Residing now in the same house I grew up in, I’m always coming across long-forgotten items from my childhood whenever I venture into the recesses of the basement, attic, or garage. Tonight, I discovered a cache of my old baseball cards from 1980. Most of the cards were of obscure utility players and guys who only had a cup of coffee in the big leagues. There were, however, a handful of notable players in the stack. If you followed MLB back in the ’70s or ’80s, you’ll remember these guys:
Vida Blue is one of the first players I was aware of as a young child, because his name was so distinctive and memorable, and because his early ’70s Oakland teams were the first sports dynasty I remember hearing people talk about.I don’t remember a lot about LeFlore as a player, but I did watch the TV movie (starring LaVar Burton!) they made about him making it to the big leagues after serving time in prison. Blair had a great career as an Oriole, but I personally remember him more as a Yankee playing on those late ’70s Bronx Zoo teams. His stint with the Reds was definitely the twilight of his playing days.“Sweet Lou.” Enough said.A few posts ago, I mentioned that hearing “We Are Family” gives me 1979 World Series PTSD. Seeing this guy again does as well.The Steamer! The first time I ever went to Fenway Park was in 1988. I was sitting just a few rows up from the bullpen. At one point, Stanley started warming up and the guy behind me decided to let him have it for supposedly blowing the 1986 World Series. The guy kept screaming down to the bullpen, “I hate you, Bawb!!!” and “You ruined my life, Bawb!!!” At that close distance, there’s no way Stanley didn’t hear every word. It was a display of pure Boston sports fan angst, and I loved every minute of it.
Researcher. Marketer. Teacher. Father of adult children and dogs. 20th Century holdover. Central New York native. Long-suffering Buffalo Bills fan. History nerd. Traveler. Vintage advertising enthusiast. Hat wearer.
a.k.a. V.J. 
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