1974 Willie McCovey - Redone?

A recurring feature that was typical of Topps in the 1960s and 1970s was to airbrush players into their new team's uniform.   In 1974 Topps may have jumped the gun a bit by declaring the San Diego Padres were now the "Washington Nat'l Lea."  That variation turned out to be a fun variation in the 1974 set.  But what if Topps took it a step further?

By that I mean, what if instead of poorly airbrushing a newly traded Willie McCovey into a San Diego Padres uniform for this "Washington Nat'l Lea." card, they poorly airbrushed him into the proposed "Washington Stars" uniform?

I had already made a 1974 Topps card of Dave Freisleben who modeled the proposed Star uniform in an earlier post.  I think it would've been cool if Topps really ran with this concept, going even further than the "Washington Nat'l Lea." variation.

1974 Topps Dave Freisleben

This is the only color picture that I know of that shows the proposed uniform of the ill-fated Washington Stars. Those who have been in the hobby for decades remember the 1974 Topps "Washington  Nat'l Lea." cards that Topps made instead of San Diego Padres cards during some of their print runs. 

Here is a 1974 Topps card taking it a step further, using the proposed name and a photo of a player wearing the proposed uniform. I also chose a color scheme on the card more befitting the new team colors. But this card raises even more questions. Like: What would the home uniforms look like? Why is the uniform being modeled by rookie pitcher Dave Freisleben? Why is a pitcher posing with a bat? 

I don't have answers to any of these, but I have my suspicions.  I think there are pictures somewhere of the proposed home unis and sooner or later they will turn up on the internet. But judging by the road uni, my best guess is that they will be equally ugly. 

As for why Dave Freisleben? I have to go with the "Johnny Bravo" syndrome from the Brady Bunch. Greg was given his big break as a "Rock Star" only to find out they chose him because he "fit the suit".  

Freisleben was actually a fairly serviceable pitcher for the Padres as a rookie in 1974. He won 9 games which tied him with 4 other Padre pitchers for the most on the club. He also had the lowest ERA of any of the Padres starters with 3.66.

In one particular game in 1974, Freisleben pitched the first 13 shut-out innings of a 14 inning marathon against the Reds. He was even allowed to bat in the bottom of the 13th before being lifted for Rusty Gerhardt. The Padres broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the 14th and Gerhardt got the win.

I have seen another look at the same uniform. Again it was modeled by Freisleben obviously from the same photo shoot. It was on a team issued "Schedule Card" in 1977: