Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Who didn't get a card, but shoulda... (re-mix)

I originally posted this on 11/15/2009, but recently I found several more players who were missing 1966 cards, so I'm bumping this to the top.


Here are some players who didn't have a card in 1966, though playing in the majors for some time:

Joe Adcock
Joe was a long-time first baseman for several American League teams in the 1950s and 1960s. His last player card was in 1963, although he continued to play regularly for 3 more full seasons with the Angels. After retiring following the 1966 season, he was immediately hired as the Indians manager, and has a 1967 manager card.

Dick Hall
Hall was a relief pitcher for the Pirates (1955-59), Athletics (1960), Orioles (1961-66, 69-71), and Phillies (1967-68). He had Topps cards in 1955-57, 1960-63, and 1967-71. The missing cards in 1958 and 1959 are to be expected, since he spent most of 1957 and 1959 in the minors, and was either out of baseball or injured during the 1958 season. However, there doesn't appear to be a baseball reason for the missing cards from 1964 to 1966, since he was a full-time major-league player with plenty of appearances from 1960 to 1971.

Maury Wills
Wills didn't have a Topps card until 1967. I read a note from Ted Taylor saying that Wills was under contract to Fleer (he had a Fleer card in 1963) and Fleer would not release him to Topps.

Chris Short
Like Wills, Short's 1st card was in 1967. He had been pitching regularly for the Phillies since 1960.

Tony Horton
Tony was a backup 1B-OF for the Red Sox between 1965 and early 1967. Although he only played 6 major-league games in 1966, in 1965 he appeared in 44 games for the Red Sox, playing 344 innings at 1st base. This should have warranted a card for 1966.

Doug Clemens (added 2/28/10)
Clemens was in the major leagues for parts of every season from 1960 to 1968, and continuously since opening day in 1964. He had 218 at-bats in 1964 and 340 at-bats in 1965, yet his only baseball card was in 1967.


Added 4/20/2010:

None of the players listed below spent any time in the minors in 1965 (normally the reason a veteran is denied a baseball card).

Lou Clinton
Lou played 102 games in 1965 for the Angels, Athletics, and Indians. In 1966, he played 80 games for the Yankees. His last card was in 1967.

Don Blasingame
Don was the Senators' regular 2nd baseman in 1965, and played 80 games in 1966 for the Senators and Athletics. His last card was in 1965.

Frank Bolling
Frank was the Braves' regular 2nd baseman in 1965, and played 75 games in 1966 for the Braves, splitting the 2B duties with Woody Woodward. His last card was in 1965.

Bob Lillis
Bob was the Astros' regular shortstop in 1965, starting 2/3 of the games there. He played 68 games in 1966 for the the Astros. His last card was in 1964.

Eddie Kasko
Eddie got 215 at-bats for the Astros in 1965, starting 1/3 of the games at shortstop. He played 58 games in 1966 for the Red Sox. His last card was in 1963.

Joey Amalfitano
Joey played 67 games (96 at-bats) for the Cubs in 1965 as a utility infielder. He played 41 games in the same role in 1966. His last card was in 1965.

Wes Stock
Wes pitched in 62 games for the Athletics in 1965, and another 35 in 1966. His last card was in 1967.

Jay Ritchie
Jay pitched in 44 games for the Red Sox in 1965, and 22 for the Braves in 1966. His last card was in 1965.

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