Today we’re continuing to look at my latest batch of quarter bin acquisitions. Todays batch is a dozen 1973 Topps cards. 1973 wax packs came with 10 cards and I ended up pulling 12 out of the box. For you math whiz types out there, I dropped an even $3 on 1973 cards. I’m not sure what a pack of cards cost in 1973, but $3 in todays money is the equivalent of $0.59 in 1973. I’m not sure what point I’m trying to make with all that, but I’m just saying.

1973 Topps #82 Fritz Peterson

I think one of the things that makes me like the ’73 set as much as I do is the action shots. Yeah, I know it’s not the first set to feature action shots, but I feel like they really started to turn it up with them in this set. They’re not all winners, either, as this Fritz Peterson shot can attest to. But I say if an action shot isn’t going to be awesome, at least make it weird, which this one certainly is.

1973 Topps #111 Dave Nelson

Looking at this Dave Nelson card, I think I know what it is that makes some of the action shots look “weird” to me. It seems as if their weirder feeling ones were all taken just a split second after the action happened. Like the Fritz Peterson card above looks like it was taken just a second after he made his pitch. This Dave Nelson happened just a second after Dave stole second. In the case of the Fritz card, that split second makes the card just feel strange. In the case of the Dave Nelson, I feel like it makes it a little bit cooler. I mean, yeah, a picture of a guy sliding into second is cool, but not as cool as seeing that A’s shortstop or second baseman (possibly Ted Kubiak) hanging his head because he knows that Dave stole that base right from under his nose.

1973 Topps #139 Carmen Fanzone

I’m very tempted to start a Carmen Fanzone player collection, just so I can start a blog dedicated to my Carmen Fanzone collection. It would be called, you guessed it, The Carmen Fanzone.

1973 Topps #183 Don Buford

A few days ago I was talking about how it seems like every card I have of Paul Blair he looks pissed. Well, I’m just realizing the same could be said for Don Buford. Geez, with all them pissed off dudes on the team, no longer they were winning so much.

1973 Topps #228 Bobby Darwin

I think this might be my favorite posed baseball card shot. The old “Get Out of My Face Before I Stick This Bat in Your Eye” pose.

1973 Topps #236 Tito Fuentes

Here’s another slightly-after-the-fact action shot. I’m starting to wonder if the abundance of these “just a second too late” shot are more the product of the mechanical limitations of the speed of photography during the early 70’s as opposed to any kind of aesthetic decision on Topps part.

1973 Topps #238 Tony Muser

After his playing career ended in 1978, Tony Muser had a relatively long career as a coach and manager. He was the third base coach for the Brewers starting in 1985 and looked to be the next in line to replace George Bamberger as manager. He ended up missing the entire ’86 season, however after being severly injured in a gas explosion at the Brewers Spring Training facility. Tom Trebelhorn ended up filling in for him as third base coach and ultimately became the Brewers manager. That’s rough. By the way, that might be the first explosion based injury I’ve ever heard of in baseball.

1973 Topps #244 Ed Acosta

The entire bio on Ed’s BR Bullpen page consists of one sentence. “Ed Acosta primarily wore number 37.” On his Baseball Reference page, it lists him as having worn numbers 13, 46 and 37 during the span of his 3 year career.

1973 Topps #254 Ed Stoneman

I love it when a player’s name totally matches up with the picture on his baseball card. Oh, wait. His name is “Stoneman”? There’s no “d” in there? Oh. Nevermind.

1973 Topps #256 Chris Zachary

Remember how I said that Ed Acosta’s entire BR Bullpen bio consisted of that line about him primarily wearing number 37? Well, if you take out that line, you have Chris Zachary’s BR Bullpen bio.

1973 Topps #261 Pat Kelly

Harold Patrick Kelly is one of 3 Pat kelly’s to have played in the Major’s. Much to my surprise, he is the oldest of the three. Not to be a stereotyper, but I thought for sure there’d be a couple of Pat Kelly’s playing back in the Deadball Era.

1973 Topps #382 Mike Hegan

When Mike was 12 years old, he was an emergency fill-in bat boy for an Indians-Yankees game. He even got interviewed by Red Barber. Seriously.

I’m not sure exactly how many 1973 Topps cards that makes, but I’m beginning to think I might make a half-assed stab at starting to collect it for real. I think.

Tags: 1973 Topps, Bobby Darwin, Carmen Fanzone, Chris Zachary, Dave Nelson, Don Buford, Ed Acosta, Ed Stoneman, Fritz Peterson, Mike Hegan, Pat Kelly, Tito Fuentes, Tony Muser
Filed Under: Bargin Bin Baseball Cards by slangon
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