Who is this? Former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Fred Cambria
What is this? An autographed card from the 1972 Topps set
Where'd I get it? Nick from Baseball Happenings got it signed for me last month.
Why is this so special? When I was younger, I didn't really like the 1972 Topps set. It never seemed to fit with the other old Topps cards. Lately, though, I've started to appreciate its odd charm so I've been trying to get 1972 Topps cards signed when I can.
Fred Cambria was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1969 draft. By a coincidence, he happens to be from Cambria Heights, N.Y.
According to Baseball Reference, Cambira threw a perfect game in the minor leagues in 1969. The next year, he got his chance to pitch in the majors. He made 5 late season starts for the Pirates, finishing the year with a 1-2 record and a 3.51 ERA.
Arm troubles hampered his career... though Cambria pitched in the minor leagues into 1973, he never appeared in another major league game. At 25, he was out of baseball.
Cambria has a clear, legible signature. I wish he had opted to sign over his name instead of his face, though.
This is my last post of the week, so I want to take a moment to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I'll be back on Monday with some more autographed baseball cards to show you during the final week of 2010.
Posts
2 comments:
Cambria was Commissioner of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League (http://www.acbl-online.com/index.asp) which plays in the NYC/NJ/Eastern PA area and is in their HOF.
This one of many cards on which I need Richie Zisk’s autograph. He used to be a great TTM signer but recent in-person requests (he was recently a coach with the Florida State League’s Daytona Cubs) have been met with a stern refusal due to his claim of being a victim of identity theft.
Thanks for adding to my knowledge of Fred Cambria.
I find it interesting that so many people are concerned about signatures being used for identity theft... considering how rarely anybody ever checks my signature when I have to sign for something, I doubt it's all that important.
Post a Comment