Only a handful of landscape poses–eight in all–were released by Topps in 1974. For players such as Norm Snead, Ron Johnson, Jerry Sherk, Jack Gregory, Bob Windsor, Charlie Johnson and Bob DeMarco, the photo shows the player in action. And the cards are simply beautiful. One imagines that someone at Topps saw the photo used, and said, “This ain’t a Baltimore Colt photo. Make this one…special.”
And then there’s Dennis Havig.
Don’t get me wrong–it is a marvelous photo. But where the hell is Dennis?
Unless you were a family member or an obsessed Falcons fan (and as bad as the Falcons were, that pretty much would be ALL Falcons fans), you’d be stumped.
Is it number sixty-five? Nope–that is lineman Len Gotshalk.
Surely, it’s not number nineteen? No–that’s quarterback Bob Lee.
And it certainly isn’t the Rams defensive player–that is cornerback Charlie Stukes.
And Lord knows who they are blocking for.
So, you’re looking for #56, but #1 in your hearts, for Dennis.
It is a great picture of Gotshalk, who never had a card of his own in his six-year career. Charlie Stukes had two cards in his career–but none in 1974. Bob Lee managed TWO cards with the Vikings in 1972, and nabbed one as a Falcon in ‘74.
But, it is Dennis’s card (1974 Topps #426). Give him credit for being generous with his card space use. Gotshalk should have given him a nice gift basket or a canned ham for his inclusion on what was to be his only card appearance.
In his career from 1971-77, Dennis had two cards–this, and a follow-up in 1975. But the ‘75 card is his alone–but not nearly as interesting. Nor as crowded.
