Turk Farrell (#190)

Ok, after last week's make-over for Larry Sherry, now it's "Richard" Farrell's turn.

We last saw Turk Farrell here, but come on now, what kind of a card is that? Topps did a pedestrian job with many of the 1968 photos. They also gave Farrell ANOTHER capless photo in the 1969 set. It seems they have no excuse, since he was with the Phillies several years earlier (and it was not beyond Topps to use old photos).

Farrell returned to the Phillies in May 1967, so by the time I got his card that year he was already with the Phillies. (At the time, I assumed he was swapped for Bo Belinsky, since Bo was with the Phils in '66 and Astros in '67, but they were separate deals.)

Moe Drabowsky (#125)

Here is relief pitcher Moe Drabowsky, fresh off his success in the 1966 World Series.

Drabowsky was signed by the the Cubs in 1956 as a bonus baby, and spent his first 4 seasons on the Cubs’ roster as a starting pitcher.

Although only appearing in 9 games in his first season, he pitched in 36, 22, and 31 games over the next 3 seasons, so he wasn’t the typical bonus baby who sat on the bench for his minimum required time and then went to the minors for some needed “seasoning”. Moe was 13-15 for the Cubs in 1957, and led the staff in starts, innings pitched, ERA, and strikeouts.

In 1958 his record slipped to 9-11, but he still led the starting pitchers in wins with that paltry number. The following season his record slipped even further to 5-10.

Drabowsky pitched most of the 1960 season out of the Cubs’ bullpen, but also found himself down with the Cubs’ AAA team in Houston for much of July.

The following pre-season he was traded to the Braves for shortstop Andre Rogers. Moe manned the Braves’ bullpen until mid-June 1961, when he was demoted to AAA for the 2nd consecutive season.

After the season, the Reds picked him up in the Rule 5 draft. After several months as a Reds’ starter in 1962 he was purchased by the Kansas City Athletics, and flipped back and forth from the rotation to the bullpen for the next 2+ seasons. He also spent part of the ’63 back in triple-A.

After making 5 starts at the beginning of the ’65 season, Moe was relegated to the bullpen until mid-June, then was sent to the minors for the remainder of the season. After the season he was purchased by the Cardinals, but a few weeks later was picked by the Orioles in the Rule 5 draft (his 2nd Rule 5 move).

Drabowsky (by this time strictly a reliever) pitched for the O’s for the next 3 seasons, and was the game 1 hero in the 1966 World Series.


Taking over for starter Dave McNally, Moe pitched a no-hitter over the last 6 2/3 innings while striking out 11 and picking up the win. The Orioles went on to sweep the Dodgers with shutouts in games 2, 3, and 4. He also led the team in saves in 1967, and compiled an ERA of 1.60 in ’67 and 1.91 in ‘68.

After the ’68 season, he was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the expansion draft (as was his O’s teammate Wally Bunker). While Bunker led the upstart Royals in wins (12) and innings pitched, Drabowsky led in saves (11) and also won 11 games. Moe began the 1970 season with the Royals, but returned to the Orioles via trade in June.

His 2nd stop in Baltimore was a short one, as he moved on to the Cardinals after the season. He pitched a season and a half for St. Louis, then was released in early August 1972. A week later the White Sox picked him up but released him in October, ending his 17-year career.

Drabowsky passed away in 2006 at age 70.

Final Card: Jim Coates

Jim Coates (#401) has been around the block so many times that there's no room for any commentary on the back of his card.

Jim was signed by the Yankees in 1951, and pitched in the Yankees' farm system from 1952 to 1958. He made his major-league debut with the Yankees in September 1956, appearing in 2 games. Coates was back to stay at the start of the 1959 season.

Jim was with the Yankees for 4 seasons, as a starter and reliever. In 1960, his .813 winning percentage was the best in the American League. Still, he was 5th in games started and innings pitched among Yankees' starters that year, behind Whitey Ford, Art Ditmar, Bob Turley, and Ralph Terry.



Those 4 seasons in New York were the pinnacle of his career, as he would spend part or all of the next 8 seasons in the minor leagues. In mid-April 1963, Coates was traded to the Senators for pitcher Steve Hamilton. Three months later, he was sold to the Cincinnati Reds. Jim only pitched in 9 games for the Reds, spending the remaining part of 1963 with the Reds' triple-A team in San Diego.

Coates spent most of his remaining pro career in triple-A, first with San Diego, then (following a July 1965 trade to the Angels) with the Angels' AAA teams in Seattle and (in 1969-70) Hawaii. From 1965-67, he was with the Angels just enough to get a baseball card. His last major-league game was in September 1967.

Final Card: Hal Woodeshick

In his final six years, Hal Woodeshick (#324) went from expansion-team draftee (twice) to pitching in the World Series.

Woodeshick was signed by the Phillies prior to the 1950 season, and played one year of minor-league ball for them. After the season, he was traded to an unaffiliated minor-league team. A year later he was acquired by the New York Giants organization.

After 1 year with a Giants' farm team, the 1953 and 1954 seasons are unaccounted for in his Baseball-Reference.com record. Was he injured? Was he in the military? Usually, Baseball-Reference.com will document military service, but not missing seasons due to injury. Woodeshick's Wikipedia page says he was in the military. In any case, he returned to the Giants' farm system in 1955.



After the 1955 season, Hal was drafted by the Tigers, and spent most of 1956 and all of 1957 in the Tigers' farm system. He appeared in 2 games for Detroit in September 1956. Hal was acquired by the Indians in 1958, and divided his time between the majors and triple-A.

In May 1959, Woodeshick was traded to the (old) Washington Senators, and finally got some decent playing time. He appeared in 31 games in 1959 and 41 games in 1960.

Following the 1960 season, the Senators moved to Minnesota, but unfortunately for Hal, he did not, as the expansion Senators selected him off the Twins' roster. His punishment would be short-lived, as he was traded to the Tigers in June for infielder Chuck Cottier.

Just as Woodeshick was counting his blessings for having escaped from an expansion team, the upstart Houston Colt .45s purchased him from the Tigers after the 1961 season!

With Houston, Hal was the #4 starter behind Turk Farrell, Ken Johnson, and Bob Bruce, starting 26 of his 31 games in 1962. In 1963, he compiled an 11-9 record with 10 saves as Houston's closer. In 1964 he appeared in 61 games and picked up 23 saves.

1965 was a different story altogether. After appearing in 27 games (32 innings), he was traded to the Cardinals on June 15th for pitchers Mike Cuellar and Ron Taylor. (This seems like a win-win. The Astros get Mike Cuellar, and Woodeshick not only escapes Houston, he goes to one of the top NL teams.)

Woodeshick took over the closer's role with the Cardinals, appearing in 51 games while collecting 15 saves in the 2nd half of 1965. The following season, the emergence of Joe Hoerner and Nelson Briles pushed Woodeshick down 2 slots in the bullpen.

With the addition of Ron Willis and Jack Lamabe, Woodeshick only pitched 36 innings in 1967, with his final appearance coming on September 4th. He pitched 1 inning in game 6 of the World Series.

Final Card: Jackie Brandt

When I first started following the Phillies in early 1967, Jackie Brandt (#142) was a little-used 6th outfielder, about to be sold to the Houston Astros in a few weeks. Nothing said "SCRUB" more than that. What I didn't realize at the time was, there's a difference between a "career backup" (Doug Clemens) and a "former everyday major-league starter who's now at the stage of his career where he's a little-used 6th outfielder" (Jackie Brandt).

Brandt was signed by the Cardinals in 1953 and spent 3 seasons in their farm system.

His major-league debut came on April 21, 1956 with the Cardinals. In mid-June, he was traded to the New York Giants as part of a 9-player trade. (Three of the other players were future managers Red Schoendienst, Alvin Dark, and Whitey Lockman.) He was part of a left field platoon with Dusty Rhodes.



He missed all of 1957 and most of 1958 for military service, but returned (now to San Francisco) for a handful of games in 1958.

1959 to 1964 were Brandt's prime years. Each season, he played in 137 or more games, and had 470 or more plate appearances. After one more full season with the Giants, Jackie was traded to the Orioles following the 1959 season.

Brandt became Baltimore's everyday center fielder from 1960 to 1964, although he also made 42 starts in right field in 1961.

In 1965, rookie Paul Blair took over in center field, which was the beginning of the end for Brandt. He was relegated to pinch-hitting and backing up all 3 outfield positions. Jackie and Sam Bowens competed for the job of 5th outfielder.

After the 1965 season, Brandt was traded to the Phillies with rookie pitcher Darold Knowles for veteran reliever Jack Baldschun. Here he was used mostly to pinch hit, and as a backup in center field.

After rarely playing in early 1967, Brandt was sold to the Astros in early June. Appearing mostly as a pinch-hitter and backup first baseman, he was released on September 9th.

Final Card: Charley Lau

Charley Lau (#329) began his career in the Tigers' farm system in 1952. He missed the 1953 and 1954 seasons due to military service, but mostly toiled in the minor leagues for the remainder of the 1950s. (He had brief appearances with the Tigers in '56, '58, and '59.)

After the 1959 season, he was traded to the Milwaukee Braves, and was the Braves' #2 catcher for 2 seasons. In mid-August 1961, Lau was sold to Baltimore, where he started 13 of the final 33 games for the Orioles.


[Lau's name is spelled differently on the front and back of the card. His signature is of no help, since he signed "Charles Lau". Baseball Reference and Wikipedia both list him as "Charley Lau".]

From 1962 to 1965, Lau was used primarily as a pinch-hitter and backup catcher for the Orioles and Athletics. (He spent the 2nd half of 1963, and the 1st half of 1964 with the Athletics, before returning to the Orioles.) Because both teams carried 3 catchers, the backups were used frequently as pinch-hitters.

1965 was the last time Lau played defense. In his final 2 seasons he was strictly a pinch-hitter, making only 18 appearances in 1966, and 63 appearances in 1967. Most of his 1967 action came after being sold to the Braves on May 31st.

Charley was released after the 1967 season, and went on to a 2nd career has a hitting coach for five major league teams.


More on Charley Lau

Final Card: Ralph Terry

Here is the final card for Ralph Terry (#59). Aside from the Billy O'Dell card, this is probably my shabbiest 1967 baseball card. This is from the 1st-series, which was sold about a month before I started collecting baseball cards. I acquired these earlier cards from other neighborhood kids by "shooting" for them. (We would stand a card up against a wall, and take turns firing cards, like frisbees, at the standing card. Whoever knocked the card down kept all the cards on the floor.) This card appears to be a victim of that game.

Terry played in the Yankees' minor-league system from 1954 to 1956, and made his major-league debut on August 6, 1956. In June of 1957 he was traded to the Kansas City Athletics. Two years later, he was traded back to the Yankees, where he had his best years.

In 1962, Terry was the Yankees' top starter, winning 23 games, starting 39 games, and pitching 298 innings, leading the league in all three of those categories. He was also one of the Yankees' top 3 starters in 1961 and 1963.



Ralph had a sub-par season in 1964, and immediately after the conclusion of the World Series, he was sent to the Indians to complete an earlier deal where the Yankees acquired pitcher Pedro Ramos. Terry bounced back with a winning season in 1965 for the Indians, but his best days were clearly behind him.

Just days before the 1966 season, the Indians traded him to the Athletics for pitcher John O'Donoghue. In early August, he was sold to the Mets, where he was used in the bullpen.

The Mets released him after the season, then (I assume after not finding anyone better) re-signed him a week before the start of the 1967 season. After appearing in only 2 games during the first six weeks of the season, he was released by the Mets again, ending his 12-year career.

Final Card: Jerry Lumpe

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Jerry Lumpe (#247) was a 2nd baseman for the Yankees, Athletics, and Tigers. He began his career in the Yankees system, and made his major-league debut with the Yankees in April 1956. He was the Yankees' backup third baseman in 1957 and 1958.

In May 1959, Lumpe was traded, boarding the often-traveled New York/Kansas City express. (Unfortunately for him, he was traveling in the Kansas City direction!) Jerry became the Athletics' regular second baseman, a position he would keep through the end of the 1963 season.



Prior to the 1964 season, Lumpe was traded to the Tigers, in a multi-player deal that saw Rocky Colavito go to the Athletics. Jerry was the Tigers' regular second baseman in 1964 and 1965, and was an all-star selection in 1964.

In 1966, Lumpe played 95 games at second base (making 90 starts), but the remaining starts were made by utility infielders Dick Tracewski and Jake Wood. It seems like Lumpe must have been injured, for the two backups to get so much playing time.

In 1967, Lumpe made almost no starts at second base, as shortstop Dick McAuliffe slid over to become the everyday second baseman. Jerry was released at the end of the 1967 season (1 year short of the Tigers' World Series appearance).

Final Card: Ed Bressoud

Ed Bressoud (#121) began his pro career in 1950 in the New York Giants farm system. Like a lot of players in the early 1950s, Ed missed 2 years due to military service. After returning to baseball in 1955, he made his major-league debut with New York on June 14, 1956.

Bressoud was the backup shortstop in '56 and '57, and the backup 2nd baseman in '58. In 1959, Ed took over the starting shortstop role, starting 90 games (to Andre Rodgers' 64 starts). The next year, Bressoud's playing time increased as Rodgers' decreased.



In 1961, Bressoud's playing time drastically decreased, as youngster Jose Pagan took over the shortstop position. (Pagan would remain a fixture at short from 1961 to 1964.) After the 1961 season, Bressoud was selected by the Houston Colt .45s in the expansion draft, but a month later was traded to the Red Sox.

Ed found new life in Boston as the Red Sox' regular shortstop from 1962 to 1965, including an all-star selection in 1964. Over that 4-year span, Bressoud started 153, 137, 158, and 69 games at shortstop, finally losing his regular job to rookie Rico Petrocelli in 1965.

Prior to the 1966 season, the Red Sox traded him to the Mets for outfielder Joe Christopher. Bressoud would split the shortstop duties with fellow old-timer Roy McMillan that year. In late August, rookie Bud Harrelson was called up, and would start nearly every September game at shortstop, signaling the end of the line for both Bressoud and McMillan.

Ten days before the 1967 season, Bressoud and outfielder Dan Napolean were traded to the Cardinals for 2nd baseman Jerry Buchek, pitcher Art Mahaffey, and infielder Tony Martinez. Bressoud would appear in 50 games for the Cardinals, mostly as the backup shortstop. He played in 2 World Series games, but had no at-bats.

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.

Final Card: Jack Sanford

Jack Sanford (#549) played minor league baseball from 1948-1954. After military service in 1955-56, he joined the Phillies in September 1956. The following year, he compiled a 19-8 record, led the league with 188 strikeouts, and won the Rookie of the Year award. Only 2 Phillies have won that award since (Dick Allen in 1964, and Ryan Howard in 2005).

After one more season with the Phillies, he was traded to the Giants, where he spent the next 6 1/2 years as a top starter. In 1962, Sanford won 24 games to lead the Giants to the World Series.

In August of 1965, he was sold to the Angels, where he remained until mid-1967. On June 15th, he was traded to the Kansas City Athletics for outfielder Roger Repoz. His last game was on August 6th, and he was released on August 15th, ending his career.

Final Card: Felix Mantilla

Although Felix Mantilla's card (#524) lists him as an outfielder, he played several positions earlier in his career. Felix was originally signed by the Boston Braves in 1952. He was primarily a 2nd baseman, but after being selected by the Mets in the expansion draft, he became their primary 3rd baseman.


Felix Mantilla's last game was in 1966. He was released by the Astros following the 1966 season, and signed on with the Cubs in February 1967. However, he has no major or minor league stats after 1966. (!?!)

After some further digging, I found out that he had injured his Achilles tendon in spring training, and spent the beginning of 1967 on the disabled list. The Cubs released him (ending his career) on July 6, 1967.

Final Card: Ozzie Virgil (#132)

No Mets or Giants cards yet... Let's fix that now:

Ozzie Virgil was one of the last active players who played for the New York Giants. (Others (and their final year) were Bill White '69, Al Worthington '69, Mike McCormick '71, Hoyt Wilhelm '72, and the last (fittingly) was Willie Mays '73.)

Ozzie was not with the Giants or any other major-league team in 1967 or 1968. I was all set to include him in a series I call "Already Retired", when I discovered that he was with the Giants' AAA team in Phoenix during 1967 and 1968 as the backup 2B-C-3B-1B in 1967, and as the #1 catcher in 1968. (He split catching duties with Don Bryant in both years.) In 1969, he had one pinch-hitting appearance with San Francisco (on June 27th), and that was the end of his career.



Ozzie's son (Ozzie Virgil Jr) was a catcher with the Phillies in the 1980s.

#60 - Luis Aparicio ("Infield"?)

Back in 1967, as my brother and I were busting open packs of cards, anytime we found a player designated as "INFIELD" (or worse yet, "INF-OF"), we immediately sized him up as a stiff. There appears to be one exception:



Here, Topps' use of "INFIELD" doesn’t make any sense, since Aparicio was a perennial all-star shortstop with the Orioles (and White Sox). To add to the confusion, the back of his card stated his position as ‘Shortstop’. (The same situation occurs on Ron Hansen’s card, but he wasn’t at the same level as Aparicio.)

I wonder if Luis' teammates ribbed him for being a "utility infielder"?