585 - Joe Niekro

About This Player
Joe Niekro pitched in 22 Major League seasons for seven different teams and three of them with the Detroit Tigers.

Niekro spent the majority of his career with the Houston Astros, with whom he had his greatest success.  He pitched back-to-back 20-win seasons in 1979 and 1980 to become the first Astros pitcher with consecutive 20-win seasons.  He was also selected to his only All-Star Game in 1979.

However, Niekro might be best known for his ten-game suspension in 1987 while pitching for the Minnesota Twins. When asked by umpire Tim Tschida to empty his pockets during a game against the California Angels, an emery board flew out of his pockets.

Niekro also has a son, Lance, who played four seasons with the San Francisco Giants.

Niekro was inducted into the Nationals Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.  Niekro passed away in 2006 after suffering from a brain aneurysm. His legacy lives on in the Joe Niekro Foundation, founded by his daugter Natalie, which donates money toward aneurysm treatment and research.

About This Card
This card happens to be the last card I needed to complete my 1973 Topps set.  In this case, it was a simple eBay purchase, but it finished my long quest.

146 - Woodie Fryman

About This Player
Woodie Fryman pitched 18 seasons in the Major Leagues and three of them with the Detroit Tigers.  Fryman made his big league debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1966.  Fryman was a two-time National League All-Star with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Montreal Expos.

However, Fryman might better known as the midseason acquisition of the American League Detroit Tigers.  After pitching to a 4-10 record and 4.36 ERA to start off his 1972 season, the Phillies placed Fryman on waivers.  He was picked up by the Tigers and pitched to a 10-3 record and 2.06 ERA for his new team.

His key moment came in the second game of the final series of the year against the Boston Red Sox.  The Red Sox scored on an unearned run in the first inning.  Pitching against Luis Tiant, Fryman allowed only two more hits after the first inning.  After giving up a hit in the eighth, Chuck Seelbach relieved Fryman and closed the game.  Fryman earned his 10th win and the Detroit Tigers clinched the American League East.

Fryman pitched his final game in 1983 with the Expos, with whom he had spent a total of eight seasons.

Fryman was inducted into the Montreal Expos Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.  Fryman passed away in 2011 at the age of 71 in his hometown in Ewing, Kentucky where he was a tobacco farmer.

About This Card
In another of many shots that Topps photographers took at Yankee Stadium, Fryman poses in his away uniform.  Traditionally, the Detroit Tigers don caps with the white "D" for home games and caps with the orange "D" for away games.

191 - Detroit Tigers TC

About This Team
The Detroit ball club was first established in 1901 as one of the inaugural teams in the American League.  Throughout their 111 years, the Tigers have won ten American League pennants and four World Series. In 1972, the Tigers won the American League East, but lost to the Oakland A's in the ALCS.

About This Card
As of 1973, the Tigers had won the American League pennant seven times, as listed on the back of the card.  Their most recent pennant was in 1968 with a team managed by Mayo Smith.  In that season, the Tigers won 103 games and beat the Cardinals in seven games to win the World Series.

537 - Bill Slayback

About This Player
Bill Slayback enjoyed a very brief pitching career with the Detroit Tigers from 1972 through 1974.

Slayback is better known as the voice behind the song, Move Over Babe.  Recorded in 1973 and written by long-time sports broadcaster, Ernie Harwell, the song celebrates Hank Aaron's journey toward baseball's home run record.

For more information:
Move Over Babe (Here Come Henry)

About This Card
This card is Bill Slayback's only Topps card.

The cartoon about Slayback's skill outside of baseball is an understatement.  In the book, Hank Aaron and the Home Run that Changed America, author Tom Stanton described Slayback's many talents.

Slayback who provided the music, was something of a Renaissance man. He sang, played numerous instruments, painted, sketched, and made furniture.

201 - A.L. Playoffs

About This Playoff Series
The 1972 American League Championship game paired the Detroit Tigers against the Oakland A's.  In a five-game series, the first two games were played in Oakland Colosseum and the final three at Tiger Stadium.  This series remained close for both teams as the A's won the first two games in Oakland and the Tigers won the next two in Detroit.

Game 5 would prove to play as tight as the previous four games in the series.  The Tigers would score in the 1st inning as Dick McAuliffe came home on a groundout from Bill Freehan.  A's would tie the game in the 2nd inning as Reggie Jackson would score on a double steal.  However, an injury suffered when Jackson collided at home with Tigers' catcher, Freehan, would cost him to miss the World Series.  The A's would score again in the 4th as George Hendrick, Jackson's replacement in center field, came home on a Gene Tenace single.  A's starter, Blue Moon Odom, would continue to persevere and pitch through the 5th inning while Vida Blue would finish the rest of the game and earn the save.  The A's would win 2-1 and go on to their first World Series since the team was in Philadelphia 41 years before.

About This Card
The photograph shows Hendrick scoring from home in the top of the 4th inning under Freehan's tag.  Hendrick reached first on an error from McAuliffe.  He tagged up to second from a sacrifice fly from Sal Bando.  With two outs, Tenace hit a line drive to left field to allow Hendrick to score.

485 - Norm Cash

About This Player
Norm Cash enjoyed 17 seasons in the Major Leagues with his big league debut in 1958.  While Cash played his first two seasons with the White Sox, his career catapulted when he joined the Tigers in 1960.  Also known as "Stormin' Norman", Cash established himself as the team's starting first baseman.  His finest season came in 1961 in which he led the American League in hits (193), batting average (.361), on-base percentage (.487) and OPS (1.148) and was selected as an All-Star for the first of four times.  Cash had the highest season batting average of any player during the 1960's, but was overshadowed by Roger Maris' historic home run chase.  Cash never had numbers close to his 1961 season, but continued to remain an offensive force and a four-time All-Star for the Tigers for many years after.  At the time he was released by the Tigers in 1974, Cash ranked fourth in home runs among left-handed hitters and ranked second in home runs in franchise history.

Cash was also known for his sense of humor in the game.  Late in Nolan Ryan's 1973 no-hit game against the Tigers, Cash brought out a sawed-off table leg to the plate instead of a bat.  When asked by the umpire, Cash said, "Why not, I won't hit him anyway."

Cash drowned in an accident off Beaver Island in northern Lake Michigan on October 12, 1986 when he slipped while aboard a boat, fell and struck his head.

For more information:
"Former Tiger Norm Cash" - Baseball Digest.

About This Card
Teammate, Jim Northrup, described Cash as someone who "lived to play baseball" and that certainly shows in this photograph.

256 - Chris Zachary

About This Player
Chris Zachary enjoyed nine seasons in the Major Leagues, though bounced in and out of the minors throughout his entire career.  Zachary made his big league debut in 1963 with the Colt .45's and spent his first five seasons in Houston.  Zachary spent time later on with the Royals, Cardinals, Tigers.  Zachary played his final Major League game in 1973 with the Pirates.

Zachary passed away on April 19, 2003.

About This Card
Not much can be said about Zachary's career, but, probably, the biggest highlight of his career is featured on the back of his card.  Zachary pitched against Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda in his pro debut.

168 - Jim Northrup

About This Player
Jim Northrup played in 12 Major League Baseball seasons with 11 of those with the Tigers.  Northrup started in all three outfield positions throughout his career.  His best season came in 1968 in which led the Tigers in hits and RBIs, finished 13th in the Most Valuable Player voting and played all seven games in the World Series victory.  Northrup was traded to the Expos in 1974 and went to the Orioles later that same year.

After retiring from Major League Baseball, Northrup continued to remain active in sports.  Northrup played professional softball for two seasons.  He later became a color analyst for the Tigers.  Northrup was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.

About This Card
The cartoon on the card displays one fun fact of Northrup's athleticism.