1978 Topps Baseball

The 1978 Topps Baseball Card Set consists of 726 standard size cards.  The subsets are the Record Breakers, League Leaders, Playoff and World Series Highlights and Rookie Stars.  The Managers' cards featured a black and white picture of the manager as a player next to a current shot.

Veteran pitcher Rudy May had been traded to the Montreal Expos by the time this card came out.  Still, it is a great action shot.

I was never a fan of any sort of "game" included on the back of cards.

Jesse Jefferson went 9-17 for the expansion Toronto Blue Jays.  I loved getting cards from the "new" team.

Fran Healy would only play one more game after the release of this card.

J.R. Richard was in the middle of a nice stretch with the Houston Astros.  Unfortunately, a massive blood clot ended his career in 1980.

Bobby Murcer just finished his first season with the Chicago Cubs after the big trade for Bill Madlock.

Bruce Kison was in the middle of his career.  The card does give a good luck at one of the many uniform combinations of the Pittsburgh Pirates of that era.

Mark Lemongello was coming off a 9-14 season and he repeated 9-14 in 1978.  He finished his career going 1-9 for Toronto in 1979.

I just loved Ted Simmons.  He should be in the Hall of Fame.

I love everything about this card of Dave Collins.

Rowland Office was going to have the best year of his career in 1978.

The much-traveled Oscar Gamble got a bad airbrush job to signal his move to the San Diego Padres.

Doug Ault got the cool Rookie Cup on his card.  He also has a cameo appearance by Thurman Munson.

Future Hall of Famer got the tri-colored All-Star shield on his card.  I have grown to like this shield more as the years passed.

Long-time Atlanta Braves catcher Biff Pocorobahad a cool card.  I love the backwards cap.

1977 Topps Baseball

The 1977 Topps Baseball set consisted of 660 cards printed in a single series and sold in 10 card packs (among other ways).  The cards featured a facsimile player autograph (which I always hated).  Subsets included the League Leaders, Milestones, Playoff Highlights, Turn Back the Clock, World Series Highlights, Rookie Stars and Brothers.

Longtime backup catcher Ron Hodges was in the middle of his career in 1977.  He would go on to induction in my Backup Catcher Hall of Fame.

Dave Pagan gets one wild airbrush job for the expansion Seattle Mariners.  Pagan started 1977 in Seattle and finished it in Pittsburgh.  That would be his last season in the majors.

Manny Sanguillen gets a glowing airbrush job to signal his arrival in Oakland.  He would spend one season with the A's before rejoining the Pittsburgh Pirates in time for their World Series title.

Dave Duncan is yet another catcher and another airbrush job in this pack.  Duncan would never even play for the White Sox after coming over in a trade from Baltimore.

Veteran pitcher Jon Matlack got a nice in-action card.  Matlack would be traded to the Texas Rangers after the 1977 season.

I hated seeing this xcard.  Ken Henderson had been one of my favorite White Sox players.  After spending eleven seasons with the San Francisco Giants and the Sox, Henderson would play for five teams in his last five seasons.

Enzo Hernandez appears to be warming up on his card.  Enzo would play in only seven games in 1977.  He joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1978, but only played in four games, before being released to end his MLB career.

Tragically, by the time of the release of this card, Mike Miley had died in a car accident.

Although I hated seeing longtime White Sox favorite Carlos May with the New York Yankees, I did love these brothers cards.  I do have to question why Phil and Joe Niekro did not get one in 1977 and maybe even Jose and Hector Cruz.

At least I got a Hall of Famer in the pack.  Fergie still had some good years left, but his best years were with the Chicago Cubs.