1979 Topps #317 Jose Cardenal

I'm off from work today, so I decided to do what most hard working Americans would choose to do on a day off: blog about Jose Cardenal's afro while a member of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1978 and 1979.

Jose Cardenal's 1979 Topps card is the first (and only) to feature him in an actual Phillies' uniform and not a (poorly) airbrushed looks-kind-of-like-a-Phillies-hat. Unfortunately, it appears as if Jose took the shears to the afro at some point between 1978 and 1979. Alas, 1978 was to be the high hat mark for Jose in terms of pure afro grandeur. We'll have to rely on another blogger or the Dean Family's 1980 Topps blog in order to track the 'fro progress in 1980. Jose appears as a Met in the 1980 Topps set on card #512.

Number 1: If you asked the question, "Who is the last Phillie to wear the number 1?," most people would respond, Richie Ashburn. But most people would be wrong. Jose Cardenal wore #1 for the Phillies in 1978 and until he was sold to the Mets on August 2, 1979. Richie had his #1 retired on August 24, 1979, and no Phillie player has worn it since. And now you know.