Final Card - Mel McGaha

Mel McGaha (#391) never played major-league baseball, but he did play NBA basketball for the New York Knicks during the 1948-49 season.

He was an outfielder in the Cardinals' organization from 1948-52, and the Indians' organization from 1953-58.

He managed in the Indians' farm system from 1954 to 1960. He was also the head basketball coach at Arkansas A&M in 1953-54 and 1954-55.

Mel joined the Indians as a coach in 1961, then was promoted to manager for the 1962 season. He was fired 2 games before the end of the season. (Why do teams do that? It’s not like they are going to start a turnaround in the final week of the season.)

McGaha was hired as an Athletics' coach in 1963, and became the team's manager in June 1964, with the A's mired in last place. They improved slightly, but still finished the year in last place. After a 5-21 start in 1965, he was canned by owner Charlie Finley.

Mel moved on the the Astros, as a minor-league manager in 1966-67, and a base coach from 1968-70.  I first became aware of McGaha during his time with the Astros.

McGaha passed away in 2002 at age 75.

Final (Baseball) Card - Dave DeBusschere

Here is the last of Dave DeBusschere's three baseball cards (#297). Although his only solo cards are in the ’64 and ’65 Topps sets, he spent those 2 seasons pitching in triple-A.

Dave was signed by the White Sox in April 1962 and was pitching in Chicago later that same month. He appeared in 12 games for the Sox in his rookie season, but was sent to the minors in June.

DeBusschere returned to the White Sox for all of the 1963 season, starting 10 of his 24 games and fashioning a 3.09 ERA in 84 innings. He pitched for the Sox’ AAA team in Indianapolis for the next 2 seasons, before hanging up his glove and focusing solely on basketball.

Other MLB players (including Dick Groat, Steve Hamilton, and Ron Reed) also played in the NBA, but none to the level of DeBusschere.

Dave began his NBA career the same time as his MLB career (1962-63), but after his 2 seasons with the White Sox, his b-ball career really blossomed. He played 7 seasons with the Pistons and 6 with the Knicks, retiring from the NBA after the 1973-74 season. He was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 1983.

DeBusschere passed away in 2003 at age 62.