1977 fred norman

fred norman had his facsimilie autograph tweaked ever so slighty on his 1977 o-pee-chee card, shown here:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

it's easiest to see the shift if you do a cup check on norman, or you could look at the right end of the autos and compare the space from the border to the signature.  the o-pee-chee photo is also differently cropped, ever so slightly.  it's the kind of variation(s) that make one wonder, 'why?'

norman had a good year in 1977; he set his career high with 14 victories, including the final shutout of his career - a 2-hitter against the astros in which he walked 8 (!) batters.  in reference to the cartoon, baseball reference tells me that norman faced ron hunt 30 times in his career, but did not hit him with a pitch (although records for one game are 'missing').

voici à vous, 1977 fred norman!