Reflections On a Name

Here's a guy whose cards I used to take some interest in, as he was one of the few players who shared a first name with me:

Card #345 -- Chris Speier (Boyhood Photo)

Like many young boys born during the 1970s, I was given the name Christopher. It's Greek in origin, and its roots are fairly obvious...it's related to the Big Guy on the Cross whose death (some call it "martyrdom") started an entire religion. While this blog isn't religious in any sense, I'll stop there...but in a historical sense, the name "Christopher" goes back nearly two thousand years but didn't seem to become popular for naming people's sons until the early 1970s. I think the fact that that era coincided with Jesus Christ Superstar and what I call "God Rock" (Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky," Ocean's "Put Your Hand in the Hand," et. al.) probably helped that. Yes, there were exceptions -- like the player above, and also the guy I was named after -- but most of the Christophers you're likely to meet are likely around 30-40 years old.

None of this has anything to do with baseball. But that's okay, since the picture on this card doesn't, either.

Richie Cunningham, I presume?

Today's post features a card from the "Boyhood Photos" subset that appeared in the 1973 Topps set:

Card #343 -- Bobby Murcer (Boyhood Photo)

Because nothing says "baseball player" or "Yankee star" quite like a 1950s elementary school photo.

Yesterday, When I Was Young

I featured a Jim Palmer card from the Boyhood Photos subset a little while back. In that post I mentioned how that photo from his youth didn't show him playing baseball, which seemed strange on a baseball card. There was one player shown in his boyhood uniform, though:

Card #342 - Sam McDowell, Boyhood Photo

Sam McDowell was the very first player I featured on this blog. He was winding down his major league career in '73, so the before/after pictures are quite a contrast.

The back of the card mentions that Sam began playing baseball as an outfielder, but was converted to pitcher once his arm power was discovered. That was a better deal than my own switch from outfielder to pitcher during my Little League days. However, in my case, I was brought in because I fielded fly balls as if they were live grenades.

Carrying a Spare Tire?

In 1973, Topps featured several subsets in its baseball card set. While most were carried over from other years, a subset showing players when they were kids was a new idea first used in the '72 set.

Card #341 - Jim Palmer, Childhood Photo

Here's a picture of Jim Palmer, sometime during the 1950s. While not yet wearing his BVDs, he is holding an inflatable floating ring while wading waist-deep in water. It appears Jimmy (not sure if he was called that as a kid, I'm just figuring) hasn't yet realized how swimming can help build the agility and flexibility needed by a young athlete.

Oh, and I'm wondering why Jimmy's Mom couldn't have just sent a nice picture of him in a baseball uniform. Little League, junior varsity, even holding a glove on the sandlot, anything baseball related...baseball cards look a little weird when their subjects are doing something else.