Zisk’s Star Trident Comeback
Richie Zisk wielded his bat for the “Pittsburgh Lumber Company” and the “South Side Hitmen” during the 1970s. After serving as a strong batsman for hard hitting Pirates and White Sox teams, Zisk capitalized on his free agency to almost quintuple his salary, ending his brief stint in Chicago to become the Texas Rangers’ second-highest paid player in 1978. He finished his 13-season playing career with the Seattle Mariners, joining the team in 1981. Serving primarily as a designated hitter for the M’s, he was named the American League’s 1981 “Comeback Player of the Year” for raising his batting average from .290 to .311, hitting above .300 for the first time since 1974 and posting a slugging percentage of .485.
Detroit-area postcard photographer J.D. McCarthy snapped this 1981 portrait of Zisk at Tiger Stadium capturing him in his blue, star trident batting practice uniform. Specially designed for the 1979 All-Star Game at the Kingdom in Seattle, the star trident served as the team logo from 1981 to 1986 and appeared on the Mariners first batting practice uniform in 1980. Unique batting practice jerseys originated in 1971 with the Chicago White Sox and became popular throughout the MLB after Pete Rose appeared as an NL All-Star in his Phillies batting practice jersey in 1979.
McCarthy photographed many players on his home field in Detroit with the Tiger Stadium scoreboard in the background. For three decades between the early 1950s and the early 1980s, hundreds of players posed for McCarthy for portrait postcards mailed to fans in response mail and autograph requests. Thanks to a generous donation by collector Keith Olbermann, a substantial portion of J.D. McCarthy’s archive, containing portraits of more than 700 players, is now part of the permanent photograph collection at the Hall of Fame.
Jenny Ambrose is the former photo archivist at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Reproductions
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum features a collection of nearly 250,000 photographs like this one. Reproductions are available for purchase. To purchase a reprint of this photograph or others from the Photo Archive collections, please call (607) 547-0375 or email jhorne@baseballhall.org. Hall of Fame members receive a 10-percent discount.
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