Old School Errors: Forrest Goes "Smoky"

First off, Smoky is from NC. Pretty appropriate for a guy from NC, where every house has an out door, indirect smoker in operation from May to late September.

What's not to like about a catcher who, despite having LIMITED speed, is still shown stealing a base on his '56 Topps card? And by "limited" I mean he was 1-2 in steal attempts in 1955 (he looks safe here) and 13-27 lifetime over 18 seasons. Guessing CC might have been able to show Smoky a thing or two. Or maybe Smoky was just that slow. At 5'8, 180 lbs. I imagine he had to get a pretty good head of steam going before hitting full stride.

Love how the back calls him "Smokey" while in both his sig and the front he's "Smoky." Admittedly, we folks from the South aren't much for spelling things how other folks might see fit to spell them, but that's pretty rich. Laziness in the Topps print room? Someone just assuming Smoky was an idiot who couldn't spell his own name? You can almost hear the editors and proofreaders arguing over that, finally deciding to go with "Smoky" on the front but "Smokey" on the back, just to be safe. It's the kind of confusion that makes the old school cards great, free of the manufactured "Pedroia with a Yankis Logo" crap that passes for errors and oddities these days.

Have a great one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!