Who is the man: Don O'Riley pitched in nine games for the Kansas City Royals in 1970, spending more of the season in the minors with Omaha. He was traded to the White Sox, along with infielder Pat Kelly, in October 1970 for Gail Hopkins and John Matias.
Can ya dig it: That airbrushed, very bright, sky blue cap is a sight and not a color the White Sox ever wore. It's interesting that the bill remains Kansas City Royal blue. It's also interesting that there's already been a look at the White Sox's new red caps in this set with the earlier Chuck Tanner card.
Right on: This is O'Riley's only solo card. He appears on a three-player rookie stars card with the Royals in the 1970 Topps set.
You see that cat O'Riley is a bad mother: O'Riley pitched for the Royals during their very first season in 1969. He came out of the bullpen for 18 games and recorded one save.
Shut your mouth: O'Riley was killed in a convenience store robbery in May of 1997 at age 52. Working as the store's manager, O'Riley pulled a gun and shot the robber, who shot back and hit O'Riley in the head, killing him. The killer was sentence to life in prison in 1999.
No one understands him but his woman: O'Riley never played for the White Sox. For whatever reason, he didn't play any pro ball in 1971 and then pitched in the Braves minor league system in 1972 and 1973.
(A word about the back): That write-up is a rarity in the '71 set in that it focuses on a single thought and doesn't skip around to various facts.
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