Gary Wagner (#529)

Here's a spring training shot of Phillies' reliever Gary Wagner.

Wagner was signed in 1961, and upon joining the Phillies in April 1965, he became such a key member of their bullpen that the Phillies traded away their long-time ace Jack Baldschun after the season.

 

Gary couldn't capitalize on that situation, as he spent most of the next 2 seasons in the minors as a starting pitcher, before returning to the Phillies' bullpen full-time in 1968. That season he went 4-4 with a 3.00 ERA in 44 games as the #2 man in the bullpen behind Turk Farrell.

After spending most of 1969 back in the Phillies' farm system, he was traded to the Red Sox in early September and spent the remainder of that season and most of 1970 pitching for Boston.

The Red Sox released him just before the start of the 1971 season.

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.

Tom Kelley (#214)

Tom Kelley was a somewhat obscure pitcher for the Indians (mid-1960s) and Braves (early 1970s). One of the errors in the 1967 set is that on earlier versions of the 3rd series checklist, his card is listed as "Dick Kelley" (a Braves' pitcher also in the 1967 set).

Kelley was signed by the Indians in 1963, and was a starting pitcher in their minor-league system for 3 seasons, while also playing a few games with the Indians in '64 and '65. Tom was with Cleveland for the entire 1966 season, appearing in 31 games (7 as a starter). That was good enough to score a card in the '67 set:

Kelley was back in the minors for all but 1 game in 1967. In fact, he spent the rest of the decade with the Indians' double-A and single-A teams. (He must have had an injury. Does anybody get busted all the way down to single-A on merit?) In any case, Topps dropped him after 1967, and I thought I saw the last of him, until he resurfaced in the 1972 set.

The Indians released him after the 1969 season, and he was signed by the Braves in May 1970. After another season in the minors. Kelley was in the Atlanta's starting rotation for the 1971 and 1972 seasons. A 5-7 record in 1972 sent him back to the minors the following season. He pitched for the Braves' AAA club for 3 seasons, and wrapped up his career in 1976 playing for the Mets' AAA Tidewater team.

The 1967 Giants

After finishing 93-68 (and in 2nd place) in 1966, the Giants compiled a 91-71 record in 1967 - still good enough for 2nd place, but 10 1/2 games behind the eventual World Champion Cardinals.


These are the Giants' top 4 starters (in order of games started and innings). Gaylord Perry started 37 of his 39 games, for 293 innings. He compiled a 15-17 record while striking out 230 batters. Mike McCormick was acquired before the season for pitcher Bob Priddy and outfielder Cap Peterson. All he did was lead the NL with 22 wins, and collected 150 strikeouts. Juan Marichal at #3? After pulling a hamstring on August 4th, Juan was done for the season (except for an unwise return on 8/25, when he reinjured himself). He finished at 14-10 in only 26 starts. Ray Sadecki went 12-6 in his first full season with the Giants, starting 24 of his 35 games.


Here are the bullpenners and spot starters (in order of games played). Frank Linzy is the only one of the top 6 to appear strictly in relief. He led the entire staff in games (57) and ERA (1.51), and collected 17 saves. Ron Herbel, Bob Bolin, and (to a lesser extent) Joe Gibbon were spot starters but primarily relievers. Lindy McDaniel appeared in 41 games, all but 3 in relief. 39-year-old lefty Bill Henry was the oldest player on the roster, beating Willie Mays by 3 years. He appeared in 28 games, but only for 21 innings. Ron Bryant and Rich Robertson each pitched 1 game in relief.


These are the Giants' starting eight. Tom Haller had been the regular catcher since 1962, and 1967 would be his last season with the Giants. Willie McCovey cracked 31 homers to go with his 91 RBI. Despite what the cards say, Tito Fuentes was the regular 2nd baseman (then spent all of '68 and most of '69 in the minors) while Hal Lanier held down the shortstop job.

Jim Ray Hart split his time between 3rd base and left field, and matched McCovey's power numbers (29 HR, 99 RBI). Jesus Alou split the left field chores evenly with Hart, and also started 43 games in right field. Willie Mays started his downhill slide in 1967. His home run total (22) dipped below 30 for the first time since 1960, although he was selected to the all-star team for the 14th consecutive season (and would play in 6 more). Ollie Brown was the primary right fielder.


Here are the bench players, in order of plate appearances. 10-year veteran Jim Davenport was the primary backup at 3B and SS. Switch-hitting Ken Henderson was the team's 5th outfielder (Hart was #4). Jack Hiatt was primarily the backup 1st baseman, although he also caught 3 games. Rookie Dick Dietz started 34 games (to Haller's 120) and would take over the job the following year.

Ty Cline was purchased from the Braves on May 31st, and served as a lefthanded pinch-hitter and 6th outfielder. Like Dietz, Bobby Etheridge would nab one of the Topps all-rookie spots. Unlike Dietz, his career would be short: 40 games in '67 and 56 games in '69. Dick Groat was purchased from the Phillies in late June, and appeared in 34 games for the Giants in the final season of his 14-year career. Veteran Norm Siebern was acquired in December 1966, played in 46 games (mostly as a pinch-hitter) and was shipped off to the Red Sox in July.

Bob Barton, Frank Johnson, Don Mason, and Dave Marshall each played less than 10 games. 2nd baseman Bob Schroeder (62 games) and SS Cesar Gutierrez (18) were two other rookies seeing some playing time with the 1967 Giants.


Two Giants' legends (although McCovey and Hart were the main power sources in 1967). Herman Franks managed the Giants from 1965 to 1968, then returned with the Cubs from 1977-79. Bob Priddy spent the entire season with the Senators, while Ozzie Virgil was in the minors for all of 1967 and 1968.


Topps has Dietz as an outfielder on this card. He was primarily a catcher in the minors (1961-62, 65-66), but played outfield for 2 seasons to make room for Randy Hundley (1963) and Bob Barton (1964). He didn't play outfield in the majors. Bill Sorrell was selected from the Phillies in the November 1966 Rule 5 draft, played in 18 games, and was returned to the Phillies in June.


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

10/07/66 - Released pitcher Billy Hoeft.

10/14/66 - Released Bill Henry.

11/28/66 - Drafted Bill Sorrell from the Phillies in the 1966 rule 5 draft.

12/13/66 - Traded outfielder Cap Peterson and Bob Priddy to the Senators for Mike McCormick.

12/14/66 - Traded outfielder Len Gabrielson to the Angels for Norm Siebern.

03/29/67 - Signed Bill Henry as a free agent.

04/03/67 - Traded catcher Dick Bertell to the Cubs for catcher Don Bryant.

05/31/67 - Purchased Ty Cline from the Braves. Drafted (but did not sign) Davey Lopes in the 8th round of the 1967 amateur draft.

06/22/67 - Purchased Dick Groat from the Phillies. Returned Bill Sorrell to the Phillies.

07/15/67 - Sold Norm Siebern to the Red Sox.


Next team review: Boston Red Sox
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Gaylord Perry (#320)

Gaylord Perry pitched for 22 seasons, accumulated 314 wins and 3534 strikeouts, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991.

He spent the first 10 seasons of his career with the Giants, and although he won 20 games twice there, he usually pitched in the shadow of Juan Marichal:

1966: Perry goes 21-8 with 201 strikeouts, but teammate Marichal was 25-6 with 222 Ks.

1967: Perry wins 15 while Marichal slumps to 14-10, but wait, newcomer Mike McCormick leads the NL with 22 wins!

1968: Perry wins 16, with 173 Ks, but Marichal rebounds to 26-9 with 218 Ks. Teammate Ray Sadecki also strikes out 203.

1969: Perry goes 19-14, but still trails Marichal's 21-11. He does top Marichal in strikeouts though (233 to 205).

1970: Finally! Perry: 23-13, Marichal: 12-10.

1971: Oh well, Perry: 16-12, Marichal: 18-11.



After the 1971 season, Perry was traded to the Indians for strikeout artist Sam McDowell. In 1972, Gaylord led the AL in wins (24) and complete games (29), and won the Cy Young award. He pitched 2 more full seasons in Cleveland, winning 19 and 21 games. He was teammates with his brother Jim during 1974 and early 1975.

In June 1975, Perry was traded to the Rangers for pitcher Jim Bibby and others. He pitched 2 1/2 seasons for Texas.

Before the 1978 season, Gaylord was traded to the Padres. His first season in San Diego was a carbon copy of his first in Cleveland: He led the league in wins (21) and won the Cy Young award. Perry pitched one more season in San Diego before spending the last 4 seasons of his career bouncing from team to team.

Rico Carty (#35)

Rico Carty was the Braves' regular left fielder in the mid-to-late 1960s. I remember him most as the first player to get a starting all-star berth as a write-in candidate.

Carty was signed by the Braves in October 1959, and played 4 seasons in the minors before making his major-league debut in September 1963. During his first 3 seasons in the minors, he was exclusively a catcher. In 1963, he played both catcher and outfield.



During his rookie season in 1964, Rico compiled a .330 batting average (2nd behind Roberto Clemente). He also finished 2nd in the NL Rookie of the Year voting behind Richie Allen.

Carty hit over .300 during the 1965 and 1966 seasons, while his defensive shortcomings were nicely hid as the left fielder. He also started 14 games behind the plate in 1966, despite regular catcher Joe Torre being in the lineup at 1st base (I can't figure that one out!)

After an off-year in 1967, Rico missed the entire 1968 season due to tuberculosis, but roared back with batting averages of .342 in 1969 and a league-leading .366 in 1970. That season he also hit 25 home runs, collected 101 RBI, and was in the starting all-star lineup despite not being on the ballot.

Carty missed another entire season (1971) with a knee injury, and was never the same after that. Following the 1972 season, he was traded to the Rangers, and spent the remainder of his career bouncing around to several teams (primarily the Rangers, Indians, Blue Jays) as a DH and some-time outfielder.

Carty retired after the 1979 season.