as i continued to dig through a few long neglected monster boxes of cards this year, i was looking to separate keeper cards for my collection from those that could be traded or sold. i had a fair amount of 2012 panini cooperstown in one box, and stopped when i reached this rollie fingers card from the set.
knowing that the '74 fall classic is the source for the photo allowed for a very focused google search to find the image online. and when i saw it, i did one of those cartoon double takes
good lord, that's the dodgers' bullpen cart!
there behind the relaxing dodger relievers (and presumably mark cresse) sits the cart that i had only seen on display in the dodger stadium concourse. i'm not sure when exactly the dodgers retired the bullpen cart, but i certainly don't recall seeing it during my fandom which began in the latter part of the 1977 season. in fact, the only vehicle i ever recall seeing out on the field at dodger stadium was the truck towing the boat that they would give away on fan appreciation day.
because panini made the image black and white, you can't really tell that it is there, but i certainly have a higher level of appreciation for this card now that i know the bullpen cart has been caught in service.
I don't know when the bullpen carts faded out either. I drifted away from watching baseball and was mostly a football watcher in my childhood. I think they eventually replaced the custom carts with standard carts and then did away with them, until the recent revival in 2018. Wikipedia says the original run of the bullpen carts was 1950 to 1995. 1967 was the season that introduced the cap versions.
ReplyDeleteSomewhere out there, some dude or dudette has one of the coolest golf carts on the course.
ReplyDeleteBy the way... kudos to you for recognizing that.
Delete