Braves Rookies: Jim Beauchamp / Dick Kelley

This is the first (#84) of two Braves Rookies cards in the 1966 set. We already looked at the second Braves rookies card here.

Jim Beauchamp was signed by the Cardinals in 1958. He made his major-league debut with them in September 1963, then played parts of '64 and '65 with the Astros. He came to the Braves in May 1965 along with pitcher Ken Johnson in exchange for outfielder Lee Maye. 

 

Most of his Braves' tenure (1965-67) was spent in the minors, although he played 4 games for the Braves in 1965 and again in 1967. He also played for the Reds, Cardinals, and Mets from 1968-73.  

 

 

Dick Kelley was signed by the Braves in 1959, and after a cup of coffee in 1964, he played in parts of '65 and '66, and all of 1967-68 for the Braves. Drafted by the expansion Padres, he was their only left-handed starter in 1969, and after a year in the minors he returned to the Padres' bullpen for 1971.

Tigers Rookies: (Fritz Fisher / John Hiller)

This is a typical Rookie Stars card (#209), where one of the two players chosen by Topps goes on to a long career, and one does not. 

Fritz Fisher is the "not" in this scenario. The sum of his major-league experience was one game for the Tigers in April 1964. He pitched 1/3 of an inning, and came away with a 108.00 ERA. He kicked around in Detroit's farm system for 5 years (1963-67) before hanging them up. 

 

In contrast, John Hiller pitched a few innings in '65 and '66, then had a solid career from 1967-80, all with the Tigers. (He missed the 1971 season after having a heart attack that January.) Hiller returned to the Tigers in 1972, and led the AL in games and saves in 1973. He also posted 17 wins (all in relief) in 1974.

New Acquisitions

In the past few months, I was running out of 1966 cards to feature on this blog. Sure, I had a lot of cards left, but they are either for players I already posted for another year, or capless Braves and Angels who I am tired of looking at.

But reinforcements have arrived! Last month I bought eleven 1966 cards on eBay, my first "new" baseball cards since I binge-purchased a bunch of 1965 cards in 2015. (Since then, I only bought football cards to complete my 1964 to 1966 Eagles, and some of the giant 1964 Topps cards.)

For me, the prize is the NL Batting Leaders card, with its 3 Hall of Famers.  There's a full-height crease just to the left of Willie Mays, but that's ok, I didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for this one. Now I can post the 3 NL Batting/HR/RBI cards for 1966, completing the 48-card run from 1966 to 1969.


Low Numbers:

High Numbers:

Coming up in the next several posts, I will also take an in-depth look at these final cards for Chi Chi Olivo, Dick Bertell, Dave Roberts, and Bob Sadowski.

Pirates Rookies (#123, #498)

Topps included 3 pitchers and a catcher in their 1966 Pirates Rookies Stars.

First up is Frank Bork, Topps apparently lost track of what they were doing with Bork, putting him on a Rookie Stars card 1 year after giving him his own card. Nice...

Jerry May was the Pirates' #1 catcher in 1967 and 1968, then backed up Manny Sanguillen from 1969-70. He also played for the Royals from 1971-73.


Luke Walker appeared on a Pirates Rookies card in '66, '67, and '68. (Can anyone say Lou Piniella?) After a 2-game debut in September 1965, he played 10 games in April and September 1966, then not again until the start of the 1968 season.

Woody Fryman was named to the Topps All-Rookie team in 1966 after posting a 12-9 record. After 2 seasons with the Bucs, he was traded to the Phillies (with 3 others) for pitcher Jim Bunning. He pitched 16 more seasons with the Phillies, Expos, and others.

Astros Rookies (#244, #539, #596)

Here are the 1966 Astros Rookie Stars cards. The first one is card #244 featuring Chuck Harrison and Sonny Jackson. Both photos are airbrushed nightmares, using techniques also found on the next card: a poorly-painted logo and fading cap edge, and the other photo looks like someone scribbled over the cap logo with a black sharpie. Both players would have much better cards in the 1967 set.

There were two other Astros Rookie Stars cards in the 1966 set, both in the high-numbered 7th series. I don't have these 2 cards, but for completeness I am including images of the card fronts I found on the internet.

Looks like the same guy was in charge of airbrushing this card (#539). ("Air-brushing" may be too generous a term, because it looks like this was done with a dime-store paintbrush.) Bill Heath looks a lot like fellow Astros' catcher John Bateman here. Heath would get a better card in the 1967 set, then disappear until having one last card in the 1970 set as a Cub.

Carroll Sembera also has a good-looking card in the 1967 set, then falls victim to the disaster inflicted on all the 1968 Astros cards. He also has a final card in the 1969 set as a capless Montreal Expo.

Ahh! A decent-looking rookies card (#596). After this card, Nate Colbert vanishes until resurfacing in the 1969 set as a San Diego Padre. This is Greg Sims' only baseball card.

Senators Rookies (#11, #333, #549)

The Senators had THREE Rookie Stars cards in the 1966 set. (Topps would make up for that extravagance by having no Senators Rookies cards in the 1969 set!)

4 hits, and 2 misses - which is about average.

Brant Alyea played a few games in 1965, but primarily played for the Senators (1968-69), and Twins (1970-71), before wrapping up his career with 2 teams in 1972.

Let's add Pete Craig to the list of guys who appeared on 3 or more Topps Rookie Stars cards ('65, '66, '67).  His major-league career was 6 games, spread across 1964-66).

Joe Coleman had the best career of this 6-pack. He played for 15 seasons, for the Senators (1965-70), Tigers (1971-76), and 5 other teams from 1976-79.

Jim French was the Senators' backup catcher from 1965-71, and started a career-high 56 games in 1969.

Al Closter was a Yankees' farmhand from 1965-73, but also played 1 game for the Senators in 1966.  His only other big-league action was 14 games for the Yankees in 1971, and a game or 2 for the Yanks and Braves from 1972-73.

Casey Cox pitched 7 years for the Senators/Rangers (1966-72), before finishing up with the Yankees in 1973.  He was primarily a reliever, except for 1970.

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Yankees Rookies: Bobby Murcer / Dooley Womack

Here is Bobby Murcer's rookie card (#469). I got this last year at an outdoor flea market, cutting the remaining 1966 non-high numbers needed from 12 to 11.

Murcer also appeared on a Yankees Rookies card in 1967, before finally getting a solo card in the 1969 set. (He was omitted from the 1968 set because he had been in the Army for all of 1967 and 1968.) Please check out those 2 Murcer links, so I don't have to repeat his exploits on this page. 


This is also Dooley Womack's rookie card. I haven't posted any of his solo cards yet, so I'll say that he played 8 seasons in the Yankees' farm system before pitching out of the Yanks' bullpen from 1966-68.

Traded to the Astros in the off-season, he was swapped to the Seattle Pilots late in 1969 for Jim Bouton. Womack spent most of 1970 and all of 1971 in the minors before retiring.  He pitched 2 games with Oakland in late 1970. His final card was in the 1969 set.

NL Rookies: Bart Shirley / Grant Jackson

Here is one of the multi-team rookie cards that Topps put in their 7th Series in the mid-to late 1960s. Normally, these rookie stars cards have 2 to 3 players from 1 team, but in the last series, Topps had these "catch all" cards to pick up random rookies not already featured. (The Rod Carew rookie card in 1967 is another example.)

Bart Shirley was a utility infielder briefly for the Dodgers in the 1960s. This is his rookie card, but he also appears on a Mets Rookies card in 1967 and on his own card (as a Dodger) in the 1969 set.

Shirley was signed by the Dodgers in 1961 and played every season from 1961-70 in their farm system, mostly at SS/2B. Bart had brief call-ups to LA for a dozen or so games in 1964 and 1966.

After the '66 season he was selected by the Mets in the Rule 5 draft, but after 6 games with New York, he was returned to the Dodgers in mid-May. He was immediately assigned to the minors, and only saw major-league action again during the last 2 months of the 1968 season, playing in 39 games.

This is also Grant Jackson's rookie card, but unlike Bart Shirley, Jackson went on to a long career with the Phillies, Orioles, and Pirates. He appeared on a Phillies Rookies card in the 1967 set, then had his own card in every set from 1968 to 1982.

Jackson made his major-league debut with the Phillies in September 1965. After 2 games in 1966, he made the Phillies for good at the start of 1967. After long stints with the Orioles and Pirates, he played briefly with the Expos and Royals before retiring after the 1982 season.

You can read more about Jackson here.

Braves Rookies: Herb Hippauf / Arnie Umbach

As cool as it is seeing Tommy Harper's thumbnail next to Vada Pinson's 1967 thumbnail on the sidebar, it's time to move on. 

Here is the 2nd Braves Rookie Stars card in the set (#518). Since it was in the last series, it is one of only 4 Braves cards showing the players in their new "Atlanta" caps (along with Hank Aaron, pitcher Chi-Chi Olivo and manager Bobby Bragan) All other Braves' cards are capless, but more than that, have ridiculous-looking poses. (Google Clay Carroll 1966 Topps for an example!)

Topps swung and missed with these two players:

Herb Hippauf's major-league career consisted of 3 games between 4/27 and 5/3/1966. Did Topps jump on his bandwagon with this late-season card? I doubt it. His ERA over those 3 games was 13.50. After 6 seasons (1960-65) in the minors, the Braves promoted him to the big club. After his poor showing, he spent the remainder of 1966 in the minors, then was out of baseball.

After his playing career, Herb was a scout for the Astros, Braves, Expos, and Rockies. Hippauf passed away from cancer in 1995 at age 56. The Rockies have an annual award bearing his name, given to the person who best exemplifies loyalty, dedication, etc toward the Rockies.


Arnie Umbach's playing career was marginally better than Hippauf's. Umbach pitched in the Braves' system from 1961-66, and made brief appearances with the Braves in 1964 (1 game) and 1966 (22 games).

After the 1966 season, he was included in the trade that sent 3rd baseman Eddie Mathews and 2nd baseman Sandy Alomar to the Astros for pitcher Bob Bruce and outfielder Dave Nicholson. After pitching for the Astros' AAA team in 1967, he pitched 2 games for their AA Dallas-Fort Worth team in 1968, and was done.

Phillies Rookies - Ferguson Jenkins / Bill Sorrell

Winding down my cross-blog series on Phillies players from 1966-69. Only four to go after this card (one '68, one '69, two '70)...

This is the only Phillies Rookies card in the 1966 set (#254). It's the first card for both players, and also their only card as a Phillie.

For the two of you that have never heard this story, Ferguson Jenkins was traded to the Cubs in April 1966, and in 1967 began a string of many appearances on Topps cards as a Cub (coinciding with his string of 20-win seasons).  The rest is well-documented history.

Bill Sorrell was signed by the Phillies in 1959, and played 6 seasons (1960-65) in their system as a 2B-SS-3B-OF until making his major-league debut in September 1965. After another year on the farm, he was selected by the Giants in the Rule 5 draft after the '66 season. He showed up on a Giants Rookies card in 1967, played 18 early-season games with San Francisco, then was sent back to the Phillies in late June (resuming his minor-league career).

Except for 57 games with the 1970 Royals (and a solo card in the '71 set), Bill spent all of 1968-71 in the minors, followed by 2 seasons in Japan.

Sorrell passed away in 2008 at age 67.

Togetherness (Lee May / Darrell Osteen)

I just noticed this last week:

Has this ever happened before or since?  Even Bill Davis, the Indians' rookie 1st baseman who famously appeared on FIVE rookie stars cards in the 1960s, managed to get a different dance partner each time.

The life and times of Lee May have already been covered here.

Darrell Osteen was signed by the Reds in 1962, 5 years after they signed pitcher Claude Osteen (who until today, I thought was his brother). Darrell pitched in the Reds' farm system from 1962-67, and made a few appearances with the Reds in '65, '66, and '67.

After the 1967 season, he and outfielder Floyd Robinson were traded to the Athletics for pitcher Ron Tompkins. Osteen missed the 1968 and 1969 seasons, but pitched in 3 games for Oakland in 1970, while spending most of 1970 and all of 1971 in the minors with the A's and Yankees.


I'm starting a rumor that Osteen, miffed when he couldn't stay with Lee May in Cincinnati, demanded a trade to another organization:

Osteen now takes his place among Bill Davis, Lou Piniella and Ron Stone in the 3+ Rookie Stars club.

Orioles Rookies: Darold Knowles / Andy Etchebarren

The 2 players featured on the 1966 Orioles Rookies card (#27) got lots of playing time in 1966.

Darold Knowles was actually traded to the Phillies prior to the 1966 season (for reliever Jack Baldschun, who was flipped to Cincinnati in the Frank Robinson trade). Knowles became the go-to guy in an otherwise aging Phillies' bullpen in 1966. He led the staff with 69 appearances, and notched 13 saves (9 more than the next guy).

After the season, Darold was traded to the Senators for outfielder Don Lock. He spent 4+ seasons toiling in Washington, then was traded to the Oakland Athletics in May 1971. Knowles appeared in the post-season for the A's in '71 and '73. After the 1974 season, Darold bounced around for 5 more years (Cubs, Rangers, Expos, Cardinals) before being released by St. Louis in May 1980.



Andy Etchebarren took over the starting catcher's job as a rookie in 1966, making the all-star team and playing in the World Series against the Dodgers. He was also the regular backstop in '67 (with another all-star appearance), but for the next 7 seasons he shared the job with Elrod Hendricks ('68-'71), Johnny Oates ('72), and Earl Williams ('73-'74). He also played in the '69, '70, and '71 World Series, and the '73 and '74 ALCS.
In June 1975, he was sold to the Angels, and was their starting catcher for the last 5 weeks of the season, and for most of 1976. After the 1977 season, he was sold to the Brewers, but only played 4 games in early April 1978 before his career was over.

White Sox Rookies: Tommie Agee / Marv Staehle

This card (#164) is the first of 2 White Sox Rookies cards in the 1966 set.

This is not Tommie Agee's first card, as he previously appeared on an Indians Rookies card in 1965. I don't know who holds the record for most appearances on a "rookie" card, but it isn't Agee. Lou Piniella was on 3 rookie cards (Senators - 1964, Indians - 1968, Pilots - 1969).

Agee was signed by the Indians in 1961, and played in their farm system for 4 seasons before going to the White Sox in a 3-team, 8-player trade in January 1965. He is probably best known for his exploits with the Mets, particularly in their 1969 world championship season. (Topps has spelled his first name incorrectly (twice) on the back of this card.)



Marv Staehle had a less-spectacular career than Agee. He was signed by the White Sox in 1960, and after 7 seasons playing SS and 2B in their farm system, he bounced around to various organizations (Mets, Indians, Pilots) before the Montreal Expos purchased him from the Seattle Pilots late in the 1969 season.

Most of Marv's major-league playing time came during 1970, when the Expos platooned him at 2nd base with Gary Sutherland.

His final major-league season was 1971, with the Braves.