RIP - Jimmy Stewart

Former Cubs and Reds utility infielder Jimmy Stewart passed away on November 24, 2012 at age 73.

Stewart began his career with the Cubs in 1963, playing every infield and outfield position for 4 seasons, then moved across town to the White Sox in 1967.

After 3 seasons as a super-sub with the Reds, Stewart went to the Astros in the Joe Morgan trade, where he played his final 2 seasons.

After his playing career, he was a scout for the Reds.

Obituary and extended story from a Cincinnati newspaper

Topps' New Color Scheme

What do these 6 cards have in common?

In 1966, Topps created a new color scheme to identify the cards for each team. One AL and one NL team used each of ten colors, which were found on the card's nameplate and the diagonal banner. The same color scheme was used in the 1968 set and (with the addition of two colors for the four expansion teams) the 1969 set. The circles on the '68 and '69 cards were colored according to the player's team.

In the 1967 set, Topps strayed from that scheme. Although they still had an AL and NL team assigned to each color, the color assignments were shuffled to other teams, except for both "red teams" (Yankees and Dodgers), the Giants, and the Cubs. The team name at the bottom of the card was colored accordingly.

(Topps also replaced gray with light blue for the 1967 set.)

Why were the colors changed in 1967, only to revert back for the 1968 set? Not that I minded; my favorite color at the time was yellow, and my favorite team was the Phillies, so it was all good.

So, what do the cards above have in common? They are the only cards from 1966 to 1969 that did not follow the team color scheme.

RIP - Dave May

Former Orioles' and Brewers' outfielder Dave May passed away on October 20, 2012 at age 68. He had been battling cancer and diabetes.

May broke in with the Orioles in July 1967. After 3 seasons backing up Frank Robinson, Paul Blair, and Don Buford, Dave was traded to the Brewers in June 1970.

On a new team having little expectations, May finally got significant playing time as the team's regular center fielder. After the 1974 season he was traded to the Atlanta Braves for home run king Hank Aaron. Following short stints with Texas and Pittsburgh, he played in the Inter-American League in 1979, before retiring.

His son Derrick May played for the Cubs and other teams in the 1990s.


Obituary at MLB.com       and at Orioles Buzz

RIP - Roberto Rodriguez

Roberto Rodriguez passed away in his native Venezuela on September 23, 2012 at age 70.

Rodriguez pitched in the minors from 1964-74 for the Athletics, and later, the Cubs. He appeared in 15 games for the Kansas City Athletics in 1967, and spent most of the 1970 season in the majors with the A's, Padres, and Cubs.

He also played baseball in Venezuela from 1961-79, and later coached in his country.

Mickey Mantle Day - 1969

I found this button a few weeks ago at a nearby antique shop. It's a 4-inch pin commemorating Mickey Mantle Day on June 8, 1969 (just about 2 years after Whitey Ford retired). Mantle had retired during spring training that year, after 18 seasons in Yankees' pinstripes.

I've never been a Yankees fan, but (like just about every kid from my generation, I would guess,) I've always been a Mickey Mantle fan.

A few days later, I found out it was a re-issue made in the 1980s, but that's ok.

RIP - Jack Kralick

Former Twins' and Indians' pitcher Jack Kralick passed away in Mexico on September 18th, at age 77.


In 1961, Kralick moved to Minnesota with the rest of the 1960 Senators, and pitched the first no-hitter in Twins' history on August 26, 1962. (He lost a perfect game with 1 out in the 9th inning.)

In 1963 Jack was traded to the Indians for Jim Perry.  Kralick was traded to the Mets in May 1967 but did not play for the remainder of the season due to being in a car accident.  He retired before the 1968 season.


Obituary

and an appreciation from the DC Baseball blog

RIP - Bruce Von Hoff

Former major-league pitcher Bruce Von Hoff passed away at his home in Florida on September 11, 2012 at age 68.

Von Hoff pitched 13 games in the majors, including 10 starts with the 1967 Astros. He pitched in the minors from 1964-70.

Obituary here

1960s Blog Hall of Fame Results (#2)

The balloting for the 1960s Hall of Fame closed yesterday, and three players have been elected: Mickey Mantle, Frank Robinson, and Ernie Banks.

They join the 16 elected in the first class:


26 ballots were cast, with Mantle and Robinson each named on 23 ballots (88%), while Banks received 21 votes (81%). Richie Allen hovered around 75% for most of the time, but finished up with 65%.

It was a complete shock to me that the Mick wasn’t named on 100% of the ballots. I also thought that Whitey Ford and Warren Spahn (both first-timers) would be shoo-ins, although not with 100%. Spahn finished with 13 votes (50%) and Ford tallied 12 votes (46%).

I was surprised that Allen got so many votes early-on.  He was one of my favorite players back in the day, but given his MLB HOF snub and his surly past, I figured his popularity was confined to Philadelphia and Chicago fans only.  I also thought that Ron Santo might make the cut, since this election came right after his induction into Cooperstown. Santo and Orlando Cepeda (another first-timer) fell short with 58% of the vote.


Those receiving less than 15% will be dropped from the next ballot: Danny Murtaugh, Don McMahon, Ron Perranoski, Red Schoendienst, Elston Howard, Ralph Houk.
Held over for the next ballot will be: Allen, Cepeda, Santo, Spahn, Ford, Roger Maris, Jim Bunning, Maury Wills, Rod Carew, and Joe Torre (who just barely made the cut at 15%).


My ballot went this way:
Locks - Mantle, Robinson, Banks, Ford, Spahn
Deserving - Cepeda, Santo
Sentimental Pick - Maris

I had planned to vote for Allen, but opted for Maris.

Discuss…

1960s Blog Hall of Fame (#2)

Well, we're a little past the halfway mark of the voting period, and the leaders currently are:
Frank Robinson
Mickey Mantle
Ernie Banks
Richie Allen

Those just under the cutoff are:
Orlando Cepeda
Whitey Ford
Ron Santo
Warren Spahn
and the rest

Had the voting ended after the first 9 ballots, the inductees would have been:
Mickey Mantle (100%)
Ernie Banks (89%)
Whitey Ford (89%)
Frank Robinson (89%)
Richie Allen (78%)

Recently, there's been a lot of support for Cepeda, Santo, and Wills, while voting for Ford and Spahn has tailed off (maybe because their careers were mostly in the '50s and early '60s?)

1960s Blog Hall of Fame (#2)

Tomorrow is the 2012 MLB Hall of Fame induction ceremony.  I will be tuning in to see people pay tribute to Ron Santo (not much of a Barry Larkin fan). Since it's Hall of Fame weekend, I'm dusting off my (semi-annual) 1960s Hall of Fame ballot.

Last time, 15 players and 1 manager were selected by readers of this blog. Candidates receiving less than 15% of the vote last time have been dropped from the ballot (but may appear another time). The remaining players have been joined by a few new names that the selection committee (?) forgot to include last time.

The candidates can be found at the top of this sidebar. Vote for no more than 8 names. The ballot remains open until August 31st, then candidates receiving 75% of the vote will be inducted on September 1st (roster expansion day).

Feel free to comment with your recollections of any of the nominees (or about who you voted for).

RIP - Ed Stroud

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Former Senators' and White Sox' outfielder Ed Stroud passed away on July 2nd in Cleveland at age 72.

Stroud's death came one day after fellow Ohioan and White Sox outfielder Mike Hershberger.  In fact, they both spent their final season with the 1971 White Sox.

Ed's big-league career began with the ChiSox in 1966.  In early 1967, he was traded to Washington for veteran outfielder Jim King.  After 4 1/2 seasons with the Senators, he returned to Chicago in 1971.

obituary

RIP - Mike Hershberger

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1960s' American League outfielder Mike Hershberger passed away on July 1st, 2012 at age 72, in his hometown of Massillon, Ohio.

Mike was the White Sox' right fielder from 1962-64, then held down the same job for the Kansas City Athletics from 1965-67. Although he remained with the A's following their move to Oakland (pictured above wearing a crisp, new Oakland uniform in the 1969 Topps set), it was in a reduced role.

Traded to the Brewers before the 1970 season, he played one season there before getting his release. He returned to the ChiSox for his final season in 1971.

Story here

And for the White Sox fans...