Oscar Gamble in My Collection

Looking around the cardblogosphere, I see the sad news that Oscar Gamble has died.  While I'm sure he's most famous for his hair, he had a 17-year career in which he accumulated 1195 hits, 200 home runs, 666 RBI, and achieved a career slugging average of .454.

1979 Topps Oscar Gamble.

I've been getting my collection entered on the Trading Card Database.  So far I've mostly done the low-hanging fruit, which is entering complete sets.  I estimate that I've gotten about 1/3 of my collection listed so far, including most of my pre-1980 cards.  A nice feature is that I can search for exactly which cards I have of a certain player, for a post like this.  The earliest card I have of Gamble appears to be 1979 Topps, of which I have two.  One is in the complete set I recently bought, and then I had a spare from the 1979 cards I acquired years ago towards my goal of collecting a set.

Even though the 70s were ending, this is a nice card of that decade.  While not as large as on his 1976 Traded card, Oscar Gamble's hair is still notable, as is the great old Padres uniform.

1985 Fleer Update Oscar Gamble.

I also have a complete 1984 Topps set, but it's not in the most accessible place so I didn't open it up to get his card out.  Next up, though, is the 1985 Fleer Update set, marking Gamble's signing with the White Sox as a free agent in March, 1985.  He would be released in August, 1985, ending his career.  He played in 70 games with the White Sox that year, batting .203 with 20 RBI.

Pacific Senior Baseball Oscar Gamble.

Finally, I have this Pacific card of the Senior Professional Baseball Association.  Gamble is depicted with the St. Lucie Legends, one of the eight teams that played in the 1989-1990 season.

May you rest in peace, Oscar Gamble; you will certainly always be remembered for your classic baseball cards.