531 - Ron Woods

About This Player
Ron Woods enjoyed six seasons in the Major Leagues and his final four seasons with the Montreal Expos.  Woods was signed as a minor league free agent by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1961.  He made his big league debut with the Detroit Tigers in 1969 and finished his rookie season with the New York Yankees.  Woods joined the Expos in 1971 in a trade that sent Ron Swoboda to the Yankees.

Woods spent most of his career as a backup outfielder and pinch hitter.  He was most active in 1973 in which he played a career high 135 games, including 77 starts in center field.  Woods played his final Major League game with the Expos in 1974.

Woods went on to play two seasons in Japan with the Chunichi Dragons in 1975 and 1976. 

About This Card
Ron Woods did not have a significant career in the Majors, but Topps chose to highlight his minor league success on the back.

64 - Stolen Base Leaders (Lou Brock / Bert Campaneris)

About These Players
Lou Brock played 19 seasons with the Cardinals and Cubs.  A six-time All-Star, Brock led the National League in stolen bases eight times and, eventually, held the Major League record for stolen bases by the end of his career. Brock was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985.

Bert Campaneris played 19 seasons with the A's, Rangers, Angels and Yankees.  Also a six-time All-Star, Campaneris led the American League in stolen bases six times.

About This Card
Brock and Campaneris both seemed to have similar careers.  In addition to both being multiple-time All-Stars and stolen base leaders, both played the same number of years and both started and ended their playing careers at about the same time. Both were also key players in multiple World Series wins for their teams, even though they never played against each other.  However, Campaneris seemed to be a poor man's version of Brock; Brock had the higher batting average and OPS, the stolen base record by the end of their careers and the plaque in the Hall of Fame.

297 - Walt Williams

About This Player
Walt Williams played 10 seasons in the Major Leagues and only one season with the Cleveland Indians.  Williams received the nickname "No Neck" for a combination of his short stature, muscular and compact torso and short neck.

Williams made his big league debut with the Houston Colt .45's in 1964.  After 10 plate appearances in 10 games, Williams was selected off of waivers by the St. Louis Cardinals and remained in the minors for almost three seasons.  

Williams was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 1967 and got his opportunity to play in the big leagues again.  Williams was known by his hustle and his drive to be great and became a fan favorite during his tenure in Chicago.  Williams, a starting outfielder for the White Sox, hit .304 in 1969; he was one of only six players to hit over .300 and the first White Sox player to do so in six years. 

Williams was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Eddie Leon in 1973 and become a backup outfielder and designated hitter for the Tribe.  After one season in Cleveland, he was part of a three-way trade that sent him to the New York Yankees.  The Yankees release Williams after two seasons.  Williams would go on to play two more seasons in Japan.

About This Card
Walt Williams was traded in 1973 and Topps attempted to show this change.  The Indians "C" logo was airbrushed onto the cap while the "S" in "SOX" is still visible on his uniform.

446 - Jerry Reuss

About This Player
Jerry Reuss pitched in 22 seasons for eight different Major League Baseball teams.  Reuss is a two-time All-Star with a start in 1975 with the Pirates and a selection in 1980 with the Dodgers.

Reuss made his big league debut in 1969 for the St. Louis Cardinals.  Reuss joined the Houston Astros in 1972 in a trade that included Scipio Spinks.  After two seasons with the Astros and a 1973 season in which he led the league in walks, Reuss was traded again to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Milt May.

Reuss' career took after arriving in Pittsburgh.  He pitched the next five seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, which included a start in his first All-Star Game in 1975 and starts in the National League Championship Series in 1974 and 1975.  

Reuss was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1979 with whom he pitched nine seasons.  His finest season came in 1980 in which pitched to a 18-6 record, threw a no-hitter, was selected to his second All-Star Game and finished the season as the Comeback Player of the Year and second for the Cy Young Award.  He also pitched in the World Series with the Dodgers in 1981.

In 1988 while with the Chicago White Sox, Reuss earned his 200th win become only the second pitcher with 200 wins without a 20-win season.  Milt Pappas was the first and Reuss was later joined on that list by Charlie Hough.

Reuss ended his career back with the Pirates and pitched his last game in 1990.

After retiring from baseball, Reuss worked in broadcasting as a color analyst for ESPN and the Anaheim Angels.  Since 2006, Reuss has been working in radio and TV for the Los Angeles Dodgers broadcasts.

For more information:
Jerry Reuss

About This Card
In 2013, the Houston Astros, along with their move to the American League, will be wearing uniforms and hats designed similarly to what Reuss is wearing in his photo.

603 - Rookie Third Basemen (Terry Hughes / Bill McNulty / Ken Reitz)

About These Players
Terry Hughes was only in the big leagues briefly in three seasons.  Hughes played in only two games with a total of three at bats for the Chicago Cubs in 1970.  He returned to the Majors in 1973 with the St. Louis Cardinals with whom he spent only 11 games and spent 1974 in 41 games with the Boston Red Sox.

Bill McNulty played in a total of nine games with the Oakland A's in 1969 and 1972.  Though he was traded to the Texas Rangers in 1973, he never played a game on the big league roster.

Out of the three players, Ken Reitz had the most successful career.  Reitz made his big league debut in 1972 and earned the starting third base spot immediately after being called up.  In his 11-year career, Reitz played with the St. Louis Cardinals in eight of them.  Known for his defense, Reitz won the Gold Glove in 1975 and led all National League third basemen in fielding percentage in six seasons.  Reitz earned his only All-Star selection in 1980.

About This Card
Hughes, McNulty and Reitz all appear for their first times in the 1973 set.  Hughes appears as a Cub, even though he was on the Cardinals roster and appeared in some games in 1973.  McNulty was in the Rangers organization in 1973, but never played a game for Texas.

78 - Richie Scheinblum

About This Player
Richie Scheinblum played eight seasons in the Major Leagues with six different teams.  Scheinblum made his big league debut in 1965 with the Cleveland Indians and spent the early part of his career bouncing in and out of the minors.

However, Scheinblum had his finest season with the Royals in 1972.  He played as the team's starting right fieldr and hit .300 becoming the only Jewish switch-hitter to bat .300 during a full season.  He also earned an All-Star selection that year.

Scheinblum's career faded quickly.  His batting average dropped and he bounced around five different teams in the next two years.  Scheinblum played his final game in 1974.

About This Card
An interesting fact as detailed on the back of his card was that Scheinblum hit his first home run on the day Neil Armstrong landed on the moon.  Scheinblum was not regarded as much of a power hitter and would go on to hit on 13 home runs throughout this eight-year career.

272 - Ed Farmer

About This Player
Ed Farmer enjoyed 11 seasons as a Major League reliever with eight different teams.  Farmer made his big league debut with the Cleveland Indians in 1971 with whom he spent parts of this first three seasons.  Farmers had his finest season with the Chicago White Sox in 1980 with whom he earned 30 saves, a 3.38 ERA and a selection to the All-Star team.

Farmer works currently as the play-by-play announcer for the White Sox' radio broadcasts and had been with the team's radio broadcasts since 1991.

About This Card
Ed Farmer is shown wearing the Indians' home uniforms that were new in 1972.  For their home uniforms, the Indians switched from a pinstriped uniform to plain white and used the block letter font for "INDIANS" on the front.  In addition, the Indians had worn blue caps with the red "C" and changed to red caps with the blue "C".