Thursday, June 23, 2011

1968 Topps, Bob Locker



#51 Bob Locker

I had one other TTM project going this past winter and it involved getting all of my Topps Million Card Giveaway cards signed through the mail. The only goal I had during the giveaway was to acquire cards of guys that signed through the mail. If I unlocked a card of a player that was deceased or did not sign TTM, then that card was up for trade. In the end, I did alright as all of the cards that I sent out came back and only one of them was a return to sender. The RTS was from Larry Gura and he appears to be signing again, so I need to send that card back out.

Bob pitched his entire career out of the bullpen and never made one start in the Majors. He pitched for the White Sox, Pilots/Brewers, A's, and Cubs. In 1967, as a member of the Sox, he lead the league in appearances with 77 and he finished second in saves with 20 while posting a 2.04 ERA over 124.2 innings. His posted a similar season in 1973 with the Cubs when he won 10 games, saved 18, and had an ERA of 2.54.

After that season was up, Bob was traded back to the A's. An arm injury kept him out of the '74 season and once that year was up, Bob was traded back to the Cubs. After a disappointing start to the '75 season, Bob was released and his career was over. But, he did post some good numbers for his career. He was 57-39 with 95 saves and a 2.75 ERA.

I sent this card to Bob on the 14th of January and I had it back on the 22nd.

I wish I would have kept track how each of the MCG cards were acquired. Some of them were unlocked by me while others were acquired through multiple trades.

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