What is this? An autographed card from the 1973 Topps set
Where'd I get it? I got it signed before a doubleheader between the Newark Bears and Bridgeport Bluefish earlier this month.
How much did it cost? I think that I got the card in a quarter bin during the off-season.
Why is this so special? Ellie Rodriguez was an original Kansas City Royal, a two-time American League All-Star and the catcher for Nolan Ryan's fourth no-hitter. Rodriguez is now a player development consultant for the Atlantic League.
I'm still trying to figure out what was going through the mind of the photo editor at Topps; this is one of the most unusual baseball cards in my collection. There are four men in the foreground of this card, and you can't see any of their faces clearly.
The signature looks a little compressed; I don't think Rodriguez wanted to sign over anything important on the card.
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3 comments:
cool - i got one of those signed ttm earlier this year, along with his 77 card
It's possible that Rodriguez signed where he did because the catcher pictured on the card isn't him. The Brewers used five different catchers in '72 and I think Paul Ratliff was the guy who was pictured on the card.
In 1973, Topps did that to another player, too. My 1973 Topps blog explains:
http://1973toppsphotography.blogspot.com/2010/05/wheres-waldo-joe-rudi-edition.html
That's interesting. If I had known Rodriguez wasn't actually on the card, I wouldn't have asked him to sign it.
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