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One for the thumb

All the talk this week about "The Big Lebowski" and the creation of virtual cards of missing toes, etc., made me think about a certain childhood obsession of mine concerning former player Carlos May.

White Sox fans will remember May as a promising outfielder who had some decent seasons for Chicago back in the early-to-mid '70s. They also probably remember what happened to May's right thumb early in his career.

May was on duty for the Marine reserves in the summer of 1969 when a mortar unit that he was cleaning misfired and blew off part of his right thumb. The accident could have killed his career, but after several operations, he was back playing for the White Sox the next season.

Years later, when I was a kid, I heard about May's accident and I started searching his baseball cards to see if I could spot his right thumb (I was a weird kid). May was playing in Japan at the time, so it wasn't like I could watch him on TV. Cards were all I had to go on.

But I could see no evidence of any thumb damage on any of the cards. You can see on the 1971 card that May is wearing a white glove on his right hand, and his left hand is covering the thumb portion of the right hand.

The 1974 card features May with a black glove on his right hand and his thumb portion away from the camera.

The 1975 card is similar to the 1971 card, except with the white glove on the left hand, but still the top hand is covering the thumb portion of the right hand.

Although I don't have them scanned, I have seen the 1973, 1976 and 1977 Topps May cards. On the '73 card, he is shot at a bit of a distance and the thumb is out of view. The 1976 card is an action shot of May swinging and you can't see the thumb portion. The 1977 card is a close-up, and May's arms aren't even in the frame.

The one card I haven't seen is the 1972 Topps card. I wonder if it's like the others? And I wonder if May requested that Topps keep his damaged thumb hidden.

If that was the case, we've come a long way since then. Who hasn't seen a Jim Abbott card that showed, without a doubt, that he didn't have a right hand? Maybe Abbott was the guy that made it OK: Yeah, I don't have a right hand. So what? Everyone's got their burden, right?

Obviously, Jim Abbott and Carlos May did pretty well with their "handicaps." Meanwhile, I've got two hands and all of my fingers and toes, and I've never been able to hit or throw a curveball. I guess that's my burden.

Comments

AlbuqwirkE said…
I like that Carlos wore his birth date "May 17" on the back of his jersey. Very kool!
Johngy said…
For some reason, I always liked May's 1974 card. Even now, it brings back good memories.
Unknown said…
Carlos May was one of my favorite players on the White Sox - if a Cubs fan can have a favorite White Sock. Nice post and kudos to May !
jacobmrley said…
it certainly seems like he or topps went out of their way to NOT show his right thumb in any of his pictures. plus, in every other picture I found on google, he has a batting glove on or hiding it as well, ie.: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23686924@N07/2549603811
jacobmrley said…
OOPS!!! mystery solved...just as I was done looking, I clicked on a few other pictures and found 1977 Topps card #633 Big League Brothers - Lee and Carlos May. If you look carefully on the lower part of the card, you can clearly see Carlos' right hand and part of a missing thumb - or a thumb with part missing to be exact: http://i19.ebayimg.com/01/i/001/35/f5/51b4_12.JPG
night owl said…
Yup, that's the missing thumb (part)!

I believe that was his final card, too.