Ray Oyler (#81)

Here is good-field/no-hit Ray Oyler's first solo card. (And when I say "no-hit", I mean NOOOOO-hit.) Before there was the "Mendoza Line", there was the "Oyler Line" (although no one was clever enough to come up with that at the time, to my knowledge).

Ray joined the Tigers in 1965 and hit .186, which turned out to be his 2nd-highest season average. Except for an aberration where he hit .207 in 1967, he never broke the .175 barrier again (much less .200).

That was all well and good in '65 and '66 when Ray was the team's backup middle infielder, but by 1967 veteran 2nd baseman Jerry Lumpe's career was running out of gas, and he was only used as a pinch-hitter for most of his final season. Incumbent shortstop Dick McAuliffe moved over to replace him, which thrust Oyler into the starting lineup for 125 games. On the plus side, Ray boosted his average 36 points over the .171 in 1966.

With Lumpe retired, Oyler started 44 of the first 50 games at short in 1968, but by early June, manager Mayo Smith had seen enough, and switched to a tandem of veteran utility man Dick Tracewski and rookie Tom Matchick. This continued until the season’s final week, when Smith decided to fix the shortstop position by moving center fielder Mickey Stanley in there (for the first time in his career). After a 6-game warmup at his new position, Stanley played there during the '68 World Series, which essentially replaced Oyler’s bat with Al Kaline’s bat!

Oyler did get into 4 World Series games (1 plate appearance), but was exposed to the expansion draft after the season.

Ray was selected by the Seattle Pilots, and started 93 games for them in 1969, mostly in the first 4 months until younger players started getting tryouts. While in Seattle, Oyler had an unusual fan club.

After the season, Oyler and pitcher Diego Segui were traded to the Athletics for infielder Ted Kubiak and pitcher George Lauzerique. Ray's final card is in the 1970 set as an Athletic, but he didn't get a chance to play for them. He was sold to the Angels in mid-April, and finished out his final season playing only 24 games for California, while batting a career-low .083.

Ray was a player-coach in the minors during the '71 and '72 seasons, then retired.

He died in 1981 from a heart attack at age 42.

Don Pavletich (#196)

Don Pavletich was the #2 man in the Reds’ 3-man catching corps in the 3 seasons prior to the arrival of Johnny Bench in 1968.

Pavletich was signed by the Reds as a bonus baby in late 1956. The bonus rules dictated that he remain on the big-league 25-man roster for 2 seasons. It appears the Reds got around this the same way Jim Pagliaroni’s team did – farm him out to the military for those 2 years. After appearing in only 1 game for the Reds in April 1957, Don spent the rest of that year and all of 1958 in military service.

He returned to baseball in 1959 and spent the next 3 seasons in the minors, save for 1 game with the Reds in April 1959.

Don played for the Reds from the start of the 1962 season through the end of the 1968 season. In ’62 and ’63 he was primarily used as the backup 1st baseman.

He was back in the minors for the first half of 1964 (possibly to work on his catching skills, because after his return he was used almost exclusively as a catcher by the Reds).

Pavletich started about 40 games per season from 1965-67 as Johnny Edwards' backup (with Jimmie Coker starting a dozen or so as the 3rd catcher).

On August 28th, 1967 Johnny Bench made his major-league debut, starting 26 of the final 32 games behind the plate. That was the end of the line for the Reds’ other 3 catchers. Edwards was traded in the off-season, Coker retired, and although Pavletich was the starting catcher for the first 5 games of 1968, those were his last starts as a Reds’ catcher. He played a bit at first base that year, but was traded to the White Sox after the ’68 season for pitcher Jack Fisher.

Don was a backup catcher for the White Sox for 1 year and the Red Sox for 2 years. After the 1971 season he was one of 6 players (with George Scott, Jim Lonborg, Ken Brett, Billy Conigliaro, Joe LaHoud) sent to the Brewers in return for Tommy Harper, Lew Krausse, and Marty Pattin. (Seems like a lopsided trade!) 

Although Don has a card in the 1972 set featuring him as a Brewer, he never played for them, with his last game coming on 9/1/1971.

Final Card: Bob Purkey

A few years ago I wrapped up my “Final Cards” series on this blog, with a recap post of all the cards, with a footnote that I was missing 9 of the cards (including Bob Purkey). A few months ago, I acquired Purkey’s final card (#551), so we can consider this a “bonus track”.

Bob Purkey finished up his career in 1966 in the same place it began 12 years earlier – with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bob was signed by the Bucs in 1948 and pitched 3 seasons in the low minors before missing the 1951-52 seasons while in military service.

After another year (1953) in the minors, Bob played all of 1954 with the Pirates, pitching in 36 games (11 starts), logging 131 innings. He spent part of ‘55 and most of ‘56 back in the minors, but appeared with the Pirates in both seasons.

Bob was back in Pittsburgh for all of 1957, compiling a record of 11-14 in 48 games (21 starts). That was his last season with the Pirates for a long while, as he was traded to the Reds in December ’57 for pitcher Don Gross.

The knuckle-balling Purkey was a mainstay in the Reds’ rotation for the next 7 seasons. He made the All-Star team 3 times (’58, ’61, ’62) and had his best season in 1962, compiling a 23-5 record with a league-leading .821 winning percentage. He also finished 3rd in the Cy Young voting and 8th in MVP voting that year.

Bob’s 1963 and 1964 seasons were not up to the level of his previous five seasons, and after the ’64 season he was traded to the Cardinals for pitcher Roger Craig and reserve outfielder Charley James. Purkey lasted 1 year in St. Louis. He compiled a 10-9 record in 32 games (17 starts), but was sold to the Pirates one week before the 1966 season. At age 35, I guess the Cards were “going in another direction”, presumably making room for youngsters Nelson Briles and Larry Jaster.

Bob pitched sparingly for the Pirates in his final season, appearing in 4 games in April, 4 in May, and 2 in July, before getting his release in early August.

He finished his 13-year career with a record of 129-115, and was elected to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1974.

Purkey passed away in March 2008 at age 78.

Bob Locker (#374)

Bob Locker pitched in 576 games over a 10 year period (1965-73, 75), all in relief. The first half of his career was with the White Sox.

Locker was signed by the Sox in 1960, and pitched 2 seasons in the minors before missing the ’62 and ’63 seasons while in military service. He returned to the minors for the 1964 season. Although he was a starting pitcher in ’61 and ’64, he would never start again after 1964.

Bob made his major-league debut with the White Sox in April 1965. He was the #3 man in the bullpen during his rookie season, behind Eddie Fisher and Hoyt Wilhelm. It appears that the ChiSox mostly used just 8 pitchers that year. (Besides the 3 primary relievers, starters Tommy John and Bruce Howard made occasional relief appearances.)

Fisher was traded to the Orioles midway through the 1966 season, so Locker became the team’s closer, leading the team with 12 saves while compiling a 9-8 record and 2.46 ERA.

He was the bullpen ace again in 1967 (picking up 20 saves), as he and Wilhelm were joined by newly-acquired relievers Wilbur Wood and Don McMahon.

Wood became the team’s closer in 1968, but Locker and Wilhelm each pitched in 70 games, and all 3 reached double figures in saves.

Bob pitched in 22 innings over 17 games for the White Sox in early 1969, then in mid-June was traded to the Seattle Pilots for pitcher Gary Bell. Bob pitched in 51 games for Seattle that season.

In June 1970 the Brewers sold him to the Oakland Athletics. Bob pitched for Oakland through the end of the 1972 season as the #2 reliever behind Rollie Fingers. He appeared in the post-season in ’71 and ’72.

Locker was traded to the Cubs before the 1973 season and had a good year as the Cubs’ closer, picking up 18 saves and 10 wins. He was traded back to Oakland after the season, but missed all of 1974 after surgery for bone chips.

Bob returned to the Cubs for 1975, in exchange for outfielder Billy Williams. He pitched in 22 games and retired after the season.

Don McMahon (#133)

Don McMahon had Topps cards every season from 1958 to 1972 (also in 1973, if you count his appearance as a coach on the Giants’ manager’s card). This is his last card as an Indian, and his last card wearing a cap until the 1970 set. (McMahon began his career with 6 seasons with the Braves, and ended it with 6 seasons with the Giants, but in-between he bounced around to 5 other teams for about 1 ½ years in each location.)

He was signed by the Boston Braves in 1950, and made the Milwaukee club in 1957 at age 27. His one all-star appearance came in 1958. He also pitched in the ’57 and ’58 World Series for the Braves, finishing 3 games in each series.

In May 1962 McMahon was sold to the expansion Houston Colt .45s. This began a series of short-term stints with a number of clubs. On the final day of the 1963 season, he was sold to the Indians, where he remained until June 2, 1966. On that day he was traded to the Red Sox for reliever Dick Radatz, and on the same date in 1967 moved on to the White Sox for 2nd baseman Jerry Adair. He missed out on Boston’s appearance in the ’67 World Series, but the following July he was traded to the Tigers for pitcher Dennis Ribant, and so was able to play in the 1968 Fall Classic.

In August 1969 Don made his last move – a trade to the Giants. He manned the bullpen there until his release following the 1972 season.

Topps’ 1973 managers cards also feature thumbnails of the coaching staff, and Don was on the Giants’ card as their pitching coach. He was re-activated in late June, and released following the ’73 season. This process repeated itself in 1974, although he gained his final release in early July, just 5 weeks after being reactivated.

He retired at age 44 as the oldest player in the majors. Don pitched for 18 seasons (1957-74) and appeared in 874 games, all but 2 as a reliever. At that time, only Hoyt Wilhelm, Lindy McDaniel, and Cy Young had pitched in more games.

McMahon passed away in July 1987 at age 57.

Johnny Podres (#468)

“Hey! What gives? Your 'on-deck' sidebar said that Dean Chance was next in the rotation!” 

Yes that’s true, but I got wind that the "$30 a Week Habit" blog was going to link here tomorrow for his ’59 vs. ’66 card set faceoff, so I wanted to put my best foot forward, in a shameless attempt to curry favor with the voters. (Sorry, Commish!)

Dean Chance was a good pitcher, but the capless/airbrushed 1966 Angels cards are atrocious to look at, so I’m trotting out Pods to save the day. Even though I have already featured his 1967 and 1969 cards on my other blogs, I’ll justify this post by mentioning that this is his final card as a Dodger.

This is my favorite of my 3 Johnny Podres cards, maybe because his sad-dog look is more evident than on his ’67 and ’69 cards, or maybe just because he is pictured as a Dodger. (Podres retired after the 1967 season, and wasn’t in the 1968 set.)

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.

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: Johnny Blanchard

Yes folks, it's "Atlanta Braves Backup Catchers Week"!

John Blanchard (#268) was a Yankees backup catcher in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He was signed by the Yankees in 1951, and spent the next 8 years either with a Yankees' farm team or in the military. Although he played in 1 game in 1955, his real major-league action began in 1959.

In his first 2 seasons, Blanchard was the 3rd-string catcher behind Yogi Berra and Elston Howard (which is to say, "minimal playing time"!)

From 1961 to 1963, Blanchard's playing time spiked. Why was that? In 1961, Berra became the regular left fielder (catching only 15 games), elevating Blanchard to 2nd-string catcher. In 1962, Mickey Mantle missed a lot of games, which moved Roger Maris to center field, and Blanchard to right. In 1963, Maris missed 72 games, while Mantle missed 97 games. Johnny was on-the-spot as a replacement outfielder.



In 1964, Blanchard returned to his 2nd-string catcher role, behind Elston Howard. In May 1965 he was traded to the Athletics. Later that season, the A's sold him to the Braves. His final game was on September 27, 1965.

Final Card: Wes Covington

Wes Covington (#484) was signed by the Boston Braves in 1952. Topps has omitted his minor-league statistics on this card. Wes played for various minor-league teams in the Braves' organization (missing 1954 due to military service), and made his major-league debut on April 19, 1956.

After backing up left field in 1956, Covington was the Braves' regular left fielder from 1957 through the 1960 season. His 2 best offensive years were 1957 and 1958.



1961 was a strange year for Covington. After coming off 4 seasons as the regular left fielder, he started 5 straight games in April, then a few weeks later was claimed off waivers by the White Sox. A month later he was traded to the Athletics. 3 weeks after that he was traded to the Phillies. He is in a rare group - having played for 4 teams in one season.

Wes got back on track with the Phillies, grabbing the regular left field job for the next 4 1/2 seasons, and batting over .300 in 1963.

After the 1965 season, he was traded to the Cubs for journeyman backup outfielder Doug Clemens, the second time in his career he appeared to be "dumped" for little or nothing in return.

After only 9 games with the Cubs, he was released on May 11th. Two weeks later, he was signed by the Dodgers, where he finished the season. His last action came in the 1966 World Series against the Orioles.

Final Card: Bob Skinner

This is the final player card for Bob Skinner (#471). Bob began his career in the Pirates' system in 1951. After 2 years in the military, Skinner made his major-league debut in April 1954. As a rookie, he was the Pirates' regular first baseman, starting 116 games there.

The following season, he was back in the minor leagues. I wonder if this was injury/rehab related, because he only played 98 games, it was in double-A, and the next season (1956) he was back in Pittsburgh.

In 1956, Bob was used primarily as a pinch-hitter, but also saw some action at first base and corner outfield. The following season, he became the Pirates' primary left fielder, starting about half the games, with Frank Thomas and several others getting the remaining starts.


Bob took over as the everyday left fielder in 1958, starting 141 games there, while making only 3 pinch-hitting appearances. Coincidently, he also started 141 games in 1959, while starting 140 in 1960. With the exception of one game at first base in 1959, after 1957 he played exclusively in left field for the Pirates.

In 1961, Bob's playing time dropped off, as he only started 96 games, while making about 20 pinch-hitting appearances. He came back in 1962 to play almost 140 games in left, which by now was a standard season for him.

In May 1963, Skinner was traded to the Reds for outfielder Jerry Lynch, a former Pirate. A year later, he moved on to the Cardinals, where he played until being released after the 1966 season.



Bob went on to manage the Phillies' triple-A team in San Diego during the 1967 and 1968 seasons. This put him in position to assume the Phillies' managerial job for the last 100 games in 1968, following Gene Mauch's firing. He also managed them for the first 100 games in 1969, before he was also fired. Here is his 1969 card:



I found this on Skinner's Wikipedia page, regarding who was to blame for the Phillies' poor showing in 1969:

"Nonetheless, Skinner's personal responsibility for the Phillies' pathetic performance is much in doubt, as the alleged baseball club sank to even greater depths under Myatt, Frank Lucchesi, Paul Owens and Danny Ozark in the 4 years after his departure, with rosters made up of also-rans whose only competition was between indifference of attitude and inability to hit at even AA levels of proficiency."

Final Card: Frank Malzone

Here we have the last card for Frank Malzone (#152). After 11 seasons with the Red Sox (whose uniform he's wearing here), Frank wrapped up his career in 1966 with the Angels.

Malzone began his career in the Red Sox organization in 1948. He missed the 1952 and 1953 seasons due to military service. His major-league debut with the Red Sox was on September 17, 1955. In 1956, Frank divided his time between Boston and their triple-A team in San Francisco.

Frank took over the full-time third base job from opening day in 1957. (Billy Klaus, the 1956 regular third baseman, moved over to shortstop.) He finished 2nd in the rookie of the year voting in 1957, and played in over 140 games (all at third base) in every season from 1957 to 1964.



In 1965 (at age 35), time finally caught up to Malzone, as he shared the third base job 50-50 with 2nd-year man Dalton Jones. He was released by the Red Sox on November 30th, and signed by the Angels on the same day.

In 1966, Malzone played in 82 games for the Angels - 35 at third base, and the rest as a pinch-hitter. He was released after the 1966 season.

Final Card: Roger Craig

Roger Craig (#543) was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950. He played 2 years in their farm system before missing the 1952 and 1953 seasons due to military service. Once out of the military, he was back in the minors for another year and a half.

Craig made his major-league debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on July 17, 1955. During his 7 seasons with the Dodgers, he was both a starter and reliever, but was primarily a starter during the 1956 season.


After the 1961 season, Roger was selected by the Mets in the expansion draft, and was their #1 starter in 1962 and 1963. He led the league in losses both years (24, 22) but I suppose that wasn't hard to do, given the number of games the Mets lost in those seasons.

After the 1963 season, he was traded to the Cardinals, but only pitched in one season for them. Craig was the Cardinals #4 starter, but also made 20 relief appearances.

In December 1964, he was traded to the Reds, but was released just before the start of the 1966 season. The Phillies signed him on the same day, and he pitched for the first 3 months of 1966 until being released in mid-July.

Roger went on to manage the San Diego Padres in 1978 and 1979, and the San Francisco Giants from 1985 to 1992.

Final Card: Joe Cunningham

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Joe Cunningham (#531) was an outfielder and first baseman for 3 teams, primarily for the Cardinals in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Joe started playing in the Cardinals farm system in 1949, then missed the 1952-53 seasons due to military service.

Joe made his major-league debut on June 30, 1954. After appearing in 85 games with the Cardinals in 1954, he spent all of 1955 and most of 1956 with their triple-A team in Rochester, NY.



In 1957, Joe was back in the major leagues to stay. He played in 122 games, but was primarily the backup to first baseman Stan Musial and rightfielders Del Ennis and Wally Moon. (He did manage to start 22 games at first, and 42 games in right.)

1958 was much of the same for Cunningham, backing up Musial, Ennis, and Moon. Joe played in 131 games, starting 91 at first, left, and right.

1959 was a breakout season for Joe, as he took over the rightfield job, making 104 starts there, in addition to another dozen starts in left. He played a few games at first base, but not many since Musial had a new backup: Bill White, who was acquired from the Giants in the off-season. Cunningham made the all-star team as a reserve.

Joe continued as the regular rightfielder in 1960 (108 starts). Over at 1st base, the pecking order was now Bill White, followed by the 39-year-old Stan Musial, and then Cunningham (14 starts).

In 1961, Cunningham was still the Cardinals' primary rightfielder, but only made 76 starts there. Maybe he was injured for part of the year? After the season, he was traded to the White Sox for outfielder Minnie Minoso.

1962 was Joe's last season as an everyday player. He switched over to first base (making 142 starts there) while playing only 5 games in right field. In 1964, rookie Tom McCraw took over at first base, and Joe was the backup first baseman until July 1964, when he was traded to the Senators for 1st baseman Moose Skowron.

Joe shared the Senators' first base job with Dick Phillips in 1964, and with Bob Chance and Dick Nen in 1965.

Since this baseball card is a late-season high-number, we see that Topps was able to add a note that Cunningham was released by the Senators on April 25, 1966. Joe had started 3 of the Senators' first 4 games at first base, then didn't play again.

Final Card: Jerry Lynch

Jerry Lynch (#182) began playing minor-league baseball in 1950 for the Greenville (MS) Bucks, an unaffiliated class-C team. Before the 1951 season, the Yankees purchased his contract, but he spent the 1951 and 1952 seasons in the military. After the service, he played for the Yankees' class-B team in Norfolk, Va in 1953.

After the 1953 season, the Pirates selected him in the rule 5 draft, meaning he had to stay on the major-league roster. In 1954, Lynch was part of a 3-way left field platoon with Dick Hall (who would later pitch for the Orioles and Phillies) and Frank Thomas. Lynch also played in right field.



In 1955, rookie Roberto Clemente joined the team and took over right field. Frank Thomas started 81 games to lead all Pirates left fielders. Thomas also started 55 games in center field, so Lynch played left field for 30 of those games, as well as spelling Clemente in right field for 30 games.

Lynch must have been injured in 1956, because he only appeared in 19 games that year, and only 1 game in the field. After the season, he was selected by Cincinnati in the rule 5 draft.

Jerry played for the Reds from 1957 until May of 1963, when he was traded back to the Pirates for outfielder Bob Skinner. In 1957, Lynch was a backup to regulars Frank Robinson, Gus Bell, and Wally Post. Before the 1958 season, Post was traded to the Phillies, which opened up right field for Lynch.

In 1959, the lineup was Lynch in LF, rookie Vada Pinson in CF, and Gus Bell in RF. Hey, I learned that for most of 1959 and half of 1960, Frank Robinson played first base! In 1960, Jerry's playing time got squeezed, as Robinson moved back to the outfield, and Post was reacquired from the Phillies for rookie outfielder Tony Gonzalez.

Cincinnati's outfield continued to be crowded in 1961, as Robinson and Post would mix-and-match as the starters in left and right, with Lynch backing up in left and Bell backing up in left and right. (Pinson was a fixture in center.) This same dynamic continued in 1962, except that Marty Keough replaced Gus Bell.

In 1963, Lynch returned to the Pirates, and for 2 years became Pittsburgh's regular left fielder (alongside Bill Virdon and Roberto Clemente), although he had rookie Willie Stargell breathing down his neck. In 1965, Stargell took over as the regular, with Jerry backing up.

1966 was Lynch's last season, and he was relegated to pinch-hitting duty, appearing in 64 games, only 4 of them in the field.

Final Card: Ray Herbert

Ray Herbert (#121) began his career in 1949 with the Toledo Mud Hens, the Tigers triple-A team. After playing for Detroit in 1950 and 1951, Herbert missed the 1952 season due to military service. He returned to the Tigers in 1953 and spent the next 2 seasons as the Tigers' top relief pitcher.

Early in the 1955 season, Herbert was sold to the Athletics, where he was a starter and reliever for the next several seasons (although he would spend the entire 1956 and 1957 seasons in triple-A).



Midway through the 1961 season, the Athletics traded Herbert to the White Sox in a 4-for-4 deal. He was strictly a starting pitcher in Chicago. In 1962 Ray won 20 games, and in 1963 he led the AL with 7 shutouts.

After the 1964 season (and 2 weeks before his 35th birthday) Herbert was traded to the Phillies for youngsters Danny Cater and Lee Elia. He spent his final 2 seasons in Philadelphia, making 19 starts in 1965, but appearing primarily in relief in 1966.

Final Card: Ed Bailey

Ed Bailey (#246) was a starting catcher from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, mostly with the Cincinnati Reds.

Isn't this just what you would expect a catcher to look like?


Ed started in the minor leagues in 1950 with class-C Ogden (UT) Reds. After 2 years in the military, Bailey returned to the minors with the class-AA Tulsa Oilers. He made his major-league debut in the last week of the 1953 season.

After spending much of 1955 in the minors, Bailey took over as the Reds' #1 catcher in 1956, making 102 starts (compared to 53 starts for Smoky Burgess, the regular catcher in 1955).

A pair of rookie catchers (Jerry Zimmerman, Johnny Edwards) took over the Reds catching duties in 1961, so in late April, Bailey was traded to the Giants.

After starting in 1961 and time-sharing with Tom Haller in 1962 and 1963, Ed was traded to the Milwaukee Braves after the season with Felipe Alou, Billy Hoeft, and Ernie Bowman for Del Crandall, Bob Hendley and Bob Shaw. Before spring training in 1965, he was traded back to the Giants for Billy O'Dell. Four months later, he was traded to the Cubs (this time with Bob Hendley).

Although this card says "Cubs", Ed was sold in January 1966 to the Angels, who released him in early May after appearing in only 5 games - all as a pinch-hitter. This brought an end to Bailey's 14-year career.

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.

Final Card: Del Crandall

What I find most interesting about Del Crandall (#339) is that he is one of the last few active players who played major-league baseball in the 1940s, and he played for the Boston Braves.

Del was the Milwaukee Braves regular catcher from 1953 to 1960. His last season was 1966, when he caught about 25% of the Indians' games. (Joe Azcue caught 50%, and Duke Sims the other 25%.)

After Del's playing career, he began managing in the minors in 1969, and managed the Brewers from 1972-75, and the Mariners in 1983 and 1984.