Wednesday, October 16, 2013

#224 - Al Cowens


What a card: Al Cowens was coming of yet another comeback season at the time of this card's creation. After an abysmal 1983 in which he hit .205, he bounced back in '84 to hit .277, driving in 78 runs.

My observation on the front: I know Cowens stopped playing for the Royals after the 1979 season, but it's weird to see him in any other uniform.

More opinion from me: Cowens seemed to hold on to his afro hairstyle longer than most '70s players. He has cards through 1986 and he has the wide hair in every one.

Something you might know: Cowens' most famous OMG moment came in 1980 with the Tigers when he charged the mound -- instead of going to first base after hitting a ground ball -- to attack White Sox pitcher Ed Farmer. Farmer had broken Cowens' jaw with a pitch the previous season when Cowens played for the Royals. Cowens believed that he was thrown at intentionally. A warrant for Cowens' arrest was issued in Illinois and the Tigers held Cowens out of games for the rest of their time in Chicago. Eventually, Farmer dropped the warrant and the two patched things up.

Something you might not know: Cowens was a high school teammate of former A's player Mitchell Page. Both of them died relatively young -- Page at age 59 and Cowens at age 50.


My observation on the back: I wonder if the Topps bio writer heard wrong. Cowens' nickname was "A.C.", which I suppose could be interpreted as "Ace" if someone misheard.

The blog wants to speak now: The Pop Culture category is updated.

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