Jimmy Stewart (#63)

Jimmy Stewart was a utility player for several teams (mostly the Cubs and Reds) from 1963 to 1973.

His cards almost always had him listed as "INF-OF", but his primary positions were left field, 2nd base, and shortstop. He also played some at the other outfield and corner infield spots, and even caught 2/3 of an inning in 1970.

Stewart was signed by the Cubs in June 1961 and made his major-league debut in September 1963. He played all of 1964 and 1965 with the Cubs, but split the 1966 season between the Cubs and their AAA team. His best season was 1964, when he played in 132 games and collected 33 RBI.

He was purchased by the cross-town White Sox in May 1967, but played most of that season with their triple-A team in Indianapolis. He appeared in 24 games with the Sox from mid-June to mid-July, almost always as a pinch-hitter or pinch-runner.

Jimmy was in the minors for all of 1968, then was selected by the Reds in the Rule 5 draft after the season. Stewart was with Cincinnati for all of 1969-71, with most of his playing time coming in 1969, when he made 41 starts at various positions. He started less than 10 games the other 2 years.

After the 1971 season, he headed to the Astros, along with Lee May and Tommy Helms for Joe Morgan, Denis Menke, Jack Billingham, Cesar Geronimo, and Ed Armbrister. Stewart spent the last 2 years of his career as a reserve infielder for the Astros, making only 11 starts in '72 and 6 in '73.

After his playing career he worked for the Reds from 1980-91 as a minor-league manager and then a scout. He also scouted for the Phillies from 1992-2006.

Stewart passed away in 2012 at age 73.

Final Card: Dave Roberts

I just got this card a few weeks ago, and along with a few others, I can wrap up some loose ends in the 1966 Final Cards subset.

Dave Roberts had a very brief major-league career, appearing in 16 games for the 1962 expansion Colt .45s and 14 games for the 1966 Pirates. He also played 61 games for the Colt .45s in 1964.

However, he had a very long professional career, playing 15 years in the minors (1952-66) and 7 seasons in Japan (1967-73).

After playing independent ball in '52 and '53, he was in the Orioles' organization from 1954-57, the Braves from 1957-60, the Cubs in 1961, the Colts/Astros from 1962-65, and finally the Pirates in 1966.

As mentioned, 1964 was the high point of his career. Although mostly used as a pinch-hitter, he started 18 games at 1st base for the Colt .45s in June.

After the 1965 season, the Pirates selected him from the Astros in the Rule 5 draft. He played 14 games in 1966 (all during the first 6 weeks of the season), mostly as a pinch-hitter or pinch-runner. He spent most of the season with the Pirates' AAA team, so I guess the Astros didn't want him back.

Although the Orioles purchased his contract in September 1966, he played the next 7 seasons in Japan.

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.

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.

Final Card: Frank Carpin

There's always a straggler....

This is the only card for pitcher Frank Carpin (#71). Carpin was signed by the Yankees in 1959, and was (mostly) a starting pitcher in their organization for six years. After the 1964 season, the Pirates selected him in the minor league draft.

Frank split the 1965 season between the Pirates and their AAA team in Columbus. His major-league debut came on May 25th, and he made 39 appearances (all in relief). He pitched a total of 39.2 innings, so maybe he was their situational lefty.

That November, the Astros picked him up in the Rule 5 draft. Carpin made 6 relief appearances by May 6th, then was sent down to triple-A Oklahoma city, where he pitched 44 games in relief. (I guess the Pirates refused to take him back, per Rule 5 rules.) Frank returned to the Astros in August, and pitched in 4 more games - the last on September 3rd.

His career was cut short due to bone chips in his elbow.


Here's another blogger's story of Frank Carpin, from Notre Dame to the major leagues to the business world.

Final Card: Jim Dickson

This is Jim Dickson's final card (#201). He previously appeared on the 1964 Reds Rookies and 1965 Athletics Rookies cards.

Jim was signed by the Pirates in 1958, and spent 4 seasons in the low minors as a starter and reliever. After the 1961 season, he was selected by the expansion Houston Colt .45s in the minor-league draft. Dickson pitched all of 1962 and the first half on 1963 with the Colt 45s' triple-A team in Oklahoma City. He made his major-league debut with Houston on July 2nd, and appeared in 13 games for the Colt 45s, all as a reliever.



Prior to the 1964 season, Jim was traded to the Reds for shortstop (and future Red Sox' manager) Eddie Kasko. Dickson only got into 4 games for the Reds that year, spending most of the season with the Reds' AAA San Diego team.

In November 1964, he was selected by the Athletics in the Rule 5 draft. This required him to stay on the major-league roster for the entire season. (1965 would be his only full season in the majors.) He pitched 85 innings in 68 games, both high points of his short career.

The 1966 season would be his last in the big leagues. He made his final appearance for the Athletics on July 24th, and spent the remainder of the 1966 season, as well as the 1967-70 seasons in the minors.

Final Card: Ken Hamlin

This is the final card for Ken Hamlin (#69). It's also his first card since 1962. Hamlin was a shortstop until 1965, when he switched to second base for his final 2 seasons.

Ken was signed by the Pirates in 1957, and played in their farm system from 1957 to 1959. He had a 2-game cup of coffee with the Pirates in 1957. He also played in the Mexican league for part of 1958.

After the 1959 season, the Pirates traded Hamlin and pitcher Dick Hall to the Athletics for catcher Hal Smith. After only 5 major-league games in the 3 previous years, Hamlin became the Athletics' regular shortstop in 1960, starting 127 of his 139 games there. Oddly enough, after this Cinderella story, Hamlin was left exposed to the expansion draft, and was selected by the Angels.



After sharing the starting shortstop assignments with the likes of Fritz Brickell and Rocky Bridges, Hamlin was traded to the independent Toronto Maple Leafs for second baseman Billy Moran in late June. This was 2 days after the Angels purchased shortstop Joe Koppe from the Cardinals for $1000. (Koppe would start almost all the remaining games at shortstop.)

After the season, Ken was claimed by the Washington Senators in the rule 5 draft, and he was back in the majors in 1962. He shared the shortstop job with journeyman Bob Johnson and rookie Ed Brinkman.

The next 2 seasons were spent in triple-A (presumably on loan, because Rochester was the Orioles' affiliate, and Toronto was the Senators' and Braves' affiliate).

Ken made it back to the majors in 1965, now as a second baseman. He started 63 games at 2nd and 31 games at SS, but was the backup at each position (to Don Blasingame and Ed Brinkman).

His playing time decreased in his final season (1966), as he started only 40 games at second base. By this time, he was the 3rd-stringer behind Bob Saverine and Don Blasingame.

He retired after the 1966 season at age 31.