hoyt wilhelm final tribute - the card that should have been

in 1972, hoyt wilhelm concluded his hall of fame career as a dodger with a then-record 1070 games pitched and 227 saves. but, because the dodgers released him in july of that year, wilhelm did not warrant a card in the 1973 topps set. well, i am here to right that wrong. here is wilhelm's final tribute card, a night card no less.

i think this card would fit in pretty nicely with the 1973 set.

wilhelm bounced around a little at the end of his career, but still managed to pitch well for the dodgers in 1971 after a terrible first half with the braves. he finished that year with 3 saves for the dodgers in 9 games and an era of 1.02. in 1972, though, he saved just one game and had an era of 4.62 in 16 games before being released 5 days before his 50th birthday. yes, his 50th birthday! his last strikeout victim was tony perez.

wilhelm was voted into the hall of fame in 1985 and died in 2002. here's to you, hoyt!