In case you ever wondered about some of the differences between Topps and O-Pee-Chee back when OPC was simply Topps' Canadian brand, I just happen to have both versions of Tom Underwood's 1984 card. As you can see above, Tom is pictured with the Athletics but labeled as an Oriole on his O-Pee-Chee card. There is also the helpful "Now with Orioles" notation floating on top of his groin. It makes him seem like a snack food that's been repackaged by Madison Avenue. "It's Tom Underwood by Nabisco! Now with Orioles! Mmm, taste that orange and black!"Taking a gander at the 1984 Topps version of Underwood's card, you'll see essentially the same card, but with the Topps logo, the Athletics coloring and wordmark, and a squeaky-clean text-free groin. Tom was something of a latecomer, signing with the O's in February of 1984. His Topps cards were printed and shipped by then, but it wasn't too late to assign him to the Birds for the North of the Border cards. So I guess there was some tradeoff for those Canadian kids who waited patiently for their brand-new cards.
I'm thinking I sent you this, but I'm not sure. I know I had a double of it at one point. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Now With is "in quotation marks" makes it even better.
ReplyDeleteOur word verification is blerapi. We think this should be made a word. Rephrased comment: The fact that Now With is "in quotation marks" makes it blerapi.
Billy - You are most likely correct. I know it's been added to my collection within the past year.
ReplyDeletePatricia - I agree; the quotation is quirky and blerapi all at once. I'd like to imagine that Topps/OPC called the Athletics front office inquiring about the status of Tom, and that "Now with the Orioles" is a direct quote from Oakland's GM.
man, i love these opc cards. i will have to post some dodger examples soon.
ReplyDeletethey weren't even consistent with their wording. some say "now with xxxx" some say "traded to xxxx" or "traded to xxxx" with a date or "free agent" or "signed as free agent". they had 6 or 7 people working on the wording independently, i guess.
seeing where the comment is, maybe underwood's jock is now with the O's and the rest of him is stuck on the A's...
ReplyDeleteGCRL - Talk about quality control!
ReplyDeleteMax - Let me look up his stats in '84: 3.52 ERA in 71.2 IP, but with a 1.52 WHIP. Hmm...he must have left something in Oakland, anyway.