1978 topps bill north - the card that should have been

i mentioned a while back that i am creating my own 1978 topps burger king/update kind of set, featuring all of the players who appeared in a game for the 1977 and/or 1978 dodgers who did not appear (as a dodger) on a 1978 topps card.

one such player is bill north.

i used a photo from steve's baseball photography pages, and i think it turned out great - especially given the fact that you can see dodger stadium's right field pavilion and scoreboard in the background.

i also created a back, which was pretty easy since north was already in the 1978 set.  just a couple of text changes and i was done.

here's north's actual 1978 topps card - big smile, and a whole lotta yellow:

the dodgers acquired north in may of 1978 for glenn burke.  he underperformed in la, and left as a free agent, heading back to the bay area (this time with the giants) for the 1979 season.  as a dodger, he scored 54 runs in 110 games, stole 27 bases, and managed to get on base at a .371 clip, but his slugging percentage was an anemic .266.  of his 71 hits, only 10 were for extra bases and those were all doubles.  he went 0 for 8 in the 1978 nlcs against the phillies, and 1 for 8 that same year in the world series against the yankees.  not surprising, i guess, as in 59 career post season at bats, north had just 3 hits.  still, he was the dodgers' primary center fielder during his brief stay, and for that i salute him.

i'm keeping a running checklist of the cards i have created for this set over on the right sidebar. check 'em out and let me know what you think!

here's to you 1978 topps bill north - the card that should have been!