Ya Get Whatcha Get: Four Airbrushed Hostess Cards

1976 Hostess Jim Wynn

On 11/17/75, the Dodgers traded Wynn, Lee Lacy, Tom Paciorek and Jerry Royster to the Braves for Dusty Baker and Ed Goodson.  Unlike his Topps card, Wynn was airbrushed into the blue road uniform.

1977 Hostess Bert Campaneris

Signed with the Rangers as a free agent.  The airbrush job is better on his Hostess card than on his Topps card.

1978 Hostess Bert Blyleven

On 12/8/77, Blyleven was involved in a complex trade by the Rangers, Pirates, Mets and Braves. Among the other players flying in every which direction were Al Oliver, Willie Montanez, Jon Maatlack, Ken Henderson and John Milner.

The airbrush artist gets major bonus points for doing the gold and black pinstripes, even if he did use a slightly dated cap design.  Blyleven’s Topps and Kellogg’s cards show him with the Rangers.

1979 Hostess Rod Carew

On 2/3/79, the Twins traded him for Ken Landreaux and three other guys.  Carew’s 1979 Topps and Kellogg’s cards show him with the Twins.

Campy Delayed-reaction Mojo

I’ve got a number of cards in my “in box”, either waiting on me to enter them into my inventory software, or just waiting on me to figure out what to do with them.  This card is one of those.  Back in 2004, I pulled it from a pack of… something.  Topps Something.  Couldn’t tell you.  As I wouldn’t normally consider a Bert Campaneris card to be something to add to my collection, it’s been in purgatory awaiting its fate.  After a while it grew on me and I decided to keep it, but by then I couldn’t remember what it was in order for me to enter it into my inventory.  So it sat in the box, an unjust fate for a card such as this.

It is a pretty nice card…  A photo which could’ve appeared on a 70’s Topps card…  A nice clean design, foil-stamped but not too gaudy…. on-card autograph.  What’s not to like?  I’m old enough to remember Campy from his key role with those A’s World Champion teams in the 70’s, so I definitely respect the player. The logical part of my brain might still be asking “But how do I inventory this card?”, but my emotional side just says “You don’t, you obsessive compulsive twit, just put it in the Miscellaneous binder and be done with it.”

…So welcome to my collection, 2004 Topps Something Bert Campaneris Auto.