Orioles Card "O" the Day

An intersection of two of my passions: baseball cards and the Baltimore Orioles. Updated daily?

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Anthony Telford, 1992 Fleer #29

Looking for more information on pitcher Anthony Telford, I came to his Baseball Reference Bullpen page. It didn't have much to offer, except for a scan of one of his cards, which he had signed with his name and the Bible verse "Rev 3:20". Lots of professional athletes have been known to quote scripture along with their autographs, but I haven't seen many of them who have borrowed from the Book of Revelations. For those who are curious, the verse reads as follows:

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."

While only Telford knows what significance those words have in his own life, I can see how he might have done a little soul-searching in the mid-90s, when he bounced from the Orioles to the Braves to the Athletics to the Indians to the Expos. By the time the 1997 season rolled around, Anthony was 31 years old and had pitched only 20 major league games, the last of them with Baltimore in 1993. Incredibly, he made Montreal's roster in 1997 and went on to pitch 285 games of relief for the team over the next four seasons, fashioning a 3.71 ERA in that span. Telford's career didn't last much longer after that, but considering his late-in-the-game renaissance, he certainly seems to have been blessed by somebody or something.

5 comments:

William said...

I think Rich Garces used that same passage*.

*There is no factual basis to this claim, other than general extrapolation in regards to his waist size.

Kevin said...

William - I have nothing to add except to quote Norm Chad: "Pay the man, Shirley."

Rounding Thirty 3rd said...

Kevin,

Anthony Telford was generous with his autographs and Bible passage additions. I have six autographed cards of him, with five different passages (Proverbs 3:5-6, Romans 8:2, Hebrews 13:8, Philippians 4:13, and Romans 8:38-39)

Kevin said...

Tim - Thanks for the extra insight! He's clearly a man of faith.

Anthony Telford said...

Kevin, Thanks for the kind words on your blog...My daughter found it! Although my career didn't go the way I thought it would, the Lord did bless me with some great memories. I used a different verse every year from '91-'03....and again I was and still am not perfect, but still work hard at serving the Lord. Keep up the good work on a positive blog bro. Send me something in the mail and reference the blog and I would be honored to sign it. Peace