1972 - Things start to get interesting.

1972 was an interesting year for the Angels.  On December 10th of the previous year, the face of the franchise was traded to the Mets.  Jim Fregosi, who was like a son to Mr. Autry, was sent packing in a deal that (at the time) had Halo Nation in an uproar.

It turned out to be the best trade the Angels have ever made.

Why?  In addition to catcher Frank Estrada, pitcher Don Rose and outfielder Leroy Stanton, the Angels received a hard-throwing (but very wild) right-hander by the name of Nolan Ryan.

Ryan had won a World Series ring in New York in 1969, but after a horrible second half in 1971, the Mets decided they couldn't wait around to see if Ryan could turn things around.  The Angels were more than happy to give him that chance, and boy did it pay off.

While the team went 75-80 for manager Del Rice, Ryan would account for 25% of those wins, going 19-16 with a 2.28 ERA and a ridiculous 329 strikeouts (although he still walked 157 batters).  Together with Clyde Wright's 18-11, 2.98 record, things were starting to look up for the Angels' pitching staff.

The offense didn't fare quite as well, with Bob (father of recent Angel Darren) Oliver's 19 home runs and 70 RBI, and Ken Berry's .289 batting average.  Sandy Alomar stole 20 bags, and Vada Pinson swiped 17.

The 1972 card design draws a mixed reaction from fans.  I like the movie marquee-like team names at the top, but some of the color combinations Topps used with the other teams are a bit of an eyesore.  Most of the pictures (the ones that don't have the horrible airbrushing when the player's photo was taken when he was on another team) are from 1971, which was the only season that the Angels used the lower-case 'a' on the hats and jerseys.  It's interesting to see that in the earlier cards in the set, there is no halo over the 'a' on the jerseys, but it's there in the later cards, where the pictures were taken months later.

1972 Topps Angels Checklist

19 - Billy Cowan

55 - Clyde Wright

71 - Angels Team

102 - Lloyd Allen

115 - Jim Fregosi

135 - Vada Pinson

160 - Andy Messersmith

196 - Mel Queen

213 - Kusnyr/Parkr/Silvrio

253 - Sandy Alomar

272 - Mickey Rivers

289 - Syd O'Brien

354 - Tom Murphy

379 - Ken Berry

404 - Jeff Torborg

419 - Jim Spencer

462 - Rickey Clark

521 - Alan Foster

541 - Roger Repoz

561 - Leo Cardenas

562 - Leo Cardenas - In Action

595 - Nolan Ryan

629 - Paul Doyle

656 - Rudy May

672 - Archie Reynolds

689 - Eddie Fisher

718 - Del Rice

765 - Ken McMullen

Topps Posters Inserts

18 Andy Messersmith Topps Posters

regular cards: 28

inserts: 1