One of the baseball card sites I visit is having a 'vote for the best, er, worst' kind of contest in which viewers look at two cards and choose the one that best epitomizes the given year. In this case, they are doing 1981 Topps (which I found cool, since I had just talked about"hat kind" cards on my card-related site...).
I am not about to do one of those kinds of contests, but rather decided to look through some of the cards I had handy to show off the obvious style and flair some of these players demonstrated at the time the flashbulbs were going off. These are the "best" nor the "worst," but rather just a sampling...
 | I would like to first offer up Enrique Romo, 1982 Fleer. Of course, the uniform alone instantly dates the photograph. I grew up around Pittsburgh and remember both the player and the uniform. Note the poof hair unable to hide under the hat (not that he was even trying). Naturally, the oversized 'stache and beard also scream 1980-something! :-) |
 | Next, I offer Matt Keough, 1983 Donruss. Believe it or not, he actually shows off the style that many guys of the time had - The "Magnum PI" moustache and haircut. Notice he even tries to cop (no pun intended) a Tom Selleck smirk (including dimple). Believe it or not, I think my uncle had this same style, though my memory is a little weak on that given how many years have passed since.... :-) |
 | The last card from the 80's is another Fleer 1982. This time, we see Jeff Jones blowing a bubble during warm-ups. Okay, at least it's not the big side of chaw that most guys had in those days. But, really, did these guys get even see the pictures before they were plastered on baseball cards all over the world? His face will forever have that pink bubble in front of it as the lasting momento from his stint in the bigs.... |
 | Moving on from the 80's, I found this Ken Griffey, Jr. card which looks "mostly harmless" at first, right? But then, your eye trails off to the right and what the heck is going on there? A limp-wristed, kneeling shot with the ball just beyond his hands? Okay, obviously he just threw the ball, right? But, come on... That has to be one of the worst positions I have seen on a ball card (aside from those awful 'pitcher in motion' shots - which I will share at a later date)... Of course, even the pointing, smiling shot looks cheesy as can be, too.... |
 | Finally, for tonight, I offer up a 1994 Topps Stadium Club of Frank Thomas. At first glance, he is putting on glare-blocker. But, is he really? No, actually, he is giving the photographer the bird! Look at the expression on his face. He knows exactly what he's doing... What surprises me more is that the folks at Topps didn't pull this one faster than the "Billy Ripken" card... (You know, the infamous card where "someone" had printed F##K FACE on the end of the bat he was holding in his Fleer photo (scroll down the linked page)) I'm sure someone has done a photo study of how many players have had their baseball card photo taken of them posing with their middle finger extended... |
That's all for now folks... Tune in next time, when I post what was supposed to be Wednesday's entry... :-)
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