Friday, April 9, 2010

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1979 Topps #157 U. L. Washington

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, April 9, 2010:



  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1979 Topps #157.
  • Player Name, position, team: U. L. Washington, outfielder, Boston Red Sox.
  • Major League Debut: September 6, 1977.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1978 stats (Royals): 69 G, 129 AB, 10 R, 34 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 9 RBI, .255 AVG.
  • Any special information about player: Signed with the Royals as a Free Agent 08/04/1972. Bats: both, Throws: right.
  • Any special information about this specific card: Washington's second regular Topps card. I have to take a look at the spreadsheet and see if there is anything wrong with it. Last Saturday's card was Dwight Evans' 1979 Topps #155 card. This card comes two numbers after Evans. I guess the randomizer likes the 1979 set. Otherwise, I don't know what's going on here. The number one source in the hobby says that this card is actually an "uncorrected error card" because, "Sic, bats left, should be right." Now I've been staring at the back of this card for quite some time. Can anybody tell me what the heck Beckett is talking about??? I mean I can see in the picture that U. L. is pictured batting in a left-handed batter's pose (he's a switch hitter), but 'sic?' Really??? Anyway. There are a number of players who go by their initials for their name. You know like CC, A. J., A. J., J. A., B. J., etc. The letters all stand for something (Carsten Charles, Allan James, Anthony John, James Anthony, Bossman Junior). You want to know what U. L. stands for??? Absolutely nothing. That was the his given name. Two letters. "U. L." That must have driven announcers, reporters, teachers, and others crazy. "What's your name, son?" "U. L." "What does 'U. L.' mean?" "U. L." Maybe his parents meant to call him 'Ewell' or something. But who am I to question a man's name? I mean, my name could easily be 'J. B.', but I haven't gone by that name since junior high (I started spelling out the name Jaybee in high school, and writing my name as JayBee since someone spelled my name out that way on a theatre program in college). U.L.'s major league career was just starting when this card came out (okay, it's his second year in the bigs, but he hadn't played much yet, only 79 games going into the 1979 season). The blurb on the back recalls Washington's minor league exploits, including the fact that he led the Appalachian League in sacrifice flies in 1973, along with double plays amongst shortstops. He led the American Association (AAA-Omaha) in at bats with 514. I guess when you don't have much to go on, you try to find something good to write about. That's stretching it a bit though. As with other cards from 1979, many included a Baseball Dates section, where the question of "What Happened" on a certain date in baseball history was asked on the card. On Washington's card, the date is 09/21/1934 (Brothers Dizzy and Daffy Dean of the Cardinals hurled double-shutouts over the Dodgers, Daffy threw a no-hitter. Said Dizzy, "If I'da known he was gonna throw one (no hitter), I'da thrown one, too.")
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.08-$0.25.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 10 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be: Saturday: 1988 Topps #465. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

1 comment:

PhilM said...

I always recall his perpetual toothpick -- I think it appears on at least some of his Topps cards. Can't quite see it in this shot, though.