1976 Topps Card of the Year (Round 2, Group 2)

• The cards that will move on from group 1 are Johnny Bench, Ray Fosse, Fred Lynn, and Lou Brock
• Here are the cards for round 2, group 2. Please vote for your favorite(s). The top four from this group will make it to the next round

Steve Ontiveros #284

Oscar Gamble Traded (#74T)

Sal Bando #90

Brian Downing #23

Carl Yastrzemski #230

Steve Garvey #150

Bill Plummer #627

Jerry Reuss #60

1976 Topps Card of the Year - Round 1, Group 1

• It's time to choose a card of the year. I chose 64 cards to be included in the voting. About 45 of them were chosen by readers and I chose the other ones to fill out the field.

• We'll do this eight cards at a time. Choose your four favorite cards from each group. The top half of each group will advance to the next round.

• Here are the cards:

#620 Al Oliver

#278 Bernie Carbo

#627 Bill Plummer

#525 Billy Williams

#23 Brian Downing

#230 Carl Yastrzemski

#262 Checklist

#277 Chicago Cubs

• The poll will be open for three days and then the next set of cards will appear for your vote.

1976 Topps #23 - Brian Downing

In 1976 Brian Downing was just another one of those long-haired guys that probably wouldn't be around very long. His stats weren't very impressive. He suffered a major knee injury on the first pitch of the first inning of his first major league game in 1973. He came back from the injury but struggled in his years with the White Sox

He was traded to the Angels before the 1978 season in part of one of the many Bobby Bonds trades of the decade. He didn't do a whole lot in '78, but he started a weight-training program and had an All-Star season in 1979, batting .326. He broke his ankle in 1980 and subsequently was converted to the outfield. He wasn't known for his defense, but he was sure-handed with what he could get to. He was a productive player for the Angels through the 1990 season, hitting at least 20 homers in 6 of 7 seasons from 1982-1988. He finished his career as a DH with Texas in 1991 and 1992. He will be inducted to the Angels Hall of Fame on 4/7/2009.

Someone wrote a very nice little piece about what Brian Downing meant for him. It is found here.