1976 Hostess #5 - Bob Watson

• Bob Watson was in a great time in his career. He batted over .300 three times in the previous five years, and he came pretty darned close a fourth time.
• This five-year stretch included two All-Star appearances (1973 and 1975)
• Bob was the starting LF from 1971-1973 before moving to 1B in 1974
• Watson would go on to have a few  more good years with the Astros from 1976-1978
• Before peak, peak, or past peak? peak (right at the end of it)

1976 Kellogg's #27 - Bob Watson

• What did he do to deserve a 1976 Kellogg's card?
• Batted .324 with 18 HR and 85 RBI in 1975
• Credited with scoring major league baseball's 1 millionth run on May 4, 1975
• Played in the 1975 All Star Game and was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter
• 1976 Highlights:
• Batted .313 with 16 HR and 102 RBI
• Finished 11th in NL MVP voting

1976 Topps #20 - Bob Watson

The first time I noticed Bob Watson (besides as a card I needed) was when he scored baseball's "millionth run" in 1975. This number only includes runs scored in the NL and AL.

Bob Watson had a solid 18-year career mostly with the Houston Astros. He bounced between the bigs and the minors from 1966-1969 and stuck with the Astros in 1970. He was at the peak of his career in the mid-70s. He probably would have had more homers if he were playing anywhere else but Houston. He was still good for 15-20 homers a year and was consistently near the .300 mark. With Boston in 1979 he was the first player to hit for the cycle in both leagues.

After his playing career he became a baseball executive. He became the first African-American general manager after the 1993 season when he got the job with Houston. Bob was Houston's GM until 1995, then he moved over to the Yankees and was their GM until 1998. He is now the vice-president in charge of discipline for Major League Baseball.