no. 73 - george brunet

Who is the man: George Brunet was entering his final major league season when this card arrived. He would pitch for the Cardinals in 1971. But this would be his final Topps card.

Can ya dig it: Brunet has 10 Topps cards. He is wearing a cap in just three of them -- 1958, 1968 and this one.

Right on: Topps used the same photo of Brunet twice during his career. His 1965 and 1966 cards have the same photo, as do his 1967 and 1969 cards.

You see this cat Brunet is a bad mother: Brunet pitched 20 seasons of professional baseball. By the time he was finished, he held the minor league record for career strikeouts with 3,175.

Shut your mouth: Here is Brunet's amazing professional career timeline:


1953: Shelby
1954: Alexandria
1954: Seminole
1955: Hot Springs
1955: Seminole
1956: Kansas City (A.L.)
1956: Abilene
1956: Crowley
1956: Columbia
1957: Kansas City (A.L.)
1957: Little Rock
1958: Buffalo
1958: Little Rock
1959: Kansas City (A.L.)
1959: Portland
1960: Louisville
1960: Kansas City (A.L.)
1960: Milwaukee (N.L.)
1961: Milwaukee (N.L.)
1961: Vancouver
1962: Oklahoma City
1962: Houston (N.L.)
1962: Hawaii
1963: Houston (N.L.)
1963: Baltimore (A.L.)
1963: Oklahoma City
1964: Los Angeles (A.L.)
1964: Rochester
1964: Oklahoma City
1965: California (A.L.)
1966: California (A.L.)
1967: California (A.L.)
1968: California (A.L.)
1969: California (A.L.)
1969: Seattle (A.L.)
1970: Washington (A.L.)
1970: Pittsburgh (N.L.)
1971: St. Louis (N.L.)
1971: Hawaii
1972: Hawaii
1973: Eugene

If I counted right, that's 25 different teams, including nine different major league teams. Wow, I don't know what to say.

No one understands him but his woman: After he was finished with U.S. pro ball, Brunet went to the Mexican League, where he pitched until 1985, when he was 50. He set the Mexican League record for career shutouts with 55. Brunet died in 1991. He certainly gave his all to the game.

(A word about the back): I like the phrase "pennant insurance." I've never heard that before.