Rookie Parade

Today we look at the rookie stars cards - all in one place. Why did Topps only have 1 card for some teams, and as many as 3 for others? Topps made some major omissions, but some 1-card teams were probably bereft of minor-league talent. (And with the low bar set by some of the so-called "stars" that appear on these cards, that's really embarrassing for those 1-rookie-card teams.) 

 

In team-name order (NL first):

Astros: Norm Miller and especially Doug Rader were contributors for the next few seasons.  The others? Not so much.

Braves: Cecil Upshaw became the team's closer after Phil Niekro moved to the rotation at mid-season.  Ramon Hernandez is on an NL Rookies card further below.

Cardinals:  Only 1 card?  The eventual World Champs had a set lineup, with only Dick Hughes and Ron Willis (on an NL Rookies card below) able to make the roster.

Cubs: The Cubs had SEVEN players appear on rookie stars cards (including Norm Gigon on an NL Rookies card), but none named Bill Stoneman or Chuck Hartenstein.  Huh?

Dodgers: Bill Singer also appeared on a '66 Rookies card with Don Sutton.  In 1967 he filled Sandy Koufax' vacancy in the rotation. Jim Campanis was the GM's son, so...

Giants: Only 1 card?  It's probably too soon for Bobby Bonds, but Bob Schroeder played 60 games in 1967, and there was the short-term phenom Bobby Etheridge. BTW, Dietz was a catcher.

 

Mets: Greg Goossen, Bart Shirley, and Bill Denehy were lunch-pailers, but Topps redeemed itself with Tom Seaver's inclusion.  Don Shaw also appeared on an NL Rookies card.

Phillies: As much as the 1967 me wanted to see more Phillies' Rookies cards, objectively speaking, one was enough.  Grant Jackson and Gary Sutherland (on an NL Rookies card) were the only rookies to make the team.

Pirates: A whole lot of non-stars here.  Jim Price was dealt to the Tigers just before Opening Day, while Luke Walker eventually made the team (after 2 or 3 Rookie Stars cards). Jim Shellenback was on an NL Rookies card later.

Reds: Where's Gary Nolan and Johnny Bench? Nolan was a 14-game winner in 1967, with over 200 strikeouts. (In fairness to Topps, he spent 1966 in low-A ball, so who would have known?)  Darrell Osteen and Lee May were also together on a 1966 Reds Rookies card.

Angels: Topps! The Angels had some rookie pitchers named Clyde Wright, Rickey Clark, Tom Burgmeier, Andy Messersmith, and Marty Pattin.  Wake up! 

Athletics: Six rookies, but none named Reggie Jackson.  Randy Schwartz? Tim Talton?  Topps, please!

Indians: Bill Davis?  Again?  Where's Vern Fuller?

Orioles: Topps scored big on the first card with Mike Epstein (although for the Senators) and Tom Phoebus. Why the red frame on the 3rd card?  Sure, the "ORIOLES" name was usually in yellow, but Topps adjusted earlier for the Phillies and the O's first rookie card. Maybe Inspector 12 was on vacation that day.

Red Sox: Topps hit a home run with the Andrews/Smith pairing, both key starters for the AL Champs.

Senators: Joe Coleman and Dick Bosman were good starting pitchers over the next few seasons.

Tigers: The Tigers had 2 guys named George Korince?  LOL

Twins: Rich Reese was the team's 1st baseman for a few seasons.  Jim Ollom was one of 6 Jims on the Twins' 10-man 1967 staff. Where's Rod Carew?  He's on an AL Rookies card in the 7th series.  (I'm convinced Topps saved those 7th-series NL/AL Rookies cards for last-minute additions to the set.  If true, how was Carew an afterthought?)

Yankees: Bobby Murcer appears here, although missing the '67 and '68 seasons while in the Army.  Stan Bahnsen reappeared on a '68 Yankees Rookies card, and was the AL Rookie of the Year in '68.

White Sox: Duane Josephson and Walt Williams became regulars in their rookie season.  Ed Stroud was dealt to the Senators early-on.

AL: Carew's rookie card is one of three cards I need to complete the set.  (Also the Seaver rookie, and Tommy John.)

NL: Shaw and Sutherland had the longest careers of these six.  Willis played for World Series teams in his first 2 seasons, but fizzled out soon after.

Other players having their rookie (solo) card in the 1967 set include Chris Short and Maury Wills (both 8-year veterans), Ken Holtzman, Jay Johnstone, Rick Wise, and for some reason known only to the braintrust at Topps, Bruce Brubaker.

Yankees Rookies: Stan Bahnsen / Bobby Murcer

This is the first of 3 Yankees Rookies cards in 1967.

Stan Bahnsen was signed by the Yankees in 1965, and played 3 seasons in the minors (plus a 4-game call-up to New York in 1966) before joining the Yankees permanently in 1968, when he compiled a 17-12 record and won the American League Rookie of the Year award. That was good enough for Topps to name him to the All-rookie team.

He played for the Yankees through the 1971 season, then pitched for 5 other teams through the 1982 season.



Bobby Murcer..... After blowing through so many "next Mickey Mantles" (Roger Repoz, Steve Whitaker, Bill Robinson, etc), Murcer was the closest thing to a next Mickey Mantle during the late 1960s/early 1970s for the Yankees.

Like Mantle, Murcer was from Oklahoma, played shortstop in the minors, and became a star center fielder with the Yankees. He was signed by the Yankees in 1964, and played 3 seasons in the minors (with brief call-ups in 1965 and 1966).

After missing the 1967 and 1968 seasons while in the Army, Murcer returned to the Yankees as their opening-day 3rd baseman in 1969. After a month as the regular 3rd baseman, Bobby moved to right field, where he started most games until the end of August. For the final month of the season, he took over as the starting center fielder. He remained at that legendary position until May 28, 1974, when he moved over to right field for the remainder of the season (to make room for Elliott Maddox).

From 1975-79, Murcer played for the Giants and Cubs, before returning to the Yankees in June 1979. His final game was June 11, 1983, with the Yankees releasing him 9 days later.

Cardinals Rookies: Jim Cosman / Dick Hughes

This is the only rookies card (#384) for the Cardinals in 1967.

Jim Cosman played in the minor leagues from 1963 to 1971 for 4 organizations (primarily the Cardinals, but also the Mets, Reds, and Cubs). His only major-league action was 1 game in '66, 10 games in '67 (all for St. Louis), and 1 game in 1970 with the Cubs.



Dick Hughes was a little more successful. He was signed by the Cardinals in 1958, and spent 9 seasons in the minors (mostly with Cardinals' teams) before making his major-league debut in September 1966 at age 28.

Although he only played in the major leagues for 3 seasons, he was a key member of the Cardinals' pitching staff in both 1967 and 1968, as they went to the World Series in both years. In 1967, Dick was a starter for most of the season, while in 1968 he pitched mainly in relief. His last major-league game was in game 6 of the World Series.

In 1969, he played 15 games for the Cardinals' class-A team in St. Petersburg, FL, and then his career was over. (It seems like this may have been an unsuccessful rehab assignment.)

Braves Rookies: Charlie Vaughan / Cecil Upshaw

The back of this card (#179) says Vaughan has a "world of potential", but that may have been a bit too much hyperbole on Topps' part. He pitched in the minors from 1965-1970 for the Braves and Royals, and his major league career was even less impressive - pitching 1 game in each of 1966 and 1969.

He also has the indignity of Topps spelling his first AND last name differently on the front and back of the card. (At least they didn't use a deceased player's picture for him!)



Cecil Upshaw was a different story. Upshaw pitched in the Braves' farm system from 1963 to 1967. After Phil Niekro was moved into Atlanta's starting rotation midway through 1967, Upshaw assumed the "closer" role and held it through the 1972 season (except for missing the entire 1970 season with torn ligaments, which occurred when his ring finger got caught on something while horsing around with teammates).

In April 1973 he was traded to the Astros. After the season, he moved on to the Indians, Yankees and White Sox, and was released prior to the 1976 season. He was never able to duplicate the success he had with the Braves.

Mets Rookies: Greg Goossen / Bart Shirley

There were two Mets Rookies cards in 1967. This is the one (#287) whose value is under $750.

Greg Goossen played 8 seasons in the minor leagues (1964-1971), and saw limited action with a major-league team in the "middle six" of those seasons. He was originally signed by the Dodgers in 1964. Prior to the 1965 season, the Mets drafted him out of the Dodgers' organization. He remained a Mets prospect for several years. Although he started out as a catcher, during 1967 he switched to first base, only catching 1 game after the 1967 season.

After appearing briefly with the Mets from 1965-1968, Goossen was traded to the Seattle Pilots before the 1969 season for a player to be named later (outfielder Jim Gosger). Greg was used as a pinch-hitter and backup first baseman for the Pilots in 1969 and the Brewers in 1970, until he was sold to the Senators in mid-1970.

Following the 1970 season, the Senators traded Goossen and two other minor-league players to the Phillies for the rights to outfielder Curt Flood (who sat out the 1970 season, rather than play for Philadelphia). Goossen wrapped up his career in 1971, playing for the Phillies' triple-A team in Eugene, Oregon.



Like Goossen, Bart Shirley also started out in the Dodgers' organization. He began in 1961 at double-A, and played the next 9 seasons with the Dodgers' triple-A team.

He was drafted by the Mets after the 1966 season, but was sent back to the Dodgers in mid-May 1967, after only 6 appearances with the Mets. Shirley played briefly as a backup infielder with the Dodgers in 1964, 1966, and 1968.

Late-series NL/AL Rookies

Each year in the last series, Topps included some "AL Rookies" and "NL Rookies" cards, where players (not on the same team) were pictured. My assumption has always been that Topps waited until after the season started, then used these cards as a "catch-all" for some previously un-documented rookies.

First, we have the lone AL Rookies card, featuring Rod Carew and Hank Allen. Topps hit a homerun here, as these 2 players appeared in more games in 1967 than any other rookie not already appearing on a card.
(Since this is one of the five 1967 cards I don't own, I don't have a scan of the card back.)

Card #576 features Ramon Hernandez and Norm Gigon. After 8 years in the minors, Gigon appears to have parlayed a 3-run homer in his major-league debut into a late-season rookie card.


Card #587 features Don Shaw and Gary Sutherland. Sutherland was the backup SS/LF for the Phillies in 1967, and saw action in a lot of games. The following season, he faded into a utility/pinch-hitting role, and was claimed by the Expos in the expansion draft following the 1968 season.


Card #592 features Jim Shellenback and Ron Willis. Willis was a useful addition to the Cardinals' bullpen on their way to winning the 1967 World Series.



OK, now let's consult the chart below to see how well Topps speculated on these rookies. (Click on image to enlarge)
They were right-on with the AL Rookies card. For the NL Rookies, 4 of the 6 players had impressive rookie seasons. However, there seems to be better choices than Norm Gigon and Jim Shellenback, most notably Gary Nolan, John Donaldson, Vern Fuller, and Bob Schroder. (Gary Nolan finished 1967 as 4th in ERA and 4th in strikeouts.)

Jim Barbieri (#76) / Cubs Rookies (#272)

Jim Barbieri's major-league career consisted of 39 games with the Dodgers in 1966. (20 games in the outfield (17 starts), and another 19 games as a pinch-hitter.) This first-series card indicates that he was sent down to Spokane in October 1966. A check of his career stats shows that he never returned to the major leagues, and wrapped up his minor-league career in 1969. Although his card says "INF-OF", there's no evidence that he played anywhere but the outfield in LA or the minors.


Although his time in the majors was short, he did appear in the 1966 World Series. He also appeared in the 1954 Little League World Series, the first person to appear in both series. This link also tells us that his teammate on the 1954 little league team was Bill Connors (below).


Cubs Rookies (#272)

Bill Connors minor league career lasted 10 years, all with the Cubs and Mets. He had a few major-league appearances from 1966 to 1968.

Dave Dowling's career is even less impressive than Bill Connors. He kicked around the Cardinals, Cubs, and Giants farm systems from 1964 to 1968, and appeared in 2 major-league games.

Red Sox Rookies (#314)

Well done, Topps!! With many rookie cards, we usually get one future star and one player that disappears after a short time, or in the worst cases, two guys who never amount to anything.

For the Red Sox Rookies card (#314), both players not only became starters during their rookie seasons, but the team went to the World Series! After starting the first 6 games at 2nd base, Reggie Smith was moved to centerfield, Mike Andrews was installed as the starting 2nd baseman, and the Red Sox were off to the races.

Tigers Rookies - (15 minutes for George Korince)

In the first series, Topps issued a Detroit Tigers rookies card #72. This appears to include pitcher George Korince and infielder John “Tom” Matchick. However, this card has another player incorrectly pictured as George Korince.



For the second Tigers rookie card (#526), Topps chose to correct this error by using one half of the card to correctly picture George Korince, with an explanation on the back.



I’ve had 3 questions about this decision to "waste" a slot on this correction:

1. Was the Tigers farm system so bereft of prospects that they had nobody else to feature on this 2nd card?

2. Was George Korince such a top-notch prospect that it was imperative to set the record straight on him? The back of card #72 says that he’s "a can’t miss prospect", but a quick check of his career stats shows that this was a bit overstated. The previous year (1966) he had 3 IP, 2 K, and 1 HBP. In 1967, his stats include 9 G, 14 IP, 11 K, 11 BB, and a 5.14 ERA!

3. Why did Topps make sure to correct this error, but in the previous year, they didn’t bother to correct the Dick Ellsworth card, which actually showed a photo of the late Ken Hubbs – Ellsworth’s teammate who died TWO YEARS EARLIER!


Guess who's on the 1968 Tigers Rookie Stars card?