Today marks the 77th birthday of Frank "Hondo" Howard, aka "The Capital Punisher". Hondo enjoyed his finest years with the Dodgers and Senators, but I've always been fascinated by the brief period he spent with the Tigers at the end of his career. This wonderful photo was taken on September 1, 1972, the day after the Tigers had purchased Howard from the Texas Rangers, hoping that his once-fearsome bat still had enough pop in it to assist in their pennant run.(He would hit only .242 for them with one homer and 7 RBIs in 14 games.)
The story behind the photo is as follows: When Howard met up with the Tigers in Oakland, the team didn't have a road jersey big enough to fit his massive 6'7", 250+ pound frame — other than a spare that belonged to portly southpaw Mickey Lolich. (Tigers coach Charlie Silvera, pictured in the middle, is no dummy — he's pretty sure he can tell who the REAL Mickey Lolich is. The Oakland fans in the stands are probably too stoned to give a shit.)
The following night, September 2, Frank and Mickey were both in the starting lineup for the Tigers, presumably wearing the jerseys pictured above. Oddly, this wouldn't be the last time two Lolich jerseys were seen on the same diamond during a major league game — in 1973, Mickey would face his younger, less beefy cousin Ron six times in games against the Cleveland Indians. Ron only got one hit off Mickey, a double in the Tribe's 6-3 victory on August 31.
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