This spiffy black and white portrait of Don Larsen, the only Oriole pitcher to ever suffer a 20-loss season, comes to us via Max of the
Starting Nine blog. It's part of a 270-card set that was released in six annual series of 45 cards each from 1977 through 1984 and featured prominent retired players. The TCMA card company produced it on behalf of famed hobby dealer Renata Galasso of Brooklyn. Galasso offered the sets for free with purchase of that year's Topps set. You can read more about her various retro card sets at the
Fleer Sticker Project. The funny thing about the Galasso Greats set is that Larsen was the only O's player included. There were six other cards depicting players from the franchise's St. Louis Browns era. So thanks to Max, I've got a complete team set for this oddball 1977 release! Thanks, pal.
I picked up a bunch of these in a dime box at a recent show near me. They have brought you and Night Owl at least a dollars worth of joy. Now that is a pretty good return on an investment.
ReplyDeleteI'd say so, Max! Funnily enough, I found a few of these in a nickel box at a show today. I came home with Al Lopez, Allie Reynolds, and Jackie Jensen...maybe I can pay it forward.
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