Who is the man: Chuck Taylor was in the middle of his third major league season and third season with the Cardinals when this card was issued. He appeared in more games (56) than any other Cardinals pitcher in 1970 and recorded eight saves.
Can ya dig it: This is a beautiful card. Vibrant colors with the blue sky, green grass, dirt sideline and the Cardinals red. And you get a nice view of the MLB logo patch.
Right on: I frequently wonder how often Taylor was asked whether he had anything to do with the name of the popular sneaker (although back in the '70s I remember them simply being called "Converse").
You see that cat Taylor is a bad mother: Taylor made an immediate impact as a 27-year-old rookie for the Cardinals in 1969. He was put into a starting rotation with Bob Gibson, Nelson Briles and Steve Carlton and proceeded to win six straight games.
Shut your mouth: During Taylor's rookie year, famed Cardinals announcer Jack Buck said, "Anyone named 'Chuck Taylor' from 'Bell Buckle, Tennessee' (the site of Taylor's high school) has to be a winner."
No one understands him but his woman: Taylor is the only major league "Chuck Taylor" in history, but there's another one on the way. The Mariners just selected minor league outfielder Chuck Taylor from the Diamondbacks in the Rule 5 draft a few days ago.
(A word about the back): I can't stress how weird it is to read "a veteran of Little League ... baseball".
Sure made some cool Sneakers....Ha!
ReplyDelete