Ed Brinkman (#311)

Ed Brinkman was a light-hitting shortstop for the Senators in the 1960s and Tigers in the early-1970s. Together with Tigers’ shortstop Ray Oyler, they set the lowest of bars for hitting prowess, in the days before Mario Mendoza established the “Mendoza Line”.  (Fittingly, Brinkman eventually replaced Oyler in Detroit.)

Brinkman was signed by the Senators in 1961, and made his major-league debut with 4 games in September of that year. After splitting the 1962 season between the Senators and their class-B team, he made the big club at the start of the 1963 season.

Despite his weak bat, he was Washington’s starting shortstop from 1963-1970, except for missing 85 games in 1968.

Well, he came from the same high school as Pete Rose, so he's got THAT going for him! 


Notice the spike in his batting average in 1969 and 1970? Those are the 2 seasons when Teddy Ballgame was his manager. After he moved on to the Tigers in 1971, he reverted to his old batting ways.

Ed was traded to the Tigers in October 1970 (with pitchers Joe Coleman and Jim Hannan, and 3rd baseman Aurelio Rodriguez) for pitcher Denny McLain, 3rd baseman Don Wert, and outfielder Elliott Maddox.

Always a good glove man, he won a Gold Glove award in 1972 and surprisingly, made the All-Star team in 1973.

After the 1974 season, Ed was one of 3 players traded to the Padres for 1st baseman Nate Colbert. On the same day, San Diego flipped him to the Cardinals for pitchers Sonny Siebert, Alan Foster, and Rich Folkers. (What a haul!)

In June 1975 he moved on to the Rangers in exchange for outfielder Willie Davis, then was purchased by the Yankees a week later. The Yankees released him the following Spring.

After his playing career, Brinkman was a minor-league manager for the Tigers, and later a coach and scout for the White Sox.

He passed away in 2008 at age 66.

His brother Chuck Brinkman was a catcher for the White Sox in the early-1970s.

Chuck Hinton (#189)

It’s been awhile since I've seen a card with "In Military Service" on the back! 

Hinton was a jack-of-all-trades player (but primarily an outfielder) for the Indians, Senators, and Angels from 1961-1971. In his 11-year career, he played every position but pitcher (although only catching for 73 innings, and 5 innings at shortstop). He did pitch 1 game in the minors.

Hinton was signed by the Orioles in 1956, and played in their farm system for 3 seasons (missing the '57-'58 seasons while in military service). He played Class-C ball in ’56 and ’59, and most of 1960 before getting a call-up to AAA.

Chuck was drafted by the expansion Washington Senators before the 1961 season, and was a regular outfielder (mostly in left) during the franchise's first 4 seasons. Hinton made his only All-Star team in 1964 (his last with the Nats).

After the 1964 season he was traded to the Indians for Bob Chance (the Tribe’s regular 1st baseman as a rookie in 1964) and Woodie Held, who had been Cleveland’s starting shortstop from 1959-62, but by now was a utility player (which is why Topps was saddling him with the “INF-OF” position).

Leon Wagner, Vic Davalillo, and Rocky Colavito were already manning the 3 outfield spots, so playing time was hard to come by for Hinton for the next 2 seasons. Still, he managed to start 56 games in the outfield and 36 at first base in 1965, and 82 in the outfield the following season.

With Colavito fading (and then finally traded) during 1967, Hinton finally saw the playing time he had in Washington. He started 119 games in the outfield, and was the #1 outfielder with 1115 innings played, (ahead of Wagner, Davalillo, Lee Maye, and Colavito).

Once again, just as he rose to the top he was traded. This time to the Angels for outfielder Jose Cardenal. Hinton only spent the 1968 season with the Angels, and because they seemed to employ too many outfielders, Chuck was used mainly as a backup to Don Mincher at 1st base (48 games), along with 37 games in the outfield and another 2 dozen split between 2B and 3B.

After that season he was traded back to the Indians for outfielder Lou Johnson. Now in his late 30s, Hinton spent his final 3 seasons as a backup first baseman and occasional outfielder.

Chuck had an interesting post-playing career. He was the head baseball coach at Howard University from 1972-2000, and in 1982 he founded the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association.

Hinton passed away in 2013 at age 78.

Steve Hamilton (#567)

Here is another high-number from the 1967 set. Steve Hamilton was signed by the Indians in 1958, and after making his big-league debut in early 1961 with 2 games for the Tribe, he was back in the minors until a May 1962 trade with the Senators for outfielder Willie Tasby.

Steve pitched in 41 games during his first year in Washington, starting 10 games. He would only start 7 more games over the remaining 10 seasons in his career (while working out of the ‘pen in 378 games).

After only 2 games with the Sens in 1963, Hamilton was swapped to the Yankees for reliever Jim Coates. Steve spent the next 8 years as the top (and sometimes the only) lefty in the Yankees’ bullpen. In 1968 he led the staff in saves.

Late in his career, Hamilton developed the slow, arcing “eephus pitch”. On one occasion in 1970, he got Indians’ slugger Tony Horton to strike out on consecutive floaters, causing Horton to crawl back to the dugout in embarrassment. (Blogger Commishbob has noted that he was at that game.)

In early-September 1970, the White Sox claimed him off waivers, but traded him the following spring to the Giants. He pitched his final season (1972) for the Cubs.

Steve played in the ’63 and ’64 World Series, and the ’71 NLCS. Hamilton also played in the NBA from 1958 to 1960 for the Minneapolis Lakers, and is one of only 2 people to have played in the World Series and the NBA finals.

Hamilton passed away in 1997 at age 63.

Johnny Edwards (#202)

Here is my 220th post on this blog - 5 years to the day after my first post. I first stumbled upon the Google blogging community a day earlier, when I found and commented on this post on the 1969 Topps blog, which was formerly owned by Pack Addict (now known as SociallyAwkwardJellyFish). 

I began this 1967 blog on 9/25/2009 with two posts. Three days later I published FIVE posts! Within that first week I also started the 1960s Baseball and 1968 Topps blogs, and a few weeks later, the 1966 Topps blog. The 1970 and 1963 Topps blogs came along about a year after that. In January 2012 I took over the 1969 Topps blog (from Pack Addict), which had been idle for almost 2 years. 

Along the way, I have learned something about a lot of these players (especially the pre-1967 players, which was before my card-collecting time as a kid), and also “met” a lot of interesting bloggers, starting with Jim @ The Phillies Room, Paul @ Wrigley Wax, Steve @ White Sox Cards, CommishBob @ 1959 Topps, and Matt @ 1976, 77, 78 Topps, to name but a few. 

Anyway, it’s been a great 5-year ride. 

Johnny Edwards had the distinction of keeping the Reds’ catching gear warm for another Johnny (Bench) from 1962 thru Bench’s debut in September 1967. Edwards had a 14-year major-league career: 7 seasons with the Reds, 1 with the Cardinals, and 6 with the Astros.

Edwards was signed by the Reds in 1959, and after 2 1/2 seasons as a starting catcher in the minors, he was promoted to the Reds in late-June 1961, and shared the staring assignments with incumbent Jerry Zimmerman (who was also in his rookie season). Johnny hit .364 with 2 doubles in the 1961 World Series.

Zimmerman was traded to the Twins after the season, paving the way for Johnny to become the full-time catcher in 1962. He started 124 games in ’62, his first of 6 consecutive seasons as the Reds’ #1 catcher. Edwards made the all-star team every season from 1963-65, and won 2 Gold Gloves during that span. The high point in playing time was his 141 starts in 1963, after which he shared the catching load with Don Pavletich (his minor-league teammate in 1961).

Always a top defensive catcher, Johnny put up good offensive numbers until breaking a finger during spring training 1966. Edwards started 84 games that season, with Pavletich starting 46 and Jimmie Coker 30. 1967 was Edwards’ last in Cincinnati. He and Pavletich both started 57 games, but Johnny Bench was called up in late August and started 26 of the final 32 games. The Bench Era had started.

Edwards was traded to the Cardinals after the 1967 season for backup catcher Pat Corrales and minor-league infielder (and future manager) Jimy Williams. After one season backing up Tim McCarver (and appearing in the 1968 World Series), Edwards was traded to the Astros (who had lost both their incumbent catchers (John Bateman and Ron Brand) to the Expos in the expansion draft) for pitcher Dave Giusti and catcher Dave Adlesh.

Johnny spent the next 4 seasons (1969-72) as the Astros’ #1 catcher. By 1972, ex-Reds teammates Lee May and Tommy Helms joined Edwards in Houston, via the Joe Morgan deal.

Edwards began the 1973 season as the #1 catcher, but by mid-June had given way to 2nd-year catcher Skip Jutze, who played the majority of games in the 2nd half. 1974 was Johnny’s final season, and he was relegated to the bench, in favor of ex-Pirates’ backstop Milt May.

One of the SABR gurus has rated Edwards as the 2nd-best defensive catcher in baseball history.

Fred Gladding (#192)

Fred Gladding was a relief pitcher from 1961 to 1973. He played his first 7 seasons with the Tigers, and the last 6 with the Astros. In 450 career games, he only made one start. At age 78, he is the oldest living player from the 1966-70 era that I haven’t featured on my blogs yet.

Gladding was signed by the Tigers in 1956, and pitched in their farm system from 1956 to 1960, mostly as a starting pitcher. Fred also spent most of the ’61 and ’62 seasons in the minors, but was used more and more as a reliever.

Fred made his major-league debut in July 1961, making 8 appearances in July and August. He also played 6 games early in 1962 before returning to the minors.

He returned to the Tigers for good in late-July 1963, and manned Detroit’s bullpen for the next 4 ½ seasons. Gladding was always behind either Larry Sherry or Terry Fox (or both) until 1967, when he led the team with 12 saves. (Wow, that seems low by today’s standards!) He also had a 1.99 ERA that season.

Fred missed out on the Tigers' 1968 championship team, as he was sent to the Astros after the 1967 season to complete an earlier trade for Eddie Mathews.

Gladding missed all but 7 games in 1968, but returned the following season to head up the Astros’ bullpen. At age 33, he was the oldest player on the roster, and managed to lead the NL with 29 saves.

Although he never again duplicated his 1969 numbers, he continued to lead the Astros in saves from 1970 to 1972.

Fred began the 1973 season where he left off in ’72, but after pitching in 16 games by early June, he spent the 2nd half of the season in the minors, and was released in October.

From Wikipedia:
“Gladding has the distinction of having the lowest non-zero lifetime batting average in major league history. For his career he batted .016 (1 for 63).”

Sam McDowell (#295)

After being bumped 5 times (for Al Dark, Red Schoendienst, and 3 opening-day posts), Sam McDowell finally gets his turn. 


“Sudden” Sam McDowell was a hard-throwing strikeout artist who pitched for 15 seasons from 1961 to 1975, the first 11 seasons with the Cleveland Indians.

McDowell was signed by the Indians in 1960, and after one season in class-D ball, he jumped to triple-A in 1961. Sam made his major-league debut in 1961, pitching one game on September 15th.

In 1962, he played 25 games with the Indians, but spent most of June and July back in triple-A. McDowell was in the Indians rotation for most of ‘63 and ’64, except for a stint in AAA from July ’63 to May ’64.

Topps re-used the same photo in the 1969 set:

1965 was the beginning of a 6-year stretch where Sam was a dominant pitcher in the American League. He led the AL in strikeouts every season from ’65 to ’70, except for 1967, when he finished 10 strikeouts behind Jim Lonborg. Sam was also the ERA leader in 1965 (2.18), and won 17 games that season. He also won 18 in 1969 and 20 in 1970, and was a 6-time all-star.

After the 1971 season, McDowell was traded to the Giants for pitcher Gaylord Perry and shortstop Frank Duffy. After starting for the Giants in 1972, he worked out of the bullpen in 1973 until he was sold to the Yankees in early June.

Sam started for the Yankees for the remainder of that season, but was back in the ‘pen in 1974. Released after the season, he hooked on with the Pirates for his final season in 1975. After 14 appearances, he was released in late June, ending his career.

During his final 4 seasons, he never came close to the success he had with the Indians.



If a picture is worth 1000 words, what are 5 pictures worth?

(He missed the top spot in 1967 by 10 strikeouts) 

McDowell also hobnobbed with the ERA leaders from time to time:

Ron Perranoski (#197)

Here is relief pitcher Ron Perranoski, shown on his last card as an LA Dodger. After the 1967 season, he was traded to the Twins with catcher John Roseboro and pitcher Bob Miller for pitcher Mudcat Grant and shortstop Zoilo Versalles. 

(This deal looks like a steal for the Twins. Versalles was the 1965 AL MVP, but was a bust in his one season with the Dodgers. After 1968, he was lost (read: unloaded) to the expansion Padres. Even the Padres didn’t keep him – he was flipped to the Indians for a career minor-leaguer before the ’69 season. Grant only pitched one season for the Dodgers, while the 3 new Twins each had several productive seasons in Minnesota.) 


After pitching for Michigan State University (where one of his teammates was Dick Radatz), Ron was signed by the Cubs in 1958. He spent 2 seasons as a starting pitcher in their farm system, then was traded to the Dodgers in April 1960 for infielder Don Zimmer.

After a season on the Dodgers’ farm, Perranoski made his major-league debut in April 1961. During his 7 seasons in LA, he led the league in appearances 3 times (’62, ’63, ’67). In 1963, his 16-3 record gave him a league-leading .842 winning percentage. He also had a career-low 1.63 ERA that season.

Ron led the Dodgers in saves every season from 1962 to 1965, and again in 1967. He also pitched in the World Series in ’63, ’65, and ’66.


After his trade to Minnesota, Perranoski continued to perform well. Pitching behind veteran Al Worthington in 1968, he then became the Twins’ closer in ’69 and ’70, leading the team in saves both years. Ron also pitched in the ALCS in 1969 and 1970.

On July 30th, 1971 he was claimed off waivers by the Tigers, and pitched the rest of that season and the 1st half of 1972 in Detroit, before getting his release exactly one year later.

A week later (August 7th) the Dodgers picked him up for the remainder of the 1972 season. Perranoski finished his career by pitching for the Angels in 1973. He was released in October 1973, although he hadn't pitched since mid-June.

Perranoski pitched in 737 games over his 13-year career, all in relief except for 1 game during his rookie season. 

After his playing career, he was the Dodgers’ minor-league pitching instructor from 1973-80, and their major-league pitching coach from 1981-94. Since then, he has held various positions for the rival Giants.

Lew Krausse (#565)

Today we check out Lew Krausse, pitcher for the Kansas City Athletics. This was the Athletics' last year in Kansas City, and Krausse was in the rare 7th series, so it's really the last look at a player in a KayCee uniform. (The other 7th series Athletics are rookie cards, and a capless Bob Duliba.)

Krausse grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs (the topic for my next 1960s Baseball blog post), and went to Chester High School, as did long-time Pirates' manager Danny Murtaugh. (Lew's stomping grounds were the same as my dad's, although Krausse was 12 years younger, so they probably didn't cross paths.)

Krausse's dad (Lew Sr.) pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1931-32.

Lew Jr. had been a star all through little league and high school baseball (pitching 18 no-hitters in high school), and was signed as a $125,000 bonus baby by the Athletics in 1961. He pitched a complete game shutout (vs the Angels) in his major-league debut in June, at age 18.

After appearing in 12 games (8 starts) as a rookie, he spent all of 1962 (class-A) and 1963 (AAA) in the minors. Krausse also spent the bulk of 1964-65 in the minors, but did appear in a half-dozen games with the A's in each season.

Lew became a full-time big-leaguer at the start of the 1966 season. In each of the next four years, he split his time between the starting rotation and the bullpen, but was always among the top four or five A's pitchers in innings pitched (along with Catfish Hunter, Chuck Dobson, Blue Moon Odom, and Jim Nash).

After the 1969 season, Krausse was traded to the Brewers (along with outfielder Mike Hershberger, catcher Phil Roof, and pitcher Ken Sanders) for 1st baseman Don Mincher and infielder Ron Clark.

After 2 seasons in Milwaukee, Lew was traded to the Red Sox (with pitcher Marty Pattin and outfielder Tommy Harper) for first baseman George Scott, pitchers Jim Lonborg and Ken Brett, catcher Don Pavletich, and outfielders Billy Conigliaro and Joe Lahoud. Lew pitched for the BoSox in 1972, but was released the following spring.

He was quickly re-signed by the Athletics, and spent most of the season in the minors, before signing with the Cardinals in September. Krausse spent the '74 and '75 seasons bouncing around in the minors with the Braves and Athletics.

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: Jake Wood

This is the final card for Jake Wood (#394), who played for the Tigers from 1961-67.

Jacob Wood was signed by the Tigers in 1957, and after 4 seasons in the minors he made his big-league debut in April 1961. Wood played in 162 games in his rookie season, starting 160 of them at 2nd base. He led the AL with 14 triples, and also with 141 strikeouts (which at the time, was the record for most strikeouts in a season). He also finished 6th in the Rookie of the Year voting. Sounds great, eh? Unfortunately, that was the high point of his career.



Jake began 1962 where he left off in 1961 - as the regular 2nd baseman. After July 24th, Wood only started 3 games at 2nd base. Dick McAuliffe (who had been the backup SS-3B the previous year) moved over to start the remaining games at 2nd base.

Wood's playing time decreased with each subsequent year. In 1963 he was still the primary 2nd baseman, but only by a slight margin over rookie George Smith. Detroit's acquisition of Jerry Lumpe from Kansas City in 1964 reduced Wood to little more than a pinch-hitter for the next 2 seasons. In 1966, Jake managed to start about 1/3 of the games at 2nd base, while Lumpe started the majority of the games there.

After appearing in only 14 games for the Tigers in 1967, Wood was sold to the Reds on June 23rd. He only saw action in 16 games with the Reds, the last on August 11th. After the season, he was sold to the Indians, but never played in the majors again. Wood spent the 1968 season with Cleveland's triple-A team, and 1969 with Detroit's double-A team before retiring.

Final Card: John Orsino

John Orsino only played 1 major-league game in 1967 (September 10th), and it would be his last. Like fellow AL catchers Smoky Burgess and Charlie Lau, Orsino would spend the final seasons of his career pinch-hitting, not catching.

John was signed by the Giants in 1957. After spending 4 full seasons in the minors, he split the 1961 and 1962 seasons between San Francisco and the minor leagues.

After the 1962 season, Orsino was traded to the Orioles (along with pitchers Mike McCormick and Stu Miller) for pitchers Jack Fisher and Billy Hoeft, and catcher Jimmie Coker.



Orsino's seasons with the Orioles (1963-65) were the only years he managed to stay out of the minor leagues. In fact, he was the Orioles primary catcher in 1963, starting 103 games behind the plate. For the next 2 seasons, he shared the starting job with Dick Brown.

John was on the move after the 1965 season, this time to Washington. 1966 and 1967 seem to be lost seasons for Orsino, as his games played during that time were:

1966: 14 games with Senators, 1 with AA York
1967: 1 game with Senators, 16 with AAA Hawaii

He got significant playing time from 1968-69 as a catcher and 1st baseman, but it was in the minor leagues, in the Senators system for 1968 and the Indians' and Yankees' farm teams in 1969.

Final Card: Al Luplow

The career of Al Luplow (#433) is on its last legs here in 1967. Al was signed by the Indians in 1959, and spent one season in class-D ball, breezed through A and AA ball in 1960, and played most of 1961 in triple-A before making his major-league debut with the Indians in September 1961.

In his first full season (1962) he was used mostly as a pinch-hitter, but played some games in right field. In 1963 he was first among Indians' right fielders in games played, narrowly ahead of Willie Kirkland. The following season he only played 19 games for the Indians, while spending a good portion of the season with their triple-A Portland (Oregon) club. Luplow was back with the Indians in 1965, but was mostly used as a pinch-hitter, playing only 6 games in the outfield.



After the 1965 season, Al was sold to the Mets. This immediately increased his playing time, as he became the team's primary right fielder. (Ron Swoboda played left field prior to 1967, with Cleon Jones in center.)

In 1967 the Mets acquired Tommy Davis, who put a lock on left field. This left Jones and Swoboda to play in center and right, with Luplow and rookie Don Bosch scrambling for playing time. Al managed to start a few games in right field (and later, center field) before he was sold to the Pirates on June 21st.

Luplow finished his career with the Pirates in 1967, as a pinch-hitter and 5th outfielder behind regulars Willie Stargell, Matty Alou and Roberto Clemente, and also Manny Mota.

Final Card: Hal Reniff

Hal Reniff (#201) played his final season in 1967. After 6 1/2 seasons with the Yankees, he spent his final 3 months pitching for the Mets. He was strictly a reliever, never starting a game in the majors.

Hal was signed by the Yankees in 1956, and assigned to class-D Kearney, Nebraska. The only other recognizable name on that team was fellow 17-year-old Deron Johnson. After 5 1/2 seasons in the minors, he made his Yankees' debut on June 8, 1961. He pitched in 25 games (all in relief) during his rookie season.

He lost most of the 1962 season to military service, but pitched in 2 games for the Yankees and 6 games for their AAA team.

In 1963, Reniff began a string of 4 seasons as a key member of the Yankees' bullpen. In 1963 he led the staff in games and saves. Hal also pitched in the 1963 and 1964 World Series.



1967 was a transition year for the Yankees' pitching staff, as the newly-acquired Steve Barber, Bill Monbouquette, and Joe Verbanic replaced old standbys like Whitey Ford, Jim Bouton, and Hal Reniff. On June 28th Hal was sold to the Mets, where he pitched in relief until being released after the season.

Hal pitched for the Yankees' triple-A team in Syracuse from 1968 to 1972, before retiring from baseball.

Final Card: Don Schwall

This is the last of Topps' 6 cards for Don Schwall (#267).

Don began his career in 1958 in the Red Sox' farm system. After 2 seasons in class-D ball (including a 23-6 record in 1959), he jumped up to triple-A in 1960. He played all of 1960 and part of 1961 in AAA before making his major-league debut with the Red Sox in May 1961. He made 25 starts for Boston, compiling a 15-7 record (the most wins on the team), and won the 1961 AL Rookie of the Year award.



Unfortunately, Schwall's rookie season was to be the high point of his career. After an off-year (9-15) in 1962, Don was traded to the Pirates (with catcher Jim Pagliaroni) for pitcher Jack Lamabe and 1st baseman Dick Stuart.

After 2 lackluster seasons as a Pirates' starter (which included a trip to the minors in 1964), Don switched to relief for 1965 and compiled a 9-6 record in 77 innings.

In mid-June 1966, he was traded to the Braves for pitcher Billy O'Dell. Don pitched the rest of 1966 for Atlanta, but made only 1 appearance in 1967 (April 12th - the second game of the season). Schwall was released on June 20th 1967. He also pitched 6 games for the Braves' triple-A Richmond team in 1967.

Jim Fregosi (#385)

I'm back... snapped out of my winter doldrums by a big, fat box of 1966 and 1970 cards from DeansCards.com, which then required an update to this and this.


Jim Fregosi was one of the few bright spots in the Angels' early years during the 1960s. He was signed by the Boston Red Sox in 1960, and after 1 season with their class-D team in Alpine, TX, he was selected by the Angels in the expansion draft.

Jim spent most of 1961 and half of 1962 with the Angels' triple-A team in Dallas-Ft. Worth, then took over the Angels' starting shortstop job for the rest of the decade on August 17, 1962. Fregosi had over 600 plate appearances in 7 of the 8 seasons from 1963-1970 (only 591 PA in 1964), and made the all-star team in 1964 and 1966-1970.



In 1971 (due to injuries?) Jim was limited to 107 games, and started 73 of his 74 appearances at shortstop. After the season, he was traded to the Mets for pitcher Nolan Ryan, outfielder Leroy Stanton, and 2 other players.

Fregosi's career never got back on track after leaving the Angels. He played 85 games at third base in 1972, and a few dozen games in 1973 between 3B and SS before he was sold to the Texas Rangers in July 1973.

Jim was a part-time infielder during his years with the Rangers. He played third base in 1973, and switched to first base midway through the 1974 season.

Fregosi was traded to the Pirates in June 1977 for Ed Kirkpatrick. After being used sparingly as a pinch-hitter, he was released in June 1978.

Fregosi was immediately hired as the Angels' manager, and lasted through the 1981 season. He also managed the White Sox (1986-88), the Phillies (1991-96), and the Blue Jays (1999-2000).

Bill Bryan (#601)

Bill Bryan, a journeyman catcher, was signed by the Kansas City Athletics in 1960, and spent his first 4 seasons in the minors, with occasional call-ups to Kansas City.

1964 was Bill's first full season in the majors, where he was the Athletics' 2nd-string catcher, behind Doc Edwards and ahead of Charlie Lau. In 1965, he was the Athletics' #1 catcher, starting 89 games at catcher (to rookie Rene Lachemann's 54 starts).



In 1966, Bryan began the season alternating starts with rookie catcher Ken Suarez, but in late May, the newly-acquired Phil Roof took over and started nearly every game for the rest of the season. After appearing in 32 games (and starting 14 games), Bryan was traded to the Yankees in mid-June along with pitcher Fred Talbot for pitchers Bill Stafford and Gil Blanco, and outfielder Roger Repoz (one of the many Yankees' young outfielders designated as "the next Mickey Mantle").

With the Yankees, Bryan was firmly entrenched as the 3rd-string catcher behind Elston Howard and Jake Gibbs. He only made 13 starts, and appeared in 14 other games as a pinch-hitter.

1967 found Bryan back in the minors for the first time since 1963. This late-season card includes a note that he was sent to triple-A Syracuse on May 10th. He only played 1 game for the Yankees in 1967. After the season, he was selected by the Senators in the rule 5 draft.

He started 28 games in 1968 as the Senators' 3rd-string catcher behind Paul Casanova and Jim French, and also played with triple-A Buffalo. He spent the 1969 season with Washington's triple-A team in Buffalo, and in 1970 played for the Phillies' single-A team in Spartanburg, SC.

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!

Lou Brock (#285)

My labels in the sidebar tell me that I've not been paying enough attention to the Athletics, Cardinals, Giants, or Senators. This is particularly troublesome with the Cardinals, since they were world champs in 1967, so...

Lou Brock was one of many stars on the 1967 Cardinals team. Bob Gibson was the league's dominant pitcher. Orlando Cepeda crashed numerous homeruns. Brock, besides batting leadoff and stealing a gazillion bases, was voted a starter in the all-star game, pushing Willie Mays to the all-star bench after 14 straight all-star starts from 1957 to 1966!

Brock started in the Cubs system in 1961, and was traded to the Cardinals in June 1964 in a 3-for-3 deal which included pitcher Ernie Broglio going to the Cubs.



The back of this card mentions that "Out in right field, Lou is a pitcher's best friend." Although Brock played right field during his time with the Cubs, he was almost exclusively a leftfielder during his years with the Cardinals. His only significant time in right field for the Cardinals was starting the first 23 games there in 1966.

The card backs never include stolen bases, so since that was Brock's forte, let's check this out. From 1966 to 1974, Brock led the league in stolen bases 8 of the 9 seasons.

Lou retired after the 1979 season (at age 40), still an every day player right up to the end of his career.

Tony Cloninger (#490)

Tony Cloninger was the Braves' top starting pitcher during their final years in Milwaukee. This was the era between Warren Spahn and Phil Niekro, when Cloninger led a rotation that also included Ken Johnson, Denver Lemaster, and Wade Blasingame. (Niekro wouldn't become a starter until mid-June 1967.)

Cloninger won 19 games in 1964, and 24 games in 1965. After winning 14 games in 1966, his career took a downturn. Oddly enough, while winning a total of 38 games in 1965 and 1966, he also led the league in walks and wild pitches in both years.



On the card back we learn that Cloninger also hit 2 grand slams in the same game, as he collected 9 RBI in the Braves' 17-3 rout of the Giants on 7/3/1966.

In mid-1968, Cloninger was traded to the Reds along with relief pitcher Clay Carroll and 2nd baseman Woody Woodward for pitchers Milt Pappas and Ted Davidson, and utility infielder Bob Johnson. His 3 1/2 years with the Reds was unremarkable, and he was traded to the Cardinals prior to the 1972 season. The Cardinals released him in mid-1972.

As a youngster in 1967, I would sometimes hear Tony Cloninger's name on the radio during Phillies vs. Braves broadcasts. I would also occasionally hear Tony Conigliaro's name mentioned, but it wasn't until late in the season (probably when I got this card) that I realized they were 2 different players.


Also check out Cloninger's 1966 card.

Tom Tresh (#289)

Tom Tresh was one of the Yankees' regular outfielders in the mid-1960s (along with CF Mickey Mantle and RF Roger Maris). Like Mickey Mantle before him, and Bobby Murcer after him, Tresh was a shortstop in the minor leagues, but primarily played the outfield in the majors. Later in his career (mid-1968), Tresh switched to shortstop.


He was called up to the Yankees in September 1961, and was the American League rookie of the year in 1962, while mainly filling in at shortstop for Tony Kubek (who missed much of the season due to military obligations).

In 1963, he began in his usual leftfield position, but took over centerfield from June 7th until September 2nd, while Mantle was out. He then returned to left field, and stayed there until switching over to shortstop in June 1968. (Tresh did play 3B for about 2 months in mid-1966, when the Yankees moved 3B Clete Boyer to shortstop.)


In June 1969, he was traded to the defending world champion Tigers, and was their shortstop for the remainder of the season. Tresh was released just prior to the 1970 season.