Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Collection: 1984 Union Oil Most Memorable Moments: Don Drysdale

Following up on the game-used jersey of Don Drysdale I thought I would finally continue on with my posting on the 1984 Union Oil Most Memorable Moments set with this Drysdale classic. I had originally written about the Campanella sheet back in January, but never followed it up with additional post. As you'll recall, these 8" x 11.5" sheets were given away at Union Oil stations during the 1984 season.

Don Drysdale was a master pitcher and a rather imposing figure on the mound. So much so, he would literally scare batters at the plate. He once said,
"I hate all hitters. I start a game mad and I stay that way until it's over." (Quotes by players were no more comforting: "Don Drysdale would consider an intentional walk a waste of three pitches. If he wants to put you on base, he can hit you with one pitch." -- Mike Shannon. "I hated to bat against Drysdale. After he hit you he'd come around, look at the bruise on your arm and say, 'Do you want me to sign it?'" -- Mickey Mantle)
You get the picture.

Anyway, this collectible sheet highlights one of Don's greatest Baseball achievements. In the 1968 season "Big-D" recorded 58 2/3 scoreless innings that set a major league record that would stand for 20 years. During that streak he recorded 6 straight shutouts- this snapped a recorded once held by Walter Johnson for 55 years.

The artist of this drawing was James Zar.

Check out the rest of the set here in my photo album:

1 comment:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...