Al Dark was a successful manager who guided to the Oakland Athletics to a World Series championship in 1974 - as a player, he was the second MLB Rookie of the Year winner after Jackie Robinson and the last single ROY winner before there was one awarded for each league.
I was able to get a 1971 Topps card signed by Dark through the mail years ago [he passed away in 2014] and while I'm mostly satisified with any random cards for my award winners collection - I wanted a card [1982 Cramer Baseball Legends #3] showing Dark as a player, even if it's a retro issue from the early 1980s as opposed to an authentic vintage card.
I was familiar enough with Willie McGee as a minor star who played through the junk wax era of the early 1990s - a fan favorite with the St. Louis Cardinals, his breakout postseason helped the 1982 team win the World Series and three years later, was named the 1985 National League MVP.
I wasn't familiar with 1980 American League Rookie of the Year Joe Charboneau except as a hot rookie star who made a lot of noise as a cult favorite with the Cleveland Indians - he was a one year wonder who failed to really build upon his promise and was a poster child for 1980s card collectors as a baseball card bust.
I was able to pick up a 2006 Fleer Greats of the Game Nicknames certified autograph - it would have been nice if the it was on-card, but I like how Charboneau was able to fit in his autograph and his 'Super Joe' nickname on the themed insert set.
Super Joe sure brings back fine memories... and love seeing the McGee autograph. He doesn't have a lot of pack issued signed cards out there.
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