Saturday, March 17, 2012

no. 28 - ron klimkowski


Who is the man: Ron Klimkowski had just come off the most prolific season of his four-year major league career, pitching in 45 games (42 in relief) for the 1970 Yankees.

Can ya dig it: Good for Ron, spelling out his entire last name in his signature. You never see that with today's ballplayers.

Right on: Klimkowski was traded to the A's on April 5, 1971, so this card was likely out of date by the time most kids were opening packs.

You see this cat Klimkowski is a bad mother: Klimkowski retired the first batter he ever faced in the majors -- Al Kaline.

Shut your mouth: Klimkowski's career was cut short by a knee injury in the spring of 1972. He was released by the A's shortly afterward.

No one understands him but his woman: Looking at the photo on this card, you'd never know that Klimkowski was known for his outsized, gregarious personality -- he sold Cadillacs after his baseball career. He looks kind of grim here.


(A word about the back): A reference to the "Bosox." You don't see that anymore. Klimkowski was the player to be named in the trade that sent Elston Howard to the Red Sox in August of 1967.

1 comment:

  1. I don't know where you get all these tidbits about players, but I like it. He does look grim, probably because of that Yankee uniform.

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