RIP - Sandy Alomar Sr.

 

Sandy Alomar, a 2nd baseman for six teams from 1964 to 1978, passed away on October 13, 2025 at age 81.

Alomar was with 4 organizations during 1967: the Braves and Astros before the season, and the Mets and White Sox during the season. 

 

He saw regular playing time every season from 1968 to 1975 (with the White Sox, Angels, and Yankees), and had over 600 at-bats every year from 1969 to 1972, leading the AL in that category in 1971. 

 

After his playing career, he was a coach from 1986 to 2009, including a stint with the Padres, while his 2 sons were making their MLB debuts with the team.

 

ESPN obituary  

 

CBS Sports obituary 

    

RIP - Mike White

 

Mike White, an outfielder for the 1964 Houston Colt .45s, passed away on August 25, 2025 at age 86.

White played in the minors every season from 1959 to 1969, except for 1964. 

 

Although he played a few games with the 1963 Colts and the 1965 Astros, the bulk of his major-league action came in 1964, when he shared the center field starts with Jim Wynn and Carroll Hardy. 

 

While playing youth baseball, he was a teammate of future White Sox pitcher Joel Horlen.  

 

Baseball Almanac (on Facebook) obituary 

(Sorry for using a Facebook link, It's the only obit I could find.)

    

Jim Perry is 90

 

Happy 90th birthday (10/30) to Jim Perry!

Error Cards I Have Known

 

Below are the error cards I have spotted in the baseball sets I collect. (Not including minor typographical errors.) 

 

 

1963 

Eli Grba's card has a photo of Ryne Duren. 

Ken Hubbs' card is missing the position. 

 

1964 

Phillies Rookies card (that features Dave Bennett) says "This 19-year-old pitcher is just 18 years old!" 

 

1965 

Reds' catcher Don Pavletich's card has a position of "Pitcher". 

Jim Kaat's last name is mispelled on the front as "Katt". (I refuse to believe this is a typo. Some flunkie at Topps just didn't know how his name was spelled.) 

 

1966 

Dick Ellsworth's card has a photo of Ken Hubbs, Ellsworth's teammate who died 2 years earlier. 

George Banks' position is OF-3B on the front, 3B-OF on the back. 

 

1967 

The first Tigers Rookies card has an incorrect photo (corrected on the 2nd rookies card). 

The White Sox team card has the Cleveland Indians' statistics on the back. 

On the 3rd series checklists issued with the 2nd series, #214 incorrectly says "Dick Kelley". This was corrected to "Tom Kelley" on the checklists issued in 3rd series packs. (Dick Kelley's card is #138.)

Milt Pappas' card is missing the autograph. 

On Harmon Killebrew's card, the team name "TWINS" should be green, not yellow. 

On the Twin Terrors card, the card name (in place of the team name) should be green, not purple. 

On the Sox Sockers card, the card name (in place of the team name) should be purple, not orange. 

Luis Aparicio's position is "INFIELD" on the front, "SHORTSTOP" on the back. 

Johnny Klippstein's card has pitching stats on the back, but with a "Batting Record" heading. 

Charlie Lau's first name on the back of the card is "Charley". 

 

1968 

The Topps rookie trophy is missing from the cards for Rick Monday, Dick Hughes, and Rich Nye.

 

1969 

Aurelio Rodriguez's card has a photo of the Angels' bat boy. 

The photo on Larry Haney's card is reversed. 

SF Giant Frank Johnson's card has a cartoon on the back that says he plays for the Cubs. 

 

1970 

The Topps rookie trophy is missing from the card for Carlos May. 

Gil Garrido's card has his name misspelled as "Gill" on the front. 

Woody Woodward's and Richie Scheinblum's cards have their positions shown as S.S. and O.F. respectively. The periods are not necessary!

   

RIP - Bill Denehy

 

Bill Denehy, the pitcher the Mets traded to the Senators to acquire the services of manager Gil Hodges, passed away on June 27, 2025 at age 79.

Denehy played in the minors every season from 1964 to 1973. After spending his first 4 seasons in the Mets' chain, he played for 8 different organizations in his final 6 seasons.

 

Along the way, he managed to play 15 games for the 1967 Mets, and 31 games for the 1971 Tigers.

 

Perhaps more noteworthy than his career is the fact that he had a very expensive rookie card:

Hartford Courant obituary  

 

Newsweek Magazine obituary 

   

RIP - Bob Oldis

 

Bob Oldis, a backup catcher for the Phillies and Pirates in the early-1960s, passed away on September 21, 2025 at age 97.

Oldis played in the minors ever season from 1949 to 1961, except for 1954 and 1960. He played a few games for the Senators from 1953-55, then it was back to the bushes until he resurfaced with the Pirates in 1960. 

 

After seeing limited action for parts of 2 seasons with Pittsburgh, he finished his career with the Phillies in 1962 and 1963. His plate appearances in those 2 seasons (96, 89) eclipsed his previous high of 26 with the 1954 Senators. 

 

After his playing career, he coached for the Phillies (1964-66), Twins (1968), and Expos (1969). Later, he scouted for the Phillies, Expos, and Marlins.

 

Newsweek obituary  

 

Penn-Live Patriot-News obituary 

    

RIP - Jim Dickson

 

Jim Dickson, a relief pitcher for the Kansas City Athletics and others during the mid-1960s, passed away on September 9, 2025 at age 87.

Dickson pitched in the minors every season from 1958-1970, except for the '63 and '65 seasons. He pitched for the Houston Colt .45s in 1963 and briefly with the Reds in 1964. 

 

Most of his playing time came in 1965 and 1966, working out of the Athletics bullpen, with the high point being his 68 appearances in 1965 (4th-most in the AL). 

 

Newsweek obituary

  

RIP - Dave Johnson

 

Dave Johnson, 2nd baseman for the great Orioles' teams of the late-60s and early-70s, passed away on September 5, 2025 at age 82.

Johnson played for the Orioles from 1965 to 1972, and was a 3-time All-Star. 

 

Traded to the Braves, he played there from 1973-74, and made the All-Star team again in 1973, the year he uncharacteristically hit 43 home runs. 

 

After 2 seasons in Japan, he returned to the States, playing for the Phillies in 1977 and splitting his final 1978 season between the Phillies and Cubs. 

 

Johnson later managed the Mets (1984-90), Reds (1993-95), Orioles (1996-97), Dodgers (1999-2000), and Nationals (2011-13).  

 

ESPN obituary 

 

CNN obituary 

  

RIP - Daryl Patterson

 

Daryl Patterson, a relief pitcher for the Tigers from 1968-1971, passed away on August 28, 2025 at age 81.

Patterson fashioned a 2.12 ERA in 38 games during his rookie season in 1968. He also appeared in 2 World Series games that season. 

 

His best season was 1970, posting career-highs in wins (7), games (43), innings (78), and strikeouts (55). 

 

In May 1971 he was traded to the Athletics, and a month later moved on to the Cardinals. After 2 seasons in the minors, he pitched briefly for the Pirates in 1974. 

 

Newsweek Magazine obituary

   

Ernie Broglio is 90

 

Happy 90th birthday (8/27) to Ernie Broglio!