In 1969 the Topps AL All-Star outfield included Carl Yastrzemski, Tony Oliva and Willie Horton. Of those three, Yaz and Horton were starters in the 1968 All Star Game. None of them were named to the 1969 Sporting News All Star team. Joining Yaz and Horton as a starter in the 1968 outfield was Hondo. Frank Howard was also a 1969 Sporting News All Star selection. This makes his omission even more glaring.
Joining the "Capitol Punisher" on the 1969 Sporting News Roster was Paul Blair. Blair had a career year in 1969. He had personal bests in Hits, HRs, RBIs and slugging. He also earned his 2nd of 8 Gold Gloves and was 11th in MVP voting.
Rounding out The Sporting News All Star Selections for the AL outfield was Reggie Jackson. Despite making his MLB debut in 1967, Jackson didn't have a Topps card until 1969. How cool would it have been if he also had an All Star card that year? He certainly deserved it, as he was also a starter in the 1969 MLB All Star Game.
Who probably didn't merit inclusion in the 1969 Topps All-Star set, but was in it anyway?
Tony Oliva
The newly minted Hall of Famer, Tony Oliva was on the All Star team every year from 1964-1971, but he wasn't a starter in 1968 or 1969. He wasn't selected to The Sporting News in 1968 or 1969 either. A great player with a great list of accomplishments, but he just doesn't belong here.
Excellent card and action shot of Howard sliding home, all 6'7" of him.
ReplyDeleteThe Howard card is great but Thurman Munson is the catcher, so it must be a photo from 1970 or 1971.
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