Dave Morehead (#297)

Dave Morehead had an 8-year career from 1963 to 1970.  After 6 seasons with the Red Sox, he played his final 2 years with the Kansas City Royals.

Morehead was signed by Boston in 1961 and made his big-league debut in April 1963 by shutting out the Senators. A month later he pitched a 1-hitter against Washington. (If only all his starts could be against the Nats!)

For his first 3 seasons he was a starting pitcher, making around 30 starts per season, and pitching from 165 to 190 innings per year. His strikeout totals those years were 136, 139, and 163. Although he led the AL with 18 losses in 1965 (the Sox lost 100 games that year), he remained in the starting rotation, and pitched a no-hitter against the Indians in September.

The bottom fell out of his career in 1966. As the back of his card says, he had arm trouble limiting him to just 12 games. This continued to plague him through the 1969 season. Whereas he was routinely starting 30 games and pitching 160+ innings, he averaged just 11 games and about 34 innings for the Sox from 1966-68, while spending a good deal of time in the minors.

After the 1968 season, he was selected by the Royals in the expansion draft. He spent part of 1969 in the minors, and although appearing in 21 games for KayCee, only 2 were starts, and he pitched only 33 innings while compiling a 5.73 ERA.

Dave finally bounced back in 1970, starting 17 of his 28 games and posting a 3.62 ERA in 121 innings. Although only compiling a 3-5 record, his other stats were good compared to his previous 4 seasons.

Arm troubles resurfaced, and he was released during spring training in 1971.

Jose Santiago (#473)

It’s been a very busy summer for me. Let’s see if I can get back into the blogging thing… 

Jose Santiago was a pitcher for the Athletics and Red Sox from 1963 to 1970.

Signed by the Kansas City Athletics in 1959, he pitched in their farm system until making his major-league debut with 4 games in September 1963.

Jose was mostly a reliever for KC. He pitched most of ’64 with the Athletics, but spent much of the ’65 season back in triple-A.

After the 1965 season he was sold to the Red Sox, and spent the next 4 ½ seasons pitching for Boston. Jose was mostly a starter during the 1966 season, but spent much of 1967 in the Sox’ bullpen. He did start 11 games that year, including games 1 and 4 of the World Series, where he was matched up against Bob Gibson both times, but lost both games. (He did hit a homerun in game 1!)

After 18 consecutive starts in 1968, an elbow injury ended his season in mid-July, and pretty much cut short his career. He only pitched in 10 games during 1969, and after a few games in 1970 was sent down to the minors for the second half of the season, never to return.

Santiago finished the 1970 season (and played all of 1971) with the Red Sox’ in triple-A team in Louisville.

In 1979 he managed a team in the Inter-American League.

George Scott (#75)

After 4 seasons in the minors, George "Boomer" Scott made his major-league debut on April 12, 1966. Thrown right into the fire, he played every game during his rookie season. After starting 3 of the first 4 games at 3rd base, he moved across the diamond and started all but two of the remaining games at 1st base.

Boomer (he was "Boomer" long before that blowhard on a national sports network was "Boomer") finished the season with a .245 average, 27 homers and 97 RBI, while leading the AL with 152 strikeouts, and finished 3rd in the Rookie of the Year voting.

He had similar playing time in 1967, but his average jumped to .303, while his homers (19) and RBI (82) were down. He also cut his strikeout total to 119, and won his first of 8 gold gloves. Scott was 6 for 26 in the World Series that year.

George played 6 seasons with the Sox, and was primarily their 3rd baseman during the '69 and '70 seasons (the only 2 years from 1967-76 that he didn't win a gold glove).

He was traded to the Brewers after the 1971 season (with pitchers Jim Lonborg and Ken Brett, catcher Don Pavletich, and outfielders Billy Conigliaro and Joe Lahoud) for pitchers Lew Krausse and Marty Pattin, outfielder Tommy Harper, and ex-Phillies farmhand Pat Skrable. (Wow, that deal seems so lopsided!)

George played 5 seasons as the Brewers' 1st sacker, then returned to the Red Sox (along with outfielder Bernie Carbo) for 1st baseman Cecil Cooper. After 2 1/2 seasons back at his old 1st base post in Fenway Park, Scott was traded to the Royals in June 1979.

After 2 months in Kaycee, and 1 month with the Yankees, George's major-league career was over. He played in the Mexican League from 1980-1984.

The 1967 Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox jumped from 9th place in 1966 to 1st place in 1967, powered by Carl Yastrzemski's triple-crown performance, Jim Lonborg's 22-9 pitching record, and to some extent, the collapse of the defending champion Baltimore Orioles' pitching staff.

The Sox started the season with a rotation of Jim Lonborg, rookie Billy Rohr, Darrell Brandon, and Dennis Bennett, with Hank Fischer getting the odd spot start. By the end of the season, that would change to Lonborg, Jose Santiago, Gary Bell, and Lee Stange.

Jim Lonborg led the team with a 22-9 record in 39 starts, including 15 complete games and 246 strikeouts. He was 2-1 in 3 World Series starts. Lee Stange went 8-10 in 24 starts and 11 relief appearances. He was with the team for the entire season, but didn't join the rotation until early June. Gary Bell won 12 and lost 8 after his June 4th acquisition from Cleveland. Dennis Bennett was 4-3 in 11 starts before he was shipped out to the Mets in late June.

John Wyatt fashioned a 10-7 record as the team's bullpen ace, pitching in 60 games (all in relief). Darrell Brandon made 19 starts through early August, then was relegated to the bullpen for the rest of the season. Jose Santiago spent most of the season in the bullpen, although he made 5 consecutive starts in May, and returned to a starting role in late August. He also started 2 World Series games. Dan Osinski made 34 appearances, all in relief.

Sparky Lyle made his major-league debut on July 4th, the first of 27 relief outings. Dave Morehead spent most of the season in the minors, then appeared in 10 games (9 starts) beginning on August 1st. Gary Waslewski made his major-league debut on June 11th, and made 8 starts in June and July.  He returned to the team in late September in a relief role. After 2 seasons as a key member of Boston's staff, Jerry Stephenson only appeared in 8 games in 1967, all in  late August and September.

Other assorted pitchers: Hank Fischer pitched in 7 games in April and May. His only other action was both ends of an August 8th doubleheader. Bill Landis pitched 18 games for the Red Sox in 1967, with very few appearances in mid-season. Galen Cisco spent much of the season in the minors, but played 11 games between late April and mid-July. On June 2nd (one year to the day he was acquired from the Indians) Don McMahon was traded to the White Sox for Jerry Adair.

Here are the starting 8 for the Sox. After the season, Mike Ryan would be traded to the Phillies. George Scott was fresh off his Topps all-rookie season in 1966, and hit 19 homers in 1967. Rookie Mike Andrews won the 2nd base job, but slipped into a job-share with Jerry Adair in late September (and the post-season). Rico Petrocelli and Joe Foy held down the left side of the infield.

The outfield was manned by triple-crown winner Carl Yastrzemski, rookie Reggie Smith, and slugger Tony Conigliaro. Tony was beaned in late August, and missed the remainder of the season, and all of 1968.

These are the bench players, in order of playing time.  Jerry Adair was acquired in early June, and filled in for Petrocelli at shortstop for most of July, and replaced Foy at 3rd base for most of August and September. Lefty Jose Tartabull started 18 games in center and 29 games in right, many coming just after Conigliaro was beaned. Dalton Jones was the primary infield reserve. Rookie catcher Russ Gibson started 37 games, and would share the starting job in 1968 with long-time Yankee Elston Howard, who was acquired on August 3rd.

George Thomas was the 5th outfielder, playing mostly on the corners. Ken Harrelson was signed in late August (after his release by Kansas City) to replace Conigliaro in right field. Bob Tillman began the season as the team's backup catcher, but with the emergence of Gibson and the acquisition of Howard, Tillman was expendable, and was shipped to the Yankees days after Howard's arrival.

Veteran Norm Siebern was picked up on July  15th, and provided lefthanded pinch-hitting. Don Demeter and 1st baseman Tony Horton were traded to the Indians in early June for pitcher Gary Bell.
[Tony Horton photo courtesy of http://www.ootpdevelopments.com] Jim Landis was signed in mid-August to replace Conigliaro, but was released a week later.

Ken Brett made his big-league debut on September 27th. Speaking of debuts, this was Dick Williams' first major-league managerial job, and he went all the way to the World Series. Garry Roggenburk and George Smith did not play for the Red Sox in 1967.

Topps hit the jackpot with the first Red Sox rookies card - both players were everyday players in their rookie season. Billy Rohr began the season in the starting rotation, but returned to the minors in early June.


Transactions from the end of the 1966 season to the end of 1967:

10/13/66 - Traded pitcher Bill Monbouquette to the Tigers for George Smith and George Thomas.

10/17/66 - Sold pitcher Bill Short to the Pirates.

10/21/66 - Released shortstop Eddie Kasko and outfielder Lenny Green.

11/28/66 - Drafted Bill Landis from the Athletics in the rule 5 draft.

12/15/66 - Traded pitchers Dick Stigman and Rollie Sheldon to the Reds for Hank Fischer.

06/02/67 - Traded Don McMahon to the White Sox for Jerry Adair.

06/04/67 - Traded Don Demeter and Tony Horton to the Indians for Gary Bell.

06/24/67 - Sold Dennis Bennett to the New York Mets.

07/15/67 - Purchased Norm Siebern from the  Giants.

08/03/67 - Traded pitcher Ron Klimkowski to the Yankees for Elston Howard.

08/08/67 - Sold Bob Tillman to the Yankees.

08/22/67 - Signed Jim Landis as a free agent.

08/28/67 - Signed Ken Harrelson as a free agent; released Jim Landis.

09/01/67 - Released pitcher Pete Charton.

11/30/67 - Traded outfielder Bill Schlesinger to the Cubs for pitcher Ray Culp.

12/15/67 - Traded Mike Ryan to the Phillies for Dick Ellsworth and Gene Oliver.


Next team review: Atlanta Braves

Final Card: George Smith

Only 3 more cards to go in my "Final Cards" series for the 1967 set: 

Topps chose a less-than-flattering photo for George Smith's final card (#444). George's major-league career was over before this card hit the streets. In fact, he's one of 11 players with their own card in the set who didn't play in the majors after 1966.

George began playing baseball in 1955 with his hometown St. Petersburg Saints, an unaffiliated class-D team in the Florida State League. After being out of baseball during '56 and '57, he was signed by the Tigers in 1958.

Smith played in Detroit's minor league system every season from 1958 to 1965, while also appearing in 52 games for the Tigers in 1963, and a handful in '64 and '65. Although primarily a 2nd baseman, he played a lot of 3rd base and outfield in the minors during the 1963 season.

Immediately after the 1965 season, he and outfielder George Thomas were sent to the Red Sox for veteran pitcher Bill Monbouquette. Smith took over the starting 2nd base job from the departed Felix Mantilla (who coincidentally, was also one of the 11 players in the 1967 set who didn't play after 1966).

George's employment in Boston only lasted one season, as rookie Mike Andrews took over the reins at 2B starting with game #7 of the pennant-winning 1967 season. (Rookie centerfielder Reggie Smith started at 2B for the first six games of the season.)

George spent the 1967 season as a backup 2nd baseman for the Giants' triple-A team in Phoenix. He did the same thing in his final season (1968), splitting time between the Astros' and Senators' triple-A teams.

Smith died in his hometown of St. Petersburg, FL in 1987, about 3 weeks short of his 50th birthday.

Galen Cisco (#596)

Here is the rare, 7th-series card for Galen Cisco. Galen looks older than his 30 years here.

Cisco was signed by the Red Sox in 1958, and spent 2 seasons in the low minors followed by 1 1/2 seasons in triple-A, all in the Red Sox' organization. He made his major-league debut in June 1961 with the Red Sox.

Galen was with Boston full-time until early September 1962, when he was picked up by the Mets. He spent the next 3 full seasons pitching for the hapless Mets, both as a starter and reliever. Cisco pitched in the minors for the entire 1966 season, first for the Mets, then 2 days after his June 4th release, his old Red Sox team picked him up and assigned him to their AAA Toronto team.



Since this is a late-season card, it includes a note about him making the '67 team as a non-roster spring training invitee. It didn't last long though, as he only pitched 11 games for the Sox that season, and was soon back in the minors. This time, he stayed down until being rescued in 1969 by the expansion Royals. (He was actually purchased by the Royals in August 1968, before they fielded a team. This also happened to Jim Bouton, who was purchased by the Seattle Pilots in 1968 from the Yankees.)

Besides pitching in 15 games for the Royals in 1969, Cisco pitched for their triple-A Omaha team in '69 and '70. His final player card is in the 1969 set.

Final Card: Hank Fischer

This is the final baseball card for Hank Fischer (#342).

Hank was signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1959. After 3 seasons in the minors, he made his major-league debut in April 1962. Fischer appeared in 29 games (37 innings) for the Braves in 1962, all in relief.

Hank's playing time increased in 1963. While still primarily a reliever, he also started 6 games. In 1964, he made the transition to starting pitcher, and was #4 behind Tony Cloninger, Denny Lemaster, and the 43-year-old Warren Spahn.



Fischer was pushed down to #5 starter in 1965, due to the emergence of Wade Blasingame as a top starter and the acquisition of Ken Johnson from Houston (Spahn was gone). He also made 12 relief appearances along with his 19 starts.

In 1966, the Braves moved to Atlanta, but Fischer hardly had time to unpack. After 14 appearances, on June 15th he was traded to the Reds for veteran pitcher Joey Jay. Exactly 2 months (and 11 appearances) later, he was traded to the Red Sox for TWO players to be named later (pitchers Dick Stigman and Rollie Sheldon).

Fischer was used very little by the Red Sox. After 6 games in 1966 and 9 games in 1967, Hank called it a career. His last game was on August 8, 1967.

Final Card: Dennis Bennett

This is the final card for Dennis Bennett (#206), although he would play 1 more season in the majors. (Bennett played minor-league ball into 1973.)

Dennis was signed by the Phillies in 1958, and would play 4+ seasons in the minors before making his major-league debut on May 12, 1962. (My birthday! ... not the 1962 part.)

In 1962, Bennett was the Phillies' #3 starter behind Art Mahaffey and Jack Hamilton. The following season, he dropped to #5, but his final season in Philly (1964) saw him regain the #3 spot, this time behind Jim Bunning and Chris Short.



After the 1964 season, Dennis was traded to the Red Sox for 1st baseman Dick Stuart (who lasted 1 season with the Phillies). In his 2-plus seasons in Boston, Bennett never rose above #5 starter status, even though he was the only lefthander in the rotation.

Dennis made 13 appearances (11 starts) for the Sox in 1967, before being traded to the Mets in June. He started 6 of his 8 games with the Mets, and also pitched in 6 games for their triple-A team.

Bennett started the 1968 season in the minors. After 2 games with the Mets' Jacksonville team, he was sold to the Cubs in May. Dennis never got to play for the Cubs. Rather, he made 19 starts for their triple-A team, before the Cubs sold him to the Angels on July 29th. The good news is that he was back in the majors, pitching 16 games for the Angels. The bad news is that those would be his last major-league games.

Bennett spent the next 5 seasons in triple-A (3 1/2 for the Angels, and 1 1/2 for the Padres) before retiring in 1973.


Whenever the subject of Dennis Bennett comes up, I always think of his brother Dave (who was also a Phillies' pitching prospect in the mid 1960s) and his 1964 card, which contains an amusing goof on the back:

Carl Yastrzemski (#355)

Carl Yastrzemski made his major-league debut on opening day 1961, and started 146 games in left field that season. He replaced Ted Williams, who had retired after the 1960 season. (Williams had been Boston's leftfielder since 1939, except for the seasons he missed for military service.)

In 1967, Carl led the Red Sox to the American League pennant, although they lost the series to the Cardinals. Yaz won the triple crown that season, just 1 year after Frank Robinson had done the same. No player in either league has won the triple crown since.



The popular notion is that the Red Sox only had 3 regular leftfielders from 1939 to 1987 (Williams, Yastrzemski, and Jim Rice). Actually, there were several breaks in that string. In 1964, rookie Tony Conigliaro was the regular leftfielder, while Yaz played centerfield all season.
There was also a blip from 1972 to 1974: Yaz started only 83 of his 125 games in leftfield in 1972. The following season, he was the regular first baseman, and played more games at THIRD base (33) than in left field (15). Tommy Harper was the regular leftfielder that year. In 1974, Yaz and Harper each played about half the games at 1B and LF.
In 1975, Rice took over in left, but was limited to fulltime DH duties in 1977, so Yaz was back out in left for one more season.

Yastrzemski played for 23 years (all with the Red Sox), retiring after the 1983 season. He was a regular to the end. He never had less than 535 plate appearances in a season until his final four seasons, and even then he had over 390 plate appearances per season - a real workhorse!

Final Card: Don Demeter

This is the last card for Don Demeter (#572). It's from the 7th series (a/k/a the "high-numbers").

Don began his career in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization in 1953. In fact, he played in 3 games in late September 1956 with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and was therefore one of the last active ex-Brooklyn Dodgers.

After serving as a backup outfielder in 1958, the regular centerfielder in 1959, and sharing centerfield in 1960 with Tommy Davis and Duke Snider, Demeter was traded to the Phillies in May 1961 along with third baseman Charley Smith for pitcher Turk Farrell and infielder Joe Koppe.



It was in Philadelphia (and later, Detroit) that Demeter had his best years. With the Phillies, he was a starting CF/LF, although in 1962 he started 95 games at third base. After the 1963 season, he was traded to the Tigers for pitcher Jim Bunning.

He continued in the same "swing" role he had with the Phillies - getting regular playing time, but spread out at different positions (usually CF and 1B). After 2 1/2 seasons in Detroit, he was traded to the Red Sox for pitcher Earl Wilson.

After taking over the regular centerfield job in 1966 (starting 50 games after his mid-June acquisition), Demeter became a spare part in 1967 with the emergence of rookie centerfielder Reggie Smith. In early June he was shipped to the Indians along with first baseman Tony Horton for pitcher Gary Bell, who helped shore up the Sox' rotation in their quest of the AL pennant in 1967.

Demeter's final game was in late August 1967.

Red Sox Rookies (#314)

Well done, Topps!! With many rookie cards, we usually get one future star and one player that disappears after a short time, or in the worst cases, two guys who never amount to anything.

For the Red Sox Rookies card (#314), both players not only became starters during their rookie seasons, but the team went to the World Series! After starting the first 6 games at 2nd base, Reggie Smith was moved to centerfield, Mike Andrews was installed as the starting 2nd baseman, and the Red Sox were off to the races.