Grand Cards: A Champion's Stache: #6 Chet Lemon

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

A Champion's Stache: #6 Chet Lemon

In light of my newfound commitment to the greater good that is the collective power of Michigan fans growing mustaches for the September 5th opening game, I thought it best to recall a time 25 years ago when Mustaches led our own Detroit Tigers to their last World Series Championship

What age were you when Chet Lemon was still playing?

1984 Topps #611 Chet Lemon


Oh boy did we all love Chet Lemon when we first started collecting. By that time, he was the long established centerfielder for our beloved Tigers, and he was the man. His name was Chet freakin' Lemon, oh and let's not pretend that his awesome mustache didn't add to his appeal. It was all part of the full package, man--like Dmitri Young's Fro, or Nook Logan's hilariously awesome nickname that hides his hilariously awesome real name (Exavier), or anything that had to do with Milt Cuyler (ok, maybe that one was just me).

In 1984, Chet hit a solid .287 (which would turn out to be his career high with the Tigers), and OPSed .852 with the help of 20 Home Runs and 34 Doubles. With his 76 RBIs (and despite only 5 SBs) he was quite the Grandy-esque player at the time, perhaps setting the stage for the future? He hit .294 in the world series with 2 SBs but no power, as the Tigers went on to victory.

And to my knowledge, that awesome mustache stands to this very day.