Vintage Fridays: Dave Duncan, 1976 Topps #49

Random thoughts about this card:

-The picture was clearly taken in Spring Training. Palm trees are wonderful, especially when there's a chance of MORE SNOW in the last week of March here in the Mid-Atlantic, but I'll be glad to see games that count in the standings. No more ties, split squad games, or lack of TV coverage.

-I kind of wish that Dave Duncan's head was tilted to the side, so that he was mimicking the Oriole Bird on his cap.

-I'm also picturing Matt Wieters with Duncan's floppy hairstyle. It's not a good look.

Vintage Fridays: Jim Palmer, 1976 Topps #202

Jim Palmer was such a showoff in these 1970s Topps sets. "Ooh, look at me, I have the lowest ERA! Whaddaya know, I had the most wins last year! Huh!" You will note that the first and second runners-up to 'Cakes for the 1975 American League ERA title both eventually joined him in Cooperstown. Of course, you probably know Jim Hunter as "Catfish". Hunter was from Hertford, North Carolina, which is...not terribly close to Charlotte. It's so far north it's practically in Virginia, actually. What am I rambling about? I'm getting ready to leave for a last-minute holiday trip to Charlotte with Janet to visit her folks. So the blog will be going dark until Tuesday. Until then, enjoy this hunky triumvirate of Hall of Fame pitchers!

Vintage Fridays: Tim Nordbrook, 1976 Topps #252

There's no turning back now. Good friend and affordable vintage watchdog Ed let me pick through a box of well-used 1974 and 1976 Topps commons, and when the dust settled I had bought a total of 370 cards off of him. I've put each (incomplete) set in a shiny new binder, so I guess there's nothing left but to admit that I'm building those sets. I don't have want lists posted yet; that would have required some planning. But a glimpse at my card catalog tells me that my 1974 set is 57% complete (377 of 660), and my 1976 set is right behind it at 56% (371 of 660). So as soon as I get my act together - and who knows when that will be - I'll be sure to point you towards my lists so that we can make a deal.

I love the two-color bar design at the bottom of the 1976 Topps set for its simplicity and brightness. Green makes sense as a secondary color for the Orioles, in my humble opinion. Not too sure about the yellow, but I'm not sure what else Topps could have done. Blue? Purple? Ewww. This is one of the delightfully crooked photos that are seeded throughout the set, giving it a trippy 1970s vibe. The subject of the card is Baltimore's own Tim Nordbrook, a hometown boy who attended Loyola Blakefield, one of the local all-boys' Catholic high schools. The Birds then drafted him out of Loyola College in Maryland (no relation) with their ninth-round pick in 1970. Though Tim had a six-game stint in the majors in 1974, this is his rookie card and the only Topps card depicting him as an Oriole. He had played a career-high 40 games in 1975, but came to the plate only 41 times with a frightening .118/.268/.147 triple-slash. He would go on to have cups of coffee with the Angels, White Sox, Blue Jays, and Brewers, playing his last game in 1979 and finishing with stats of .178/.286/.195 in 128 major league games. He managed in the Milwaukee farm system from 1982-1984 despite still being in his early thirties, and later returned home to coach baseball at his high school alma mater.

Vintage Fridays: Ellie Hendricks, 1976 Topps #371

Occasionally, I like the layout and photo of a card so much that I feel like my own words couldn't do it justice. Such is the case with this sublime card featuring Elrod Hendricks soaking up the sun on a bright afternoon late in his career and flashing a candid and typical smile. Just another day at the office for Mr. Oriole.

Vintage Fridays: Paul Mitchell, 1976 Topps #393

When his company bought Topps, and again this summer when they effectively re-established a baseball card monopoly by negotiating exclusive rights with Major League Baseball, jut-browed tyrant Michael Eisner smarmed about his altruistic desire to bring baseball card collecting back to the "kids". Just reading his warmed-over corporate speak made me want to take a long, hot shower. Well, riddle me this, Mr. Disney: if baseball cards were such a pure, child-friendly pursuit in the good old days, just how do you explain this utterly indecent offering from three decades past? Where did that photographer have to be positioned to get such an intimate and extensive angle on Paul Mitchell's special area? Which editor at Topps looked at this photo and said, "Yes! Here's a 25-year-old kid who just went 13-1 between Rochester and Baltimore, someone so desirable that he will help the Orioles land Reggie Jackson in a trade. The world is his. This photo, this gray polyester expanse, says it all!"

To think, most of you probably assumed that Billy Ripken was the most licentious Oriole to ever pose for a baseball card.

Vintage Fridays: Jim Palmer, 1976 Topps #450

Happy Halloween! Jim Palmer's celebrating one of the greatest holidays of the year by breaking out his orange and black finery. I only regret that I don't have any cards featuring Boog Powell all duded up like the Great Pumpkin. You should really be watching scary movies and/or trick or treating right now, so I'll offer you some holiday greetings from my alter egos of Octobers past and then I'll be on my way. Be safe and leave the lights on! Happy Halloween from:

2001: Norville "Shaggy" Rogers (right)

2002: Cactus Jack (second from right)

2004: Psycho Clown

2006: Michael Stipe

Also 2006: Mr. Clean's Evil Brother, Chet

2007: Vincent Price

2008: Vampire Magnum, P.I.

Vintage Fridays: Bob Grich, 1976 Topps #335

This is my very favorite card in an altogether fantastic 1976 Topps set. It signifies everything that's great about that year's cards: bright, contrasting border colors, a smiling, sun-drenched subject, and most of all, glorious hair on both head and face. Bob Grich is resplendent in his Seventies masculinity with a thick mustache that is reminiscent of the true greats, names like Selleck and Reynolds. The hair flies free and loose in the summer breeze, sticking up and out in every direction. It looks like my hair does when I've let it grow out a bit and I go for a swim. For kicks, I'll slick it back and wait for it to dry, and then get a porcupine effect as the air does its work.

There are some iconic photos in this set, and Grich more than holds his own with George Scott, Garry Maddox, Hal McRae, Oscar Gamble, Gorman Thomas, Al Hrabosky...those are just the handful that I have in my own collection. Whenever I get around to completing a set from the Seventies, I'll probably start with 1976, a year when men were proud to let their hair grow long and wild. A year when sideburns were pushed to the limits, crossing jawlines and cheekbones and ruling over everything in between. A year when mustaches had a life all their own.