Cards That Never Were #7

1971 Topps - Tommie Sisk

I can understand the logic behind the lack of a Tommie Sisk White Sox card being included in the 1971 Topps set, but since when has logic been a big part of card sets?

The San Diego Padres traded Tommie to the White Sox right before the start of the 1970 season. Tommie already had a Padres card for the 1970 set and it was too late to airbrush a crude White Sox uniform on his card. Tommie's last game with the White Sox was June 14, 1970. The next day, Tommie was traded to the Indians. His last appearance with the White Sox was Tommie's last game in the Major Leagues.

Back in 1970, Topps didn't have an update set, so fans had to eagerly await the next year's release to see the players that were new to their favorite teams. Since Tommie spent the rest of the season in the Indians' minor league AAA farm club, I could see Topps reluctance to issue a card of Tommie in a White Sox uniform for the 1971 set.

Complicating things even further, Tommie wound up in the Expos' minor league system for the start of the 1971 season. Would Topps show Sisk in the last Major League uniform he wore, the uniform for his second half 1970 parent club, or his new 1971 parent club? Rather than wrestle with that complex issue, Topps decided not to include Tommie in their 1971 set. After 1971, there are no statistics for Tommie, so I would assume that he went into retirement.