1977 rusty staub

rusty staub lost his all-star banner, had his photo shifted to the right slightly, and had his facsimile autograph tilted to boot on his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

 here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

1976 had been staub's first season in the american league, and it was his last season as an everyday outfielder.  voted to start the 1976 all-star game for the american league in right field (he was 2 for 2 in the game), staub was nonetheless shifted to designated hitter in 1977.  staub hit 22 homers and drove in 101 runs as the tigers' dh, but also led the league in gidp for the second straight year.

voici à vous, 1977 rusty staub!

1971 rusty staub

rusty staub was the benefactor of an extra card in the 1971 o-pee-chee set, as he was inserted into an earlier series assumedly to capitalize on his popularity with the card purchasing youth of canada. here's his 'bonus' 1971 o-pee-chee card:

number 289 in the set. 

staub's topps card in the set is number is 560 - front:

and back:

this is just a checklist variation despite the different pose since o-pee-chee also kept him in his original spot - front:

and back:

how awesome is it that his nickname needs no translation?  the answer is, very awesome.  so, which card did the bonus o-pee-chee staub replace? none other than the white sox team card!

le grand orange spent most of his career in the national league so he didn't square off against the south siders too often, but he did have a .314 lifetime average against them with an .866 ops in 45 at bats. he scored another hit against them in the 1971 o-pee-chee set.

i should note that, while the 'bonus' staub card pictured above (in all of its trimmed glory) is from my collection, the 'regular' issue is not. i decided against shelling out $80 or whatever the ebay seller was asking for, especially when i could just 'borrow' the images.

also of note is that this is the last of the 1971 o-pee-chee variations! so far we have finished the 1971, 1972, and 1974 variations, with 1978 very close to being done. thank goodness for the 1977 set!

voici à vous, 1971 rusty staub!