Final Card: Bob Sadowski

This is Bob Sadowski’s final card (#523).  In March 2018 I posted his 1965 card on my ’65 blog, but that was before I had this card. (I generally limit my 1965 blog to players’ final cards.)

Sadowski was signed by the Cardinals in 1958, and played in their farm systems for 5 1/2 seasons until his trade to the Braves in mid-June 1963 (Sadowski and Gene Oliver for Lou Burdette).

Bob was immediately brought up to the Braves and pitched 19 games over the second half, including 18 starts and 5 complete games. He posted a 5-7 record and 2.62 ERA in 116 innings pitched.

(That same yellow dome is seen on Tony Conigliaro's 1967 card.)

In 1964 he started 18 games again (along with 33 relief appearances), but his ERA soared to 4.59.

He started the final home opener for the Milwaukee Braves in April 1965. He posted a similar ERA (4.54) as the previous year, but in only 34 games.

In December 1965 Bob was traded to the Red Sox (with pitcher Dan Osinski) for pitchers Jay Ritchie and Arnold Earley, and outfielder Lee Thomas.

Sadowski was used very little by the Red Sox because of arm injuries, only appearing in 11 games (33 innings) by mid-season, his final major-league game coming on July 4th. With an ERA of 7.02 he was sent to the minors, where his troubles continued - pitching only 5 innings in the 2nd half.

He played the 1967 season for the Braves’ double-A team before retiring.

His brother Ed was a catcher for the Red Sox and Angels from 1960-63, and for the Braves in 1966. His brother Ted (Ed and Ted?) pitched for the Senators/Twins from 1960-62.

Another Bob Sadowski played for the Phillies, White Sox, and Angels from 1961-63.

Sadowski passed away in 2018 at age 80.

Final Card: Chi-Chi Olivo

This is the first and last card for Chi-Chi Olivo, a reliever for the Braves from 1964-66. It's one of only three 1966 Braves cards showing the new Atlanta cap.

Olivo was signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1955 (by then already 27 years old), but didn’t make his major-league debut until June 1961 at age 33. He pitched a total of 2 innings across 3 games, then headed back to the minors until 1964.

Chi-Chi pitched 38 games for the Braves during the 2nd half of 1964, but it wasn’t enough to secure a long-term job with the club. After 2 games in April 1965, he was sent back down until returning in September for another 6 games.

Olivio’s final season with the Braves was 1966. He stayed with the Braves for most of the season, picking up 7 saves in 47 games. He also spent 6 weeks in the minors in August and September.

After the 1966 season he was traded to the Yankees with outfield prospect Bill Robinson for 3rd baseman Clete Boyer. He pitched in triple-A all season before retiring.

Olivio made a brief comeback in the Mexican League in 1971 and 1972.

He passed away in 1977 at age 48.

His brother Diomedes Olivo pitched for the Pirates and Cardinals in 1962 and 1963.

Rene Lachemann (#157)

This is Rene Lachemann’s first solo card. It’s one of a handful of 1966 cards that appear to have been painted, rather than photographed. It’s also the same picture Topps used on the 4-player Athletics Rookies card in the 1965 set.

I much prefer his 1967 card (below), but this 1966 blog was short on Athletics, so here he is.

Wow, I am REALLY surprised to see how little major-league playing time Lachemann had! 92 games in 1965, only 7 games in 1966, NO games in 1967, and 19 games in 1968. Even having 4 new expansion teams in 1969 couldn’t keep him in the majors.

After working as the Dodgers' batboy from 1959-63, Rene was signed by the Athletics in 1964, and played in the minors every season from 1964-72. Early on, he was mostly a catcher, but during his 1969-72 stint with Oakland’s AAA club in Iowa, he was primarily a 1st baseman while also playing 3B, outfield, and a few games behind the plate.

He started 54 games as a rookie in 1965 (playing behind Bill Bryan), but it was all downhill after that. Was it his .227 batting average? His 57 strikeouts in 216 at-bats? Still, he hit 9 homers and collected 29 RBI – not bad for a part-time rookie catcher.

Lachemann began his managing career in 1973. After stints in the minors with the Athletics and Mariners from 1973-80, he managed the Mariners from 1981-83, the Brewers in 1984, and the Marlins from 1993-96. He also managed the Cubs for 1 game in 2002. His final skipper’s job was with the Rockies’ AAA team in 2009.

Lachemann’s brother Marcel was a pitcher for the Athletics from 1969-71, and managed the Angels from 1994-96.

Jesus Alou (#242)

Jesus Alou is the youngest of the 3 Alou brothers. He was the last to join, and to leave the Giants. He played for 15 seasons, mostly for the Giants and Astros.

Alou was signed by the Giants in 1958, and made his major-league debut in September 1963. Since his oldest brother Felipe left the Giants after the 1963 season, there was only 1 game where Jesus, Felipe, and Matty all played in the same outfield.

Jesus played 5 full seasons with the Giants (1964-68) and was always the #2 or #3 outfielder (behind Willie Mays) in terms of playing time. In his first 2 seasons he was the primary right fielder. In his final 3 seasons, he split his time between right and left field, as the Giants also worked in 3rd baseman Jim Ray Hart in left, and Ollie Brown (and in 1968, Bobby Bonds) in right.

After the 1968 season Alou was selected by the Expos in the expansion draft, and two months later was forwarded to the Astros (with Donn Clendenon) for Rusty Staub.

For 3 seasons (1969-71) things continued the same as in San Francisco: Alou was the #2 outfielder, and split his time between the 2 corners.

Things began to change during the 1971 season with the addition of outfielders Bob Watson and Cesar Cedeno. Those two, combined with long-time Astro Jimmy Wynn resulted in a reduced role for Alou.

In 1972 Alou was relegated to a bench role, starting just 14 games that season. He was sold to the Athletics in July 1973, and was a part-time player with them through the end of 1974. Jesus also played in the and World Series in ’73 and ’74.

Alou was released by Oakland during spring training 1975, but was signed by the Mets in mid-April. He rode the bench for New York in 1975, and was released the following spring.

Jesus was out of baseball in 1976 and 1977, then re-signed with the Astros in November 1977. He played for Houston for the next 2 years, and was a player-coach in 1979.

After retiring following the 1979 season, Alou became a scout for the Expos. He later headed up the Marlins’ Dominican operations, and since 2002 has held the same post with the Red Sox.

Jim Perry (#283)

Jim Perry pitched for 17 years (1959-75), mostly for the Indians and Twins. His best season was 1970, when he led the league with 24 wins and won the Cy Young award.

The older brother of Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry was signed by the Indians in 1956, and after 3 seasons as a starting pitcher in the low minors, he skipped double-A and triple-A ball to make his major-league debut with the Tribe in April 1959.

Although Jim’s debut on April 23rd was a starting assignment, he spent most of his rookie season in the bullpen, until joining the rotation in late-July. He made 12 more starts that year, finished up with a 12-10 record and a 2.65 ERA, and was a distant 2nd place to Bob Allison in the Rookie of the Year voting.

Perry had a monster sophomore campaign, taking over as the Indians’ ace and leading the American League in wins (18), starts (36), and shutouts (4). The following season he made his first of 3 all-star squads.

Jim was traded to the Twins straight-up for pitcher Jack Kralick in May 1963, and joined Camilo Pascual, Dick Stigman, and Jim Kaat in the starting rotation. (In a few years, almost the entire staff would be named Jim.)

With the Twins’ acquisition of ex-Indians’ teammate Jim "Mudcat" Grant in 1964, Perry spent the entire season in the bullpen. He returned to the rotation in 1965, and posted double-figure wins in both ’65 and ’66. Jim also pitched 2 games in the 1965 World Series, with no decisions.

Perry had 2 off-years, then made a comeback in 1969 by winning 20 games and finishing 3rd in the Cy Young balloting behind Mike Cuellar and Denny McLain. The following season he won a league-best 24 games, and claimed the Cy Young award. Perry pitched in the ’69 and ’70 ALCS, and made the ’70 and ’71 all-star teams.

After winning 17 games in 1971 and 13 in 1972, Perry was traded to the Tigers prior to the ’73 season. He played only 1 year in Detroit, then moved back to the Indians in March 1974 as part of a 3-team trade involving the Yankees.

Jim spiked up to 17 wins in his return to Cleveland, but it would be his last good season. He began the 1975 season with the Indians, but with his record at 1-6, he was traded to the Athletics on May 20th (with pitcher Dick Bosman) for pitcher John "Blue Moon" Odom. Perry pitched in 15 games for Oakland before he was released on August 13th.

In 17 seasons, he compiled a 215-174 record with 1576 strikeouts.

Harry Walker (#318)

Harry “The Hat” Walker managed the Pirates from the start of the 1965 season until midway through the 1967 season. He then managed the Astros from the 2nd half of 1968 until mid-August 1972, when he was replaced by Leo Durocher.

Walker’s baseball career began in 1937, when he was signed by the Phillies. After 3 seasons as an outfielder in their farm system, he was traded to the Cardinals, and played 2 seasons in their system, including a few games each year with the big club.

Harry played the entire ’42 and ’43 seasons with the Cardinals, as a reserve in 1942, and as the everyday center fielder in 1943. He made the all-star team in ’43, and played in the World Series both years against the Yankees.

Walker missed the 1944 and 1945 seasons while in military service, then returned to the Cardinals in 1946, where he hit .412 in the World Series vs. the Red Sox.

Harry was traded to the Phillies in May 1947, and went on to win the NL batting title with a .363 average that season. He also chipped-in a league-leading 16 triples.

Walker began the ’48 season in center field, but lost the job to rookie Richie Ashburn in early May. He spent the remainder of that season as the backup CF/LF, and pinch-hitting. He also caught 4 straight games in late-August, including both ends of a doubleheader.

He was traded to the Cubs after the 1948 season, then quickly bounced to the Reds and Cardinals.

Walker became a player-manager in the Cardinals’ minor-league system from 1951 to 1958, but also managed the Cardinals for the 2nd half of 1955 on an interim basis

After a 4-year gap, Harry returned as the Cardinals’ AAA manager for ’63 and ’64, then moved on to his 2 big-league managing gigs from 1965-72 as mentioned above.

Walker passed away in August 1999 at age 82.

Harry’s brother Dixie Walker was a starting outfielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1940s, and played for other teams during the 1930s.

Joe Torre (#130)

Today I'm posting another disaster from the 1966 set known as an Atlanta Braves card. Because the team had moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta after the 1965 season, almost every Braves card in the 1966 set is an ugly, hatless, colorless (unless you like lavender) hack job.

Why couldn't Topps have back-loaded the Braves' players to the later series, after they had time to develop the photos (I assume) they took in spring training? I admit, this notion didn't occur to me until tonight, but then, I'm not the one on Topps' payroll heading up the planning department. They could have done the same thing in 1968 with the Athletics. I'm sure fans of these teams wouldn't have minded waiting a bit, so that they could get decent cards of their favorite players. Each of my yearly binders from the 1960s has the cards arranged by teams, and when I get to the Braves' section, it's a Rogues' Gallery at best!


Joe Torre (remember the post title?) was one of the Braves' star players during the 1960s, before going on to play for the Cardinals and Mets in the 1970s.



Joe was signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1960 and spent his rookie season in the minors, with a 2-game call-up at the end of the season. In 1961 he played part of the season in the minors, but made the Braves for good that year. Although strictly a catcher in '61 and '62, Joe would play several dozen games at 1st base for the Braves from 1963-68, along with his role as the team's #1 catcher. In 1964, he split his time almost evenly between the 2 positions, as veteran Ed Bailey started over 70 games behind the plate.

After the 1968 season, Torre was traded to the Cardinals for 1st baseman Orlando Cepeda. Since the Cardinals already had an all-star catcher in Tim McCarver, Joe took over the 1st base position on a full-time basis. The following season, with Tim McCarver traded to the Phillies in the Curt Flood for Richie Allen deal, Joe moved back behind the plate. After Torre had started every game at catcher in April and May, rookie Ted Simmons began starting most of the games behind the plate, with Torre moving to a new position - 3rd base. Joe would hold down the regular 3rd base job for the 1971 and 1972 seasons as well.

Torre played in 4 straight all-star games while in St. Louis (1970-73). He also had an excellent 1971 season, winning the MVP award, while leading the league in hits (230), RBI (137), and batting average (.363).

After the 1974 season, he was traded to the Mets, and played the corner infield positions there until his release in June 1977. Immediately after his release, he was hired as the team's manager.

These days, Torre is best remembered for his managerial career, with the Mets (1977-81), Braves (1982-84), Cardinals (1990-95), Yankees (1996-07), and Dodgers (2008-10). Joe managed for 29 seasons, and won 6 pennants and 4 World Series, all with the Yankees.

I heard Torre say recently that this spring is the first since 1959 that he wasn't at spring training with one team or another. He now works for Major League Baseball.

Final Card: Marty Keough

Here is the final card for outfielder Marty Keough (#334).

Marty was signed by the Boston Red Sox in 1952, and played in their farm system for 7 seasons. He made a few appearances for the Sox in 1956 and 1957.

In 1958, he was in the majors to stay, making some appearances as the backup centerfielder, but primarily as a pinch-hitter. In 1959, Keough evenly split the starting centerfield job with Gary Geiger.

In June 1960, he was traded to the Indians for catcher Russ Nixon. His time in Cleveland didn't last long, as he was selected by the new Washington Senators in the expansion draft after the 1960 season.



After one season in Washington (backing up all 3 outfield positions), it was on to Cincinnati, where Marty spent 4 seasons as a 4th or 5th outfielder, as well as a backup first baseman.

Keough was purchased by the Braves a few days before the start of the 1966 season, but less than 2 months later was traded to the Cubs. This would be his final major-league stop.

Marty spent the 1967 season with the Philadelphia's triple-A team in San Diego. In late June, the Phillies called up an outfielder from San Diego for the remainder of the season. Unfortunately for Keough, it was Billy Cowan.


Marty's son Matt pitched for the Athletics in the 1970s and 1980s, and his brother Joe was an outfielder for the A's and Royals from 1968-72.