In 1978, when Thomas was in the majors, he didn't have a Topps card.
I corrected that situation with my latest custom card, a 1978-style Gorman Thomas.
After batting just .188 in his first two full seasons with Milwaukee, the Brewers sent him down to Spokane (Pacific Coast League) for the entire 1977 season. He regained his batting form out west, hitting .322 with 41 doubles, 36 home runs (both second-best in the league) and 114 RBI (third-best).
On Oct. 25, 1977, the Brewers sent Thomas to the Texas Rangers as the player to be named later in an August deal that sent Ed Kirkpatrick to Milwaukee. Before spring training opened in 1978, the Brewers bought Thomas back from Texas.
There's no doubt Gorman was my all-time favorite Brewer. He was also my daughter's first baseball hero. On her 5th birthday in 1984 we went to Milwaukee County Stadium for a game during Thomas' first visit back to Milwaukee after he had been traded to the Indians. We even snagged a batting practice foul ball from our seats down past the visitors' dugout near field level.
Gorman was a big favorite in Milwaukee because of his blue-collar image and his big home runs. (We tended to quickly forget the many strikeouts.)
This is my third Gorman Thomas custom card. On March 15, 2011, I presented by custom Gorman Thomas "rookie" card in 1972 format. I showed you a 1973-style card on May 15, 2011.
At this point I expect this to be my last Gorman Thomas custom card . . . but I never say never.
I do have one more 1978-style Brewers card in the works; you can probably guess who that it. I should be posting it in a couple of days.
I love these Gorman cards, Bob. I'm about 8 years older than your daughter, and, to be honest, Gorman wasn't my favorite Brewer (Molitor, Cooper, and Yount were) but Gorman truly embraced Milwaukee in a way that many players before and since did not -- despite the fact that Gorman was a Southerner from Charleston!
ReplyDelete