Happy birthday to Bill Freehan!

I owe you guys a couple more trade posts, not to mention plenty more that show off lots of pickups from the last few months.  But that would involve scanning and writing, and I'm too lazy for that right now.  Besides, today is a special day that deserves its own post:

Happy birthday to former #Tigers catcher and 1968 World Series champion, Bill Freehan! 🎉🎂 pic.twitter.com/z8YMOK0XGJ

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) November 29, 2017

That's right, Tigers catching great (and favorite player of John's Big League Baseball Blog) Bill Freehan turns 76 years old today!

The 15-year catcher and '68 champ has a special place in my collection because not only was he a a Tigers fan favorite, he also played ball (and later coached) for my alma mater, which I may have mentioned before is the University of Michigan (yep, football too!).

While has health has been in decline for a while, mostly due to Alzheimer's, it's still easy for a fan like myself to picture him in his prime at and behind the plate, despite the fact that he played his final season seven years before I was even born.

So why not celebrate Bill's birthday with a Plaschke Thy Sweater is Argyle special:  a pentafecta?  The quick rundown is that it includes a rookie, relic, patch, autograph, and 1/1.  Since I have a pretty decent Freehan PC, that won't even make me break a sweat:

Of course Freehan's lone RC is this 1963 Topps which he shares with three others in all their floaty-headed goodness.

For the relic I chose this classy looking 2001 SP Legendary Cuts Debut bat.  While I have a number of choices here (especially thanks to the 2005 version) I quickly decided on this simple but elegant Upper Deck offering.

Speaking of 2005 SP Legendary Cuts (which recycles that commonly used photo), it's currently my only option for a patch example.  As a matter of fact, Bill doesn't seem to have any such cards outside of this very product.

My autograph selection faced plenty of stiff competition including the likes of Fleer's Greats of the Game and multiple UD choices (2004 Timeless Teams and 2005 Past Time Pennants come to mind).  But in the end I had to go with the beautiful 2005 Topps Retired Signature, in this case the Refractor version (which was removed from its uncirculated-style case before I acquired it).  It's simply an amazing set and the Refractor factor puts it over the top.

Believe it or not, I was more limited when it came time to select a patch than choosing a 1/1 as I have a pair of those.  The runner-up from 2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites was a very close second thanks to its cool retro action shot.  Still, this post is all about celebrating a portrait of the athlete as a young man, so I gave this 2006 Greats of the Game Magenta plate the nod despite the third instance of that photo out of the five cards I chose!

So here's to one of Motown's best backstops.  Happy birthday, Bill!