Friday, September 2, 2011

Airbrushed Fridays: 1974 Topps #532

It's a start. It's a start. It's a start.

Claude "Skip" Lockwood was a right-handed starting pitcher who later became a successful reliever, starting 106 games and finishing 219 others with a tidy 3.55 ERA to show for it. Lockwood was a converted third baseman before making his major league debut for the ill-fated Seattle Pilots as a pitcher.

Why did Topps airbrush Skip's photo? Skip was traded from to the California Angels (of Anaheim) following the 1973 season as part of a nine-player trade. The Angels would use him as a full-time reliever for the first time.

What's wrong with this picture, anyway? This isn't quite a magic hat (how many times have I linked this post?), but it's still really goofy. How hard is it to apply a darker hue to a solid blue Milwaukee cap? This hard, apparently. For some reason I'm obsessed with the fuzzy background in this photo, which could be Any Stadium, USA.

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.

1 comment :

  1. Lockwood actually made the bigs withe the A's as a 3B...he has a rookie card for them as well.

    ReplyDelete

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