1 - All-Time Home Run Leaders (Babe Ruth / Hank Aaron / Willie Mays)

About This Opening Day
As Opening Day started in 1973, baseball enthusiasts watched in anticipation as Hank Aaron was closing in on baseball's all-time home run record.  Only 42 homers away from breaking Ruth's mark, and considering Aaron his 34 the year before and 47 the year before that, there was a small possibility that Hank Aaron could break the record in 1973.

Babe Ruth held a mythic record long thought to be unattainable.  Before Aaron and Mays began their careers, the player second on the home run list was Jimmie Foxx with 534 home runs, 180 short of Ruth.  Ruth would hold the record for 53 years.

Hank Aaron, 39 years old at the time, still remained a productive hitter.  Despite never hitting more than 50 home runs in a season, Aaron continued to rank in the home run ranks with his consistency and longevity.  Aaron would end the 1973 season with 40 home runs, only one short of Ruth's mark and two from breaking the record.

Willie Mays was third on the home run list at the time and still active in 1973.  When Mickey Mantle retired in 1968, third on the list at that time, Mays ranked second and looked like he could take the record.  However, his production decline in the following year.  In 1973, Mays would hit only 6 home runs in his final season with the New York Mets.
 
About This Card
Topps capitalized on the home run chase by featuring Ruth, Aaron and Mays as the first card in the first series of the set.  Topps continued featuring all-time records later in the fourth series.

617 - Rich Chiles

About This Player
Rich Chiles enjoyed parts of six seasons in the Major Leagues for the Astros, Mets and Twins.  He bounced between the big leagues and the minors early in his career.  Chiles was acquired by the Mets in a trade that sent Tommie Agee to the Astros.  He did get his chance to play in center field for the Mets, but, after eight games and batting only .180, was sent back to the minors.  Chiles did see some significant playing time when he was picked up by the Twins.  He served some time as an outfielder and designated hitter for two seasons before the Twins release him.
 
About This Card
When Topps went to a single series starting in 1974, they lost the advantage of having players updated with their new teams in their later series.  In this sixth series card, Chiles is depicted with this new team... even if an airbrushing job had to be done to show part of the Mets logo on the cap.

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.

219 - St. Louis Cardinals TC

About This Team
The St. Louis ball club was first established in 1882, but adopted the Cardinals moniker in 1900.  In 1972, the Cardinals finished in 4th place in the National League East.  In 1973, they finished in 2nd place.

About This Card
A couple of things to note.  First, unlike most team photos which are shot on the field, this one, comparing lighting, background and shadows, appears to have been shot in a studio.  Second, while the Cardinals had been in existence for many years, one current Cardinal at the time, Bob Gibson, as can be seen on the back of the card, had already attained team records in strikeouts, shutouts and ERA.

72 - Ron Reed

About This Player
Ron Reed spent 19 seasons in the Major Leagues as a starting pitcher and a reliever.  Reed made his big league debut with the Braves in 1966.  He was still considered a rookie in 1968 and was send to the All-Star Game, the first Braves rookie to have been selected.  His finest season was in 1969 in which Reed won 18 games with a 3.47 ERA, 160 strikeouts and guides Altanta to their first National League Division title.  Reed continued his role in the starting rotation throughout his years with the Braves.  After Reed was traded in 1976, the Phillies converted him to a reliever and pitched in six postseasons for the team.

For a brief time, Reed was a two-sport athlete.  At 6 feet, 6 inches, he played for the Detroit Pistons from 1965 through 1967 before devoting himself full-time to baseball.

Ron Reed was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

For more information:
National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame

About This Card
Another fun action shot from the 1973 set, this time of Ron Reed fielding a play from the pitchers mound.

189 - Greg Luzinski

About This Player
Greg Luzinski enjoyed 15 seasons in the Major Leagues.

Luzinski, also known as "The Bull," was drafted in the first round of the 1968 draft and made his debut with the team in 1972.  He soon established his spot as the starting left fielder late in the 1973 season.  Luzinski earned four All-Star selections with the Phillies, with three of those starting in left field and one of those as the National League's top vote-getter.  He also finished 2nd in MVP voting twice.  Luzinski also received the Roberto Clemente Award in 1978.

The blog, Phillies Nation, regards Luzinski as number 17 on their listed of 100 Greatest Phillies.

For more information:
100 Greatest Phillies: 17 Greg Luzinski - Phillies Nation

After a poor 1980 season with the Phillies, his contract was sold to the Chicago White Sox, with whom Luzinski would become their regular designated hitter.  Luzinski played his final game in 1984.

In 1989, Luzinski was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame

For more information:
National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame

Still a Philadelphia fan favorite, Luzinski's popularity lives on at "Bull's Barbeque" in Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

About This Card
Although he was just starting his big league career, Topps captured Luzinski in, what soon came to be, his signature form.

542 - Pat Corrales

About This Player
Pat Corrales spent nine seasons as a backup catcher.  Corrales made his Major League debut with the Phillies in 1964.  After another season with the Phillies and one with the Cardinals, Corrales spent the majority of his career with the Reds backing up Johnny Bench.  He played in two games for the Reds in 1972 before being traded for another backup catcher, Bob Barton, to the Padres.  Corrales closed his playing career with the Padres in 1973.

Corrales later spent another nine seasons as a Major League manager for the Rangers, Phillies and Indians.  Corrales is the first Major League manager of Mexican-American decent and also the only manger to be fired from a team in first place.  He was fired from the first-place Phillies in 1983 and, 13 days later, managed the last-place Indians.

About This Card
The photograph on this card shows game action that took place on June 14, 1972.  In the bottom of the 2nd inning, the Cubs #31, Fergie Jenkins, attempts to score when he is called out after, what appears to have been, a mighty collision at home plate.  This game was Corrales' second with the Padres and Jenkins would earn the win in a 12-9 Cubs victory.