John Buzhardt (#245)

I already reviewed the dope on John Buzhardt when I posted his 1968 card here, but that card is such a mess that I decided to post another one of his cards (like I did for Larry Sherry and Turk Farrell).

Fun fact about John Buzhardt: While with the Phillies in 1961, two of his 6 wins were the games just before and just after the Phillies' infamous 23-game losing streak.

Fun fact #2: On a team that also included Gary Peters, Joe Horlen, and Tommy John, Buzhardt was the White Sox' opening day starter in 1967!

Ron Fairly (#330)

Ron Fairly was a slugging outfielder / 1st baseman for the Dodgers during the 1960s.

A 21-year veteran, he played his first 11 seasons with the Dodgers before moving on to the expansion Montreal Expos in 1969. After 6 years there, he bounced around for his final 4 seasons. Primarily an outfielder early in his career, he was the Dodgers’ regular 1st baseman from 1962-64, and moved back to 1st baseman after leaving the Dodgers (except for 1973).

Fairly was signed by the Dodgers in 1958, and hitting 14 minor-league home runs that season earned him a late-season call-up to Los Angeles that year.

In 1959 he spent the entire season as the Dodgers’ 4th outfielder, but after hitting only 4 homers, he was back in the minors for most of 1960. He returned for all of 1961, again backing up the 3 outfield regulars.

After the 1961 season, both of the Dodgers’ 1st basemen were lost in the expansion draft (Gil Hodges to the Mets, Norm Larker to the Colt .45s), paving the way for Fairly to become the full-time 1st sacker for the next 3 seasons. He collected over 70 RBI each of those seasons, while hitting 10 to 14 homers.

In 1965, young Wes Parker took over the 1st base job, moving Fairly to right field for his remaining years in LA, although Ron would occasionally spell Parker at 1st base. With the Dodgers, Fairly played in the Fall Classic in ’59, ’63, ’65, and ’66.

After a complete loss of power (4,43) in 1968, Fairly was traded to the Expos in mid-1969 for shortstop Maury Wills and outfielder Manny Mota. Fairly regained his power stroke in Montreal, reaching the mid-teens in homers for his 6 seasons north of the border. He held down 1st base for a few seasons, before moving to the outfield beginning in 1973. Ron also made his 1st All-Star team in 1973.

Fairly played all of 1975 and part of ’76 with the Cardinals, and finished out the year with the Athletics. He was traded to the expansion Blue Jays during spring training in their inaugural 1977 season. After 1 season in Toronto, he played his final season (1978) with the Angels.

Following retirement, Fairly was a broadcaster for 27 years with the Dodgers, Angels, Giants, and Mariners.

Bob Allison (#345)

Yes I know, back-to-back Twins, but the Twins are woefully under-represented here (2 posts). At first, I was going to post the Team Card (since they are the defending 1965 AL Champions), but I soon realized that was one of the 79 cards in the set that I don’t have. 

Next for consideration was Harmon Killebrew, but I decided to post his 1970 card instead, for reasons that will soon be apparent. That led me to Killer’s partner in batting mayhem: Bob Allison. 


Bob Allison had a 13-year major-league career, all with the Twins (and their predecessor, the old Washington Senators) from 1958 to 1970. His peak years were from 1959 (when he won the AL Rookie of the Year award) to 1968.

Allison was signed by the Senators in 1955, and played 4 seasons in the minors. After crashing 28 homers in double-A in 1958, he was called up in September (having never played at the AAA level). He started 10 of the final 11 games in center field in place of Albie Pearson, who would win the Rookie of the Year award that season.

Bob began the 1959 season in right field, but after 6 games was moved to left field. Five games later, he moved to center field and never looked back. He started 132 games in center field, made the all-star team, led the AL with 9 triples, and bashed 30 homers on his way to a Rookie of the Year season. Quite a start to his career!

1960 was an off-year for Allison (15 homers), but after the team moved to Minnesota, he rebounded with 29 homers and over 100 RBI in both the ’61 and ’62 seasons. Bob was the team’s everyday right fielder from 1960 through the 1963 season, and with Killebrew in left field during ’62 and ’63, that was a power-hitting outfield.

In 1964, it was Allison (not Killebrew, surprisingly) that moved in to first base to make room for rookie Tony Oliva in right field. Bob started 90 games at 1st base, while Don Mincher started 65 times. Allison also started 27 games in center and 13 times in right field.

Allison and Killebrew switched positions in 1965, with Bob getting 117 starts in left field, while rookie Sandy Valdespino started 38 games. Meanwhile, Killebrew split his time between 1st base and 3rd base (where he hadn’t played since 1961). Allison had another down year at the plate in 1965. After hitting 35 and 32 homers the previous 2 seasons (with 2 all-star appearances), he only managed 23 home runs (along with a .233 batting average). His production continued to fade in 1966, as he only played in 70 games that season.

He regained his starting job in 1967, hitting 24 homers while starting 136 games in left field. Bob began losing playing time in 1968, making only 110 starts in left field and 17 at first base.

Allison was a part-time player in 1969 and 1970, sharing left field with Jim Nettles and Charlie Manuel in 1969, and mostly pinch-hitting in 1970. He retired after the 1970 season.

In 1987, Allison began experiencing difficulty with his coordination. After a few years, he was diagnosed with a degenerative neurological disease, and eventually lost the ability to walk and talk. He passed away from the disease in 1995 at age 60.
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Final Card: Dom Zanni

Continuing the all-Cincinnati Reds theme tonight, here we have the final card for Dom Zanni (#233). Zanni had a 7-year career with the Giants, White Sox, and Reds.

He was signed by the New York Giants in 1951, and spent 11 seasons in their minor-league system, with brief call-ups in '58, 59, and '61. After the 1961 season, Dom was traded to the White Sox (along with pitcher Eddie Fisher and 2 others) for pitchers Don Larsen and Billy Pierce.


The next 2 seasons were good ones for Dom. They were the only seasons he stayed out of the minor leagues. With the White Sox in 1962, he appeared in 44 games, all but 2 in relief.

After 5 relief appearances in 1963, Zanni was traded to the Reds on May 5th. He pitched in 31 games for Cincinnati that season.

What happened after that? Maybe an old-school Reds' fan could recall the reasons, but Zanni pitched the 1964-67 seasons with the Reds' triple-A teams, making only a few appearances with the big club in 1965 and 1966.

Final Card: Willie Kirkland

Willie Kirkland (#434) was a starting outfielder for the Giants in the late 1950s, and later for the Cleveland Indians.

Willie (wow, he even has the right first name for a Giant!) was signed by the New York Giants in 1953, and played 4 seasons in their farm system before missing the 1957 season due to military service.

Kirkland made his major-league debut on April 15, 1958, and started 102 games in right field during his rookie season.

1959 was more of the same, as Willie the K started 105 games in right. (Felipe Alou started most of the remaining games there.) Even though Willie McCovey joined the Giants in 1959, that didn't affect Kirkland, as McCovey played only 1B that year. Orlando Cepeda would alternate between 1B and LF, which squeezed left fielder Jackie Brandt.



1960 would be Kirkland's last season with the Giants, and he went out with a bang - starting 135 games in right field. After the season, he and pitcher Johnny Antonelli were traded to the Indians for outfielder Harvey Kuenn.

Willie played 3 seasons for the Indians, the first 2 as their starting right fielder. In 1963, he shared the right field chores with Al Luplow.

After the 1963 season, Kirkland moved on to the Orioles, where he was re-united with former Giants teammate Jackie Brandt. For awhile, Willie started about half the games in right field, alternating with Sam Bowens. After July 9th, Bowens took over the job fulltime, and Kirkland was sold to the Senators on August 12th.

Willie played for the Senators until the end of the 1966 season, and was pretty much a 5th outfielder (behind Frank Howard, Don Lock, Jim King, and Fred Valentine). In 1965, he shared the right field starts with Jim King.

In 1967, Kirkland played 144 games for the Senators' triple-A team in Hawaii, before retiring from baseball.

Final Card: Albie Pearson

Albie Pearson (#83) was signed by the Red Sox in 1953, and spent 5 seasons with their minor-league teams, the last 2 with their Pacific Coast League affiliate in San Francisco. The small (5'5", 140 lbs) outfielder was traded to the (old) Washington Senators for 1B-2B Pete Runnels in January 1958.

As a 23-year-old rookie, Pearson his major-league debut in April 1958, and was the Senators starting center fielder that year, playing in 146 games and winning the Rookie of the Year award.



In 1959 Pearson was the starting center fielder for the first 11 games, then missed the next 16 games. During this time, Bob Allison became the starting center fielder, and would hold that job for the remainder of the season. Pearson returned to the starting lineup (in right field) for 10 games in mid-May, but was soon traded to the Orioles for outfielder Lenny Green. Pearson would struggle for playing time in Baltimore. He made only 23 starts for the rest of the season, and rarely started more than 2 consecutive games.

1960 was even worse for Pearson. The Orioles had Gene Woodling in left, and Jackie Brandt in center. Even with a revolving door in right field, Pearson only managed to start 17 games with the Orioles, and in fact, played 53 games in triple-A. Quite a freefall since being a fulltime center fielder in his rookie season!

Pearson's career took a tun for the better in 1961. The Angels drafted him from the Orioles, and he became an outfield fixture for the Angels for several years. In 1961 he started over 100 games between center field and right field. In 1962 and 1963, he was the Angels' regular center fielder, playing over 130 games in each season. He also made the all-star team in 1963.

What happened after that? In 1964, he split the centerfield starting job with Bob Perry, whose major-league career consisted of 2 part-time seasons ('63-'64) with the Angels. In 1965, Pearson lost the starting center field job for good when the Angels acquired rookie Jose Cardenal from the Giants.

The 1966 season is a mystery. He played a grand total of 1 game in 1966, and it was on July 16th. He had no minor-league activity in 1966, so he was either injured, or was doing some serious bench-riding.

Howie Reed (#387)

This may be the only card I've seen where Topps eliminated all commentary and kept the player's minor-league stats. Howie's rookie card was in 1965. After 1966, we don't see him on another card until 1970.

Reed was signed by the Kansas City Athletics after the 1957 season, and spent 1958 through 1960 in their farm system. During those 3 seasons, he also played a few games with the Athletics, and spent part of 1960 with San Diego, the White Sox' triple-A team.



Just prior to the 1961 season, the Athletics traded Reed to the Dodgers for pitcher Ed Rakow. Howie spent all of 1961-1963 and part of 1964 with the Dodgers' triple-A team in Spokane. Although primarily a reliever up to this point, from 1964 on he was mostly a starter while in the minors. He finally got to play for the Dodgers for part of 1964, and all of 1965.

After 1 game with the Dodgers 1n 1966, Reed was traded to the Angels in late May for pitcher Dick Egan. He finished the 1966 season with the Angels, but was traded to the Astros in the off-season.

Reed's career with the Astros consisted of 4 games in 1967, while the rest of '67 and all of '68 found him toiling for the Astros' triple-A team.

In 1969, expansion revived Reed's career. The Expos purchased him on April 3rd, and he spent the next 3 seasons as one of the Expos' top 3 relievers, pitching over 100 innings in 1969 and over 50 innings in each of 1970 and 1971.

Curiously, after all this success (he managed to stay out of the minors for 3 full years!) he was back in triple-A for all of 1972, before retiring.

Final Card: Dick Stuart

Dick Stuart (#480) was a good-hit, no-field first baseman who primarily played for the Pirates and Red Sox.

In 1956 he hit 66 homers in the minors. He came up to the Pirates in 1958, and was the Pirates' first baseman in the 1960 World Series.

After the 1964 season, he was traded to the Phillies for pitcher Dennis Bennett. After one year, the Phillies saw enough of Dr. Strangeglove, and shipped him to the Mets prior to the 1966 season. (Actually, he became unnecessary for the Phillies after they acquired Bill White following the 1965 season.)

In 1966, Stuart played 30-plus games each for the Mets and Dodgers. He played in Japan in 1967 and 1968, but made a brief comeback in 1969 with the Giants' triple-A team in Phoenix, and with the Angels.