Joy of an Incomplete Page: The Final Page

This is the moment you've been waiting for...the final page from my original binder. It's not the last page in the binder by a long shot, but it's the last page that isn't full of 1981 or newer cards.

Every card on both sides of this page would have been one I received in a trade with my best friend. Let's see what I got.




Starting in the upper left corner, there is a slightly dinged 1974 Topps Jose Cruz. If he looks unhappy, it's because he's stuck next to a Yankee, although it is a nice vintage 1959 John Blanchard. The second row has a logo free 1965 Rusty Staub and a much newer Astro in the form of a 1978 J.R. Richard. Row three has a 1964 Al Weis with his large All-Star Rookie Trophy. The upper right corner looks like a dog chewed on it. Next to Al is a 1973 Tug McGraw--I never really noticed before, but it says "HAMMER" on his glove. Last, but not least is a 1967 Jim Maloney. It looks like the guy over Jim's left shoulder is carrying a bag of groceries into the stadium.

Let's get right to the last page. The first card in the top row is a 1974 A.L. Playoffs Card featuring Reggie Jackson of the Oakland A's. Next to future Yankee Reggie is a 1976 Topps Traded Willie Randolph. The Yankees got Randolph, Ken Brett and Dock Ellis for George Medich. Row two starts off with another 1964 All-Star Rookie, Jimmie Hall. He is joined by a 1972 Bill Russell and a 1968 Ken Boyer. The bottom row starts off with a terribly miscut 1960 Bill White and a 1980 Dave Parker. The Dave Parker is a bit of a downer to finish with, but only because it was the newest card of the bunch.

I suppose I'll remove these cards from the binder pages at some point so I can try to gather all my vintage cards in one place, but for now, this page is going back in the binder with the others. It's been there for nearly 30 years, so what's a few more weeks.