful first baseman and third baseman beginning in 1974. He spent most of his career with the Padres and Giants, finishing with Detroit in '83.

Wait, Who?!

It's okay if you look at this player and say, "Who?" You definitely won't be alone:

Card #366 -- Brock Davis, Milwaukee Brewers

Brock Davis was a member of the Houston Colt .45s in 1963. He didn't see much action with the team in short stints with that club that year, in '64 or '66 (when they had become the Astros). He saw a few at-bats with the Cubs in 1970 and finally saw some real major league action in 1971. He was traded to the Brewers before the '72 season and stayed with the parent club the entire season for the only time in his career. However, he was mainly a utility player that year and was back in the minors for good until 1975. So, this card showed up after his final major league game.

He only managed to hit a single home run in his major league career, which was in that first tryout in Houston back in 1963.

Davis appeared on four Topps cards. His first was in 1963 (he shared a Rookie Stars cards with Willie Stargell), followed by a semi-hi number in 1971 (another Rookie Stars card). He finally got a card to himself in 1972, and this '73 would be his final card.

A "Hand" to Count On

This photo is interesting if only because of what you don't see:

Card #398, Rich Hand, Texas Rangers

There's Rich Hand on the mound, Bert Campaneris at the plate...but the ball isn't in the picture. Either it's taken a wide arc or Campaneris simply didn't swing at it. While a shadow is seen that is likely the umpire, this is another picture that shows no other player on the field. I've mentioned before that I like that, since this moment is between the pitcher and batter. The photo would be better with a visible baseball in it, though.

Rich Hand was coming off his finest season in 1972. It was the only year he would see double-digit win totals and was the top ace of the staff. However, his 10 wins were matched with 14 losses. He had the second-highest strikeout total of the '72 Rangers with 108...but walked almost as many (103) as he whiffed. 1973 would be Hand's last in the majors. He was traded to the Angels that May (and appeared on a 1974 Topps card with them), but spent all of '74 in the minors before calling it a career.

That's a Lot of Bases to Step On

While baseball fans watched as Hank Aaron chased another, better-known record in '73, few may have noticed that he set a new all-time record in '72:

Card #473 -- Hank Aaron, All-Time Total Bases Leader

Late in the season, he surpassed Stan Musial's record of 6,134 total bases. He ended up retiring with 6,856 in all, and still holds the record today. The Top 10 list on the back has been assaulted by players like Carl Yastrzemski and George Brett, Dave Winfield, Cal Ripken and Pete Rose, with Barry Bonds finishing in 4th place. The card's #10 player was Honus Wagner, who now sits at #22 all-time.

The active leader is Alex Rodriguez, who now has 5,043 and would have to maintain his average yearly production for about another six years to break the mark. It's too early to say whether that will happen, but it's probably safe to say that this is a record that Aaron will likely own for quite a while. The next active player under the age of 35 on the all-time list is Albert Pujols, who has 3,580 total bases.

A Man Called "Motormouth"

Like Mickey Rivers last week, I remember this guy more for his role with the Yankees in the late 1970s:

Card #528 -- Paul Blair, Baltimore Orioles

Of course, Paul Blair was a platoon player and late-innings replacement by that time, but his value to the Yankees at the time was larger than what his numbers may have shown. His nickname "Motormouth" came from his talkative nature, but when he was at his peak, his glove could do quite a bit of talking all by itself.

However, before helping the Yankees in their mini-dynasty years, he was a regular on a very good Orioles team that was in the postseason six times between 1966 and 1974. He possessed great speed, which allowed him to play shallow in the outfield and still get to balls that were hit deep. That skill earned him eight Gold Glove awards, including consecutive awards from 1969 and '75. During the 1973 season, he was elected to his second and last All-Star game.

Despite being an integral part of those powerhouse teams, Blair seemed to be footnotes in several great moments that involved others. In 1969, he would be the first batter to face Nolan Ryan in what turned out to be the only World Series game in his career...and hit a ball that was memorably caught by Tommie Agee. During his Yankee days, he was sent into the outfield during a game against the Red Sox in 1977 by Billy Martin, which then led to a televised confrontation in the dugout between Martin and the guy Blair replaced, Reggie Jackson.