What a card: This is Greg Luzinski's final Topps card. By the time it was issued he had already retired at the age of 34.
My observation on the front: There are several cards of Luzinski that say, "he's a big boy." This is one of them.
More opinion from me: Luzinski is kind of two different people in my mind: the clean-shaven Phillies left fielder and the bearded, bespectacled White Sox designated hitter. But there was also that awkward period when he first arrived with the White Sox when he had some giant glasses but no beard.
Something you might know: Luzinski knocked in at least 120 runs twice with the Phillies and was runner-up in the NL MVP voting twice, to Joe Morgan in 1975 and George Foster in 1977.
Something you might not know: The distance and height of Luzinski's blasts were legendary. White Sox teammate Ron Kittle once said about Luzinski: "They're going to have to start a separate record book: 'most home run, roof'."
My observation on the back: Luzinski started the "Bull Ring" in Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia in 1976.
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Being born and raised in Chicago Luzinski's White Sox years represented a homecoming. I work a guy who pitched against him in high school and said he never gave up a home run that went as far his did off him.
ReplyDeleteI could never decide how I felt about those unis the Sox wore back then. Then last summer they wore them at the game I saw in Comiskey (or whatever the place is called) and seeing them up close I thought they were pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteIf Luzinski had been tilting his bat up just a little bit, this would have ended up being a really cool card.
ReplyDeleteHe'd have ended up looking like a Jedi or sword fighter taking his fighting stance.