#65 - Bill Buckner

What a card: This is Topps' first base card of Bill Buckner as a Red Sox. He appears with the Red Sox in the 1984 Topps Traded (and '84 Fleer Update) set.

My observation on the front: Man, what a mustache. I've seen Buckner's mustache on so many different cards, at many stages of his career, and it still impresses.

More opinion from me: I've always considered the road uniforms that the Red Sox wore during this time period as mind-numbingly boring. They're probably a tribute to uniforms of the Red Sox's past, but they looked so ... zzzzzzzz.

Something you might know: What do you want me to talk about? The Game 6 error? Geez, aren't we done with that yet? I'd rather focus on Buckner's ability. He was a terrific hitter, decent base stealer, and he rarely struck out.

Something you might not know: Former Cubs manager Herman Franks went off -- and I mean WENT OFF -- on Buckner the day after he was fired in 1979. In a diatribe in which he called all his former players whiners, he saved most of his criticism for Buckner, and I quote:

"There haven't been many people in baseball who have fooled me, but I have to admit that Buckner was one of them. I thought he was the All-American boy. I thought he was the kind of guy who'd dive in the dirt to save ballgames for you. What I found out, after being around him for awhile, is that he's nuts. He doesn't care about anything but getting a hit. He doesn't care about the team. All he cares about is Bill Buckner."

My observation about the back: A Hall of Famer as a wide receiver. I'm telling ya, the "cripple" could fly.

The blog wants to speak now: The Ballgames tab has been updated with two big NCAA basketball games. The Music tab has been updated with a new No. 1 song. And the Pop Culture tab has been updated with an event that would change entertainment forever -- well, not for me, but for some people.