Monday, September 22, 2014

Who's Who in Baseball - 1967



I found this magazine recently at an antique store in Avalon, NJ. I collected several of these back in the 1960s, including (I’m sure) this one. I may still have them stashed in my house somewhere, but for $1.00 I couldn’t pass up this one.

I briefly leafed through the magazine in the store, and although you can find the stats and trades on Baseball-Reference.com, this mag also notes the dates of players’ trips to the disabled list, which is a plus.

I examined each page a few days ago, and discovered that every player (except Athletics’ pitcher Bill Edgerton) has a thumbnail pic next to his stats. (This surprised me, because I recalled that many rookies did not have photos in some years.) For some reason, EVERY photo showed the player in a blacked-out cap.

The mag has the career major and minor league stats for every major-league player active at press time (which seemed to be sometime in December 1966, because the off-season trades of Maury Wills to the Pirates and Mike McCormick to the Giants are noted).


Almost every player that had a card (and about 3 dozen players on "Rookie Stars" cards) in the 1967 Topps set was included in this magazine, but I was also surprised to see the following players without 1967 cards included (maybe they were not released or retired by press time):

Robin Roberts (includes “released by Cubs 10/4/66”)
Joey Jay
Jim Duckworth
Bill Edgerton
Sandy Koufax (includes “announced retirement 11/18/66”)
Joe Adcock (includes “appointed Indians manager 10/3/66”)
Junior Gilliam
Harvey Kuenn
Bob Lillis
Roy McMillan
Al Spangler
Dick Stuart


At the back of the book is a list of “10-year veterans who played in 1966 who are not on a major-league roster in 1967”:

Ed Bailey
Don Blasingame
Frank Bolling
Smoky Burgess (later re-signed by the White Sox, and given a ’67 card)
Wes Covington
Del Crandall
Joe Cunningham
Gene Freese
Lenny Green (later re-signed by the Tigers, but no ’67 card)
Eddie Kasko
Marty Keough
Hector Lopez
Jerry Lynch
Frank Malzone
Felix Mantilla (later re-signed by the Cubs, and given a ’67 card)
Bobby Richardson
Andre Rogers (later re-signed by the Pirates, and given a ’67 card)
Bob Skinner
Frank Thomas
Roger Craig
Bob Friend
Ray Herbert
Billy Hoeft
Johnny Klippstein (later re-signed by the Tigers, and given a ’67 card)
Jim Owens (later re-signed by the Astros, and given a ’67 card)
Bob Purkey
Steve Ridzik
Ed Roebuck


On the back cover, and inside the 2 covers are full-page photos of Juan Marichal, Gary Peters, and Matty Alou.  I didn't scan any inside pages, because I don't want to flatten the magazine on my scanner, fearing the pages will detach.

A nice little reference guide for roster geeks from back in the day!
 

Sunday, September 14, 2014

RIP - Frank Torre

 
Frank Torre, former 1st baseman for the Braves and Phillies, and older brother of Joe Torre, passed away on September 13, 2014 of a heart attack at age 82.


Frank played for the Milwaukee Braves from 1956 to 1960, and played in the World Series in both 1957 and 1958. The Braves met the Yankees both times, winning in '57 but losing in '58. Torre played every game in both Series, and was a key contributor in the '57 Series, batting .300 with 2 homers and 3 RBI.

Although Frank and Joe were both in the Braves' organization at the same time, they were never teammates.

After spending 1961 in the minors, he resurfaced with the Phillies in 1962 and 1963.

Following his baseball career, Torre worked for the Rawlings sporting goods company, and was an executive for the Baseball Assistance Team.

Torre had been in failing health in recent decades, receiving a heart transplant in 1996 and a kidney transplant in 2007.

New York Times obituary

New York Daily News obituary

ESPN obituary
 

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

RIP - Jerry Lumpe


Former American League 2nd baseman Jerry Lumpe succumbed to cancer on August 16, 2014, at age 81 in Springfield, MO.


Lumpe was a bench player for the Yankees from 1956 to early 1959, then after his late-May trade to the Athletics, he was Kansas City's starting 2nd baseman through the 1963 season.

Jerry was traded to the Tigers prior to the 1964 season, and manned 2nd base for them from 1964-66. He wrapped up his career in 1967 as a bench player for Detroit, missing the World Championship team by one season.

Springfield, MO obituary

New York Times obituary

Legacy.com
 

Friday, August 1, 2014

1955 Granny Hamner Red Man Tobacco Card


Wow! After having none of the 1955 Red Man Tobacco cards for the first 59 years of their existence, I now have my 2nd card in three months. Now that's progress!

A few weeks ago, I returned to the same Pennsylvania Dutch-area antique store where I found this card, and snared another Phillie: the Whiz Kids' SS/2B Granny Hamner.

(The card back is identical to the Simmons card.) 

Hamner's major-league career spanned from 1944 to 1962, and he was the Phillies' regular shortstop (and later their 2nd baseman) from 1949 to 1957. Traded to the Indians during the 1959 season, he played in the minors from 1960-62 before retiring.

Friday, July 25, 2014

1960s Blog Hall of Fame Results (#6)



Congratulations to veteran starting pitchers Whitey Ford and Warren Spahn on their induction into the 1960s Blog Hall of Fame. They join the 23 others shown below.





After receiving 66% of the vote last time, Ford leapfrogged over Spahn and 3rd baseman Eddie Mathews, and became the first inductee to receive 100% of the vote.

Only 6 people voted this time (down from 18 last time) with all voting occurring in the first 2 days of the voting period. (Have all the good players already been elected?)

After 4 votes, Mathews and outfielder Roger Maris were still in the running, but first Maris, and then Mathews, dropped below the 75% mark, each missing induction by 1 vote. Twins' 2nd baseman Rod Carew finished strong to match their 67%.


Complete results:

Four players received less that the minimum 15% to be retained for the next ballot.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

1960s Blog Hall of Fame (#6)


Time again for the semi-annual 1960s Blog Hall of Fame Election!



Last time, Lou Brock was the only player inducted, joining the other 22 members in the Hall. Nobody received less than 15% of the vote, so all other candidates are returning this time:

Jim Bunning
Rod Carew
Orlando Cepeda
Whitey Ford
Roger Maris
Eddie Mathews
Ron Santo
Warren Spahn
Billy Williams
Norm Cash
Ferguson Jenkins
Tony Oliva
Frank Howard
Dave McNally
Boog Powell

Added to the ballot this time is pitcher Ted Abernathy, who missed the cut on the inaugural ballot.

Because of the recent failures of the Google Blogger poll widget, this Hall of Fame voting will take place in the comments section below (similar to what is going on over at the "$30 a Week Habit" blog). I know it's a bit cumbersome to type in up to 8 names, but I don't want to lose votes if the poll goes on the fritz again.

You can vote for up to 8 of the 16 people on the ballot. Candidates selected by 75% of the voters will be inducted. Those receiving less than 15% will be removed from the next ballot. The poll will be open until next Friday 7/25.

Here is the voting history for all the current candidates:

Click on the "hall of fame ballot" label below to see the results of all previous elections.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

RIP - Earl Robinson


Former Orioles' outfielder Earl Robinson passed away on July 4, 2014 at age 77.

He was a standout college baseball and basketball player at the University of California - Berkeley in the 1950s.

Long before Frank Robinson (no relation) was patrolling right field for the Orioles, Earl was out there, sharing the starting job with the veteran Whitey Herzog as a rookie in 1961. Earl appeared briefly with the Dodgers in 1958, then played all of '61 and most of '62 with the Orioles.


Robinson was back in the minors for all of 1963, then split the 1964 season between the Orioles and their triple-A team. He retired after playing the 1965 season with the Cubs' triple-A team.

Cal Berkeley obituary


(1961 card appropriated from the $30 a Week Habit blog) 

Monday, June 23, 2014

Jim Bunning Hall of Fame Poster


With all the recent hoopla about Jim Bunning's perfect game on Fathers' Day 50 years ago, I was reminded of a poster I picked up a few years ago.

I found this tonight, and remembered that I got it at a yard sale. They had a whole stack of them for sale, so I picked up one for me and one for my brother.

This poster is from 1996, when Bunning was inducted into the Hall of Fame.


The poster is 8 1/2" x 11", with a very high gloss on the front. Surrounding Bunning's portrait are all his Topps individual baseball cards from 1957 to 1971, plus the NL Strikeout Leaders card from the 1967 set. At the bottom is the ticket from the perfect game against the Mets in June 1964.
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Sunday, June 15, 2014

RIP - Bill McCool


Former left-handed reliever Bill McCool passed away on June 8, 2014 at age 69.


Signed by the Cincinnati Reds in 1963, he made his major-league debut at age 19 in April 1964, and was named to the Topps All-Rookie Team that season. McCool pitched for the Reds from 1964 to 1968. He led the team in saves in both 1965 and 1966, and made the all-star team in 1966.

Selected by the San Diego Padres in the October 1968 expansion draft, Bill pitched one season for the Padres, before finishing his major-league career with the Cardinals in 1970. In 1971, he pitched in triple-A ball for the Royals and Twins before retiring.

In 2013 he was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame, where he pitched in high school in 1962.

 Obituary
 

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

RIP - Don Zimmer


Former player, manager, and coach Don Zimmer passed away on June 4th, 2014 at the age of 83. He had been hospitalized since mid-April following heart surgery.

Zimmer played 3B and SS in the majors from 1954 to 1965, for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, and also the Cubs, Mets, Reds, and Senators. He also played in Japan in 1966.


After his playing career, he was a big-league coach, and also managed the Padres (1972-73), Red Sox ('76-'80), Rangers ('81-'82), and Cubs ('88-'91). More recently, he was a Yankees' coach during the Joe Torre regime, and for the past 10 years has been with the Tampa Bay Rays.

CBS obituary

Sunday, May 18, 2014

1955 Curt Simmons Red Man Tobacco card


Here's an unusual find - not from the 1960s, but the player was still active in the 1960s.

Last weekend I was out and about to several flea markets and antique stores in my area, and I found this Curt Simmons card. This is a 1955 Red Man Tobacco card, which appears to be cut out of a box, similar to the early-1960s Post and Jell-O cards. The bottom edge is a little rough, which I have cropped in the photo of the card front.

I had no idea these cards even existed, but this vendor had the Simmons card, along with a 1955 Granny Hamner and a 1953 Robin Roberts (both Red Man cards).


In the same display case were other assorted Topps baseball cards from the 1950s - 1970s. The only one that jumped out at me was a 1973 Roberto Clemente card, issued in the year after his untimely death.

At that point in my day, I only had enough money left for one of these cards, so the vintage Simmons card (from a set that I had no other cards from) won out over the '73 Clemente. Maybe next time, Roberto.

Friday, April 18, 2014

RIP - Bill Henry


Bill Henry, who had a 16-year career (1952-69) as a relief pitcher for 6 teams, passed away on April 11, 2014 at age 86.


Henry began his pro career in 1948, and pitched for the Red Sox from 1952-55. After 2 full seasons in the minors, he returned to the majors in 1958 with the Cubs.

Traded to Cincinnati before the 1960 season, he pitched for the Reds for 5+ years until moving to the Giants in May 1965. He was with the Giants for several seasons, and pitched for the Pirates at the end of the 1968 season.

Bill was in training camp with the expansion Seattle Pilots in 1969, but retired briefly until coming back with the Astros for a few months later that season.

Reports that Henry had passed away in 2007 were later attributed to identity theft.


Obituary

 

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Vintage child's baseball jacket


Who among you readers had one of these back in the 1960s? My brother and I had jackets similar to this one back in the early 1960s. One of us had a red jacket, while the other's was dark blue.

That jacket was probably my first clue about which teams were in the major leagues, since I had it for several years before collecting baseball cards. What ever happened to it?  I dunno, chances are I left it outside until the weather and insects made it unwearable.

I found this photo on the internet a few weeks ago. This particular jacket has 2 Mets patches on it, which seems unusual since not all teams are represented. Just like with my jacket, this one has a 'Red Legs' patch (since a team simply called the 'Reds' must surely be communist!)

                             (photo mis-appropriated from the interwebs)

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Trades: Wheelin' and Dealin' (Jan. 1965)


Another installment in the occasional series about some big trades in the 1960s: 

On January 20, 1965, the White Sox, Indians, and Athletics completed an 8-player, 3-team trade.


Going from Cleveland to Chicago were Tommy John, Johnny Romano, and outfield prospect Tommie Agee.

Chicago sent Fred Talbot, Mike Hershberger, and Jim Landis to the Athletics. The White Sox also sent Camilo Carreon to the Indians.

The Athletics only gave up one player, sending Rocky Colavito to the Indians.

It's easy to assume that Colavito was the biggest name in this deal, since Kansas City got 3 players in return for one. The Chisox gave up 4 players to get 3, while the Indians gave up 3 players to get two.

Although Colavito was the biggest name at the time, Tommy John was the long-term star, playing an additional TWENTY-FOUR seasons for the White Sox, Dodgers, Yankees, and Angels. Tommie Agee was a starting outfielder for the White Sox and Mets from 1966-1973, and starred in the 1969 World Series for the Mets. John Romano was Chicago's starting catcher in '65 and '66, before wrapping up his career in 1967 as a reserve with the Cardinals.


The Indians and Athletics didn't fare as well in this deal:

Colavito was washed up by the end of 1966, and finished his career bouncing to the White Sox, Dodgers, and Yankees from 1967-69. Camilo Carreon spent most of '65 and '66, and all of 1967 in the minors before retiring.

Longtime White Sox' center fielder Jim Landis was an A's regular in 1965, then spent 1966 in Cleveland before ending his career in 1967 with several teams. Mike Hershberger played several seasons with the A's before returning to the White Sox for his final season in 1971. Fred Talbot pitched briefly for Kansas City, before moving to the Yankees for several seasons, and popping up on the Seattle Pilots in 1969 (much to Jim Bouton's dismay).


Advantage: White Sox

Saturday, February 22, 2014

1960s Blog Hall of Fame Results (#5)


Congratulations to Lou Brock, on his induction into the 1960s Blog Hall of Fame. He joins the 21 players and 1 manager shown below.




There were 18 votes this time. Former Braves teammates Eddie Mathews and Warren Spahn each missed induction by 1 vote.  Yankees' pitcher Whitey Ford missed induction by 2 votes. Frankly, I'm surprised that these 3 players were not slam-dunks on their first ballot. Still, this is the highest percentage each has received in their 4 times on the ballot.


First-timers Frank Howard and Boog Powell each received 38% of the votes. Jim Bunning, Orlando Cepeda, Roger Maris, and Ron Santo increased their percentage slightly, while Rod Carew stayed the same, and Billy Williams lost ground since last time.

Nobody received less that the minimum 15% to be retained for the next ballot, so they will all be back for another try.



Friday, February 14, 2014

RIP - Jim Fregosi


Former major-league shortstop and manager Jim Fregosi passed away February 14, 2014 at age 71, after suffering a massive stroke while on a MLB Alumni Caribbean cruise. He also suffered subsequent strokes while in a Miami hospital.


Fregosi began his major-league career as a shortstop for the expansion Los Angeles Angels in 1961, although he was not on the team from the start of their inaugural season. He was the Angels' starting shortstop from 1962 to 1971, and was a 6-time all-star while an Angel.

After 1971, he was infamously traded to the Mets for Nolan Ryan, and played 3B/1B for the Mets and Rangers from 1972-1977.

He began the 1978 season as a utility infielder for the Pirates, but retired midway through the season to accept the Angels' manager's job. Fregosi managed the Angels from 1978 to 1981, the White Sox from 1986 to 1988, the Phillies from 1991 to 1996, and the Blue Jays from 1999 to 2000. His Phillies won the NL pennant in 1993.

After his managerial career, Fregosi scouted for the Braves.

ESPN obituary

Statement from Los Angeles Angels

AP obituary



UPDATE:
As of 6pm today, there are a number of tributes to Jim Fregosi, as shown on my 1967 sidebar. This doesn't include a great post by WhiteSoxCards, who had since moved on to another post.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Latest Card Haul


I was planning on this next post being another episode in my quest for 1964 Topps Giant baseball cards, as I was returning to the same store where I made 3 previous purchases. Alas, when I started looking through the display case, only Pete Ward (who I already have) was there, so I turned my attention to other 1960s-vintage cards.

I always keep a small want list of 1966 and 1970 cards in my wallet, because I never know when I'll need it. Today it came in handy, as I scored a high-numbered 1966 Senators Rookies card that I needed. I also upgraded my '66 Dave McNally, which I had posted to my 1966 blog a few weeks ago.


I only wish I had a portable want list for the '64 and '65 cards, because I had no idea who I needed (especially the '64s). I didn't really intend to work on those 2 sets, but these excellent-condition cards were dirt-cheap, so I couldn't pass them up. I just selected a bunch of guys that I never heard of before, plus Dick Williams, Birdie Tebbetts, and the trophy-laden Al Weis, which I knew I didn't have. For the '65s, I was pretty sure I didn't have Farrell, Pinson, and Demeter.

On the football side, there were too many to pick from, so I chose two 1965 Philadelphia Gum Cards: Tony Liscio (Rayfield Wright's predecessor at offensive tackle), and Ben Wilson. I knew of Wilson from watching Super Bowl II highlights on cable. He had a monster day moving the chains for the Packers that day, on their way to a 2nd consecutive SB championship. Almost all of my pre-1967 football cards are Philadelphia Eagles, so this is a new direction for my football card collecting.

This represents the first base-set baseball cards I've purchased since November 2010 (except for the 1970 Seattle Pilots team card, shown in this recent post on the 1969 Pilots). Since then, I've only been getting '64 giant cards, coins, and early-1960s Philadelphia Eagles' cards.

Maybe this will push me to expand my '65 and '64 baseball sets.

Friday, January 10, 2014

1960s Blog Hall of Fame (#5)


Time again for the semi-annual 1960s Blog Hall of Fame Election!


Last time, Dick Allen was the only player inducted, joining the other 21 members in the Hall. Candidates receiving less than 15% of the vote (Maury Wills, Joe Torre) were dropped from the ballot.

The following 9 players are the holdovers from the last ballot:
Jim Bunning
Rod Carew
Orlando Cepeda
Whitey Ford
Roger Maris
Eddie Mathews
Ron Santo
Warren Spahn
Billy Williams


A write-in feature was added last time, but only one of the 16 voters used it, so I am removing it from the ballot.  Instead, 7 players have been added to the ballot this time.

These 4 are returning, after being dropped following the first ballot:
Lou Brock
Norm Cash
Ferguson Jenkins
Tony Oliva

Also added to the ballot for the first time are:
Frank Howard
Dave McNally
Boog Powell


You can vote for up to 8 of the 16 players on the ballot. Candidates selected by 75% of the voters will be inducted.  Those receiving less than 15% will be removed from the next ballot.


Here is the voting history for all the current candidates:
I have brought back some of the players who were dropped after the first ballot, since that ballot had different voting rules than all subsequent ballots.  The first time around, the top vote-getter at each position was inducted, regardless of percentage, and all candidates had to compete with the likes of Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, etc. (Players dropped after ballot #2 and later will probably not return on a future ballot, since their low percentage was achieved under the current voting rules.)


Click on the "hall of fame ballot" label below to see the results of all previous elections.