Vintage Fridays: Ross Grimsley, 1978 Topps #691

It's another one of those especially exhausting days. I was up until 2:15 last night packing my car full of my possessions, in an attempt to make tomorrow's moving day as simple as possible. Binder after binder and long box after long box of baseball cards. Oh, and all of that other stuff that constitutes my daily life. Today I unloaded it all, and helped my father move the furniture that's already in the house up and down the stairs to make room for my furniture. (We only put one hole in the wall!) So it's another one of those days where I need the card to do the talking for me.

Thank goodness for Ross Grimsley.

This card represents pure joy. From the day that I first saw it on eBay, I knew that I must have it. I love the look of simple glee on Grimsley's face, augmented by his 70's-tastic chops, flavor saver mustache, and of course the bushy, flowing, curly...to call it an afro just doesn't do it justice. That thing is a full-out mane. It's glistening in the sunlight, or perhaps under the bright stadium lights. The top button is unbuttoned, the choker necklace on full display. I'd like to think that this photo was taken just after a Friday night game. The Orioles have won another one, but the night is balmy and still young. Ross Grimsley is feelin' fine, and ready to party.

Postscript: Only now do I notice that the team name running along the bottom left border runs almost parallel to the script on Ross's jersey. It's almost like a shadow. That's pretty cool, too.