that's a baseball flashback card featuring two guys in tuxedos. now, you and i and a lot of baseball fans know from the text that the card is all about fred lynn, even though he is not named on the front of the card. he was the 1975 american league rookie of the year and most valuable player. and, those same fans know that he is the gentleman on the left. you and i and they also likely know that the gentleman on the right is lynn's teammate and rookie of the year runner-up jim rice. but why not name them, or at least lynn, on the front of the card?
i was hoping to find this card because it shows some topps laziness, even beyond the nameless front. jim rice, it turns out, is not mentioned anywhere on the card. a newer fan may think he just a guy presenting the award. or maybe they think that he is the "top boston scout" that is referenced on the back of the card.
the other reason i wanted to find this card was because i had seen an image on ebay and noticed that fred lynn, apparently, was a catcher.
good golly topps, hire me to check your copy!
This is the kind of stuff that makes me scratch my head. I can't even imagine how many pairs of eyes this card had to pass through before it actually made it to print - and not once did someone say, "hey, maybe we should actually say who this guy is"?
ReplyDeleteThey can't even get the correct photo of a manager on the card front. I'm pretty sure they're mailing in the backs.
ReplyDeleteCatcher? That must have been news to Carlton Fisk, lol. Topps really has been lacking in basic fact-checking, and the "top Boston scout" is needlessly vague. I can't see myself spending any more on their products until the get the basics right. What a joke.
ReplyDeleteFile Lynn as a catcher next to the 2008 card of "All Star Rookie Shortstop" Tom Seaver!
ReplyDeleteThe lack of Jim Rice's name would make sense if Topps didn't have a deal with him, but he's in other current Topps products so it's not that. Crazy--he's the most prominent face on the card! Terrible job.
I'm embarrassed to admit this... but I had no idea that was Rice until I scrolled down and you pointed that out. I actually stared at the photo for a solid 10 seconds... but couldn't get Jesse Jackson out of my head.
ReplyDeleteNever knew about this card. I want to track one down now...
ReplyDelete