Steve Hargan (#440)

Steve Hargan was the 4th member of the Indians’ excellent starting rotation in the mid-to-late 1960s.

Hargan signed with the Indians in 1961 and made his major-league debut in August 1965. By mid-June 1966 he joined he starting rotation, where he stayed until early 1971.

Steve’s best years were 1966, 1967, and 1970. In those 3 years only, he won in double figures, and had an ERA below 3.00. He also had over 130 strikeouts in ’66 and ’67. In 1967, he led the AL with 6 shutouts, and made his only All-Star team.

Anchored by Sam McDowell, it seemed like McDowell, Luis Tiant, Sonny Siebert, and Hargan were always showing up among the AL pitching leaders:

Hargan's career derailed in 1971. After posting a 1-13 record that season, he only pitched 20 innings for the Tribe in 1972 while spending most of that season and all of 1973 in the minors.

After the 1973 season he was traded to the Rangers for pitcher Bill Gogolewski. Hargan bounced back with Texas, winning 12 games in ’74 and 9 games in ’75 as a starter. He was primarily a reliever in his 3rd season with the Rangers, only starting 8 of his 35 games on his way to an 8-8 record.

Hargan was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the expansion draft following the 1976 season. After only 6 games (29 innings) he was traded back to Texas in early-May. A month later he was flipped to the Braves, where he finished out the season (and his career).

He pitched in the minors in 1978 before retiring.

NL Pitching Leaders (#234, 236, 238)

Here are the National League pitching leaders for the 1966 season. These cards made a cameo appearance on my first 1966 blog post.

Sandy Koufax won the pitching triple crown in his final season. Because of his dominance in the early-to-mid 1960s, MLB created a Cy Young Award for each league beginning in 1967, instead of one overall award.


Koufax was the only qualifying starting pitcher with an ERA below 2.00. Joining him is the Astros' Mike Cuellar, who would be traded to the Orioles after 1968, and Juan Marichal. In the relievers' category, Joe Hoerner and Phil Regan both came in under 2.00.

It's Sandy Koufax again! Marichal was joined by his teammate Gaylord Perry in the 20-win club in 1966. Bob Gibson's 21 wins tied with Perry for 3rd place.

Jim Bunning checks in at 2nd place with 252 strikeouts, a whopping 65 behind Koufax. Bunning also finished 4th in ERA and 6th in wins that season. The Pirates' Bob Veale was a regular among the top strikeout artists in the late 1960s. Gibson and Marichal were not far behind in 1966.

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:

American League Pitching Leaders (#233,235,237)

Here are the 1967 cards showing the previous season's American League pitching leaders in ERA, victories, and strikeouts.

Jim Kaat and Earl Wilson each nabbed 2 of the 9 spots, with 5 other players appearing once. In contrast, the AL Batting Leaders had 3 players manning 7 of the 9 spots. Oddly enough, Earl Wilson was traded from Boston to Detroit DURING the 1966 season. Sporting a 5-5 record at the time of the trade, he went 13-5 with the Tigers, vaulting into the leader board.


Last year, the AL ERA leaders included 2 Indians and a White Sox. Now, it's 2 White Sox and 1 Indian (with 6 different pitchers!)  If I recall correctly, Gary Peters and Joel Horlen also appear on the following season's ERA leaders card. Steve Hargan continues the tradition set last year by teammates Sam McDowell and Sonny Siebert.

Jim Kaat won 25 games in 1966, and scored himself a "floating head" on one of the 1967 checklist cards, (ostensibly the 7 top players in baseball). Denny McLain won 20 games, which was just a tune-up for his 31-win season in 1968. Wilson won 18, then added a league-leading 22 wins in 1967.

Sam McDowell takes his customary spot atop the AL strikeout leaders, with Kaat and Wilson rounding out the 200+ strikeout club.

American League Batting Leaders (#239, 241, 243)

Here are the 1967 cards showing the previous season's American League leaders in batting average, RBI, and home runs. The Orioles are well-represented among the league leaders. They won their first World Series in 1966, and their newly-acquired right fielder Frank Robinson won the Triple Crown. Orioles' first baseman Boog Powell chipped in with a 3rd-place showing in both home runs and RBI. The Twins had a lock on 2nd place in each category.


As mentioned above, Frank Robinson won the Triple Crown in 1966. The Twins' Tony Oliva finished 2nd, followed by the Tigers' Al Kaline. (All three are right fielders!). Oliva won the batting title in '64, '65, and '71, finished 2nd in '66, and 3rd three times: in '68 (by 1 point), '69 (by less than 1 point), and '70. Kaline was no slouch either, having won the title in '55, finishing 2nd in '59, '61, and '63, and 3rd in '66 and '67.




The same 3 players appear on both the RBI and home run leaders. 1966 was the only season that Robinson led in either RBI or home runs. Harmon Killebrew led the league in RBI 3 times ('62, '69, '71). Boog Powell never led the league in either RBI or home runs, having the misfortune of playing during the peak production years of Killebrew, Robinson, and the Senators' Frank Howard.




Harmon Killebrew led the league in home runs 6 times ('59, '62, '63, '64, '67, '69).

National League Batting Leaders (#240, 242, 244)

Program note: Please check out my new 1970 Topps Baseball card blog, which I launched today.


Here are the 1967 cards showing the previous season's National League leaders in batting average, RBI, and home runs. The Braves are well-represented with 4 of the 9 slots, followed to a lesser degree by the Phillies and Pirates. Hank Aaron, who at this time was still somewhat in the shadow of Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle, was quietly marching toward the career home run record. Phillies' 3rd baseman Richie Allen also appears on 2 cards, and finished 4th in batting (although 25 points behind the leader). 1966 was Allen's last superb season in Philadelphia, as injuries, defensive liabilities, and his general dissatisfaction with the Phillies' management and fan base kicked into high gear in 1967.


The Alou brothers manned the top two spots in batting average, followed by Felipe's teammate, left fielder Rico Carty. Carty would miss the entire 1968 season with tuberculosis, but came back strong in 1969. Rico continued his fine play into 1970, earning a starting all-star berth as a write-in candidate.




Aaron was top dog in RBI and home runs, as Willie Mays began to fade, and Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda were not yet having their breakout seasons. Looking at the card back, we see that the Braves, Pirates, and Phillies each had another player above 100 RBI, as did the Giants' Mays.




Aaron and Allen each had 40+ homers, and Willie Mays (unlike his Yankees counterpart Mickey Mantle) was still cranking out home runs in the upper-30s. The Braves were also well-fortified with other power hitters Joe Torre and Felipe Alou, as were the Giants with Willie McCovey and Jim Ray Hart.