Who is the man: Don Gullett had just completed his rookie season with the Reds in 1970 when this card arrived in packs.
Can ya dig it: As I've mentioned before, Gullett often looks on the verge of tears on his cards. But other than that, dig the full-name treatment of his signature!
Right on: Rookie card!
You see this cat Gullett is a bad mother: One year out of high school, Gullett pitched in five games for the Reds during the 1970 postseason, two games in the NLCS and three in the World Series against the Orioles.
Shut your mouth: Shoulder issues ended Gullett's career before he was even 30. Gullett told the Cincinnati Enquirer in 2002 that it took a long time for him to get over that. "I was bitter," he said. "I wasn't mad at anybody. I was just very bitter at the fact that my career ended at 27."
No one understands him but his woman: I was trying to figure out where Gullett's 1968 Topps card was, and then I realized I was doing it again. I always get Gary Nolan and Don Gullett confused, which I suppose is because they were both Reds pitchers from the '70s, with great promise, who were done in by arm problems.
(A word about the back): It must have been such a relief to the copywriters at Topps when the bio on the back came as easily as it must have for Gullett.
Another bad mother fact is that Don is 7th on the all time win/lost pct...He's really 4th when you throw out the dead ball era pitchers. Even though his career was short, the man could win and avoid losing.
ReplyDeleteJohnny Bench says Don Gullett is the best pitcher he ever caught. And that includes Tom Seaver who was on the Reds from mid-1977 until 1983.
ReplyDeleteI remember opening the pack with this card in it in 1971. I remember where I was. I don't remember that with any other card of this age. (I was not a Reds fan or from Cincinnati). I had the same impression of Don Gullett's facial expression as you noted. I also thought he looked somewhat like Don Knotts. At the time I thought there was some significance to the number on the back as it related to how good the player was. (I was very young then). I thought he must not be a very good player if he had only #124. I learned differently later. When I opened this page of your blog this morning, I remembered that thought and the number 124.
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