Final Card - Dick Smith

Here is the final card for baseball short-timer Dick Smith (#579). Smith's last major-league game was on May 2, 1965. After 10 games, he was sent down (as this late-series card tells us on the back).

Smith was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1957, and he played for 6 seasons in their farm system before he was acquired by the Mets in October 1962.

He played most of the next 2 seasons with the Mets' AAA team in Buffalo, but did play in a few dozen games for New York each season.

The Dodgers reacquired him after the 1964 season for pitcher Larry Miller, but as said above, he only played 10 games before returning to the bushes.

After 2 seasons at triple-A Spokane, the Dodgers traded him to the Twins in April 1967 for pitcher Jerry Fosnow (recently seen on this blog). Smith played a full season for the Twins' AAA Denver team in 1967, and 53 games for the Senators' AA team before retiring.

 He passed away in 2012 at age 72.

Final Card - Mike White

This is the final card for Mike White (#31). It's also one of the few 1965 cards that shows the ".45s" logo on the cap.

1965 was the first season the team was named "Astros", and Topps wasn't up to speed at the start of the season. The Astros' cards in the first few series all have "Houston" on the pennant and either capless or airbrushed photos. This is one of the few (also Turk Farrell and Walt Bond) that escaped the airbrusher.

White was signed by the Indians in 1959, and played 2 seasons in their organization as a 3rd baseman before he was released in December 1960.

The expansion Angels signed him in April 1961, and after 1 season with their double-A team, he was drafted by the Colt .45s in the minor-league draft.

White only played 3 seasons for Houston. His debut came with 3 games in a September 1963 call-up, then 89 games during 1964. His final major-league action was 8 games in 1965, the last coming on May 5th.

After that it was back to the bush leagues, with the Astros ('65), Angels ('66), and Cubs ('67-'69) before retiring.

Mike's father Jo-Jo White played for the Tigers in the 1930s.

Final Card - Bill Pleis

This is the final card for Bill Pleis (#122), at age 80 the oldest living player from the 1965-70 period that I have not yet featured on any of my blogs. Because this is his last card, and I didn’t collect cards prior to 1966 until recently, I didn’t know anything about him.

Pleis had a 6-year career (1961-66), all with the Twins. He was primarily a reliever, only making 10 starts among his 190 games.

Bill began his pro career in 1956, pitching for the unaffiliated Orlando Seratomas in the class-D Florida State League. By mid-August, he was acquired by the Washington Senators, and spent the next 4 seasons working his way up the ladder in their organization.

Although he never played for the Senators, following the team’s move to Minnesota prior to the 1961 season he made the team out of spring training. Pleis pitched most of ’61 and half of ’62 with the Twins, and was the team’s top lefthander in the bullpen as a rookie. In 1961 he won the first Twins’ home game in their new location.

Bill played fulltime with the Twins from 1963 to 1965, and led the team in games pitched (47) in 1964.

By 1966, his time with the Twins was winding down. He had been edged out of a job by newcomers Dave Boswell, Jim Merritt, and Pete Cimino, all at least 5 years younger than Pleis. Bill spent most of the season with triple-A Denver, and only pitched 8 games for the Twins in his last major-league season, all during the second half.

Pleis pitched 44 games for the Senators’ AAA team in 1967 and 23 games for the Red Sox’ AAA team in 1968 before retiring.

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 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 - Duke Carmel

Like Jim Duffalo, Duke Carmel (#261) had a much shorter career than I realized. (I thought he was similar to Bob Cerv.)

Carmel played minor-league ball in the Cardinals' organization from 1955 until he was traded to the Dodgers in June 1960. In September 1959, he appeared in 10 games for the Cards.

Between June 1960 and the start of the 1962 season, Duke went back-and-forth between the Cardinals and Dodgers FOUR TIMES, and then to the Cleveland Indians! A year later, Cleveland returned him to the Cardinals. (He wasn’t so much a baseball player as he was a professional traveler.)

Not sure why this card says "Duke is a long ball threat" when he only hit 4 homers in 104 games 2 years earlier, and wasn't even in the majors in 1964! 

Carmel got his first extended major-league time in 1963, with the Cardinals. He played 57 games during the first 4 months of the season, then was traded to the Mets at the end of July and played 47 games over the rest of the season.

After playing the entire 1964 season in the minors, Duke was selected by the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft. (By the way, why does he even have a card in the 1965 set?) After 6 games with the Yanks, he was returned to the Mets and spent the rest of 1965 and all of 1966-67 in the minors before retiring.

Final Card - Jim Duffalo

Here is the final card for pitcher Jim Duffalo. I was surprised to see that he had such a short career. I did not follow baseball before 1967, but for some reason I had always assumed his career was similar to that of guys like Bill Stafford, Bob Duliba, or Wes Stock. (In hindsight, I have no basis for that assumption.)

Anyway, Duffalo pitched in the minors for the Pirates (1955-58) and Giants (1958-60) before making his major-league debut in April 1961. He was with the Giants for the first 2 months (relieving in 20 games), then spent the summer back in AAA, until he was recalled in September, making 4 starts in the final month.

Jim pitched mostly out of the Giants’ bullpen from 1962-1964. Although with the team for the entire 1962 season, he did not play in the World Series.

He began the ’65 season with the Giants (2 games), but was traded to the Reds in early May for pitcher Bill Henry. He pitched 22 games for the Reds, and another 20 games in the minors.

From 1966 to 1972 he bounced around in the minor leagues with the Reds, Dodgers, Astros, Giants, and Cubs.

Final Card - Ken McBride

Ken McBride was one of the top starting pitchers for the Los Angeles Angels in their first 3 years in the league. He was the team’s #1 starter in their inaugural season, and would later be joined by Bo Belinsky and Dean Chance.

McBride began his pro career in the Red Sox’ chain in 1954. After 5 seasons in the low minors, he was purchased by the White Sox in 1959, and made his major-league debut in August, pitching in 11 games over the final 2 months (mostly in relief).

Ken was back in triple-A in 1960, but returned to Chicago in September, pitching in 5 games.

McBride was drafted by the Angels in the December 1960 expansion draft, and spent the next 3 seasons in their starting rotation, winning in double-figures each season for the new team.

He was also selected for the All-Star team 3 times (1961-63). Although he didn’t play in the ’61 or ’62 games, he was the AL’s starting pitcher in the 1963 game, pitching 3 innings.

McBride has an off-year in 1964, compiling a 4-13 record. (Teammate Dean Chance picked up the slack by going 20-9 and winning the Cy Young award.)

McBride pitched sporadically in 1965 - only 1 game in May, 3 in June, and 2 each in July and August. With a record of 0-3 and a 6.14 ERA, he seemingly just ran out of gas.

Final Card - Leo Burke

Here is the final card for Leo Burke, one of the many “INF-OF” employees that littered the Cubs’ roster in the mid-1960s.

Burke played in the Orioles’ chain from 1957 to 1960, and saw action in a few games for Baltimore during September call-ups in ’58 and ’59.

After playing all of 1960 with the Orioles’ AAA team, Leo was drafted by the expansion Washington Senators in December, but a few weeks later was sold to the other expansion team – the Los Angeles Angels.

Burke only played 6 games for the Angels that year. Actually, he played primarily in the minors for his entire career (1957-65), except for ’63 and ’64 when he stuck around on the major league roster for the entire season.

Leo was purchased by the Cardinals in March 1963, but by late-June was traded to the Cubs for pitcher Barney Schultz. His most playing time came in 1964 with the Cubs – breaking the 100 at-bat level for the only time in his career.

After playing in 12 games in April and May 1965, he was relegated to the minors to finish out his last pro season.

Final Card - Ken Retzer

Ken Retzer was a catcher for the Senators from 1961 to 1964. By the time this card came out, his major-league career was over.

Ken was signed by the Indians in 1954, where he worked his way up the ladder from 1954-61. In September 1961 Retzer was traded to the Senators, and got his feet wet with 15 starts that month, in place of regular backstop Gene Green.

In 1962, Ken split the catching duties with Bob Schmidt, starting 91 games (to Schmidt’s 71).

In the off-season the Nats acquire catcher Don Leppert from the Pirates, and even though Retzer started 95 games to Leppert’s 55 starts, somehow Leppert was named to the All-Star team.

Retzer began the 1964 season as the starter, but by game #6 was replaced by rookie Mike Brumley. Ken only managed 6 more starts over the remainder of the season, spending most of the season with triple-A Toronto.

He played in the minors from 1965-67 seasons. After 1964, Washington traded him to the Twins, who flipped him to the Astros in April 1966 for Walt Bond. In January 1967 he returned to the Indians’ organization, traded with outfielder Lee Maye for outfielder Jim Landis, catcher Doc Edwards, and pitcher Jim Weaver.

Final Card - Don Lee

This is the final card for pitcher Don Lee (#595). He had a card every year from 1957-65, except for 1958. Although he already had a card in the 1957 set as a Tiger, his 1959 card was a Sporting News Rookie Stars card.

Lee was signed by the Tigers in 1956, and played in the minors from 1956-59, while also appearing in 11 games for Detroit in '57 and one game in '58.

During the 1959-60 off-season, he was traded to the Braves, then selected by the Senators in the Rule 5 draft. He made the majors for good at the start of 1960, and pitched in 44 games (20 starts) while logging the 2nd-most innings of any Sens’ hurler that year. (Not bad for a Rule 5 pickup!)

The team careened to a 73-81 finish in their last season before moving to Minnesota. In September 1960, Red Sox' slugger Ted Williams hit a home run off of Lee. Teddy Ballgame had also hit a homer off Lee’s father in 1939, thus becoming the only player to go yard against a father and a son.

Don pitched mostly out of the Twins' bullpen in 1961, and in May 1962 was traded to the Angels. Lee remained with the Angels through June 1965. Initially a starter, by 1964 he was mostly a reliever.

The Angels traded Lee to the Astros in June 1965 for outfielder Al Spangler. One year later, he was flipped to the Cubs. He appeared in 25 games (but only 37 innings) in 1966, his final season.

He pitched in the minors in '66 and '67 before retiring.

Final Card - Ted Wills

Here is the final card for Ted Wills (#488). I wonder why he even had a card in this set, since his last action was in 1962. His only MLB experience after 1962 was 15 games in the first 2 months of 1965, but that was with the White Sox, not the Reds.

Wills was signed by the Red Sox in 1955, and after winning 15 games in 3 seasons (’55, ’56, ’58), he made his major-league debut with Boston in late-May 1959. He pitched in 9 games (8 starts) through the middle of July that season.

Ted split the ’60 and ’61 seasons between the Red Sox and their AAA team. He pitched in 15 and 17 games for the Sox those years, all in relief.

Wills only appeared in 1 game for the BoSox in 1962, pitching in 1 game. Because he gave up 1 earned run but got no outs (thus zero innings), his record shows an ERA of "infinity". He was traded to the Reds in early May, and appeared in 26 games for Cincinnati. 1962 was his only season NOT in the minors.

Wills spent the next 2 years playing for the Reds’ AAA team. After appearing briefly with the White Sox in early, he pitched the remainder of that season for the Indians’ and Cardinals’ AAA 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 - Gene Stephens

On my other blogs, I have been tracking the oldest living players with cards in the 1966-70 sets who I have not blogged yet. For now, the oldest over there is age 78. 

I just realized yesterday that I have the 1965 cards for about a dozen players (whose final card is in the 1965 set) who are still with us and in their early 80s. So, I have added a list gadget to this blog, similar to what I have on the other blogs. 

Gene Stephens is the oldest, at age 83. My intent has not been to maintain a mortality checklist, but rather to prioritize and recognize these players with blog posts while they are still with us. 


Gene Stephens (#498) was an outfielder who saw most of his playing time with the Red Sox in the 2nd half of the 1950s. He was signed by Boston in 1951, and after clubbing 22 homers at Class D High Point-Thomasville, NC that season, he was promoted to the Red Sox at the start of 1952. [Hmm… I remember having a "77 Sunset Strip" comic book in the early 1960s, and the story occurred in High Point, NC. All I remember about it was something to do with a trident.] 

After playing 9 games, he was sent back down to the minors, spending the year with A and AAA teams until getting a September call-up.

Gene split the ’53 season between the BoSox and AAA Louisville, and had 3 hits in one inning for Boston that year, the first time that was done in this century. No matter, he was back with Louisville again for all of 1954.

Stephens made the Sox for good in 1955, and was the team’s 4th outfielder (behind Ted Williams, Jackie Jensen, and Jim Piersall) for the next 4 seasons. In 1959 Gene split the left field starts with Williams, who only played 75 games that season.

In June 1960, Stephens was traded to the Orioles for outfielder Willie Tasby. Gene started 47 games over the rest of the season, and was the team’s #3 outfielder, but far behind the top 2 in terms of playing time.

The following June it was on to Kansas City, by this time a part-time player. After 65 games in ’61 and only 5 games in ’62, he was dealt to the White Sox.

Stephens spent most of 1963 in the minors, appearing in only 6 games for Chicago. In his final big-league season (1964) he played only half the games. He retired after 2 more seasons in the minors (’65, ’67) and 1 in Japan (’66).

Final Card - Bill Stafford

Here is the final card for Yankees’ starting pitcher Bill Stafford (#281). Stafford was one of the top 10 Yankees pitchers during the 1960s, in terms of playing time. For the others, see here.

Stafford was signed by the Yankees in 1957, and pitched from 1957-60 in their farm system. He made his debut with the Yankees in August 1960 and went 3-1 in 11 games in his rookie season, joining the rotation of Whitey Ford, Art Ditmar, Ralph Terry, and Bob Turley. He also pitched 6 innings in relief in the World Series vs. the Pirates.

In ’61 and ’62, Bill was among the team’s top 3 starting pitchers (with Ford and Terry), finishing with a 14-9 record in both seasons. He also compiled a 1-0 record in the World Series each year.

Stafford began the ’63 season as a starter, but by mid-season he moved to the bullpen, as Jim Bouton (21-7), rookie Al Downing (13-5), and Stan Williams (9-8) joined the rotation that year.

In 1964 he only made 1 start, as he spent the season in the Yankees’ crowded bullpen.

In 1965 Bill was back in the rotation, as the #5 starter behind Mel Stottlemyre, Ford, Downing, and Bouton. He finished up with a poor 3-8 record, and that would be his last season in pinstripes.

Stafford found himself back in the minors to start the 1966 season, and in mid-June was traded (with pitcher Gil Blanco and outfielder Roger Repoz) to the Kansas City Athletics (where else?) for pitcher Fred Talbot and catcher Bill Bryan. He started 8 games for the A’s in June and July, but did not play in August or September.

After beginning the ’67 season in the minors, he relieved in 14 games for the Athletics in August and September. That was the end of his MLB career.

Stafford continued in the minors for 2 more seasons, playing for Oakland’s and the Angels’ AAA teams in 1968, and for the Giants’ and White Sox’ AAA teams in 1969. The addition of 4 expansion teams could not get him back to the majors.

Bill Stafford passed away in 2001 at age 63.