99 - Carl Taylor

About This Player
Carl Taylor spent six seasons in the Major Leagues and three of them with the Kansas City Royals.  Taylor started his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates and spent this career as a backup catcher, outfielder, and pinch hitter.  Taylor had his best season with the Pirates in 1969 in which he hit .348; he did not have the at-bats to qualify for the National League batting title.

Taylor is also stepbrother to Orioles slugger, Boog Powell.  In 1971, Powell had talked to Taylor after he pulled himself out of a game, told his manager he quit, and burned his uniform and baseball equipment in the clubhouse.  Taylor went AWOL, but, eventually, returned to the team.

For more information:

Rome News-Tribune - May 23, 1971 - Powell had a special reason for talking with Carl Taylor

After his playing career ended in 1973, Taylor attempted a career in hair styling.

"Believe it or not, there are similarities between the two professions. An error in a baseball game is made in view of some 40,000 people. A terrible haircut can also be seen by possibly the same number of people."
- Carl Taylor

For more information:

Sarasota Herald-Tribune - September 30, 1974 - Professional Baseball Player Taylor Turns His Interest To Hair Styling

About This Card
Carl Taylor is specified in his card as a "Catcher", although he has a career of being more versatile. However, Taylor did play more games behind the plate in 1973 than at any other time during this career.

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.

233 - Ed Kirkpatrick

About This Player
Ed Kirkpatrick enjoyed a 16-year career in the big leagues.  Also known as "Spanky," Kirkpatrick made his Major League debut with the expansion Los Angeles Angels in 1962.  He was the target of the Royals' first trade just before their inaugural season in 1969.  Kirkpatrick spent five seasons in Kansas City and he got the last hit in Municipal Stadium in Kansas City on October 4, 1972.  Kirkpatrick also spent time with the Pirates, Rangers and Brewers.  Kirkpatrick played his final game in 1977.

In 1981, Kirkpatrick was in a car accident that relegated him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Kirkpatrick died on November 15, 2010 after battling throat cancer at the age of 66.

About This Card
Kirkpatrick is shown looking for a pop-up off of the Brewers, Johnny Briggs.  This play took place on June 17, 1972 at County Stadium in Milwaukee as "Spanky" caught the foul out in the bottom of the 4th inning.

608 - Rookie Pitchers (Steve Busby / Dick Colpaert / George Medich)

About These Players
Steve Busby enjoyed eight seasons with the Kansas City Royals.  After his debut in 1972, Busby quickly became one of baseball's stars with two All-Star selections, a 20-win season in 1974 and two no-hitters.  However, Busby was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff in 1976.  He subsequently became the first player to undergo rotator cuff surgery.  While Busby was able to pitch for three more seasons after the surgery, he never regained his previous form and was out of the Majors after 1980.

Dick Colpaert played only one season for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  In 1970, pitched a total of 10-1/3 innings over eight games.  Colpaert was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 1972 Rule 5 Draft, but never pitched a game for the Tribe.

George Medich spent 11 seasons in the big leagues and four with the New York Yankees.  Better known as "Doc," Medich received his nickname early in his career and while he was a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh.  By the end of his career, Medich played for seven different teams.

About This Card
Busby, Colpaert and Medich all appear for their first times in the 1973 set.  Colpaert appears his only time in a Topps set and not with a team he played with in the Major Leagues.

164 - Monty Montgomery

About This Player
Monty Montgomery played very briefly in parts of two seasons for the Royals.  During his time in the big leagues, Montgomery pitched to a record of 6-3 with a 2.78 ERA in 12 appearances.

About This Card
Topps described Montgomery in 1973 as "one of Royals' brightest hopes for future stardom."  However, despite an American Association leading 7 shutouts in 1972 and very proficient numbers with the big league club, Montgomery would never pitch in the Majors again.  His pitching performances worsened in the minors the following years and Montgomery was out of professional baseball after 1974.

416 - Paul Schaal

About This Player
Paul Schaal played in 11 seasons in the Major Leagues spread almost evenly between the Angels and Royals.  Schaal signed with his hometown Los Angeles Angels out of high school and made his big league debut in 1964.  He established himself as the Angels' starting third baseman the following year.  In 1968, Schaal was struck in the head by a fastball from Red Sox pitcher, Jose Santiago.  The pitch would leave Schaal with balance problems that would affect him for the rest of his career.  However, his best years were still ahead of him.

The Kansas City Royals selected Schaal in the expansion draft before the 1969 season.  In 1970, Schaal clashed with manager, Charlie Metro.  However, Metro would lose his job in the middle of the season and Schaal would go on to set a team record for consecutive games played.

"Charlie said to the press that I'd never be an every-day player. It ticked me off but it also inspired me." - Paul Schaal

In 1974, Schaal was in the unenviable position to hold on to his job while a hot hitting prospect was waiting in the minors.  In May, George Brett, now in the Hall of Fame, was promoted to the Majors and Schaal was traded to the California Angels.  Schaal would finish his career back where it started and retire at the age of 32.

Schaal returned to Kansas City and enrolled in the Cleveland Chiropractic Clinic.  Today he runs the Schaal Wellness Center in Overland Park, Kansas.

About This Card
Paul Schaal sports a pose similar to player silhouette in the lower right.  In the 1973 set, there is a different silhouette for each position, as well as one for the manager.  Cards of other third basemen in this set all of the same silhouette.

616 - Rookie Pitchers (Norm Angelini / Steve Blateric / Mike Garman)

About These Players
Norm Angelini pitched just over 19 innings in relief in 28 games with the Kansas City Royals in 1972 and 1973.   Except for his brief stay in the big leagues, Angelini was a career minor leaguer with a 13 year career spread among the Royals, Braves and Expos minor league systems.

Steve Blateric had very brief call ups with the Reds in 1971, Yankees in 1972 and Angels in 1975.   Also a career minor leaguer, Blateric spent 13 seasons with six different organizations.

Mike Garman enjoyed nine Major League seasons.  Garman made his big league debut with the Red Sox in 1969 and had bounced in and out of the minors for a spot start early in his career.  In 1973, Garman was established as a Major League reliever and remained with the big league club the entire season.  Garman was traded to the Cardinals in 1974, traded to the Cubs in 1976, traded to the Dodgers in 1977 and traded to the Expos in the middle of the 1978 season.

About This Card
Steve Blateric appears in an airbrushed Yankees uniform (notice no "NEW YORK" on the chest as well as the funky "NY" logo on the cap) although he only appeared in one game for the Yankees and never played in the Yankees minor league system.  The Yankees acquired Blateric in a conditional deal with the Reds late in 1972.  Blateric was returned to the Reds in the spring of 1973.

Angelini and Blateric both appear for their only time in a Topps set in 1973.  Garman is seen for the third time in a Topps set with appearances in 1971 and 1972.

558 - Jerry May

About This Player
Jerry May played 10 seasons in the big leagues with the Pirates, Royals and Mets.  May made his Major League debut with the Pirates in 1964.  He would have the starting catcher role in 1967 and 1968 until Manny Sanguillen was called up.  In 1970, Mays caught the game in which Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter; Ellis claimed he was under the influence of LSD for this game and that Mays wore reflective tape on his fingers to help the pitcher see his target.  May was traded to the Royals in 1971 where he would spend the next two-plus seasons.  May was traded to the Mets in 1973 and later released that year.

May died in 1996 from a farm accident.

About This Card
Jerry May in his batting pose at spring training.

282 - Steve Hovley

About This Player
Steve Hovley played five seasons in the big leagues in the out.  Originally drafted by the Angels, Hovley was selected by the expansion Seattle Pilots and made his Major League debut in the middle of the 1969 season. Jim Bouton, Seattle Pilots pitcher and author of Ball Four, recounts in his book problems Pilots' management had with Hovley because of his long hair and penchant for reading Dostoyevsky.

For more information:
Wit, wisdom and social commentary - Jim Caple

Hovley was with the team when they moved to Milwaukee to become the Brewers.  He was traded in the middle of the 1970 season after an incident with Brewers' manager, Dave Bristol.  Hovely showed up late for a day game against Cleveland and refused to pay the team fine.

For more information:
Brewers' Hovley Won't Pay Fine, Put on Trading Block - UPI News

After Hovley was traded to the A's, his numbers dropped significantly.  After batting .111 with the A's in 1971, he was sent to the minors and spent the rest of the season with AAA Iowa.

Hovley was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the Rule 5 draft and played the next two seasons as the fourth outfielder.  Hovley played his last Major League game in 1973 and would spend the next season in the minors before retiring.

About This Card
Appears to be a Spring Training photo of Hovley.  I don't know what Spring Training was like in 1973, but, based on the bleachers and the fencing in the background, I'd imagine it was like playing in Little League ballparks.

22 - Ted Abernathy

About This Player
Ted Abernathy played for seven different teams over 14 Major League seasons.  Abernathy recorded 148 saves throughout this career and lead the National League in saves in 1965 and 1967.  Abernathy finished the last three seasons of his career with the Royals and in his final year, 1972, was the oldest player in the Major Leagues at that time.

Abernathy was known for his submarine pitch.  He developed that pitching motion, switching from a three-quarters overhand motion, shortly after shoulder surgery left this career in doubt.

"With the unique underhand motion, (Ted) Abernathy's curveball rises and his fastball sinks. He's almost impossible to hit when you only get one shot at him. You see the overhand stuff all the time, then this guy comes in there throwing the ball from out of the ground." - 1971 Kansas City Royals Yearbook

Abernathy passed away on December 16, 2004.

About This Card
The 1973 Topps Ted Abernathy card is his final regular issue card.