the uniform remains the same - 1969 edition

there was a fair amount of chatter a couple weeks ago about the fantastic 1969 topps jim campanis card.  both night owl and waxaholic discussed the beauty of a dodger listed as a royal with only a minimal effort by topps to disguise the uniform.  the best part is that campanis wasn't alone in the 1969 set.  i'll show that card again in a moment, but first, i'll show 'the escape of alcaraz'

althought the 'la' on the cap is colored out, you can still see the 'los angeles' script on the chest of luis alcaraz's jersey.  he played for the dodgers in 1967 and 1968, and his biggest moment i would guess was hitting a game-winning 3-run home run in the top of the 9th against the giants on april 26, 1968.  the dodgers got nothing for him as he was purchased by the royals after the 1968 season ended.

here's the aforementioned jim campanis.

nepotism can be a good thing, as jim's dad was the dodgers' gm who drafted him.  but it can also be a bad thing as you might have to be a little bit better than you really are to make it with your dad's team.  the dodgers were in need of a catcher with johnny roseboro on his way out (foreshadowing alert) but al campanis chose to stick with jeff torborg and sent jimmy to kansas city for a couple of minor leaguers.  like alcaraz, campanis' headgear has been altered, but the red number on the front of the jersey is a dead dodger giveaway.

it's more difficult to discern the uniform of jim fairey

topps went with the full blackout of fairey's cap.  ignoring that for a moment, it is plausible that the blue undershirt/jacket is an expo issued garment, but you can see the tail of the capital 'd' in 'dodgers' just above the 'x' in 'expos'.  besides, fairey had only played for the dodgers prior to being selected by the expos in the 52nd round of the expansion draft.

similar to the campanis card, here we have jim hickman - a cub in name only on his 1969 topps card.

gentleman jim was acquired from the mets prior to the 1967 season in the deal that sent tommy davis to new york.  he promptly had the worst season of his career, and was sent to the cubs before the 1968 season began.  this means that topps was using a photo for their 1969 set that was, at the latest, from spring training of 1968.  that's only fair as his 1967 card lists him as a dodger, but shows him in a mets uniform (although the photo is rather closely cropped).  he played so poorly for the dodgers in 1967, in fact, that topps didn't bother to issue a card of him in 1968.  thankfully, we have this almost-dodger card.


ron perranoski is another dodger gone missing in the 1969 set.

there is a variation of this card that still has the blackout on the hat, although the 'la' is still somewhat visible.  like hickman, perranoski had last played for the dodgers in 1967.  unlike hickman, perranoski does have a 1968 topps card, and it lists him as a twin and features a closely cropped hatless photo of the reliever.  topps went backwards in 1969, but i am happy that they did.
traded with perranoski in november of 1967 was john roseboro

though hatless, you can see the tips of the two 'd's in 'dodgers' on his jersey.  roseboro had a couple of decent years in minny before finishing his career with the senators in 1970.  topps managed to use a photo of roseboro in his senators uniform in 1970, but they failed in 1969.  i should note that roseboro's 1968 topps card still shows (and lists) him as a dodger, and it is one of my favorite cards.  it looks like he is trying really hard not to smile.  plus, it has his complete dodger career stats on the back.

there have been more recent examples of this phenomenon (2006 john valentin anyone?) but i think 1969 is the best.

thanks topps!