06 March 2011

let's turn two with a birthday salute to cookie rojas

cookie rojas turns seventy-dos today, but i prefer to think of him turning two on his fantastic 1971 topps card.  many folks have posted that card and written about it in the past, including me, night owl and dayf, so i won't go on about it other than to show the version that mr. rojas signed for me through the mail recently.
that's good cookie!

while on the the subject of ttm and double plays, felix millan signed his 1978 topps card for me a while back.
what i like about this card is that it's from my favorite all time set, it's the first double play turn on a card i ever saw, and it's got dave parker as a lurker barreling in on millan while felix stands his ground. it's also millan's final tribute, as he did not play in the majors after the 1977 season.

i contemplated sending this card on to the cobra, but decided against it.  i did, however, send his own 1978 topps card off to be signed, and the 1978 nl mvp obliged.
awesome.  parker was one of those non-dodgers i rooted for as a kid.  it was harmless - he was in the nl east and, after 1974, the dodgers never faced the pirates in the post season.  besides, parker was the guy who helped the national league win a bunch of all-star games, and he made two of the most unreal throws from the outfield in all-star game history - one to ron cey at third and one to gary carter at home - both in the 1979 game.  while neither were double plays, nailing brian downing at home in the 8th preserved the tie and allowed the national league to win with a solo run in the 9th.

happy birthday cookie, and thanks to you, felix and the cobra for signing my cards! 

2 comments:

unclemoe said...

Happy Birthday, Cookie!

moe.

MrMopar said...

All awesome cards. 1978 was my first set and I too remember all the cool shots from this set. I have tried to get the best autographed as well. I do the same for many of the 70s action shot cards too. They will always be my favorites.

Even the poses in the 78 set stick in my mind, probably because it was my first exposure to baseball cards. Those memories will always been in my melon, even as the details fade.