1977 pete vuckovich

o-pee-chee correctly determined that an actual photo of blue jays' pitcher pete vuckovich in uniform was better than a photo with an airbrushed cap.  they also unstacked his facsimile autograph, giving us a photo and autograph placement variation in their 1977 set.  here is vuckovich's 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

vuckovich was selected by the blue jays in the 19th round of the 1976 expansion draft, and, while he was one of toronto's 'brightest pitching prospects of 1977', he didn't stay with the team for long.  after posting a 7-7 record with 8 saves in 53 games for the expansion jays, vuckovich was traded to the cardinals at the season's end.  he had earned the first save in blue jays' history, and recorded their first shutout and 12-strikeout game as well, but was dealt for victor cruz and tom underwood.

vuckovich enjoyed success in saint louis, but was eventually traded to the brewers where he led the league in wins in 1981 and won the cy young award in 1982.

voici à vous, 1977 pete vuckovich!