
They recounted the Frisella they knew after Frisella's passing in January 1977, from a dune buggy accident.
"When you were down, he would pat you on the back and say 'Get 'em next time," teammate Jerry Augustine told The Sentinel. "He was really good for the young players and kept everybody loose. I just can't believe he's really dead."
Frisella made that impression though his time with the Brewers was brief. Traded there in June 1976 from the Cardinals, he still managed to get into 32 games for the Brewers, compiling a team-leading nine saves.
Frisella's accident happened that Jan. 1, meaning that by the time his 1977 Topps card came out, he had already passed.
Frisella's card came in a grab bag group I recently picked up on a trip to Vermont. There were actually six 1977 Topps cards in the group: Rick Sawyer, Ron Reed, George Mitterwald, Bob Montgomery and Tony Muser.

The back of his Topps card has his stats back to 1968 in Reno. He got into four games there, giving up nine earned runs in 10 innings.
It also has a cartoon about a cartoonist, noting former major leaguer Al Demaree, who played eight seasons in the 1910s, became a cartoonist.

As pinch hitters go, the first pinch-hit grand slam, according to the cartoon, was hit by the Cardinals' Mike O'Neill June 3, 1902.

In 1976, Montgomery got into 31 games, with three home runs. One of those home runs, Topps notes, was key to a Boston win over the Yankees. In 1975, he had four of the team's first 11 game-winning RBIs, Topps notes.
The 1977 set was coming off a presidential election year, noted in the Montgomery cartoon. Campaigning that year for Gerald Ford was Joe Garagiola, the cartoon explains.

During his basketball years, Reed made the majors, but only for two games in 1966 and three in 1967. After that, his big league pitching time increased. He played into 1984.
According to the cartoon on the back, Roberto Clemente was the hitting star of the 1971 World Series.

He went to the Cubs after a 1973 season where he was the American League's top defensive catcher, according to the card back. He debuted at first base April 12, 1975.
The cartoon includes the nickname of Willie Jones. Jones played 15 seasons in the majors, from 1947 to 1961, mostly with the Phillies. According to the cartoon, Jones' nickname: Puddin' Head.

The Brewers chose to honor Frisella by wearing a black arm band in his memory throughout the 1977 season. Without having a 1978 Brewers card handy, a quick check of Ebay shows those black arm bands honoring Frisella made it onto several 1978 Topps Brewers, including the Charlie Moore card above.
- Milwaukee Sentinel, Jan. 4, 1977: Frisella Was 'Heck of a Guy', Part 2
- Milwaukee Journal, April 6, 1977: Brewers' Honor to Frisella
- The Baseball Cube: 1978 Topps Charlie Moore
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