1977 pete rose

though it had nothing to do with anything other than o-pee-chee's apparent disdain of awards in general, pete rose had his all-star banner removed from his card in 1977.  he also had his photo cropped in a different manner (compare the waistbands), and his facsimile autograph moved slightly.  here is his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

 here's the topps front:

i hated pete rose for moving to third base and denying ron cey the all-star notoriety on his cards.  the penguin would triumph in 1977, however, and be rewarded with the all-star shield on his 1978 topps card!

now the o-pee-chee back:

 and the topps back:

i believe that a fair ball never was hit out of yankee stadium - i remember josh hamilton and justin morneau talking about it prior to the home run derby held there a few years ago.  anyway, charlie hustle had a typical year in 1977.  he played in all 162 games, led the league in plate appearances and at bats, hit over .300 (.311), scored around 100 runs (95) and had around 200 hits (204).  while he failed to get his 3000th hit in 1977 (he finished with 2966), he did hit the 500th double of his career, score his 1500th run, and reach 1000 walks during the 1977 campaign.

voici à vous, 1977 pete rose!