1977 pete rose

though it had nothing to do with anything other than o-pee-chee's apparent disdain of awards in general, pete rose had his all-star banner removed from his card in 1977.  he also had his photo cropped in a different manner (compare the waistbands), and his facsimile autograph moved slightly.  here is his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

 here's the topps front:

i hated pete rose for moving to third base and denying ron cey the all-star notoriety on his cards.  the penguin would triumph in 1977, however, and be rewarded with the all-star shield on his 1978 topps card!

now the o-pee-chee back:

 and the topps back:

i believe that a fair ball never was hit out of yankee stadium - i remember josh hamilton and justin morneau talking about it prior to the home run derby held there a few years ago.  anyway, charlie hustle had a typical year in 1977.  he played in all 162 games, led the league in plate appearances and at bats, hit over .300 (.311), scored around 100 runs (95) and had around 200 hits (204).  while he failed to get his 3000th hit in 1977 (he finished with 2966), he did hit the 500th double of his career, score his 1500th run, and reach 1000 walks during the 1977 campaign.

voici à vous, 1977 pete rose!

1977 cesar cedeno

the photo is cropped differently ever so slightly, but there is no missing the unstacked facsimile

autograph on cesar cedeno's 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

 now the o-pee-chee back:

with shirtless ballplayers.  at least they didn't try to represent florida by using ballplayers with walkers or pants hiked up to their chests.

and the topps back:

cedeno's streak of three straight seasons of 20 hr and 50 sb came to an end after the 1974 season, and he came close to 20/50 again in 1976 (18/58) but never quite got there again.  he did, however, steal a career high 61 bases (good for second behind omar moreno) in 1977 to go along with his 14 homers.  he stole 3 bases (including two in one inning) in a game against the cubs in may of 1977, and hit his first and only career lead off home run about a month later against the phillies.

voici à vous, 1977 cesar cedeno!

1977 carlton fisk

like trying to improve upon the mona lisa, o-pee-chee moved the facsimile autograph and cropped the photo in a slightly different way than topps on carlton fisk's 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

pudge was a stud in 1977.  he appeared in 152 games (catching in 151 of them), tied his then-career high of 26 homers, set a then-career high of 102 rbi, and scored a career high 106 runs while batting .315 with an obp of .402.  he was the starting catcher for the american league in the all-star game and finished 8th in the league mvp voting.

as for the photo on the card, i am going to guess that willie randolph was safe, and i am thinking that the photo is too generic to know for sure, unless randolph was never thrown out at the plate in 1976 against the bosox.  still, it's probably fisk's best card after his 1991 topps masterpiece.

voici à vous, 1977 carlton fisk!

1977 steve braun

o-pee-chee pulled out one of their worst airbrushers to work on steve braun's 1977 o-pee-chee card:

resulting in a photo and autograph variation when compared to the topps version.

here's the topps front:

topps actually did a pretty decent job.

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

note that, while both card companies airbrushed braun into mariners' gear, only o-pee-chee modified the text on the back - and they only did so with the french part!

braun, who was the mariners' very first left fielder (he hit third in their inaugural game), appeared in a career high 139 games in 1977, and also set a career high with 80 walks.  otherwise, his 1977 campaign had to be disappointing as he hit only .235 with 5 homers and 31 rbi.  during the following season, he was traded to the royals and eventually made his way to saint louis where he won a ring in 1982.

voici à vous, 1977 steve braun!

1977 john scott

john scott broke free from the confines of the topps four-in-one rookie card and was given a card of his very own by o-pee-chee.  here is his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

you can almost hear andre dawson, who was not recognized in a solo fashion by o-pee-chee, saying 'earn this' to scott.  unfortunately, scott did not.  maybe o-pee-chee just wanted dawson to shave his mustache like scott did.  anyway, on with the show.

now the o-pee-chee back:

i still haven't gone through to see if these are new cartoons or recycled ones from topps cards that didn't make the cut into the o-pee-chee set.  here's the topps back:

the blue jays purchased scott's contract from the padres after the end of the 1976 season.  as it turns out, scott became the first batter in the history of the blue jays franchise as he played left field and hit leadoff for toronto on april 7, 1977.  he was 1 for 5 with a double, two strikeouts, and a run scored in the game but didn't get another start until a few games later.  scott was moved to center field in may and spent a solid month or so as their regular center fielder while raising his average into the .280s.  by mid-july, however, his average was down in the .220s and scott was relegated to backup duty.

scott did not appear in a big league game after the 1977 season, but at least he hit a couple of homers for the jays - in back-to-back games, no less - and will always be known as the first batter for the franchise.

voici à vous, 1977 john scott!

1977 reggie cleveland

ho hum - it's another slight photo cropping variation with the unnecessary facsimile autograph placement variation combo - this time on reggie cleveland's 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

the pride of swift current, saskatchewan (as far as baseball players go - i am sure the sign outside the city pays homage to joe sakic and/or brian trottier) enjoyed his last full season as a red sox player in 1977.  he went 11-8 despite a 4.26 era while throwing 9 complete games and a shutout.  he even had a couple of saves.  during the 1978 season, cleveland's contract was purchased by the rangers and he eventually finished up his career in milwaukee.

voici à vous, 1977 reggie cleveland!

1977 jim barr

jim barr came straight out of lynwood, just like weird al.  unlike weird al, barr wound up pitching in the big leagues with the giants and getting his facsimile autograph adjusted and his photo differently cropped on o-pee-chee cards.  here is his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

in 1977, barr appeared solely as a starter for the second and final time of his career.  he made 38 starts and finished with a record of 12-16 with a 4.76 era.  he threw 6 complete games, including two shutouts which happened in back-to-back starts at the end of july.  twice during the season barr gave up two home runs in a game against the dodgers, with reggie smith, davey lopes, steve garvey and rick monday being the swatters of barr's gopher balls.

voici à vous, 1977 jim barr!