The Cobra

In 1978 for one at bat, in one game, the 6'5 , 230 lb. Dave "The Cobra" Parker wore a hockey goalie mask for what has to be the most menacing sight ever witnessed inside a ballpark.

From the back of the card:

July 16,1978:  After suffering a broken jaw in a collision with Mets' 

catcher John Stearns on June, 30, Dave Parker returned to the Pirates' 

lineup well ahead of schedule to take on the Padres.  To protect his 

newly healed jaw Parker purchased a goalie mask at a sporting goods 

store.  Parker cut, painted and padded the mask himself to fit the contour 

of his face.  Perhps intimidated by his appearence, the Padres intention-

ally walked him that day.

The hockey goalie mask only lasted the one game with Parker switching 

to a football facemask affixed to his batting helmet that he wore only for 

base running.

I though it would be a cool idea to put the image of Parker in the goalie mask on a 1978 Topps style hockey card.  I thought it made the most sense to go with the color scheme used on the Penguins' cards for '78.