1976 Topps Tribute: Cubs Hats

The last time I spoke of these 2 Cubbies, they were neckless and on a team card. I used to always have an official fitted baseball hat. I had a great Mets hat that vanished after leaving it at a batting cage while on vacation at Boardwalk and Baseball in Florida. I never owned another one after that. Check out these two official hats:

Mike Garman was not a Cub in 1975. He was Cardinal. St.Louis traded him and a player to be named to the Cubs for Don Kessinger. The trade came after the season so Topps ordered their staff of artist to "fix" this one. They gave him a blue warm-up jacket and a teeny, tiny Cubs hat. Was the hat so tiny before or was there even a hat there at all?

Reuschel has on the earless batting helmet, ala John Olerud. Could batters wear the earless variety in 1975? Willie McGee used to wear a helmet with two ears. He was a switch hitter but all it did was accentuate his small, rat-like head. Rick was a terrible batter, regardless of his helmet of choice.

Rick was pretty solid for 19 seasons. He won 214 games. I remember him as a Giant in the late 90's. His nickname was "Big Daddy" because he was a large dude. Mike Garman had an unremarkable career. His tiny hat on this 1976 Topps card may be the highlight.

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