1977 tim foli

i believe that o-pee-chee did nothing to tim foli's 1977 card except move his facsimile autograph a little bit.  here is foli's 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

i guess there wasn't much going on in foli's 1976 season based on the text topps used.  in 1977, all four of foli's home runs came as a giant.  that's because the expos traded him for chris speier in late april.  prior to the trade, foli had appeared in 13 games and was hitting .175.  for the giants, he hit .228 in 104 games, and had his contract purchased by the mets after the season ended - a deal that gave us a better o-pee-chee variation.

voici à vous, 1977 tim foli!

1984 tim foli

after two seasons in anaheim, the angels traded tim foli to the yankees in december of 1983. here's his 1984 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

foli played in 61 games for the yankees in 1984, managing to spend time at all 4 infield positions. he also achieved a statistical novelty, hitting .252 for the third year in a row. after the season, foli was traded (with steve kemp) to the pirates for dale berra and a prospect named jay buhner, paving the way for ken phelps and a funny seinfeld episode. sadly, foli didn't make the cut for inclusion in the 1985 o-pee-chee set, so this is his final o-pee-chee variation.

voici à vous, 1984 tim foli!

1982 tim foli

tim foli left 'the family' in pittsburgh as he was traded to the angels in december of 1981. here is his 1982 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

when we last saw foli he had gone from the giants to the mets who then sent him on to pittsburgh in time for their 1979 world championship. in california, foli was destined for a super utility role until rick burleson was injured and foli became the starting shortstop. foli hit .252 for the al west champs in '82, but had a poor showing in the alcs against the brewers, managing just 2 hits in 16 at bats as the halos lost in heartbreaking fashion.managed only two hits and one RBI as the Angels lost to the Milwaukee Brewers three games to two.

foli was back with the angels in 1983, although they both underachieved. foli was benched toward the end of the season in favor of rookie ricky adams and the returning rick burleson. after the season, the angels sent foli to the yankees, as we will see in a couple of days.

voici à vous, 1982 tim foli!

1978 tim foli

tim foli was the number 1 overall pick in the 1968 amatuer draft.  the team that chose him? the new york metropolitans.  they later traded him to the expos for le grand orange, but decided to bring him back to the club in late 1977.  by that time, tim was with the giants, thus his 1978 o-pee-chee card

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

tim's second tour with the mets would last just over a year as he was traded to the pirates a couple of weeks into the 1979 season.  that worked out pretty well for foli, as he would help the bucs to their world championship as part of 'the family'.  he would later help the 1982 angels get to the postseason, but with more disappointing results.

voici à vous, 1978 tim foli!