Final Card: Nick Willhite

This is the 4th and final card for Nick Willhite (249). He also appeared on a Dodgers Rookies card in 1964, in the 1965 set as a Senator, and in the 1966 set as a Dodger.

Nick was signed by the Dodgers in the Fall of 1959. He played in the minors every season from 1960 to 1970, and in the majors every season from 1963 to 1967. Only in '65 and '67 would he spend more of his time up top.



Willhite made his major-league debut with the Dodgers on June 16, 1963. During his first stint with LA (1963-64) he was a starting pitcher, but was #6 on the depth chart for both seasons.

After the 1964 season, he was purchased by the Senators, who sold him back to the Dodgers in mid-May the following season. Besides playing for both teams in '65, he also spent some time with the Dodgers' AAA team in Spokane, Washington. Willhite played most of the 1966 season in the minors, and a few games with the Dodgers.

After the 1966 season, Nick was traded to the Angels for reliever Bob Lee (a steal for the Dodgers, considering that Lee was the ace of the Angels' bullpen that season, and Willhite was pretty much minor-league filler for the Dodgers). Nick appeared in 10 games (7 starts) for the Angels in 1967 before he was sent over to the Mets on June 10th for pitcher Jack Hamilton.

Willhite's stay in New York only lasted about 5 weeks. After 4 appearances (his last on June 23rd), he spent the rest of the season with the Tulsa Oilers (the Cardinals' AAA team). The 1968-70 seasons saw him bouncing around the minor-league organizations of the Mets, Cubs, Twins, and Royals.

The 1967 Orioles

Here are the 1967 Baltimore Orioles. The team swept the Dodgers in the 1966 World Series, but would have two off-years before returning to form and winning their division 5 times between 1969 and 1974, including 3 consecutive trips to the World Series (1969-71).


Here is the starting rotation (in order of innings pitched). Why did the Orioles falter in 1967? Instead of the 1966 rotation of Jim Palmer (15-10), Dave McNally (13-6), Steve Barber (10-5), and Wally Bunker (10-6), they had Tom Phoebus (14-9), Pete Richert (7-10), a 7-7 version of McNally, and rookie Jim Hardin (8-3). (Oh, Frank Robinson also missed 6 weeks with injuries and double vision.)


Other starting pitchers included Steve Barber, Gene Brabender, rookie Bill Dillman, and Wally Bunker. Barber was in the rotation for the first half of the season, until his July 4th trade to the Yankees. Bunker also began the season in the rotation, but by May 1st was relegated to the bullpen, with only occasional starts for the rest of the season. The others did their best to fill in.


The O's bullpen was headed up by World Series hero Moe Drabowsky, young Eddie Watt, 40-year-old Stu Miller, and knuckleballer Eddie Fisher.


Other pitchers spending some time with Baltimore in 1967 (in playing-time order): Jim Palmer came down with a sore arm, and would spend much of '67 and '68 in the minors. Frank Bertaina was sent to the Senators in the Mike Epstein trade in late May. Marcelino Lopez was acquired from the Angels in mid-June for infielder Woody Held, but pitched only 4 times the rest of the way. Dave Leonhard made his major-league debut in late September.

John Buzhardt had a 1-month stay with the Orioles on his way from the White Sox to the Astros. Mike Adamson and John Miller played briefly in 1967, Roger Freed did not. Hank Bauer was the Orioles' manager since 1964. He piloted the team to a championship in '66, but the Orioles' sudden fall would cost him his job by mid-1968. He would be replaced by Earl Weaver.


The same 8 regulars returned from the '66 championship team. Andy Etchebarren returns behind the plate, while Boog Powell was their #2 power source behind Frank Robinson. Dave Johnson was the top rookie 2nd baseman in '66. Why does perennial all-star shortstop Luis Aparicio have "INFIELD" listed on his card? Only Topps knows.

Here we see Brooks Robinson in his trademark sawed-off batting helmet. Curt Blefary played his last season as the Orioles' left fielder in 1967. Paul Blair was a defensive wizard, and Frank Robinson garnered the AL Triple Crown and MVP awards in 1966. Not a bad group!


Here are the subs, in playing-time order. Russ Snyder had been an Oriole since 1961, and was the 4th outfielder in 1967, backing up all 3 spots. Mark Belanger started 33 games at shortstop and 10 at 2nd base, and would take over the shortstop job in 1968. Rookie Larry Haney started 45 games behind the plate as the #2 catcher. Sam Bowens was a pinch-hitter and corner outfield reserve.

Third-string catcher Vic Roznovsky started 22 games, rarely on consecutive days. Dave May and Curt Motton were corner outfield reserves, both spending most of the season in triple-A. Veteran utilityman Woody Held was traded to the Angels in June for pitcher Marcelino Lopez.


These guys also made token appearances for the Birds. Rookie Mike Epstein held out, demanded a trade, and was accommodated at the end of May - going to the Senators for pitcher Pete Richert. Charlie Lau was only used as a pinch-hitter in his final 2 seasons (1966-67). Utilityman Bob Johnson was sold to the Mets in early May.

Hmmm... I would have picked Powell and Frank Robinson as "Bird Bombers", but Robinson was already on "The Champs" card, so ok.


Topps did a good job with their rookie selections. Epstein and Phoebus made major contributions in 1967 (although Epstein's was with the Nats). Ed Barnowski did not play for the Orioles in 1967, but the others contributed in backup roles.


To the victors go the spoils (of additional cards in the next year's set)!


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

12/15/66 - Traded pitcher Dick Hall to the Phillies for pitcher John Morris.

05/10/67 - Sold Bob Johnson and John Miller to the Mets.

05/29/67 - Traded Frank Bertaina and Mike Epstein to the Senators for Pete Richert.

05/31/67 - Sold Charlie Lau to the Braves.

06/15/67 - Traded Woodie Held to the Angels for Marcelino Lopez.

07/04/67 - Traded Steve Barber to the Yankees for 1st baseman Ray Barker.

08/21/67 - Purchased John Buzhardt from the White Sox.

09/25/67 - Sold John Buzhardt to the Astros.

11/28/67 - Sold Sam Bowens to the Senators.

11/28/67 - Traded Eddie Fisher to the Indians for pitcher John O'Donoghue.

11/29/67 - Traded Luis Aparicio and Russ Snyder to the White Sox for 3B-OF Don Buford and pitchers Bruce Howard and Roger Nelson.


Next team review: San Francisco Giants
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Final Card: Ron Campbell

Program Note: I recently acquired the 1969 Topps Blog from its previous owner. Be sure to check it out, and add it to your sidebars. (You may also want to add my 1963 and 1970 blogs to your sidebars, if you haven't already done so.)


This is the final card for Cubs' utility infielder Ron Campbell (#497). It also happens to be his rookie card. Ron is one of several in the 1967 set whose career ended before the 1967 season. I wonder if anyone else had their rookie card issued after their major-league career was over?



Ron was signed by the Cubs in 1960, and played 11 seasons (1960-70) in the minors, mostly with the Cubs' organization, but his last 2 seasons in the Pirates' system. In the minors, Campbell played 3rd base about 85% of the time, but also saw action at 2nd base and shortstop.

He made his major-league debut on September 1, 1964, and played about 2 dozen games with the Cubs in each of 1964 and 1966, and only 2 games in 1965. Probably the arrival of rookie infielder Paul Popovich in 1967 made Campbell's presence unnecessary on the major-league roster. Of course, with Ron Santo, Don Kessinger, and Glenn Beckert as the starters, extra infielders by any name weren't really necessary!

Check out Wrigley Wax's post on Ron Campbell.

Final Card: Larry Elliot

Here is the 2nd and final card for Larry Elliot (#23), who previously appeared on the 1964 Mets Rookies card. Elliot is one of a dozen players in the 1967 set who didn't play in the majors after 1966.

Larry was signed by the Pirates in 1958, and spent 6 seasons in their farm system, with only a handful of major-leagues appearances in 1962 and 1963. After the 1963 season, the Mets purchased his contract, and he split the 1964 season between triple-A and the Mets. In New York, he started 59 games in a center field platoon with Jim Hickman.

Elliot spent the entire 1965 season on loan to the Reds' triple-A team in San Diego, before returning to the Mets in 1966. This time around he was relegated to 4th-outfielder status, behind (among others) rookie Cleon Jones and 2nd-year man Ron Swoboda.



Larry's final major-league appearance was on October 2, 1966. In early May 1967, he was traded to the Kansas City Athletics for 3rd baseman Ed Charles. He spent the 1967-69 seasons playing in triple-A for the Mets, Athletics, Angels, and Twins, before retiring.

'Round, 'Round, Get-Around, I Get Around

Five players saw action with three teams during the 1967 season. For some, it would be the final season of their careers. For others, the moves culminated in a trip to the World Series.

Ken Harrelson began the year with the Washington Senators, but in June was sold to the Kansas City Athletics (where he also played from 1963 to early 1966). In mid-August, the Athletics' owner Charlie Finley fired manager Alvin Dark, and a week later, Harrelson was out the door also.

Three days later, the Red Sox signed Ken to replace Tony Conigliaro (who had been beaned 10 days earlier) in right field. After toiling in Washington and Kansas City (2 perennial cellar-dwellers), Harrelson helped the Red Sox get to the World Series.


Jack Lamabe started the season in the White Sox' bullpen. After only 3 appearances, he was dealt to the lowly Mets on April 26th. Jack's career would take an unexpected upturn, as the Cardinals acquired him on July 16th. (Bob Gibson suffered a broken leg which would sideline him for a month. Reliever Nelson Briles joined the starting rotation, and Lamabe slid into a relief role in St. Louis.) Jack appeared in 3 games against the Red Sox in the World Series, but would move on to the Cubs the following April.


Another White Sox player hits the road. John Buzhardt was the team's opening day starter, but soon fell out of the rotation. By late August he was sold to the Orioles, where he pitched in 11 innings over 7 games. In the season's final week, he was sold to the Astros, where he pitched 2/3 of an inning. John finished his career in 1968 with the Astros.

Jim King began the 1967 season as the Senators' regular right fielder, but soon lost out to the newly-acquired Cap Peterson. On June 15th he was traded to the White Sox for outfielder Ed Stroud. (Wow, the White Sox sure made a lot of trades that year!) Six weeks later he was traded to the Indians for outfielder Rocky Colavito. The White Sox and Indians used him mainly for pinch-hitting duties. Jim was released by the Indians after the season, ending his 11-year career.


Long-time White Sox' center fielder Jim Landis was traded to the Astros in January 1967 (with catcher Doc Edwards) for outfielder Lee Maye. His time in Houston was short, as he was traded to the Tigers in June for pitcher Larry Sherry.

In mid-August he was released, and signed by the Boston Red Sox on August 22nd, just after they lost Tony Conigliaro for the season. After 1 start, they must have decided that Landis was not the answer. He was released 6 days after arriving in Boston, and the Sox brought in Ken Harrelson as their right-fielder. 1967 was the end of Jim's 11-year career.

Final Card: Ray Barker

This is the last of four cards for Ray Barker (#583). Ray's first card appeared in 1961, a solo card with a yellow "rookie" star, as was the custom that year. He also appeared on a 4-man Indians Rookies card in 1965, and his own Yankees card in 1966.

Barker was signed by the Orioles in 1955, and spent ten seasons in the Orioles' and Indians' minor-league organizations. After finally making the Indians at the start of 1965, he was traded to the Yankees in mid-May for 2nd baseman Pedro Gonzalez. Ray was productive in his rookie year, starting 43 games at 1st base (behind Joe Pepitone's 113 starts) and hitting 7 homers.



His stats dipped in 1966, as he made only 82 plate appearances and 14 starts at first base. Rookie 1st baseman Mike Hegan came up in September and started most games at 1B for the last 2 weeks of the season, essentially ending Barker's Yankee career.

With Mickey Mantle moving in to 1st base for the 1967 season, and Hegan getting more playing time, Barker was done in New York, playing his last big-league game on May 21st. He spent most of 1967 in the minors with Syracuse and, after a July 4th trade for Orioles' pitcher Steve Barber, Rochester.