Jim "Catfish" Hunter (#369)

Here is my first card for Jim “Catfish” Hunter. It’s a nice spring training shot, much better than the rather plain photo from 1966, or the ridiculous capless head shots in the ’68 and ’69 sets.

Catfish was signed by the Kansas City Athletics in 1964, and became the last "bonus baby".  (The bonus baby rule became moot with the advent of the amateur draft.) They immediately sent him to the Mayo Clinic to correct a foot injury due to a hunting accident a year earlier.

Hunter never played in the minor leagues, and made his major-league debut at age 19 in early May 1965. Catfish joined the starting rotation permanently 2 months later, and finished his rookie season with a record of 8-8.

In 1966 the Athletics’ starting rotation was rebuilt, with Hunter now joined by Lew Krausse, Blue Moon Odom, Jim Nash, and Chuck Dobson, all in their early 20s. Hunter made more starts (25) than any other A’s pitcher.

The rotation stayed the same in 1967, although Odom and Krausse both alternated between the rotation and the bullpen. Hunter became the team’s ace, leading the staff in wins (13), starts (35), innings (259), and strikeouts (196).

1968 was the Athletics’ first season in Oakland, and Hunter marked the occasion by twirling a perfect game on May 8th against the Minnesota Twins. [Earlier this year, my daughter got me this book about the 20 perfect games pitched in MLB history. So far, I have read the chapters on Jim Bunning and Jim Hunter. I learned from the book that A’s outfielder Joe Rudi (who had played 19 games in 1967) was just recalled from the minors, and was playing his first game of the 1968 season that day. He made a critical defensive play to preserve Hunter’s perfecto.]

Hunter and his rotation mates chugged along for the next few seasons, although Nash and Krausse were traded away after the 1969 season.

In 1971, Catfish was eclipsed by rookie Vida Blue, who won 24 games while striking out 301, on his way to winning both the Cy Young and MVP awards. Hunter did his part, winning 21 games (a feat he would repeat in ’72 and ’73), as the A’s made it to the ALCS, only to be swept by the Orioles.

Hunter continued pitching for the A’s through the 1974 season. The team won the World Series for 3 consecutive seasons (1972-74), and Catfish led the AL in wins (25) and ERA (2.49) in 1974, and won the Cy Young award.

Catfish was granted free agency after the 1974 season, due to owner Charlie Finley botching a provision in Hunter’s contract. He was approached by all the other teams (except the Giants), and signed a 5-year contract with the Yankees for over 3 million dollars – the largest contract at the time.

In his first season with New York, he again led the AL in wins (23), and also in complete games (30), while finishing 2nd in the Cy Young voting to Jim Palmer. After going 17-15 in 1976, Hunter’s workload and performance dropped off over the next 3 seasons due to arm injuries. He was also diagnosed with diabetes early in 1978.

He retired after the 1979 season, at age 33. After his playing career, he returned to his farm in North Carolina, hunting and raising various crops. He was also a spokesman for diabetes awareness.

In early 1998, he was diagnosed with ALS, and died at age 53 on September 9, 1999, a month after falling at home and hitting his head on concrete steps.

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My brother (who I’ve referred to several times on this blog) was diagnosed with ALS early in 2012. He continues to battle this disease, and his mobility and speech have been severely impaired. I will be visiting him tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner.

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.

Final Card: Vern Law

A few days ago on my 1966 blog, I posted the card of Pirate great Bob Friend. Vern Law (#351) was the other half of the Pirates' long-time 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation. Law's career paralleled Friend's, except that Law missed 2 years early on to the military, and stayed in Pittsburgh 2 years after Friend was traded.

1960 was a big year for Vern as he was a 20-game winner, and won the Cy Young award. He also won 2 games in the World Series, as the Pirates defeated the Yankees.



The 1961 to 1963 seasons seem to have been troublesome ones for Vern. Maybe this was due to injuries? He only made 10 starts in 1961. In 1962 he was back, appearing in 23 games (20 starts), but still not the 35-40 games that top starting pitchers made back in those days. In 1963, Law appeared in 18 games (12 starts) but only pitched 76 innings. He also made 2 starts for class-A Kinston. (Sent down to class A? This seems like a rehab assignment.)

In 1964, Law returned to the Pirates rotation full-time, but by now Bob Veale (who has previously been a reliever) was the top dog. Eventually, aging stars like Bob Friend and Vern Law were squeezed out by the younger Steve Blass and Woody Fryman.

Law's final appearance was on August 20, 1967, ending his 16-year career.

Final Card: Whitey Ford (#5)

Whitey Ford made his debut with the Yankees in 1950, and after 2 years in the service, he became a fixture in the starting rotation from 1953 (or 1933, according to the back of this card!) to 1965.

After 13 consecutive seasons of winning in double figures (and better than .500 records), Whitey slipped to a 2-5 record in 1966. He pitched in 7 games (all starts) in 1967, his last being on May 21st, and he retired at the end of May.