Thursday, January 14, 2016

#491 - Rick Camp


What a card: Rick Camp was entering his final major league season when this card was issued. He appeared in 66 games in 1985, the second highest total of his career, but was released by Atlanta just before the 1986 season.

My observation on the front: Camp looks like a mountain man who just came out of the cabin in the woods he had lived in for the last 30 years.

More opinion from me: Just a little while ago, I mentioned Camp's hairy progression on the other blog.

Something you might know: Camp was a closer for the Braves in 1980 and 1981, leading the team in saves each year. But he's most often cited for the home run he hit in the 18th inning of a game between the Braves and Mets that took two days to complete in 1985. Camp's homer tied the game, but he ended up losing the game in the 19th inning.

Something you might not know: Camp was sentenced to three years in prison in 2005 as part of a group who attempted to steal $2 million from a mental health facility in Georgia. Camp, who claimed the people conspired without his knowledge, served 21 months and was released.


My observation on the back: Camp died in April 2013 of apparent natural causes with differing reports on whether he was 59 or 60. Baseball-reference.com says Camp was 59. The born date on this card also says he was 59.

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

1 comment:

steelehere said...

I remember watching the start of this game on TBS as a teenager and then going with my family to a Dodger Game. When I came home from the Dodger game, I watched the final few innings including the Rick Camp home run and the post game fireworks show on TBS when it was after 1am California Time (4am EST)