1977 reggie smith

i contend that o-pee-chee slightly adjusted both the photo and the facsimile autograph on this, reggie smith's 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

agreed?  i'm still not sure why he wore 'r. smith' on the back of his jersey.  the dodgers had no other smiths.

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

1977 was reggie's first full season as a dodger, and he did not disappoint this fledgling fan in the least.  he scored over 100 runs, hit over 30 homers (one of four dodgers to do so that year), batted over .300, walked over 100 times, led the league in obp and ops, and made the all-star team to boot.  i must admit, however, that i really only cared about the home runs and the all-star nod at the time.  in the midsummer classic, smith was 1 for 1 with a pinch-hit single off of sparky lyle.  he was immediately replaced in the game by pinch-runner mike schmidt.

thanks in large part to smith's performance in the regular season, the dodgers made the postseason, and 'our' reggie hit 3 long balls of his own in the world series against the yankees.  just not in the same game. and in a losing cause.  still, i was one happy camper with reggie smith as the right fielder on the team of my youth.

voici à vous, 1977 reggie smith!