1977 jim spencer

well, o-pee-chee did it again.  just like with chip lang, when they created jim spencer's 1977 card, they committed the ultimate sin and replaced an in-game action photo with a posed photo for no apparent reason.  spencer didn't change teams between the 1976 and 1977 season, so who knows why o-pee-chee did what they did.  and what they did leaves us with a photo variation and an autograph placement variation, as they moved and stacked spencer's facsimile auto.  here is spencer's 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

bill north lurks!  i mentioned the other day on night owl cards that this might be the best bill north card there is, as greg noted that most of his cards are boring head shots.  although there is that fantastically bad 1973 topps card where he has an a's hat on while you can still see part of the 'chicago' on the front of his cubs' jersey.

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

the change in photo is even more disappointing when you consider the fact that spencer won the gold glove (the second of his career) in 1977.  it turned out to be spencer's last year with the white sox, as he was traded to the yankees after the season ended.  he hit 18 home runs (tying his career high to that point), including a couple of grand slams.  this is spencer's second showing on the oh my o-pee-chee blog, and i find it pretty cool that his 1978 opc card is featured on his baseball reference bullpen page.

voici à vous, 1977 jim spencer!

1978 jim spencer

jim spencer was traded from the white sox to the yankees in december of 1977.  here is his 1978 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

spencer had just won his second gold glove as a first baseman when he was traded, but with chris chambliss at first in the bronx, spencer was used primarily as a designated hitter. he played in only 71 games for the yankees in 1978, and his numbers suffered for it, although he did play in the world series against the dodgers and won a ring as a result.  he bounced back in 1979 with a strong season - 23 home runs and a .288 batting average - in 106 games.  sadly, jim spencer died of a heart attack in 2002 at the age of 55.

voici à vous, 1978 jim spencer!