Card Lies: 1994 Upper Deck Ron Santo

1994 Upper Deck All-Time Heroes #201 - Ron Santo

Someone at Upper Deck had a brilliant idea.

"Why not do a set of All-Time heroes? This way, we can dip into the past and show that we're not just about current major league players, we are all about the history of the game."

Perhaps that was suggested by DeWayne Buice, when he was picking up one of his settlement checks from the company. Perhaps not.

No matter how the idea for this set came about, it was inspired. When it came to the selection of Ron Santo, I imagine the conversation went something like this...

"What about Ron Santo?"

"Yeah, he has a cult following in Chicago. Some are even suggesting he be elected to the Hall of Fame. Sure! He's a great Cubs guy."

"OK. Yeah. But remember when he almost came to the Angels?"

"Yeah..."

"Where did he end up instead?"

"The White Sox?"

"Yeah! Let's make the Ron Santo card a White Sox card. It will be eye catching. I have this great photo where he looks larger than life."

"OK. You've convinced me."

"Great! I'll get started on the design."

"Oh, uh, one more thing..."

"Yeah, Columbo?"

"You can keep him on the Sox, but for the head shot, use a nice Cubs photo. We don't want to confuse our customers."

So the Ron Santo White Sox card is all about the Cubs, except for the team designation and the largest photograph on the front, which features Ron in a mid-70s road jersey. Oh, and one sentence about ending his career with the White Sox. Way to tie everything together.

Sure, Santo was a shell of himself in his final season. He also HATED being on the White Sox, but apparently seething animosity is better than the west coast. I dislike when card companies phone it in. If Santo's greatest season is on the Cubs, just show him on the Cubs. If you are going to show him on the White Sox, don't half-ass it. Full-ass that card!