This card is walking like a panther.
It's so effing ineffably kool that I need to stop myself from buying it again whenever I see it for sale. Maybe one day I'll just liquidate the rest of my collection and pursue a stack of 200 or so of these babies.
What makes it such an amazing piece of cardboard? Well, the lineup of player photos helps.
Memory tells me that it's rare to see a vintage three-player rookie card where everyone is wearing actual big-league hats. This card looks like a winning pull on a Mets' slot machine.
Then there's the general mien of the players themselves. Matlack smirks like he knows he's going to win the 1972 ROY award. Teddy wields his pine-tarred bat, defying you to call him a light-hitting utility player.
And Rich Folkers? Well, he might look like a math teacher, but I'm pretty sure I got my young mouth washed out with soap for saying his name around the house.
Finally, there are the inks. The clear blue-sky background in each frame, the deeper blues of the aforementioned hats, and the orange/yellow player names all just dance off the black card.
And while the other Mets' cards in the 1971 set used orange for the team name, this one (and the low-number Bobb/Foli rookie) utilized a deep red ink. It's like Barnett Newman designed the damn thing.
Let everybody know...
I love the "Mets' slot machine" line.
ReplyDeleteThe red Mets really bothered me. I guess I understand why they did it, but I wish they would have made the orange work instead.
Mets had a pretty good run with rookie cards
65 - McGraw/Swoboda
66 - Cleon Jones
67 - Tom Seaver
68 - Ryan/Koosman
69 - Gentry/Otis
70 - Mike Jorgensen
71 - Jon Matlack
Given that not everyone makes it onto a rookie card, I think that's a pretty good 7-year stretch. When the weak link (Jorgy) played 17 seasons in the majors, that's not too shabby.
If only Buzz Capra or Leroy Stanton would have panned out, we could've added 72 to the list, too. Or we could go Foli in 71 and use Matlack in 72.