I was going through some of my older unopened material last night and found this 1977 Topps cello pack with Eric Soderholm on top. It instantly put a smile on my face and reminded me of this story:
Growing up as a White Sox fan in northern Indiana in the 1970s/80s, my dad took to me a lot of games at old Comiskey Park. My first memories of the old park are from 1976/77. I was seven years old in 1977 and that summer I started using every bit of money I had on ‘77 Topps baseball cards.
My favorite player, for whatever reason, became Eric Soderholm. He had joined the team in the off-season as a free agent and he became one of the best hitters on a club that was dubbed the “South Side Hitmen.” He ended up with 25 homers that year (in a big ballpark) and I studied everything about him.
But one day in June of 1979, my dad met me at the front door as I came in from baseball practice and he told me that my hero had been traded. Soderholm was sent to the Texas Rangers....for two guys I’d never of! What was the world coming to?! I had a wooden box with various slots in it and I converted it into a large baseball card case. Each team had its own slot and I remember sitting in my bedroom, with tears coming down my cheeks, as I took Soderholm’s baseball cards out of the “White Sox” slot and placed them in the “Rangers” slot. I couldn’t believe the almost inhumane treatment they were giving my favorite player!
By the early 1980s, a young outfielder by the name of Harold Baines was making his mark on American League pitchers, and Baines easily replaced Soderholm as my favorite player. I would guess most White Sox fans on the board who grew up in the 1980s/90s would probably rank Harold as their favorite player.
It should be noted that 10 years after the Soderholm trade, my heart was broken again - in July of 1989 - when Harold was traded to those same Texas Rangers. This time, however, I did not cry...too much (I had to admit that while I was disappointed, the Sox got the better end of the trade).
Below is my ’77 cello pack with Soderholm on top, with two pieces of a collection I started later in life, as I have tried to acquire a sample of every Topps cello/rack pack with Harold Baines on top (for the years he was with the Sox). This B/S/T thread has more details –
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=188902 – but I think I’ve added to it since this was last updated.
So let’s see (and hear about) a card or piece of memorabilia that you have that reminds you of a childhood story, event, encounter, etc.