Dwight Gooden

Artist Statement

Dwight Gooden made his major league debut at age 19, in 1984. That same year he earned a selection as an All-Star, won the National League Rookie of the Year Award, and led the league in strikeouts. The following year he won the National League Cy Young Award, led the league with a 1.53 ERA, led the league in both strikeouts (268) and complete games (16), and compiled a 24-4 won/loss record. In short, Dwight was a pitching phenomenon as soon as he entered the major leagues.

“Doc,” as he became known, had a devastating fastball and a wicked curve. The combination of the two pitches in his prime made him nearly unhittable. 

The Flamethrower painting was the very first painting I produced for Fleer. In fact, the painting was done before I was even commissioned to create the series. I painted the piece and submitted it to Fleer as an example of what I thought images of special art cards should be. A year or so later, a new Fleer executive found the image and my letter in a desk drawer and called me. The rest, as they say, is history—and the Fleer Pro-Vision line was born.