There's a Haircut You Can Set Your Watch To

As my vintage collection has grown, so has my knowledge of the Dodgers from years past--or at least I thought. Sometimes I encounter a card that has me thinking, "Who the hell is this guy?"

Case in point. Who the hell is Stan Williams? This doesn't even look like a Dodgers baseball card. In fact, when I first saw this card fall out of an envelope from Gavin over at Baseball Card Breakdown, my first thought was of Johnny Unitas thanks to a clip from the Simpsons I've seen at least eleventy hundred times.

Turns out Mr. Williams here had a decent fourteen-year career as a pitcher for six different ball clubs, including the Dodgers. Good for him.

My recognition skills aren't any better if you put a team card in front of me, especially if it's vintage.  I recognize maybe two or three dudes from this photo: Don Sutton, Don Drysdale, and maybe Walt Alston? Manny Mota is probably somewhere in this mix, too?

Who knows.

And it doesn't matter if it's vintage! I have a terrible time identifying just about anyone from most team cards. 

Tommy Lasorda is named at the top right, taking away an easy target for me, but any one else I name from this card is strictly from my own knowledge of the early-80s Dodgers--the photo provides almost nothing other than a few jersey numbers. I can make out Baker, Garvey, Cey, and Lopes. I assume Russell has got to be in this mix, too, but I couldn't pick him out of a lineup no matter how clear the photo is. (I Googled him as I wrote this, and he's a handsome fellow, though Grampa Simpson might have something to say about those sideburns.) 

Gavin also sent me a great mix of cards from the 1972 set, pushing me to just about the halfway point of completion. And hey, I recognize some of these dudes! Willie Davis. Maury Wills. Claude Osteen. These are the names and faces I recognize. Heck, Maury Wills is one of the first Dodgers I put to memory, though I don't know why. I knew he stole a lot of bases, and I always wondered who would win in a foot race: Maury Wills or Dave Roberts.

Gavin sent these cards my way after he claimed the very first Trade Pile back in June--thanks for that! I'm always thrilled to add more Dodgers to my binders, especially so if it's vintage. 

Just don't expect me to know who the hell anyone is.