The 1981 O-Pee-Chee Frank Tanana Is Lost and Confused
Sometimes when you’re looking through some baseball cards, one just stands out. It might be a photo. You might spot something odd in the background. Quirks come in many forms. For the 1981 O-Pee-Chee Frank Tanana, it’s a matter of not knowing where its loyalties lie.
One of the defining features of O-Pee-Chee baseball cards are the traded lines that offer a small update that a lot of their Topps counterparts don’t have. Presumably because of a later print date, there are plenty of OPC cards that have an unassuming “Now with…” notation on the front, highlighting trades and other roster moves.
But with the 1981 O-Pee-Chee Frank Tanana, things get weird.
The cap on his head says Angels. The cap icon says Red Sox. The notation has the pitcher headed to Chicago’s South Side.
Tanana started his career with California. The Angels drafted him in 1971. After making his MLB debut in 1973, he the southpaw played there through the end of the 1980 season. During the off-season, Tanana was part of a five-player deal that saw Fred Lynn come west and the pitcher to Boston.
So the caps have it. The one Tanana is wearing reflects 1980. The icon shows where he was in 1981. Simply put, the notation is an error.
Frank Tanana played for six MLB teams over the course of his 21-year career. However, his 1981 O-Pee-Chee card is the closest he ever came to playing for the Chicago White Sox.
If you think that’s crazy, check out the 1954 Topps Johnny Lipon…
To my knowledge, it is the only Topps card that shows one player as playing for three different teams (ironically, two of those same teams were involved in the Tanana card above). He is shown as being a member of the Red Sox and Orioles on the front, but the White Sox on the back. The REALLY crazy part is that Mr. Lipon didn’t end the ’53 season, or play any games in ’54, with ANY of the three teams shown. Here’s how it happened…
September 8, 1953: His contract was purchased by the St. Louis Browns from the Boston Red Sox. (He ended the 1953 season playing 7 games with the Browns)
The Browns relocated to Baltimore and became the Orioles to begin the 1954 season.
February 5, 1954: He was traded by the Baltimore Orioles to the Chicago White Sox.
April 18, 1954: (Five days into the season) before he made any appearances for the Chicago White Sox, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds.
He played exactly ONE GAME in 1954, going 0-1 for the Reds, before his contract was purchased by a team in Cuba. He he never played in the big leagues again, but played several years in the minors and had a lengthy career as a MiLB manager.
One thing that doesn’t make much sense about this card, when put in context with the whole set… Other O’s cards from the set (even from the first series) had players caps changed to the Orioles logo in the headshot. In this case, they attempted to change the inset picture (albeit with the incorrect crossed bat logo), but didn’t bother to change the main photo.
To add to the craziness of this card, his position is listed as 3B, but the write up on the back describes his slick defense at SS. He played 717 career games at SS, and only 15 at 3B.
Since I can’t attach a photo, you’ll have to do a Google image search.