What a card: Joe Nolan was entering his final major league season when this card was issued. At this point he was the backup to the backup as both Rick Dempsey and Floyd Rayford received more playing time at catcher than Nolan.
My observation on the front: Nolan seemingly did not go anywhere without those glasses.
More opinion from me: Take it from a young, avid collector between 1978-86: Nolan did not look like a ballplayer on any of his baseball cards. I think I was actually appalled when I pulled his 1979 Topps card.
Something you might know: Nolan took over for Johnny Bench behind the plate during the 1981 season. Bench was getting on in years and the Reds saved his legs by having him play third base. Nolan enjoyed his best hitting season that year, batting .309.
Something you might not know: Nolan, playing for the Braves, placed the finishing touch on ending Pete Rose's 44-game hitting streak when he caught Rose's foul tip for strike three on the Reds legend's final at-bat of the game.
My observation on the back: You can tell Nolan spent a lot of years (seven) in the minors with those sporadic at-bats in 1972 and 1975.
The blog wants to speak now: The News category is updated.
My dad played ball in the streets of St. Louis a handful of times with Joe Nolan when they were kids. This card was in my first set and I remember thinking how cool it was that my dad "knew" one of the players.
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