Ok, I will bite. I have to say the 1972 Topps card #33 of Billy Martin. It comes from one of my favorite sets and portrays so much more than just the image of a scrappy, fireball manager who was once described as a brawling, drinking, pugnacious runt of a man. In 1969 while manager of the Minnesota Twins, he got in a bar brawl after a game in Detroit with his best pitcher (Dick Boswell - a 20 game winner that year) and later had to explain to everyone why Boswell got 20 stitches and couldn't travel with the team, missing 18 days of baseball.
He was hired by the Detroit Tigers in 1971, would lead them to the AL East title in 1972. During a period of time, the Tigers were in a losing streak, Billy pulled the batting order out of a hat and the Tigers won. He was fired in 1973 for purportedly ordering his pitchers to retaliate when the other team threw beanballs at his team.
His 1972 card depicts this raucous, rebellious "runt" - a man who never saw a fight he didn't like - holding a bat and giving the finger. The image seems to sum up his attitude pretty well as he was of one of the most colorful characters of that era.
|