Rollie Fingers 1974 Topps Baseball Card

Rollie Fingers 1974 Topps Baseball Card

It has been roughly six weeks since I last featured a baseball card of Rollie Fingers on the blog.

It is not because I do not want to, it is because my at-home supply of cards that feature Mr. Fingers has been exhausted.

I am getting very close to completing the collection I am building of Fingers that honors his fantastic career.

I am left chasing a few of his early-issue cards from the 1970′s.  And the chase is rather fun too.

My most recent purchase has landed me his base card from the 1974 Topps set.

Check it out:

I am just a few cards from the finish line – but they are the tougher ones.

Wish me luck as I continue on this journey!!

Rollie Fingers 1970 Topps

Rollie Fingers 1970 Topps

It has been more than a month since I last showed off a baseball card of Rollie Fingers from my collection.

It has not due to lack of organization or time or desire.  It has more to do with availability…

You see, I am very close to completing my collection of every major-brand release of Rollie Fingers baseball cards from his playing days.  I’m just having a little bit of a hard time securing the remaining cards of him that I need for my collection in the condition that I seek and at a price that I am willing to pay.

So, it may take me a little time to knock out the remaining cards for my Rollie Fingers PC, but I am in no rush.

In the meantime, here is his 1970 Topps baseball card – a little off-centered, but still a very nice card.

Enjoy.

Baseball Card Show Purchase #7 – Ryan Braun 2012 Topps Archives ‘Cloth Sticker’

Baseball Card Show Purchase #7 – Ryan Braun 2012 Topps Archives ‘Cloth Sticker’

I had keyed my wantlist for the subsets I am building into my notepad on my IPhone prior to the show.  I was not certain that I was going to find any of them while there, but at least I would be prepared if I did…

Well, it turns out that I found a few – 3 to be exact!!

1 of the 3 is Ryan Braun’s card from the 2012 Topps Archives ‘Cloth Sticker’ set.

Here is the card:

Braun looks great on this one – and Topps did a fantastic job with these.

I needed two cards from this set to complete it, and now with this Braun card out of the way, I am 1 card away from completing the set!!

Paul Molitor 2003 Topps Tribute – ‘First All-Star Season’

Paul Molitor 2003 Topps Tribute – ‘First All-Star Season’

I have a small stack of these ‘First All-Star Season’ cards from the 2003 Topps Tribute set.  I like the theme a lot; very nice to see these players get recognized in this manner.

And Topps did it right – the photo selected for this subset (at least the ones I own) seem to feature images of the player during the time in which the first All-Star selection took place.

This is the card of Paul Molitor from the set:

Molitor’s first All-Star appearance came in 1980.  He would go on to be selected for the mid-summer classic seven times during his major league career.

NICE!!!

Paul Molitor 2012 Panini Cooperstown

Paul Molitor 2012 Panini Cooperstown

Here is another, of the very few, card from the 2012 Panini Cooperstown set in which Panini did not have to do anything to hide a team name or logo and take away anything from the action that the image offers.

I’m happy to see that they sought out images like these – I just wish that they did it more often than what they actually did.  I would think that it would be easier with players that starred in Molitor’s era simply because of the quantity of high-quality images taken during the 1980′s and 1990′s is sure to be greater than of prior decades.

Sure, the player might not be facing the camera or be providing the best angle for the photographer to give us a better shot, but at least we are getting real action, and no intentional cropping…

Thank you, Panini!!

Rollie Fingers 1981 Topps Traded – 1st Milwaukee Brewers Card

Rollie Fingers 1981 Topps Traded – 1st Milwaukee Brewers Card

Rollie Fingers had a crazy offseason in between the 1980 and 1981 baseball seasons.

Actually, to narrow that down even further, he had one really wild week…

On December 8, 1980, Rollie Fingers was traded from the San Diego Padres to the St. Louis Cardinals.  And then just five days later, on the 12th of Decemeber, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers.

This is Fingers’ card from the 1981 Topps Traded set:

Wouldn’t it have been cool to see a card of him with an air-brushed Cardinals uniform as well??

 I think so…

Rollie Fingers 1973 Topps

Rollie Fingers 1973 Topps

If you look very closely at this 1973 Topps baseball card of Rollie Fingers, you will see that he has yet to fully adopt the handle-bar mustache as part of his grooming style.

The length of the mustache is starting to come in, but it is not yet ready to start being curled in the manner that we have become accustomed to over the last 30+ years.

I’ve got to check out his 1974 Topps card to track the growth…

And yes, this card is a fantastic addition to my growing collection that honors Fingers’ career.

1982 Topps – 1981 ‘Leading Relievers’ With Bruce Sutter and Rollie Fingers

1982 Topps – 1981 ‘Leading Relievers’ With Bruce Sutter and Rollie Fingers

Jeez, look at all of the hair on this card!!!

WHOA!!!  From the top of the head through the mustache and to the beard, this has to be one of the hairiest (is that a word) baseball cards in the 1982 Topps set.

At least these guys brought something else to the card too – Power Pitching!!

At the end of the 1981 baseball season, it was Bruce Sutter and Rollie Fingers that paced their respective leagues in saves.  Sutter paced the National League with 25 saves, and Rollie Fingers led the AL, and all of baseball, with 28.

Not too shabby.  Just very, very hairy!!!

1978 Topps – 1977 Leading Firemen Starring Rollie Fingers & Bill Campbell

1978 Topps – 1977 Leading Firemen Starring Rollie Fingers & Bill Campbell

By the time the 1977 baseball season was underway, Rollie Fingers already had a reputation for being one of the best closers in the sport from his time with the 3-time World Series championship winning Oakland A’s.

Fingers signed with the San Diego Padres during the offseason between the 1976 and 1977 baseball seasons.

And he quickly asserting his dominance against his National League foes.

Fingers led the league, and the majors, with 35 saves in 1977.  Bill Campbell, of the Boston Red Sox, paced the AL with 31 saves.

This card from the 1978 Topps set celebrates both guys.

1975 Topps – 1974 World Series Game 3 Highlights Starring Rollie Fingers

1975 Topps – 1974 World Series Game 3 Highlights Starring Rollie Fingers

Rollie Fingers closed the door on the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the 1974 World Series.

And while he allowed one run in his 1.2 inning performance, it was enough to capture the win and give the Oakland Athletics a 3-2 victory, and a 2-1 lead in the Fall Classic of 1974.

Rollie’s stat line looked like this – 6 batters faced, 2 hits allowed, 1 run given up, and 1 strikeout.

This card, from the 1975 Topps set, does a nice job commemorating that night of October 15, 1974.

A very nice addition to my Rollie Fingers player collection!