Hell Bent For Leather

You know the Topps crew had fun assembling this card:

A play at the plate, Bourjos captured mid-stride. Torii thinks he's safe. Albert is kinda doubtful.

Of course, it all depends on if the Royals catcher there can hold the ball and apply the tag, but I'd say likely so. But then reading game logs on Baseball Reference leads only to a game exactly a year ago today, or yesterday. But not yet on the West Coast as I type after midnight here.

Of the four games with the Royals @ Angels, none of them feature Bourjos being thrown out at the plate. He does score on a bases-clearing single, on 7/23/12 and that must be this shot. The KC catcher dropped the ball.

But that was my fun assembling this blog post. Topps had their fun on the back of the card:

Here's what it says, a little more squint-less:

Cow-milking contest? What league are we in here? Did this card escape from Pro Debut somehow?

Horsehide? An old baseball term. I'll save you the inquisitive clicking; I already checked - until the 1980s the leather cover of a baseball was made from horsehide.

So a vintage term on a modern-era glossy baseball 'card' from the minor leagues somewhere. And I still learn things about the game of baseball courtesy of Topps Chewing Gum Co.