1977 dave mckay

as they often did, o-pee-chee opted for an actual photo of a blue jays player - in this case dave mckay - for their 1977 set.  they also moved his facsimile autograph around.  here is dave mckay's 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

i featured alvis woods the other day - the first blue jay to homer in his first big league at bat.  the last person to do that before woods was dave mckay.

mckay, a vancouver native, was the first canadian to play for the blue jays, and he was also the first third baseman in their history.  he started the inaugural game on april 7, 1977 and was 2 for 4 with an rbi.  unfortunately, he finished the season batting just .197.

mckay is probably better known for being one of tony larussa's longtime coaches than he is for being a big league player, even though he managed to play in the majors for 8 years.  after larussa retired, mckay moved on to coach first base for the cubs in 2012.

voici à vous, 1977 dave mckay!