In November of 1972 Hal McRae was traded to the Royals. He was used primarily as a pinch hitter by the Reds ever since breaking his leg in 1969. Coincidentally, 1973 was the first season in which the American League had the designated hitter. It seemed like a perfect match. McRae played in 2084 MLB games but only 516 in the field. He is #5 on the Royals All Time list in hits, #4 in homers, #2 in doubles and #2 in RBIs. McRae had a card in the 1973 Topps set. He was depicted as an outfielder for the Reds. The 1973 Topps set had no design for designated hitters but I think this McRae card merits the creation of a new design.
I don't have very many 1973 cards, but I would guess that Topps didn't assign 'DH" to anyone because it wasn't yet determined who was a DH. (Actually, in those early years, I think McRae was the only full-time DH. Maybe also Gates Brown for the Tigers.)
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