1971 O-Pee-Chee Cesar Tovar #165 Minnesota Twins

Description

1971 O-Pee-Chee Cesar Tovar #165 Minnesota Twins Versatility may be the most underrated skill in baseball, and few players in the history of the game embodied it quite like the man smiling from this 1971 O-Pee-Chee Cesar Tovar #165 Minnesota Twins card. Collectors building the Canadian version of the famous black bordered 1971 set will appreciate a player whose name still comes up whenever the rarest feats in the sport are discussed. Tovar is captured in a classic batting pose in his Minnesota home uniform, with the bright Twins script across his chest and his large facsimile signature sweeping across the lower portion of the photograph. It is a lively image of a player who never stopped moving, whether he was leading off an inning, stealing a base or appearing at yet another defensive position. On September 22, 1968, Cesar Tovar played all nine positions in a single major league game for the Twins against Oakland, becoming only the second player in history to accomplish that extraordinary feat. He even began the day on the mound and struck out Reggie Jackson during his inning as a pitcher. The card back reminds collectors just how central he was to the 1970 Twins, noting that day in and day out he led the club in games played, at bats, runs and stolen bases while leading the American League in triples and tying for the league lead in doubles. His 1970 line printed on the reverse shows a .300 average with 195 hits, 120 runs, 36 doubles, 13 triples and 30 stolen bases, and the biography proudly identifies the Caracas native as the Twins all time stolen base king at that point in franchise history. In 1971 he would collect more than 200 hits, further cementing his reputation as one of the finest Venezuelan players of his generation and a figure of lasting importance in Latin American baseball history. This example is the Canadian O-Pee-Chee printing, recognised by the bilingual golden reverse with French text in the side panel, Canadian French statistical headings and the printed in Canada credit from T. C. G. The reverse portrait sits inside the distinctive starburst frame beside complete 1970 and lifetime statistics through that season. Canadian O-Pee-Chee cards were produced in far smaller quantities than their Topps counterparts, which is one reason dedicated set builders actively hunt them in any honest grade. The unforgiving black borders of 1971 make perfectly clean edges exceptionally elusive, so a raw example with vivid colour and a completely readable back remains a very serviceable addition to a binder set. The front shows moderate wear consistent with a well loved vintage card, including speckled white chipping along the top and bottom black edges, softness and small touches at all four corners and a noticeably lighter top right corner. Several fine surface scratches cross the black area along the left side and upper portion of the card, with additional light scratching visible over the cap area of the photograph, although no single heavy crease or deep wrinkle can be confirmed from the scans. The image itself retains bright blue sky and strong uniform colour, and the bilingual back is clean, complete and legible with no pen marks observed. Centering of the photo within the frame is reasonably good from left to right, sitting perhaps a touch high in the frame without harming overall presentation. The combination of scratching, edge chipping and corner softness limits the card to a conservative very good grade, which is precisely the affordable territory where 1971 O-Pee-Chee set builders happily secure a name of this historical calibre. Grade Estimate: VG 3