What a card: Jim Fanning receives a card as Expos manager as he moved out of the front office to replace Bill Virdon as manager with 30 games left in the 1984 season. But Fanning was no longer Montreal's manager when this card came out. The Expos had hired Bob Rodgers and Fanning headed back to the front office.
My observation on the front: I am curious to know who the man is in the background. He seems to have a lot of hair.
More opinion from me: I wonder how old this photo is? This appears to be a spring training site, but Fanning was in the front office with Montreal, wearing a suit and tie, during spring training 1984. His first stint as Expos manager included spring training in 1982, so perhaps this was a three-year-old photo at the time.
Something you might know: Fanning led the Expos during their only postseason appearance in 1981. He replaced Dick Williams late in the '81 season and helped them reach the NLCS.
Something you might not know: Fanning created Major League Baseball's Central Scouting Bureau, the precursor to the current MLB Scouting Bureau, in 1968. But he left the job as the bureau's director to become the first general manager in Expos history.
My observation on the back: The write-up is interesting in that I'm assuming Fanning held the player development position while also serving as manager.
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You don't know that he was wearing a suit and tie in 1984. For all you know, he might have been wearing the Youppi costume.
ReplyDeleteWell, you got me. I found pictures of Fanning wearing a suit and tie in 1981 and 1983, but not 1984 (if only I had a 1984 Montreal Expos yearbook, mister!)
ReplyDeleteBut I also found no photos of Fanning as Youppi.