Friday, October 9, 2009

Vintage Fridays: Brooks Robinson, Dave McNally, and Andy Etchebarren, 1967 Topps #154

With all apologies to night owl and all other Dodger fans, I must quote the Baltimore Sun:

"WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT? FOUR STRAIGHT!"

It's been 43 years to the day that the Orioles won their first World Series ever and brought Baltimore its first major league baseball title since 1896. Regular-season AL MVP and Triple Crown winner Frank Robinson clinched his Fall Classic MVP with a solo home run that provided the margin of victory, as Dave McNally out-dueled Don Drysdale in their dual four-hitters. When Lou Johnson's fly ball to center field landed securely in Paul Blair's glove to strand the tying and go-ahead runs on base and brought the Series to an end, bedlam ensued. The picture that Topps used for this card is the iconic image of that moment and one of my favorite photos of all time. It's amazing to see Brooks Robinson positively airborne, at least five feet off of the ground, ready to land in the jubilant McNally's arms. I'll drop in a larger version of the picture below, and let it do the rest of the talking. Well, it's from a different angle and a few seconds later, but it's still awesome.

http://pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=256&size=550x550_mb&ptp_photo_id=3911561

Here's the reverse angle.
http://www.yorkblog.com/revs/1966.jpg

P.S.: Happy birthday to my Dad (55), and also to Brian Roberts (32).
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8 comments:

  1. HackenbushOctober 10, 2009 at 12:24 AM

    Great shot(s). Brooks is really getting some air! I guess winning the Word Series will do that to you.

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  2. CommishbobOctober 10, 2009 at 1:03 AM

    Thoughts:

    1) that's a cool card. What a great moment.

    2) I'm older than your Dad. Damn


    LOL

    ReplyDelete
  3. night owlOctober 10, 2009 at 2:46 AM

    Yes, this World Series makes me sad, even though I was all of 15 months old when it happened.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Matt RunyonOctober 10, 2009 at 9:15 AM

    That's a great picture.

    ReplyDelete
  5. BaltimoreSportsFanOctober 10, 2009 at 10:34 AM

    The joke is that Brooksie broke the world record for the highest jump.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Rounding Thirty 3rdOctober 10, 2009 at 12:43 PM

    That "reverse angle" photo showing Brooks' expression is among my all time favorites!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. KevinOctober 11, 2009 at 12:52 PM

    Bob - You're not older; just more experienced.

    night owl - At least your team has had a few winning seasons since 1997.

    BaltoSportsFan - It actually looks like he's practicing his long jump form!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jim from DowningtownOctober 17, 2009 at 1:10 AM

    Those Orioles World Series cards were some of the first baseball cards I ever bought (or won, flipping cards).

    From memory:
    "Palmer Blanks Dodgers"

    "Moe Mows Down Eleven"

    ReplyDelete