Who is the man: The Montreal Expos were in the middle of their third season of existence when this card was issued. The 1970 season was a bit more promising after an expansion year in which the Expos finished a whopping 48 games behind the first-place Mets. Sure, the Expos were still last in 1970, but they ended up just 16 out of first when the season finished.
Can ya dig it: I can't tell you how pleased I am to know that this photo was taken at 5:10 in the afternoon.
Right on: Having the players in the second row sit was not standard procedure for team photos at the time. It really makes the third row ... um ... stand out.
You see that Mauch is a bad mother: Manager Gene Mauch, like just about all of the managers in these team photos, is sitting dead center in the front row. He is No. 4.
Shut your mouth: Let's ID some Expos! Sitting on the far right in the front row is Ron Fairly. Past and future manager Dick Williams is two spots to the left of Mauch. Sitting to the left of Williams is Le Grand Orange, Rusty Staub. Now, let's go to the back row, starting from the second guy from the left. That's outfielder Jim Gosger. After that is someone named Fred Whitfield. Next to him is Marv Staehle (the guy airbrushed as an Atlanta Brave just a few cards ago) and then the famed John Bateman. After that it's pitchers Howie Reed and Steve Renko, Rich Nye, Adolfo Phillips, Mike Wegener, Mack Jones and Bob Bailey.
No one understands him but his woman: The Expos jackets -- I hope they're satin -- are wonderful. I'm glad we get to see a glimpse of them.
(A word about the back): You can see that 13 team records were set in 1970, six of them by Staub.
These are my favorite backs for Topps team cards. I've always liked the historical stuff
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