Appreciation: 1975 Topps #489 Cecil Cooper

To this day I find it amazing that Cooper couldn’t find a way to fit in Boston. Instead, the Red Sox ran him out of town to Milwaukee where he went on to lead the league in hitting and put up great numbers for a long and productive career. That said, this card is the penultimate card from 1975 Topps. If you could only own one card from this set, this would be the one I’d recommend. Here’s why.

Bad-trip pink team name coupled with the garish green and purple border, Cooper’s Are-They-Sideburns-Or-Is-That-A-Beard? facial hair, his classic, mid-1970s Red Sox jersey and his crisp, full signature across the front. My personal copy has a nice full-card vertical crease, not to mention poor centering and nubby corners (plus side-chipping, little scratches and splotches here and there, and one corner looks like someone tried to clean their fingernails with it). Needless to say, it’s a classic. Plus, it may be the only Topps card where his full name is written out.

Here’s to you, Cecil Celester Cooper. Way to go.