Getting back to the highlights of Brady's priority box he sent me after Thanksgiving. I had all the base cards sorting into decades and ready to show them off, but filed away everything from 1980 to the present before scanning them. Lots of great cards, but you will have to take my word on it. I did remember to scan the cards from the 1970s. I chose to showcase one card from each year.
1970 Topps was about as plain and simple as you can get. No over the top design or clouds, just a gray border, picture, and name. I wish Topps would include team cards like this again.
Red Schoendienst manged the Cardinals 3 different times. He had one year tenures in 1980 and 1990 but is most remembered for his 1965-1976 run. If you look close you can see you signed Al on this 1971 card. His full name is Albert Fred Schoendienst. I think I would go by Red also.
1972 Topps brought a little more color to the table. I am not a huge fan of the yellow and blue border, but at least they tried something different. Maxvill was a no hit, good glove shortstop who would also serve as Cardinals GM for almost 10 years.
I am not sure what you want to call the small player silhouette in the lower left hand corner of 1973 Topps. It looks like a shadow in front of a big orange sun to me. Please show me any MLB catcher who used that form with the glove open to the sky. I guess Simmons is showing that technique on the card, but I doubt he used it in a game. Simmons was a very underrated player for the Cardinals because the team was pretty bad during the 70s and Johnny Bench was winning World Series with the Reds.
Who doesn't love blowing bubbles while you are playing ball. Ken "Zamboni" Reitz looks ready to pounce on a grounder on this 1974 Topps card. He would be the last National League player to win a Gold Glove at third base in 1975 before Mike Schmidt would win 9 straight.
1975 brought along the birth of the Topps mini. I have 2 versions of the regular card, one with the yellow bottom and another with an orange bottom like the mini. Not for sure if that is something Topps meant to do or if it is just a printing variation.
1976 Topps took out the sun and shadow and replaced it with a player profile. I like this much better. That is a young Keith Hernandez rocking the mullet. Years later he would trade it in for his signature moustache.
There is so much to love about the this 1977 Topps Ted Simmons photo. Some Cardinals fans do not like the baby blue uniforms, but I do. You can also see the pill box style cap inside Simmons' mask. Wish I knew what the patch on his sleeve was for.
I am guessing the Bob Forsch 1978 Topps photo was taken during spring training. The empty stadium is a good sign the photo was not taken at Busch Stadium Forsch would throw the first of his 2 no hitters in 1978. He and his brother Ken are the only brothers to both throw no hitters.
Last but not least is 1979 Topps. I wonder where the rest of the logo went on Brock's helmet. Brock retired after the 1979 season as the all time stolen bases leader. He would also collect his 3,000 hit that year and be named Comeback Player of the Year.
I received many more 1970s cards from Brady. While I did not need all of them, a lot of them were condition upgrades to what I had. He must have a lot of mint 1970s cards in his collection because what he sent me were almost perfect.
