#101 - Jim Acker

What a card: This is Jim Acker's second-year card after he completed his sophomore major league season with the Blue Jays.

My observation on the front: A classic "don't look directly at the camera" pose.

More opinion from me: Seeing Acker with his index finger out of his glove reminds me of how puzzled I was as a kid when I realized that baseball players stuck one finger out of their glove. Here I had been sticking all my fingers in the accompanying finger slots and catching the ball just fine -- or so I thought. What a revelation it was when I stuck a finger on the outside of the glove (it seemed so weird at the time) and could suddenly catch a ball even better! I was a changed boy.

Something you might know: Acker had two tours with the Blue Jays. He would be traded to the Braves in 1986, then traded by the Braves back to the Blue Jays in 1989. The Blue Jays sent a catcher named Francisco Cabrera to the Braves in that deal.

Something you might not know: Acker is from Freer, Texas, also the hometown of former Chicago Bears defensive end Steve McMichael. They played on the same high school team together with Acker as the quarterback. In McMichael's book, "Tales From the Chicago Bears Sideline," McMichael recalls the intense nature of Texas small-school football rivalries. He says that in one game, the other team was going for Freer's players' knees. When the team went for Acker's knee, the bleachers cleared and fans brawled in the center of the field.

My observation on the back: Nose tackle Bill Acker also played for the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Chiefs.

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