1977 Topps Baseball #34 - California Angels / Norm Sherry

• Norm Sherry managed the 1976 California Angels after replacing Dick Williams on July 23.
• The Angels had a 37-29 record under Sherry to finish the 1976 season
• The Angels were picked by many to contend for the AL West title in 1977
• Sherry managed the Angels for the first 81 games of the 1977 season and had a 39-42 record before being fired on July 11.
• Norm had a long minor league career in the Brooklyn/LA Dodgers system before  making it to the  majors at the age of 27 at the end of the 1959 season.
• He played for various minor league clubs from 1950-1959 (excluding the two years he spent serving in Korea)
• Sherry was a backup catcher for the Dodgers from 1959-1962. He was credited for helping Sandy Koufax become a great pitcher by advising him to take a little off of his fastball to get better control.
• Norm was sold to the New York Mets after the 1962 season.
• He spent one year with the Mets (1963) and another year with the Mets' AAA Buffalo ballclub before calling it quits as a full-time player.
• Sherry was a player-manager for the Dodgers' Class A club from 1965-1967.
• Norm coached for the Angels in 1970 and 1971.
• In 1972 Sherry started managing in the Angels' system. Norm worked his way up the organization  until he became the manager of the major league club in 1976
• Sherry never managed again. He was a pitching coach for several seasons under Dick Williams at Montreal and San Diego and under Roger Craig in San Francisco.

• Team Highlights:
• April 6 - Frank Tanana pitched a shutout as the Angels won their season opener 7-0.
• May 30 - Dennis Eckersley pitched a no-hitter against the Angels. The only run of the game scored in the first inning when Duane Kuiper tripled and Jim Norris squeezed him in. Frank Tanana allowed only five hits but took the loss.
• June 8 - Nolan Ryan struck out 19 Toronto batters in ten innings but didn't get the decision.  The Angels ended up winning the game in 13 innings.
• July 12 - Tanana was scheduled to start for the AL in the All Star Game, but he had to bow out due to an inflamed elbow.
• July 14 - The Angels pulled their first triple play in team history against the Seattle Mariners. With two runners on base, Seattle's Lee Stanton hit a hard ground ball to 3B Ron Jackson. Jackson stepped on the bag, threw to 2B Jerry Remy to retire the runner on first, and Remy threw to first to retire Jackson and complete the triple play. 
• July 19 - Nolan Ryan was selected by manager Billy Martin to replace Tanana in the All Star Game. Ryan refused to play in the game and Martin thought Ryan should be suspended for the refusal.
• Sept 6 - The Angels claimed Dave Kingman off of waivers. It would be the third team Kingman would play for during the season.
• Sept 15 - The Angels waived Kingman after ten games. Kong ended up with the New York Yankees (his fourth team of the year).
• Sept 22 - Bert Blyleven of the Texas Rangers pitched a no-hitter against the Angels.
• Team Leaders:
• Batting Average: Gil Flores (.278)
• Runs: Bobby Bonds (103)
• Home Runs: Bobby Bonds (37)
• RBI: Bobby Bonds (115)
• Stolen Bases: Bobby Bonds / Jerry Remy (41)
• Wins: Nolan Ryan (19)
• Losses: Nolan Ryan (16)
• Strikeouts: Nolan Ryan (341)
• ERA (starter): Frank Tanana (2.54)
• ERA (reliever): Dyar Miller (3.02)
• Saves: Dave LaRoche (13)
• Team Stats:
• Record: 74-88, 5th in AL West, 28 games behind the Kansas City Royals
• Attendance: 1,432,633 (6th of 14 in AL)
• Batting Average: .255 (12th in AL)
• Runs Scored: 675 (10th in AL)
• Home Runs: 131 (9th in AL)
• Stolen Bases: 159 (3rd in AL)
• ERA: 3.72 (4th in AL)
• Fielding Percentage: .976 (10th in AL)
• League Leaders:
• ERA - Frank Tanana (2.54)
• Strikeouts - Nolan Ryan (341)
• Shutouts - Frank Tanana (7)
• Bases on Balls Nolan Ryan (204) - this was more than double the #2 pitcher (Jim Palmer with 99)
• Awards:
• Nolan Ryan (TSN Pitcher of the Year)
• AL All Stars:
• Nolan Ryan (P), Frank Tanana (P)
• Other card blogs (Norm Sherry): Number 5 Type Collection, centerfieldmaz, Baseball by the Letters