76 Topps Tribute: Best of 76

It's time to move on to other baseball card goodness. Here are some of the "big cards" in the 1976 Topps set:
I showed off the Pete Rose card back in an early edition of Best and Worst so it is not included here.

George Brett (2nd year card) - Brett followed up a good rookie season(not as good as Mike Hargrove) with an outstanding sophmore effort. 1 MVP, 13 All-Star Games, 3 Batting Titles including a .390 season in 1980, and 1 one improbable ring 1n 1985. Brett batted .370 in that Series but needed help from the original killer B's, Balboni and Biancalana.

Dennis Eckersley (Rookie Card) - See Eck's list of HOF accomplishments in this ERA Leaders Post.

Nolan Ryan (Card somewhere in the middle of a long career) - Ryan's career is so interesting. He never won a Cy Young and was on only 8 All-Star teams. He is the career leader in K's, Hits allowed per 9 innings, and no hitters. He is also the career leader in walks and wild pitches. He won 324 games (14th all-time) and lost 292 (3rd all-time). You might say he was feast or famine, but when he was feast, there was none more dominant. He did play on some bad teams. His only World Series win came with the Miracle Mets. He is a HOFer mainly because of those noogies he gave Robin Ventura.

Hank Aaron (Last Regular Card) - Anybody know why Topps did not make a card of him in 1977. Hank played 85 games in 1976 and added 10 more homeruns to his historic total. He only won 1 MVP but received votes 19 years in a row. He was an All-Star 21 straight years. Like Ryan, Aaron played on many bad teams, winning 1 World Series early in his career in 1957. Hammering Hank was great for a long time.

These four players may not measure up to the raw star power of Tito Fuentes or Felix Millan but they have their place in this set too. I would like to thank my parents for having me in 1976, which made this tribute possible.

Next Up: Showing off some gift cards from Dinged Corners, way too late contest update, and 1985 Donruss!