Final Card - Harvey Haddix

This is the final card (and final season) for Harvey Haddix.   He may be best remembered for his time with the Pirates from 1959-63, but he played from 1952-65.

Haddix was signed by the Cardinals in 1947. After 4 seasons in the minors and one in the military, he made his debut for the Redbirds in August 1952.

Haddix posted a 20-9 record in 1953, led the league with 6 shutouts, and finished 2nd in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. He also made his first of three consecutive All-Star teams.

He won 18 and 12 games in '54 and '55.

During the 1956 season he was traded to the Phillies. After the 1957 season the Phillies traded him to the Reds for outfielder Wally Post.

Haddix only pitched one season for the Reds. In January 1959 he was traded to the Pirates (along with Smoky Burgess and Don Hoak) for 4 players.

Harvey pitched 5 seasons for Pittsburgh, including their World Championship in 1960. He was 2-0 in the '60 World Series, starting game 5 and relieving in game 7. He won the Gold Glove award from 1958-60.

After the 1962 season he moved to the bullpen, appearing in 49 games both in 1963 and (following his trade to the Orioles) 1964.

Haddix' workload was drastically reduced in his final (1965) season, pitching in only 24 games. In late August he was sold to the Braves, but returned to the Orioles three days later, having not pitched for Milwaukee.

The Orioles released him in January 1966, ending his 14-year career.

After his playing career he was a coach for the Mets, Reds, Red Sox, Indians, and Pirates.

He passed away in 1994 at age 68.

Final Card - Carl Willey

Carl Willey had a 6 year career with the Milwaukee Braves and New York Mets.

He was signed by the Boston Braves way back in 1950. After pitching in the minors from 1951-57 (except for missing the '53 and '54 seasons due to military service), Carl made his debut with Milwaukee in April 1958. That was his best season, posting a 9-7 record with a 2.70 ERA. He also pitched one inning in the World Series.

Carl was mostly a starter during his first 4 seasons with the Braves, pitching behind Warren Spahn, Lou Burdette, Bob Buhl, and Joey Jay.

Willey moved to the bullpen in 1962, making room in the rotation for youngsters like Tony Cloninger, Bob Hendley, and Denver Lemaster. After a disappointing season (2-5), he was sold to the Mets during spring training in 1963.

Carl was the Mets' #3 starter in '63, but posted an awful 9-14 record (though not nearly as bad as #1 starter Roger Craig's 5-22 record!)

As the back of this card states, he took a line drive to the face early in 1964, and the remainder of his career reflects that. He only pitched 30 innings in '64 and 28 innings in '65 before hanging it up.

After his playing career he scouted for the Phillies.

Willey passed away in 2009 at age 78.

Final Card - Gus Triandos

Here is the final card for long-time catcher Gus Triandos (#248). He was the Orioles' #1 catcher from 1956-1962, but to a then-youngster like me he was just the guy who came over from the Tigers with Jim Bunning before the 1964 season. I'm sure CommishBob has some Gus Triandos stories to tell!

Triandos was signed by the Yankees way back in 1948, and after 4 seasons in the minors and a year in the service, Gus made his big-league debut in August 1953 for the Yankees.

After the 1954 season, Triandos was part of a SEVENTEEN PLAYER trade with the Orioles. That deal included pitchers Don Larsen and Bob Turley going to New York.

Triandos was Baltimore's 1st baseman in 1955, then was the starting catcher for the next seven seasons. He made the All-Star team from 1957 to 1959, and in 1958 hit a career-high 30 home runs.

After the 1962 season he was traded to the Tigers with outfielder Whitey Herzog for catcher Dick Brown. Gus started 90 games for the Tigers in 1963 (Bill Freehan's rookie season), then was traded to the Phillies (with Jim Bunning) after the season for outfielder Don Demeter and pitcher Jack Hamilton.

Gus spent 1 1/2 seasons as the Phillies' backup catcher, then was sold to the Astros in June 1965.  By late-August he was released, ending his 13 year career.

Triandos passed away in 2013 at age 82.

Final Card - Wayne Schurr

This is Wayne Schurr's final card (#149). His only other card is a late-series National League Rookie Stars card in the 1964 set.

So far on this blog, I have only been posting players whose final card is in the 1965 set. Wayne is the first player posted here whose major-league debut was in 1964.

Schurr was signed by the Giants in 1959 and made his way to the Cubs in the Rule 5 draft after the 1963 season. His only major-league action came in 1964, when he appeared in 26 games in relief during the first half of the season.

By late-July '64 he was back in the minors, where he stayed through the 1966 season. (Normally, Rule 5 players are returned to their original team if their new team doesn't keep them on the roster the entire year, but I guess the Giants didn't want him back.)

After the 1966 season, he and catcher Chris Krug were traded to the Angels for ex-Colt .45s outfielder Mike White (who will be featured on this blog 3 posts from now), but Schurr did not play after 1966.

Final Card - Frank Bolling

At age 85, Frank Bolling is the oldest living player from the 1965-70 time period that I have not yet blogged about.

This is Frank’s final card (#269), even though he continued to be the Braves’ starting 2nd baseman for part of the 1966 season (a job he held since the start of the 1961 season).

Bolling was signed by the Tigers in June 1951. He played in the minors for the rest of that season, and all of 1952-53.

He made his major-league debut in April 1954, taking over the starting 2nd base job that was manned in ’53 by Johnny Pesky and others.

After missing 1 year (1955) in military service, Bolling returned to the Tigers as their regular 2nd baseman for the next 5 seasons, and had more than 640 plate appearances in 2 of those seasons. Frank also won a Gold Glove award in 1958.

In December 1960, Bolling and outfielder Neil Chrisley were traded to the Milwaukee Braves for pitcher Terry Fox, catcher Dick Brown, 2nd baseman Chuck Cottier, and center fielder Bill Bruton.

Frank matched his season-high home run total with 15 in 1961, and was an All-Star in his first 2 seasons with the Braves. He was the regular 2nd baseman through the 1965 season, starting 141 games in his final season as a regular.

In 1966 he only started 57 games, since shortstop Woody Woodward was splitting his time between shortstop and 2nd base, and the Braves were also working rookie Felix Millan into the lineup.

Bolling’s last game was on 9/15/1966, and he was released after the season, ending his 12-year career. In 12 seasons he played 12,983 innings, and all at 2nd base!

Frank’s brother Milt was an infielder for the Red Sox in the 1950s.

Final Card - Frank Lary

For the past year or so, I’ve been trying to post a card for the oldest living players from the 1965–1970 time period who I have not blogged about yet.

I thought I had topped out with those at ages 77 or 78, but recently I found that several with final cards in the 1965 set (Wally Moon, Frank Lary, Bill Virdon, Frank Bolling) are in their mid-80s. So here we go… 

Frank Lary (#127) was signed by the Tigers in 1950, after playing for the University of Alabama for 2 seasons and pitching in the College World Series. He played in the minors in 1950, then missed the next 2 seasons while in military service. He returned in 1953 for 2 seasons in triple-A (winning 17 and 15 games), and made his debut with Detroit in September 1954.

Frank was a fixture in the Tigers’ starting rotation from 1955 to 1962. In 1955, Lary (age 25) and Billy Hoeft (age 23) were the Tigers’ top 2 starting pitchers.

In 1956 Frank led the AL with 21 wins, and also starts (38) and innings (294). He led the AL in complete games in ’58, ’60, and ’61.

Jim Bunning joined the rotation in 1957, and with Bunning as the ace, Lary, Hoeft, and Paul Foytack formed the rotation’s backbone for several seasons (with Bunning and Lary all the way to 1963).

Frank was selected for the All-Star team in ’60 and ’61, and also won a Gold Glove award in 1961. The same year, he won 23 games and finished 3rd in the Cy Young voting.

After 7 seasons as a workhorse, Lary missed some time in '62 and '63. Shoulder problems caused him to spend 2 months on the DL in 1962, and he was rehabbing in the minors for May and June 1963. He rejoined the team in July, but compiled a 4-9 record in only 16 games.

Lary’s final 2 seasons (1964-65) were spent bouncing from the Tigers to the Mets, Braves, Mets again, and White Sox. His combined record for those 2 seasons was 5-8 in 46 games (28 in relief).

He was released by the White Sox after the 1965 season, ending his 12-year career. He later coached and scouted for several teams.

Final Card - Billy Moran

Billy Moran (#562) had a 7-year career from 1958-65, with most of his playing time coming as the Los Angeles Angels’ regular 2nd baseman during their first few years.

Moran was signed by the Indians in 1952, and played 3 seasons in the low minors, including Spartanburg, SC and Reading, PA. (Hmm… beginning in the mid-1960s, these 2 teams became Phillies’ affiliates.) 

After missing the ’55 and ’56 seasons while in military service, he resumed his career in 1957 with the AAA San Diego Padres (also a Phillies’ outpost in the mid-1960s!)

Moran played the entire 1958 season with the Indians, starting 52 games at 2nd base and 21 at the hot corner. He was back in triple-A for most of 1959 and all of 1960.

After the 1960 season, he was purchased by the Toronto Maple Leafs, an independent AAA team in the International League. Billy had played for Toronto in 1960 when it was an Indians’ affiliate, but Toronto became unaffiliated in ’61, and retained Moran by buying his contract from the Indians.

The following June, the Leafs traded him to the expansion Angels, where he replaced incumbent Ken Aspromonte as the 2nd baseman.

Moran was the Angels’ regular 2nd baseman in ’62 and ’63, starting 159 and 150 games in those 2 seasons. He was also selected to the All-Star team in 1962.

Billy lost the starting 2nd base job to Bobby Knoop in 1964, and in June he was returned to the Indians in a 3-team deal. The Indians sent 2nd baseman Jerry Kindall to the Twins, while the Twins sent 1st baseman Vic Power and outfielder Lenny Green to the Angels. The Angels also sent INF-OF Frank Kostro to the Twins.

Moran was a backup for the Indians in his final 2 seasons. He started 32 games at 3rd base (behind Max Alvis) in 1964, and played mostly in AAA in 1965 – only getting 22 at-bats in 24 games in 1965.

Final Card - Frank Baumann

This is the final card for 11-year veteran Frank Baumann (#161). He played 5 years with the Red Sox and 5 years with the White Sox, then wrapped up his career playing for the Cubs in the first month of the ’65 season.

Baumann (BOW-man) was signed by the Red Sox in 1952, and after 2 seasons in the minors, he missed all of ’54 and part of ’55 while in military service. Upon his return he was assigned to the parent club in July and pitched in 7 games over the 2nd half of the season.

From 1956 to 1958, Frank played mostly in the minors, but also pitched for the Red Sox each season. His only full season with Boston was 1959, appearing in 26 games but with an ERA over 4.

In November 1959 he was traded to the ChiSox for backup 1st baseman Ron Jackson. Baumann’s best season was 1960, when he pitched in 47 games (starting 20) and compiled a 13-6 record along with an AL-leading 2.67 ERA.

Baumann never duplicated his 1960 success. He lost 13 games the following season and saw his ERA balloon to 5.61. His career continued to go downhill from there.

Frank was traded to the Cubs after the 1964 season for journeyman backup catcher Jimmie Schaffer. He pitched in 4 games (4 innings total) during the first 4 weeks of the season, then spent the rest of 1965 with the Cubs’ AAA team before retiring.

Final Card - Nellie Fox

Snowed-in today. Good time to catch up on some blogging… 

Here is the final card for Nellie Fox (#485), the long-time White Sox’ 2nd baseman. He was a player-coach in his final season.

Fox was signed by the Philadelphia Athletics in 1944, and worked his way up through the minors (with a detour into military service in 1946), while playing a few games with the A’s in ’47 and ’48.

Nellie made the Athletics for good at the start of the 1949 season, and after riding the bench for 2 months, was their starting 2nd baseman for almost every game after mid-June. After the ’49 season he was traded to the White Sox.

Fox was the White Sox’ every-day 2nd baseman from 1950 through the end of the 1963 season. He was an All-Star every season from 1951-61, and again in 1963. Fox also won the AL MVP award in 1959, the year the Sox made it to the World Series. He led the AL in hits 4 times, and in triples once. He also led the league in at-bats 5 times.

After the 1963 season, he was traded to the Houston Colt .45s for pitcher Jim Golden and outfielder Danny Murphy. (Murphy later converted to pitcher and played for the Sox in ’69 and ’70.) Fox was the Colts’ 2nd baseman in 1964, until losing the job to September call-up Joe Morgan.

Nellie was released after the 1964 season, and joined the coaching staff. In 1965 he was activated from May 12th to July 31st, and played in 21 games, mostly as a pinch-hitter but also at all 3 bases.

He continued coaching for the Astros though the 1967 season, then coached for the Senators/Rangers from 1968-72.

Fox passed away in 1975 (from cancer) at age 47.

He received 74% of the vote in his final year of eligibility on the ballot, but was eventually inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans’ Committee in 1997.

Final Card - Tony Kubek

Staying with my plan to feature only those players whose final card is in the 1965 set, today we have Yankees’ shortstop Tony Kubek (#65). 

Kubek was signed by the Yankees in 1954, and made his major-league debut in April 1957. He was a regular for each of his 9 seasons (1957-65) with the Yanks, although he missed much of the 1962 season while in military service. Normally the starting shortstop, he played all over the diamond in ’57 and ’59.

With veteran Gil McDougald holding down the shortstop job in 1957, Kubek started several dozen games at SS, 3B, and LF, and hit .297 in 475 plate appearances as a rookie. That was good enough to land the AL Rookie of the Year award, snaring 23 of the 24 1st place votes. He was also 8-for-28 (.286) with 2 homers and 4 RBI in the 1957 Fall Classic, although they lost to the Braves.

In 1958 McDougald moved to 2nd base, opening up shortstop for Kubek. His playing time soared to 597 plate appearances, and although his batting average dropped to .265, he made his first of 3 All-Star games. The Yankees returned to the World Series and won the re-match with the Braves. Kubek however, only hit .048 in the post-season.

Tony started almost half the team’s games at shortstop in 1959, while also making a few dozen starts at each outfield position, and at 3rd base. He made his 2nd All-Star team, but the Yankees did not make the post-season (for only the 2nd time in that decade).

Kubek played almost exclusively at shortstop for the remainder of his career. In 1960 he reached double-digits in home runs (14) and in ’61 made his 3rd and final All-Star team. He also played in the World Series 4 more times (1960-63).

In 1962 Tony played only 45 games, as he spent most of the year in the military. It was the only year he hit over .300 (.314).

A few years ago I was watching a replay of the 1964 World Series between the Yankees and the Cardinals. I was surprised to see that Kubek did not play in any of the games (must have been injured). Kubek had been the leadoff batter all season, and I thought it was odd that Kubek’s replacement (the light-hitting Phil Linz) was kept in the leadoff spot for the World Series.

Tony retired after the 1965 season, due to a back injury. He became a TV broadcaster with NBC for 24 years, often paired with Curt Gowdy or Bob Costas. He also broadcast the Toronto Blue Jays games from 1977-89.

Final Card - Warren Spahn

Here is the final card for hall-of-fame pitcher Warren Spahn  (#205). This card is one of three Spahn pieces in my collection. Spahn is featured as a player/coach, one of 3 cards in the 1965 set with that designation (Yogi Berra and Nellie Fox were the others).

Warren began his major-league career back in 1942, with the Boston Braves. After his rookie season, he missed 3 years to military service during World War II before returning to the Braves in 1946.

Spahn played for the Braves through the 1964 season, missing the Boston-Milwaukee-Atlanta trifecta by 2 years (something only accomplished by Eddie Mathews).

Spahn won 20 or more games 13 times, including a 6-year streak from 1956-61. He led the NL in wins 8 times, and his career high of 23 wins was achieved twice – in 1953 at age 32, and in 1963 at age 42! He won the Cy Young Award in 1957, and was the runner-up in '58, '60, and '61.

1965 was Warren’s last season, which he split between the Mets and Giants.

Warren was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973. He passed away in 2003 at age 82.

A few years ago, I was watching Bob Costas interview Willie Mays on the MLB Network, and the subject of a 16-inning duel in July 1963 between Spahn and Juan Marichal came up. Both pitchers went the distance, but at some point Giants’ manager Alvin Dark was going to lift Marichal from the game. The 25-year-old Marichal told Dark "See that guy on the mound? He's 42 years old. There's no way I'm coming out of this game before he does!"