Ellie Rodriguez was a two-time All-Star catcher who was primarily known for his defense in his relatively short MLB career. Rodriguez played for 5 teams in 9 seasons and was perhaps best known for catching Nolan Ryan's fourth no-hitter.
Why did Topps airbrush Ellie's photo? Ellie was part of a nine-player trade of mostly unrecognizable players in October 1973, going from the Milwaukee Brewers to the California Angels (then of Anaheim as well.)
What's wrong with this picture, anyway? Rodriguez is wearing a white sheet with a button drawn on, having just undergone the usual Angels team initiation, the details of which are just not suitable for a blog like this. Ellie was originally wearing a trucker cap with a gas station insignia, which made it a bit more challenging than usual to fashion a halo logo out of it. I have the original prints, but for the same reasons as above, I'm not sure I'm allowed to reveal it here. Call up WikiLeaks, if you must.
If you are interested in obtaining a card featured here, please send me an e-mail. If you have a card you would like to nominate for Airbrushed Fridays, please get in touch as well. I will require that I am able to see the card in person, either on loan or as a donation, so that I can examine the card and experience it in all its cruddiness.
I don't know what you're talking about. It's rained about 2 weeks straight here. Nobody can get local school ballgames in, the schedules are all backed up, events are postponed. Meanwhile the grass in my yard is a foot high because I can't mow it ... and it keeps RAINING.
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