Monday, December 12, 2016

#606 - Rich Gale


What a card: This is the final Topps card issued during Rich Gale's career. 1984 was his last big-league season and he was pitching in Japan by the time most collectors pulled this card out of packs.

My observation on the front: Gale is 6-foot-7. He doesn't look it on all of his cards, but he definitely does here.

More opinion from me: Gale without a mustache makes me sad. I associated Gale with the late 1970s Royals and he had a red, wispy mustache, dammit.

Something you might know: Gale enjoyed a terrific rookie season for the 1978 AL West champion Royals, winning 14 games in 30 starts and finishing fourth in the rookie of the year voting.

Something you might not know: Gale was arrested on a charge of indecent conduct for allegedly exposing himself to an undercover state trooper at a rest stop in Maine in September 2000. The charge was dropped in a plea deal on a lesser charge of disorderly conduct.


My observation on the back: It is a well-told story that Gale was a bartender at the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel when two walkways collapsed into the lobby, killing 114 people on July 17, 1981. Gale said he was less than 60 feet away from the collapse.

The blog wants to speak now: The News category is updated.

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