1966 Custom Cards

A few years ago, John Hogan at the "Cards That Never Were" blog made a batch of custom baseball and football cards for me at my request.  I noticed that John did not include these images on his own blog, so I am posting them here so they can be appreciated by all. These are cards where the player was either missing, traded during the season, or just to upgrade a player from a Rookie Stars card to a solo card.

You may have already seen the 1967, 1968, and 1971 football cards or the 1967 baseball cards he made for me on the blogs for those sets. He also created some baseball cards in the '66, '68, and '69 style.


First, the missing cards:

Joe Adcock played for the Reds, Braves, Indians, and Angels from 1950-66. Although he was the Angels' regular 1st baseman through the 1966 season, he did not have a card from 1964-66.

Like Joe Adcock, Dick Hall had been a steady player for his team (Orioles) for many seasons, but did not get a Topps card from 1964-66.

Junior Gilliam was the Dodgers 2nd or 3rd baseman from 1953-66. The Dodgers released him after the 1964 season, but resigned him in the spring of 1965. The same thing happened the following year, which is why he doesn't have a card in the '65 or '66 set.

Bob Lillis was Houston's regular shortstop from 1962-65, until losing the job to rookie Sonny Jackson in 1966. He was a backup in 1966 (68 games) but had no card that year.

Ed Roebuck was a relief pitcher who played from 1955-1966. He played many seasons for the Dodgers, and wrapped up his career with the Phillies from 1964-66.

Frank Bolling was the Braves' regular 2nd baseman through the 1965 season and part of 1966, but his final card was in the '65 set.

Don Blasingame's story is the same as Frank Bolling's, except that he was traded to the Athletics midway through the '66 season.

Hawk Taylor was a backup catcher for the Braves and Mets from 1961-66, but spent most of 1965 in the minors.

Lou Clinton played all of 1962-66 in the majors, so it's a mystery why he was omitted from the '66 set. His final card was in the 1967 set.

Ozzie Virgil bounced between the majors and AAA ever since 1957.  1965 was his only full season in the majors, but since he only played in 39 games, maybe Topps was assuming he wouldn't be around in 1966.  He split '66 between the Giants and the minors.

Jerry McNertney was a backup catcher for the White Sox from 1964-68, then became the expansion Pilots' #1 backstop in 1969.

Joey Amalfitano was an infielder for the Cubs from 1963-66. He also began coaching for the Cubs, and was reactivated for a short time during the 1967 season.

Larry Elliot was a spare outfielder with the Mets for parts of 1964 and 1966, but played all of 1965 in the minors, ruining his chance for a card in the '66 set.


Rookies without cards in the 1966 set: 

Dick Lines made his major-league debut with the Senators in 1966, pitching in 54 games.

Rick Wise played briefly with the Phillies in 1964, but spent all of 1965 in the minors before returning in 1966.

Darold Knowles was featured in the 1966 set on an Orioles Rookie Stars card. He was traded to the Phillies prior to 1966 and became their bullpen ace in his rookie season. Foolishly, the Phillies traded him to the Senators after the season for (the soon to be washed-up) Don Lock.

Jackie Hernandez and Jay Johnstone both made their major-league debuts in 1966.

Joe Verbanic (pictured in a hat, for once!) and John Morris made their debuts in 1966, but were both traded for veteran relievers after the season.

After earlier cups of coffee, Ron Davis and Ken Holtzman got their big breaks in 1966.

Veteran backup catcher Jim Schaffer toiled for the Phillies' AAA team in San Diego during the '66 and '67 seasons, and got a September callup in both years. His final card was in the 1968 set. (Dick Stuart had a card in the 1966 set.)


That's Just Topps Being Topps:

Dick Ellsworth had a card in the 1966 set, but it has a photo of Ken Hubbs, the Cubs' young 2nd baseman who was killed in a plane crash several years earlier. Nice going, Topps!

Who didn't get a card, but shoulda... (re-mix)

I originally posted this on 11/15/2009, but recently I found several more players who were missing 1966 cards, so I'm bumping this to the top.


Here are some players who didn't have a card in 1966, though playing in the majors for some time:

Joe Adcock
Joe was a long-time first baseman for several American League teams in the 1950s and 1960s. His last player card was in 1963, although he continued to play regularly for 3 more full seasons with the Angels. After retiring following the 1966 season, he was immediately hired as the Indians manager, and has a 1967 manager card.

Dick Hall
Hall was a relief pitcher for the Pirates (1955-59), Athletics (1960), Orioles (1961-66, 69-71), and Phillies (1967-68). He had Topps cards in 1955-57, 1960-63, and 1967-71. The missing cards in 1958 and 1959 are to be expected, since he spent most of 1957 and 1959 in the minors, and was either out of baseball or injured during the 1958 season. However, there doesn't appear to be a baseball reason for the missing cards from 1964 to 1966, since he was a full-time major-league player with plenty of appearances from 1960 to 1971.

Maury Wills
Wills didn't have a Topps card until 1967. I read a note from Ted Taylor saying that Wills was under contract to Fleer (he had a Fleer card in 1963) and Fleer would not release him to Topps.

Chris Short
Like Wills, Short's 1st card was in 1967. He had been pitching regularly for the Phillies since 1960.

Tony Horton
Tony was a backup 1B-OF for the Red Sox between 1965 and early 1967. Although he only played 6 major-league games in 1966, in 1965 he appeared in 44 games for the Red Sox, playing 344 innings at 1st base. This should have warranted a card for 1966.

Doug Clemens (added 2/28/10)
Clemens was in the major leagues for parts of every season from 1960 to 1968, and continuously since opening day in 1964. He had 218 at-bats in 1964 and 340 at-bats in 1965, yet his only baseball card was in 1967.


Added 4/20/2010:

None of the players listed below spent any time in the minors in 1965 (normally the reason a veteran is denied a baseball card).

Lou Clinton
Lou played 102 games in 1965 for the Angels, Athletics, and Indians. In 1966, he played 80 games for the Yankees. His last card was in 1967.

Don Blasingame
Don was the Senators' regular 2nd baseman in 1965, and played 80 games in 1966 for the Senators and Athletics. His last card was in 1965.

Frank Bolling
Frank was the Braves' regular 2nd baseman in 1965, and played 75 games in 1966 for the Braves, splitting the 2B duties with Woody Woodward. His last card was in 1965.

Bob Lillis
Bob was the Astros' regular shortstop in 1965, starting 2/3 of the games there. He played 68 games in 1966 for the the Astros. His last card was in 1964.

Eddie Kasko
Eddie got 215 at-bats for the Astros in 1965, starting 1/3 of the games at shortstop. He played 58 games in 1966 for the Red Sox. His last card was in 1963.

Joey Amalfitano
Joey played 67 games (96 at-bats) for the Cubs in 1965 as a utility infielder. He played 41 games in the same role in 1966. His last card was in 1965.

Wes Stock
Wes pitched in 62 games for the Athletics in 1965, and another 35 in 1966. His last card was in 1967.

Jay Ritchie
Jay pitched in 44 games for the Red Sox in 1965, and 22 for the Braves in 1966. His last card was in 1965.