the devil in dan mcginn

for the record, i am a fan of the 2015 topps buybacks.  i like the stamp that was added to the cards much more than the 75th anniversary stamp that was on 2014 topps buybacks, and much more than the multi-colored 65th anniversary stamps that were on 2016 topps buybacks.  i have purchased many lots and singles of the 2015 buybacks in an effort to acquire as many dodgers as i can.

sometimes there are other gems in those lots, such as this 1971 topps dan mcginn card

a close-up of the stamp

shows that the beard and horns - classic devilry doodling - were applied to the card prior to it achieving buyback status.

what might have possessed a person, assumedly a youth, to disfigure this card to such a degree?  here, for the record, is the back of the card, which features a clean-shaven mcginn, unaltered by dastardly sketching.

mcginn didn't pitch in the big leagues in 1971 until june, so perhaps the owner of the card was disappointed to open a first series pack and get a guy who wasn't on a major league roster at the time.  or, perhaps this fan was listening to a game in which mcginn pitched poorly, of which there were several during the 1971 season.  my guess is that the card's owner figured out that mcginn's presence in a game was a curse against the expos, as the team lost 25 of the 28 games in which mcginn appeared during the 1971 season, including the last 22.  

regardless of the reason, i envy the person who opened a pack of cards in 2015 and found this card.

A Quadruple Threat

I ran across this image on a recent Google search. I've never really seen a card with four different aspects to it, in person. This has a game-used bat, a game-worn jersey, a game-worn hat and an autograph. The only thing that seems to be missing is the strand of hair.

Normally, I avoid most things that are attached to the Cubs. In this case, I can't ignore the Expos factor. When I was growing up, I loved the Expos. Probably because no one else really cared. I was rooting for an Expos/White Sox World Series in 1994. But my joy would have to wait another eleven years for the White Sox half. The Expos didn't get off so lucky.

As much as I try, I can't really get into rooting for the Nationals. Maybe if they were allowed to take the Senators name, it would be easier. There was just something about a French-Canadian baseball team that seemed odd. I instantly fell in love with them. It didn't hurt that the Expos produced some great players. The other teams around the majors just reaped the benefits of the Expos farm system.

Andre Dawson is one of those guys that you just had to love. He did a little bit of everything, but everything he did usually turned out well. I was always fascinated by his signature. It seemed so perfect. I bet he aced penmanship in school.

The other thing that I like about this card is the presence of the Expos. I rarely see cards of Expos anymore. Especially cards with game-used items. I think that the Expos budget was used on this card alone. This could have made four great cards. Instead, it makes one superior card.