Final Card: Recapping all 80

For the past few years, one of the recurring series on this blog has been a player's final card. The 1967 set includes the final card for 77 players and 3 managers. Here is a quick recap of them all, in order of years of service, from Curt Simmons' 20 years to Bruce Brubaker's 2 games:

Some, like these 11, had already played their last big-league game before these cards came out. Others like Dennis Bennett, would remain in the majors for 2 more seasons, but most saw their careers end in 1967.


Also check out the 1966 and 1968 final cards.

Final Card: Sam Mele

Sam Mele (#418) had a 7-year managing career, all with the Minnesota Twins.

In the Twins' first season in Minnesota (1961), Mele (then a Twins' coach) filled in for 7 games during manager Cookie Lavagetto's mid-June leave of absence. Ten days after Cookie returned, he was out, and Mele was elevated to manager.

 
Although the Twins finished in 7th place that season, Sam was retained, and brought the team to 2nd and 3rd place finishes in the next 2 seasons. A 6th-place finish in 1964 almost cost him his job (in favor of one of his coaches - Billy Martin).

1965 was the Twins' best season to date. They won 102 games, and went to the World Series, losing to the Dodgers in 7 games. The team finished in 2nd place for the next 2 seasons, but that was not enough for Mele to keep his job. The Twins added pitcher Dean Chance and rookie 2nd baseman Rod Carew, so expectations were high. After 50 games, they were 25-25, so Mele got the boot, replaced by Cal Ermer. (Ermer lasted through the '68 season, when he was replaced by Billy Martin.)

Mele never managed again, but spent 25 years as a scout for the Red Sox. In his playing days, Sam was an outfielder for several teams from 1947-56, primarily the Red Sox, Senators, and White Sox.


Well team, that's it for the "Final card" series: 77 players and 3 managers. If you missed any, you can browse through the "final card" label below (or wait for an upcoming re-cap of all 80 cards).

Final Card: John Miller

This is the final card for pitcher John Miller (#141). Miller was 26 in 1967, but I always thought he looked like someone's grandfather here. John had a brief career in the mid-1960s for the Orioles, mostly as their 5th starter in 1965 and 1966.

Miller was signed by the Orioles in 1961, and pitched in the minors for 4 full seasons, while making a few appearances for Baltimore in 1962 and 1963. After a full season on the farm in 1964, he split the 1965 season between triple-A and Baltimore's starting rotation.

Although he was with the team for all of 1966, John didn't appear in the World Series, since 3 of the 4 games were complete-game shutouts.

 
John's career went downhill after 1966. After 2 games with the O's in 1967, he was sold to the Mets on May 10th, and spent the rest of that season as a reliever in triple-A. He started 19 games in the single-A Carolina League in 1968 before retiring.

Only one more 'Final Card" to go in the 1967 set.  Can anyone guess who?  Hint: He's on the Twins.

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.

Final Card: Johnny Lewis

Johnny Lewis (#91) played four seasons in the mid-1960s, mostly for the Mets. His only season as a regular was in 1965, when he manned the Mets' right field post. After that season, Cleon Jones joined the team and it was goodbye Johnny.



Lewis was signed by the Tigers in 1959, but was traded to the Cardinals in the same year. He played in the Cardinals' farm system until making his major-league debut with St. Louis in April 1964. He split the '64 season between the Cardinals and their AAA team in Jacksonville. After the season, he was traded to the Mets for pitcher Tracy Stallard.

Johnny was the Mets' everyday right fielder in 1965, playing 100 games there and another 40 games in center field. He also socked 15 home runs, but only bat .245.

In 1966 the Mets acquired veteran outfielder Al Luplow from the Indians, who, along with Larry Elliot took most of the playing time in right field. With Ron Swoboda a fixture in left field, and rookie Cleon Jones in center, Lewis was relegated to the bench as a 5th outfielder and pinch-hitter. He also played 71 games down in Jacksonville.

The Mets obtained left fielder Tommy Davis from the Dodgers before the 1967 season, so Lewis was toast. Johnny played most of the season in Jacksonville, and only 13 games with New York, the last coming on June 11th. He wrapped up his professional career with the Phillies' AAA team in San Diego.

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.

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.

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.

Final Card: Dwight Siebler

Here is the last card for Dwight Siebler (#164). My card has a severely stubbed top right corner, a casualty found on many of my 1st and 2nd series 1967 cards. I didn't start buying cards until May or June of that year, so the early cards were acquired through the time-honored "tossing cards" method. I didn't start "taking care" of my cards until about the 5th series!

Siebler was signed by the Phillies in 1958, and pitched for 5 seasons (1959-63) in their farm system, the last 3 in triple-A. He was purchased by the Twins in late August 1963, and 2 days later made his big-league debut. Dwight remained with Minnesota to the end of the season, but he spent most of 1964 and 1965 pitching in triple-A, while playing less than 10 games with the Twins in each season.



Siebler was back with the Twins for the entire 1966 season, which would be his only full season in the majors. Dwight started off the 1967 season with the Twins, but after only 2 appearances in late April, he was back in AAA, compiling a 4-10 record primarily as a starter, before retiring after the season.

Final Card: Orlando McFarlane

First, a commercial:

Last week, I signed up on the Zistle.com site, after reading about it on The Phillies Room blog. So far, I've got all my baseball cards from 1952-80, and all my football cards (1964-79) entered. Check it out using the link at the top of my sidebar.

Now, where was I..., oh yeah, Orlando McFarlane.


This is the final card for backup catcher Orlando McFarlane (#496), one of four players named Orlando in the 1967 set. McFarlane was signed by the Pirates in 1958, and toiled in their system though 1963 (although getting an 8-game cup of coffee in 1962). In 1960, he played at 3rd base more than as a catcher, and also saw action at shortstop.

In 1964 he spent the entire season with the Pirates, but only played in 37 games. The following season, he was back in the minors all year, but split his time between the Pirates' and Senators' farm teams.



After the 1965 season, he was selected by the Tigers in the Rule 5 draft. Orlando spent the entire 1966 season in Detroit as Bill Freehan's backup. Just before the 1967 season started, he was traded to the Angels, as we see on the back of this late-series card. (This trade happened so last-minute that Topps only included 1 Tigers' catcher (Freehan) in the 1967 set, while having 4 Angels' catchers!) He was ticketed as the 3rd-string catcher behind Bob Rodgers and Tom Satriano, but he must have been injured in mid-season, because he only played 12 games for the Angels (none after June 3rd) and no games in the minors.

In 1968 McFarlane spent most of the season with the Angels' triple-A team in Seattle, but did play 18 games for the Angels. That would be his last major-league action, as not even the creation of 4 expansion teams could keep him in the majors. During 1969 and 1970, he played for the Angels' and Mets' triple-A teams.

Final Card: Pedro Gonzalez

This is the last of 5 consecutive cards for Pedro Gonzalez (#424).

Pedro was signed by the Yankees in 1958, and spent the next 4 full seasons in their farm system, strictly at 2nd base until 1962, when he also played a significant amount of games at 3rd base and shortstop, as well as in the outfield.

Gonzalez made his major-league debut in April 1963 with the Yankees, but with Bobby Richardson starting 150 games at 2nd base, Gonzalez spent most of the season in triple-A. He made 4 starts at 2nd for New York, mostly in September.

In 1964, Pedro spent the entire season with the Yankees, and saw action in 80 games, more than any substitute except Phil Linz and Hector Lopez. He saw more action at 1st base than any other position.



In May 1965, Gonzalez was traded to the Indians for backup 1st baseman Ray Barker. He was the staring 2nd baseman for all but one game between May 30th and September 20th. (Cleveland has started the season with a keystone combo of Larry Brown and Dick Howser. Gonzalez replaced Brown, but by mid-season, Brown moved over to short to replace Howser. To complete this circle, Howser started most of the games at 2B after September 20th.)

Pedro was the regular 2nd baseman again in 1966, but rarely played after August. Howser, Chico Salmon, and rookie Vern Fuller each started a dozen or so games at 2nd base in place of Gonzalez.

His playing time was further reduced in 1967, as he only played in 80 games, while making 55 starts. His regular 2nd base job only lasted from May 9th to June 23rd. Cleveland started the season with rookie Gus Gill at 2B, while fellow rookie Vern Fuller took over the job as of July 19th.

Pedro's last major-league game was on September 27, 1967. He spent the next 4 seasons playing in the minors for the Indians, Cardinals, and Pirates.

Final Card: John Sullivan

This (#568) is the last of John Sullivan's three Topps baseball cards. He first appeared on a Tigers Rookies card in 1965. In 1966, his card portrayed him as a Tigers' catcher. This year, he moves on to the Mets. Coincidently, all three of John's cards were in the rare 7th series (a/k/a high numbers). In my neighborhood, the 7th series was not sold in stores, so my first knowledge of Sullivan was when the Phillies signed him as their 3rd-string catcher during the 1968 season.

Sullivan was primarily a minor-league catcher, logging 1201 games over 13 seasons in the bush leagues, while playing only 116 big-league games over parts of 5 seasons. John was signed by the Tigers in 1959, and moved up their farm system ladder from 1959 to 1965. After a cup of coffee in both 1963 and 1964, he played in 34 games for Detroit in 1965, although spending part of the season at triple-A Syracuse.



1966 is a mystery. The record shows he played the entire season with the Athletics' triple-A team in Vancouver, although still Tigers' property, because after the 1966 season the Mets selected him from the Tigers in the Rule 5 draft.

1967 was the high point of Sullivan's career. Not only was it the only season where he managed to stay out of the minor leagues, but he worked his way up to SECOND string catcher, behind Jerry Grote. (Although Topps printed a card for John Stephenson as a Mets' catcher, Stephenson played only for the Cubs in 1967.) Sullivan played in 65 games in '67, the most of any season.

In February 1968, the Phillies purchased his contract and stashed him at triple-A San Diego. Although playing most of the season in the minors, he did get into 12 games with the Philadelphia. (I guess since the Phillies already had Mike Ryan on board, they didn't need another Irish catcher!) His final major-league game was on August 7th.

During spring training 1969, the Phillies swapped him to the Orioles for another backup catcher - Vic Roznovsky. Sullivan would kick around the minors for 4 more seasons, with the Orioles (1969) and the Royals (1970-72).

Final Card: Bill Hepler

This is the final baseball card for Bill Hepler (#144). His only other card came in 1966, when he appeared on a 7th-series Mets Rookies card.

Until today, I never gave a 2nd thought to Hepler. Sure, I had seen his short career listed on the back of this card, and I knew he didn't have a card after this one, but here's what I learned today: Bill was signed by the Washington Senators in 1965, and spent one season at class-A Geneva, NY where he compiled a 13-10 record in 28 starts.

Based on only one class-A season, two things happened:
1) The Mets selected him in the Rule 5 draft
2) Topps gave him a slot on a 1966 Mets Rookies card

Were the Mets (and Topps) so smart to give him such attention? If he was a phenom, why did the Senators leave him unprotected?



Bill jumped all the way to the majors in 1966 (well he'd have to, being a Rule 5 draft pick), and appeared in 37 games (3 starts) for a total of 69 innings. He also walked twice as many batters as he struck out. This may well explain his one-year major-league career.

After 1966, he spent the next 3 years pitching for A and AA teams in the Mets' system, before wrapping up his career in 1970 with 5 games for the Senators' single-A team in the Carolina League.

Maybe a veteran Mets' fan can shed some light on the fast rise and faster fall of Bill Hepler's career.

Final Card: Gil Blanco

This is the final card for Gil Blanco (#303). His only other baseball card was a Yankees Rookie Stars card in 1965.

Gil was signed by the Yankees in 1964, and started 23 games for class-A Fort Lauderdale, compiling a 12-7 record. In 1965, Blanco spent the entire season with the Yankees, but only appeared in 17 games (fewer than 9 other Yankee pitchers).



After his unimpressive performance in 1965, Gil was back in the minors to start the 1966 season. In June he was traded to the Kansas City Athletics (along with pitcher Bil Stafford and outfielder Roger Repoz) for pitcher Fred Talbot and catcher Bill Bryan. Blanco appeared in 11 games (8 starts) for the remainder of the 1966 season, with his September 22nd appearance being his last major-league game.

Blanco continued to pitch in the minor leagues from 1967 to 1971, mostly in the Athletics' system.

Final Card: John Werhas

"INFIELD"... Is there anything that screams "short-timer" more than "INFIELD"? (other than "INF-OF", of course)

This is the final baseball card for John Werhas (#514). Werhas was signed by the Dodgers in 1960, and after 2 seasons in the low minors, he spent 5 seasons with the Dodgers' triple-A Spokane team, mostly as a 3rd baseman. During this time, he also played 29 games in 1964 and 4 games in 1965 with the Dodgers.

1967 was John's first full season in the major leagues. It would also be his last major-league season. After 7 games with the Dodgers, on May 10th he was traded to the Angels for outfielder Len Gabrielson. Werhas appeared in 49 games for the Angels in 1967, mostly as a backup 3rd baseman to Paul Schaal.



After spending the 1968 season with the Phillies' triple-A San Diego Padres, John played 2 seasons with the Angels' triple-A Hawaii team. He missed the 1971 season, then was back for 2 more seasons in Hawaii (by now the Padres' triple-A team).

Final Card: Ossie Chavarria

Ossie Chavarria (#344) was a utility infielder who played a season and a half with the Kansas City Athletics.

Ossie (from Panama) was signed by the Cubs before the 1959 season, but after only 1 season in their system, was traded to Kansas City. He spent 6 seasons with various Athletics' farm teams. Primarily a 2nd baseman, he also saw significant playing time at 3rd base and shortstop, as well as occasional games at 1st base and in the outfield.

Chavarria made his major-league debut on April 14, 1966, and spent the entire 1966 season with Kansas City. In 1967, he split his time evenly between Kansas City (38 games) and triple-A Vancouver (40 games). His final major-league game was in early August 1967.



Ossie spent the next four seasons in the minors, playing for the Athletics' AAA team in 1968-69, and for the Yankees' AAA team in 1970-71. After the 1969 season, the A's traded Ossie and 1st baseman Danny Cater to the Yankees for pitcher Al Downing and catcher Frank Fernandez.

Chavarria never played for the Yankees. After the 1971 season, he was traded to the Mexico City Tigers for 3rd baseman Celerino Sanchez.

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: Hank Fischer

This is the final baseball card for Hank Fischer (#342).

Hank was signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1959. After 3 seasons in the minors, he made his major-league debut in April 1962. Fischer appeared in 29 games (37 innings) for the Braves in 1962, all in relief.

Hank's playing time increased in 1963. While still primarily a reliever, he also started 6 games. In 1964, he made the transition to starting pitcher, and was #4 behind Tony Cloninger, Denny Lemaster, and the 43-year-old Warren Spahn.



Fischer was pushed down to #5 starter in 1965, due to the emergence of Wade Blasingame as a top starter and the acquisition of Ken Johnson from Houston (Spahn was gone). He also made 12 relief appearances along with his 19 starts.

In 1966, the Braves moved to Atlanta, but Fischer hardly had time to unpack. After 14 appearances, on June 15th he was traded to the Reds for veteran pitcher Joey Jay. Exactly 2 months (and 11 appearances) later, he was traded to the Red Sox for TWO players to be named later (pitchers Dick Stigman and Rollie Sheldon).

Fischer was used very little by the Red Sox. After 6 games in 1966 and 9 games in 1967, Hank called it a career. His last game was on August 8, 1967.

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.