Final Card: Bobby Richardson

Bobby Richardson (#490) was the regular 2nd baseman for the Yankees during the end of their golden era (1959-1966).

After losing back-to-back World Series in 1963 and 1964, the grand old Yankees began dropping parts like a junker losing its transmission: Tony Kubek after 1965, Richardson, Clete Boyer, and Roger Maris after 1966, Whitey Ford retiring in May 1967, Elston Howard later in 1967, and finally, Mickey Mantle after 1968.

Richardson was signed by the Yankees in 1953 and played 4 seasons in their farm system, while also making brief appearances in New York in 1955 and 1956.

Bobby made the Yankees to stay in 1957. After a few starts in April and May, he took over the starting 2nd base job from Billy Martin on June 4th. (2 weeks later, Martin was traded to Kansas City.)



In 1958, Richardson was relegated to a backup 2B-3B role, but bounced back the following season as the #1 second baseman, a job he would hold until retiring after the 1966 season. From 1961 to 1965 he was a workhorse, starting 160, 161, 150, 156, and 157 games at 2nd base.

In his final 1966 season, Bobby played more games (149) than any other player also in their final season that year. (Willie Kirkland (124) and Harvey Kuenn (89) were the closest to him.) Richardson played his last game on October 2, 1966.

Final Card: Robin Roberts

Here is the final baseball card for 19-year veteran pitcher Robin Roberts (#530). I just received this card a few days ago, filling a prominent gap near the top of my list of retiring veterans.

Roberts was signed by the Phillies in 1948, and after only 11 games in the minors, he was brought up to the Phillies on June 18th. He ended up being the #4 starter in his rookie season, and by 1950 he was the team's ace, a position he held through the 1960 season.

Roberts led the Phillies to the 1950 World Series, and won 20 or more games every year from 1950 to 1955. This was quite a feat, since most of those Phillies teams had so-so records.



In Robin's final season with the Phillies (1961), he dropped off to a 1-10 record, and was sold to the Yankees after the season. By the following May, the Yankees released him, but he was picked up by the Orioles.

Roberts was in Baltimore's starting rotation during the years when Wally Bunker and Dave McNally were getting their start.

He was released in July 1965, and picked up by the Astros a week later. Robin started 10 games in 1965 and 12 games in 1966 before getting his release on July 4th, 1966. He played the remainder of that season with the Cubs, and in 1967 with the Phillies' double-A team in Reading, PA before retiring.

Mailbox Bonanza!

In the past few days, the following guys have shown up in my mailbox (along with some late-80s/early-90s Phillies in tow):



I have now completed these sets:
1967 NFL Football
1969 Baseball
1969 Deckle-edge insert set
All Phillies from 1964 to 1993 (except Schmidt rookie)
2 key additions to my "1966-was-their-final-card" series on this blog (Roberts, Richardson).

I added the Bart Starr card to my 1967 Packers post a few days ago, and Roberts & Richardson will be the next 2 posts on this blog.

Final Card: Dick Stigman

Dick Stigman (#512) spent 6 season in the Cleveland Indians' farm system before making his major-league debut On April 22, 1960. He made 41 appearances for the Indians that season, mostly in relief.

The following season, his playing time tapered off to 22 games. He was the 9th man on a 10-man staff. Just before the 1962 season, Stigman and Vic Power were traded to the Twins for pitcher Pedro Ramos.

Dick had more success in Minnesota. In 1962, he started 15 games and relieved in 25 others. His 142 innings pitched were 4th-most on the team. With a record of 12-5, his .706 winning percentage was tops in the American League.



In 1963, Stigman's wins (15) and innings pitched (241) were more than all other starters except Camilo Pascual (who went 21-9). 1964 was an off-year for Dick (6-15), as he was passed by Jim Kaat and Jim Grant in the Twins' rotation.

In 1965, Stigman found himself occupying the Twins' bullpen. One week before the start of the 1966 season, he was traded to the Red Sox for catcher Russ Nixon and 2nd baseman Chuck Schilling.

Stigman appeared in 34 games for the Red Sox, mostly in relief. His final major-league game was on September 10, 1966. After the season, he was sent to the Cincinnati Reds to complete an earlier trade. He spent the 1967 season with the Reds' and Phillies' triple-A teams.

Final Card: Tracy Stallard

Here we have the final baseball card for Tracy Stallard (#7), looking very determined, 5 seasons and 2 teams removed from his date with baseball history!

Stallard was signed by the Boston Red Sox in 1956, and spent 5 seasons in their farm system, before making his major-league debut on September 14, 1960. He pitched 4 games in relief (a total of 4 innings) for the Sox that year.

In 1961, Tracy was Boston's #5 starter (14 starts), but also pitched 29 games in relief. Stallard's career spanned 7 seasons and 183 games, with a record of 30-57, but he is infamously known for his 1-0 loss on the last day of the 1961 season.



Did that event negatively affect him? He spent the entire 1962 season with Boston's triple-A team in Seattle, except for pitching 1 inning for the Red Sox. After the season, he was traded to the Mets (along with infielder Pumpsie Green) for 2B-SS-3B-OF Felix Mantilla. (I hesitate to label him INF-OF, because that usually means "scrub".)

Stallard spent 2 seasons with the Mets, but because this was the Mets, his winning percentage never rose above .333. After the 1964 season, he was traded to the Cardinals, where he rebounded in 1965 with an 11-8 record, while starting 26 games and relieving in 14 others.

In 1966 he appeared in 20 games, but with a 1-5 record, he was sent to the minors after his last appearance on July 24th. He spent the remainder of 1966 and all of 1967 playing in the minors for the Cardinals and Cubs.  

July 2013 EDIT: After being out of baseball in 1968, Stallard was a non-roster invitee for the expansion Royals in 1969, and spent that season in their farm system. He also played in Mexico from 1971-73.

Final Card: Don Heffner

Don Heffner's (#269) major-league managing career consisted of managing the Reds for the first 83 games of the 1966 season. Prior to this, the picture on his card indicates that he was the coach of the "Blue Team". (Was this a semi-pro team in Flushing, NY?)



At the time of his firing, the Reds were in 8th place with a 37-46 record (15 games back). There didn't seem to be any lineup adjustments made by the new manager (Dave Bristol), and the team finished the season in 7th place (76-84, 18 games back).

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: Joe Gaines

Joe Gaines (#122) was a journeyman outfielder for 3 teams in the early-to-mid 1960s. He was signed by the Reds in 1956, and spent 6 seasons with their minor-league teams (although making a few major-league appearances in 1960 and 1961).

In 1962, Joe made the big leagues to stay. Joe had to be content with a pinch-hitting role, because the Reds had Frank Robinson, Vada Pinson, and Wally Post starting, along with Jerry Lynch and Marty Keough as the 4th and 5th outfielders.



After the 1962 season, Joe was traded to the Orioles, where he received a little more playing time in 1963 than the previous season, primarily spelling Boog Powell in left field. After infrequent use in early 1964, Gaines was traded to the Colt .45s on June 15th for outfielder Johnny Weekly.

Gaines hit the jackpot in Houston, as he was the starting right fielder for 81 of the 85 games from June 19th to September 15th. During most of this streak (July 4 to September 15) Rusty Staub was absent from the starting lineup, and was playing in triple-A (rehab assignment?). Once Staub returned to Houston, it was to right field (and for several seasons), spelling the end of Joe Gaines' gravy train.

In 1965, Gaines was the team's 4th outfielder, logging most of his playing time as a backup to Lee Maye in left and Rusty Staub in right. In Joe's final season (1966) his playing time decreased significantly, as he spent a good portion of the season (139 games) with the Astros' triple-A team in Oklahoma City. His final major-league game was on October 2, 1966.

He spent the 1967 season with the Athletics' triple-A team in Vancouver, and 1968 with the triple-A teams of the Twins and White Sox.

Mel Nelson (#367)

With this card, all 20 teams are now represented on all 3 of my baseball card blogs. This would be Nelson's last card until 1969.

Mel Nelson was signed by the Cardinals in 1954, and except for a 2-game stint with the Cardinals in September 1960, he spent the next 9 seasons in the minors. Originally an outfielder, he didn't begin pitching until 1956.

After the 1962 season, he was purchased by the Los Angeles Angels. In 1963 he made 36 appearances for the Angels (mostly in relief) along with 12 games in triple-A (mostly as a starter). He spent all of 1964 in the minors, first with the Angels' AAA team in Hawaii, then after his May 25th purchase by the Twins, with their AAA team in Atlanta.



After spending all of 1965 in the Twins' bullpen, and all of 1966 back in the minors, he would bounce up and down for the next 3 seasons. After the 1967 season, the Twins sold him to the Cardinals. Nelson made one appearance in the 1968 World Series for the Cardinals, mopping up the 9th inning of game 6 (a 13-1 blowout by the Tigers).

His last major-league game was on June 2, 1969. Mel wrapped up his career in 1970 with the Braves' triple-A team in Richmond, VA.

Giants' DP Combo (Dick Schofield/Hal Lanier)

Here's one of the "group" cards that Topps issued for most of the teams in 1966 and 1967. In 1965, these two were the Giants' starting Keystone Combo for 81 games. In 1966, they only hooked up 4 times before Schofield was sold to the Yankees in mid-May.

Dick Schofield had a 19-year career (1953-71) as a shortstop with 7 teams, mostly the Cardinals (1953-58) and the Pirates (1958-65). His only extended time as an everyday player was during the '63, '64, and '65 seasons.

His son Dick was the Angels' shortstop during the 1980s and early 1990s, and his grandson is Phillies' right fielder Jayson Werth.



Hal Lanier also comes from a baseball family. His father Max pitched for the Cardinals during the 1940s. Hal played shortstop and 2nd base for the Giants from 1964 to 1971, before winding up his career with the Yankees in 1972 and 1973. He later managed the Astros from 1986-88.

Final Card: Ernie Broglio

Here is the final card for Ernie Broglio (#423). Broglio began his minor-league career in 1953 with the independent Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League. During the 1954 season, he was sent to the Cincinnati Reds organization.

In 1955, Ernie was sent back to play for independent teams in California (Stockton, Oakland), until he was acquired by the Giants prior to the 1956 season. After the 1958 season, the Giants traded him to the Cardinals, where he made his big-league debut in April 1959.

From 1959 to 1963, Broglio was a regular in the Cardinals rotation, along with Curt Simmons, Larry Jackson, Ray Sadecki, and later, Bob Gibson. Ernie led the NL with 21 wins in 1960.



Broglio's last start for the Cardinals was on June 12, 1964, against Sandy Koufax. Ernie took the loss, making his record 3-5. Three days later, he was traded to the Cubs. In deference to Cubs' fans everywhere, I'll dispense with the remaining details (you can read the back of the card).

His final major-league game was on July 2, 1966. He spent the remainder of 1966 with the Cubs' triple-A team in Tacoma, and all of 1967 with the Reds' triple-A team in Buffalo.