Thursday, June 7, 2018

Cards That Never Were: Bart Johnson 1978 & '79 Topps

Cards That Never Were is a recurring series in which I create virtual trading cards for players who were missed in the original sets.  It is a concept I have borrowed from too many others to list, but I appreciate them all.
I usually only feature cards I have created, but today I make an exception.  The cards today come courtesy of Lynn from Giovanni of When Topps Had Balls and Lynn of Custom Baseball Cards on Facebook 
Bart Johnson was drafted by my beloved Chicago White Sox in the 1968 MLB draft.  He made his MLB debut in 1970 and pitched for the Sox through the 1977 season.  He showed signs of great potential at times, like when he went 12-10 in 1971, but injuries derailed his career, especially in 1975, when he missed the entire season.  He retired with a career record of 43-51 and an ERA of 3.94.
Johnson appeared on Topps cards from 1970 through 1977, which would cover his career.  Johnson was my first favorite player and I intended to give him a "career capper" for the 1978 set.  Giovanni beat me to it.  While I like creating these cards, I also felt no need to duplicate the fine effort and product he had already made.
I planned on ending this CTNW right there, but then I saw a creation by Lynn.  Although Johnson never actually pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates during the season, he was with them in Spring Training as he attempted to continue his career.  I never knew this (or at least had long forgotten it).  Fortunately, Lynn knew about Johnson's attempt and he made a beautiful 1979 card for him.
I appreciate the efforts of both of these men.  I highly encourage everyone to check out their work on those aforementioned sites.  Both do excellent work and both produce lots of cards.  I am fascinated by their work and I even occasionally learn things (like Johnson's connection to the Pirates) from them.

1 comment:

Eric C. Loy said...

He spent some time in the minors during his career attempting to become an everyday outfielder, hitting .316 with 6 homers in 1972, but playing a terrible outfield.