Going Outside the Lines

I found these 2 cards at my friendly neighborhood antique store/card store a few weeks ago. I normally don't have an interest in off-center cards, but these were so bad that I thought it would be fun to find out who was on the neighboring cards.

I have previously posted Phil Linz' 1968 card and Jim Barbieri's 1967 card. (Jim was one of the few players to have played in the Little League World Series AND the MLB World Series.)

Anyhoo, after perusing all the cards in my 1967 binder, I determined that the Linz card was connected to the Red Sox' Jose Tartabull, and Barbieri was connected to the Tigers' Joe Sparma. (The Linz card shows the very bottom of the "Red Sox" team name, although it was  cut off in my scan.)

I also previously posted about these cards.

Ex-players with cards

Many posts ago, I mentioned players who were active during the 1967 season who did not appear on a Topps card.

Today I'm showing the opposite, which is the 11 players who appeared on (full) cards in the 1967 set, even though their last major league appearances were in 1966, either because of retirement, injury, or a permanent minor-league demotion.



Joe Nuxhall is the dean of this group. His major-league debut was at age 15 with the Reds in 1944. He retired following the 1966 season, and went on to a long career as a Reds' broadcaster.

Felix Mantilla's career was spent primarily as a backup for the Milwaukee Braves, and a starter for the Red Sox. Traded to the Cubs prior to 1967, he was injured in spring training, then released after coming off the DL. He was recently featured on the 1965 Topps blog.

Terry Fox' last big-league action was with the Phillies in 1966. He spent the 1967 season with the Phillies' triple-A team in San Diego before retiring.




After 3 seasons with the Tigers, George Smith was traded to the Sox, and was their regular 2nd baseman in 1966. Rookie Mike Andrews took over in 1967, leaving Smith without a job in or out of Boston.

Derrell Griffith spent parts of 4 seasons (1963-66) with the Dodgers. After the 1966 season, he was traded twice (to the Mets and the Astros) but never made the team. The back of his card notes that he was sent to triple-A on March 24, 1967 (never to return).

Larry Elliot had cups of coffee with the Pirates in '62 and '63, then stuck around as a backup outfielder and pinch-hitter for the Mets in 1964 and 1966. That was the extent of his major-league career.

Ron Campbell kicked around for parts of 3 seasons (1964-66) as a utility infielder for the Cubs.




Don Dennis was a reliever for the Cardinals in 1965 and 1966. He was traded to the Sox in the off-season for catcher Johnny Romano, but never played in the majors again. Chicago didn't get gypped, as Romano didn't play much in '67 (his final season) either.
A few months ago, the Dinged Corners blog had a poll for best forehead ever. I think Don Dennis will have to replace Dave "Forehead" Morehead as the clear-cut winner!

Gil Blanco spent all of 1965 with the Yankees, and the last half of 1966 with the Athletics. That is all!

Bill Hepler was a one-year wonder, compiling a 3-3 record in a full season with the Mets in 1966.

Jim Barbieri played 6 1/2 seasons in the minors before finally making it to the majors with the Dodgers for part of 1966. He played in the Little League World Series in 1954.

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.