346 - Young Gaylord Perry

About This Player's Boyhood
The story on this card is just as much about Jim Perry as it is about Gaylord Perry.  In high school, Gaylord played third base while Jim pitched.  When Jim needed relief, Gaylord would pitch and Jim would play third.

In addition to high school, Gaylord and Jim played together with the Cleveland Indians in 1974 and 1975.

About This Card
If the 1972 Topps set was the 787-card full-featured baseball card set, then the 1973 Topps set was the basic 660-card minimalist alternative.  In addition to the basic design of the cards, the 1973 set cut down on some of the different subsets from the previous year.  Boyhood Photos of the Stars was one of the subsets that survived the cut.

342 - Young Sam McDowell

About This Player's Boyhood
As the back of the card describes, Sam McDowell was quite an accomplished player in his childhood.  Sam started out as an outfielder, but his father converted him to a pitcher.  His high school accomplishments include the Pennsylvania State Championship and the Colt League World Series.

About This Card
1973 was the second year Topps had included, as part of the regular set, pictures from select players' childhoods.  This set would be the last set the photos appear as part of the set.  However, in 2010, Topps included an insert set, apart from the regular set, of childhood photos from some of today's players.