18 May 2009

johnny oates ebay auto success!

here's johnny oates, one of the two 1978 topps dodgers who are unfortunately deceased.
i was happy to see this on ebay with a $5.99 buy it now and free shipping.

oates was acquired by the dodgers from the phillies in exchange for former rookie of the year ted sizemore. he saw a fair amount of action in 1977 backing up steve yeager, along with jerry grote and kevin pasley. after three years in la, oates would play for the yankees until retiring in 1981.

he would go on to manage the orioles and rangers, leading the rangers to three division championships (including their first ever in 1996) and winning the 1996 american league manager of the year award along the way. he was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2001 and died three years later. his number is retired by the texas rangers.

this is the fourth step in my modest 1978 topps dodgers autograph project.

here's the tally:

team card
dusty baker
glenn burke
ron cey - through the mail success!
vic davalillo
terry forster
mike garman
steve garvey
ed goodson
jerry grote
burt hooton
charlie hough
tommy john
lee lacy
tom lasorda
dave lopes
ted martinez
manny mota
rick monday
johnny oates - ebay success!
doug rau - through the mail success!
lance rautzhan - through the mail success!
rick rhoden
bill russell
reggie smith
elias sosa
don sutton
steve yeager
nlcs (davey lopes)

4/29 = 14%

2 comments:

Matt Runyon said...

Good find! The project is moving right along. :)

Goose Joak said...

I fondly remember his days with the Rangers. Probably the second best mustache on the team (Juan Gonzalez gets my vote for first).