Current Collection - 1976

Delighted to find a box of 1976 cards in the attic that I had forgotten was there, and even when seeing it again thought I had scoured pretty thoroughly awhile ago. Still, I had thought it strange prior to finding and going through the box again that I only had two Orioles' cards from that year: a team card and one of Wayne Garland, hands above head ready to swing around and deliver a pitch. At the same time, I had numerous 1976 Cardinals as well as several Red Sox (the two other teams I collect in abundance). Lo and behold, sitting in that box was nearly the team set of 1976 Oriole cards, from all the familiar names like Robinson, Blair, Belanger, Baylor, Bumbry, Palmer; a rookie card of Flanagan; and on and on, even a few I did not recognize, with doubles and sometimes triples to boot!

I had taken a stab at lining up the cards in the 9-sleeve sheet with what I imagined the typical starting lineup was, but found I had mostly gone awry. Correct was Paul Blair in center and Mark Belanger at short; I also had Ken Singleton correct, but it looks as though he played more left field than right (or did he DH a lot that season?), and thus need to re-position him. Al Bumbry could be considered correct being placed on the first sheet, having had 499 at bats in 1976, and thus played as much as, even a little more than Blair.

Where I was surprised was not knowing that Andres Mora was one of the DH's that year, but I do not believe there is a card of him, at least not an Orioles card, for that year, and of course that was Reggie Jackson's one-year adventure with Baltimore, and his card for that year still shows him being on the A's. Tommy Davis and Don Baylor both made the front nine, but neither was on the team that year. I also went with Brooks Robinson at third over Doug DeCinces, but the latter came to bat twice as much as the legend and is one of the cards from the set that I do not have. The other surprise: Dave Duncan did more of the catching than Ellie Hendricks (sentimental choice for first sheet) and Rick Dempsey (no '76 card that I'm aware of, unless there's one of him on the Yankees). Lastly, while I realized Jim Palmer was most likely the ace that year, and he has a terrific in-action card, orange jersey and all, I went with long-time lefty Mike Cuellar, as he cocks to fire to the plate, glove thrown out, eye on target and front foot about to land, all from the Memorial Stadium mound. Having checked though and seen that Palmer had a stellar season (yet another one) and Cuellar was in more of a minor role with his career coming nearing the end, I've installed Palmer in the center of the first sheet.

It was also clear to me that I was missing a second baseman from the set. In this case, Bobby Grich will fill the void once acquired. His '76 card is quite a hoot, a profile view without at hat on that makes him look to me like someone who just stepped off a Hollywood set. And Lee May. I need the Lee May card. The first base bopper hit 25 home runs and drove in 109 runs that year.