1971 O-Pee-Chee Lee May #40 Cincinnati Reds

Description

1971 O-Pee-Chee Lee May #40 Cincinnati Reds They called him the Big Bopper of Birmingham, and in 1970 there may have been no more frightening right handed bat in the National League. Alex Collect is thrilled to present this 1971 O-Pee-Chee Lee May #40 Cincinnati Reds card, a low number star single from the Canadian bilingual issue, showing the great slugger stretching for a throw at first base in full game action. Verified by the photographs, this is a Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back, printed in Canada with May's biography in English and French and the Fiche Comme Frappeur Dans Les Majeures heading over his statistics, the printed-in-Canada hallmark that makes it meaningfully scarcer than the American Topps counterpart while using the same magnificent black border design that defines the 1971 set. The back of this card tells you everything about May's prime, proudly noting his place as one third of the Reds' famed Murderers Row alongside Johnny Bench and Tony Perez, crediting him with 94 home runs and 284 runs batted in across the previous three seasons, including no fewer than three grand slams in 1970 alone. That was the year Cincinnati won the pennant, and May punctuated it by homering in the World Series against the eventual champion Baltimore Orioles. He topped 30 homers again in 1971, then became the centrepiece of one of the most consequential trades in baseball history, heading to Houston in the blockbuster that delivered Joe Morgan to Cincinnati and completed the Big Red Machine. May simply kept hitting, piling up 354 career home runs over 18 seasons with the Reds, Astros, Orioles and Royals, earning three All-Star selections and teaming for years with his brother Carlos May as the game's premier slugging siblings. Studying the photographs, this copy presents with strong eye appeal and honest vintage wear, showing light to moderate corner wear with the lower left tip most affected, a small edge chip visible on the left border where the black frame has flaked to white in a spot or two, centering shifted slightly left of perfect but entirely presentable, vivid infield action colour with no creases, wrinkles, stains or writing on the front, and a clean bilingual back with sharp dual language print and only light corner touches. As always with 1971 black borders we grade with humility, arriving at a conservative EX 5 that should satisfy even cautious buyers. Low number stars from the Canadian 1971 issue, especially Big Red Machine cornerstones with 354 career homers, are perennial hobby favourites and this example is priced to move. Grade Estimate: EX 5