What a card: This is Gary Pettis' first Topps flagship card, except it isn't. The photo is actually of Pettis' 16-year-old brother, Lynn Pettis, making this card the biggest gaffe in the entire set.
My observation on the front: I don't know how this got past anybody. That's a high school kid plain as day.
More opinion from me: I'm just noticing a weird green blotchy streak on the card. Bummer.
Something you might know: Topps claimed this was the result of a practical joke put on by Gary and his brother, but Gary said it was just an old photo from an Angels family day, featuring Lynn wearing Gary's uniform, and the picture somehow ended up in the set. (For what it's worth, Topps got the correct Pettis for the 1984 Traded card).
Something you might not know: Pettis was such a good fielder, particularly early in his career, that longtime Angels coach Jimmie Reese once said, "I'd compare him to Joe DiMaggio, Paul Blair and Willie Mays."
My observation on the back: At the time this card was issued, Mike Schmidt had hit 425 of the 548 homers in his career.
The blog wants to speak now: The Ballgames category is updated. The Royals are in trouble.
Gary won't sign that card if asked. Stuff like that makes it hard for set collectors.
ReplyDeleteHow is Pat Neshek supposed to complete his 'Autographed 1985 Topps Set' if Gary won't sign it? It would be tough to track down Lynn, I would think. I guess Pat would have some good contacts, though!
ReplyDeleteOK, so I just checked Neshek's site, and it turns out he managed to complete the 1985 Signed Set on January 6 this year. Good for him!
ReplyDeleteLooking at this card here before reading anything, my first thought was "Topps didn't do draft pick cards way back then, did they?"
ReplyDeleteThey did do draft pick cards in the '85 set. In fact this set was a pioneer in this area. Check out cards 271-282.
ReplyDeletehttp://1985topps.blogspot.com/search/label/No.%201%20draft%20picks%20subset