Final Card - Jay Ritchie

This is Jay Ritchie’s first and last baseball card (#494). Topps cut him loose after 1965, even though he played in 44 games in ’65, 22 games in ’66, 52 (yes, FIFTY-TWO!) games in ’67, and 28 games in ’68. He was with his team at the end of each of those seasons, so should have had a card in ’66, ’67, and ’68.

Ritchie was signed by the Red Sox way back in 1955, and toiled in the minors for 9 years (1956-64) before making his major-league debut in August 1964. In the minors he was mostly a reliever, except for in 1957 and 1962.

Jay appeared in 21 games over the final 2 months in 1964. The following season, he pitched in 44 games, 3rd most among the team’s relief pitchers. 1965 was the only season he managed to stay out of the minor leagues.

After the season he was traded to the Braves with pitcher Arnold Earley and 1B-OF Lee Thomas for pitchers Dan Osinski and Bob Sadowski. Ritchie played 2 years with the Braves (unbeknownst to Topps, apparently).

He was in the minors for the first half of 1966 (should not have affected his Topps status, because their card set was determined by 2 things: 1. Was he on a team’s roster in the off-season, and 2. Did he have significant major-league playing time in the previous season), but pitched 22 games in the second half.

 In ’67 he appeared in 52 games, tops among the entire staff. He also posted a 3.17 ERA, lowest among the relievers. What did he get as a reward for his stats? Two weeks after the season he was shipped off to the Reds with Mack Jones and Jim Beauchamp in exchange for 1st baseman Deron Johnson.

Like in 1966, Jay spent the first half of 1968 in the minors, but pitched 28 games in the 2nd half – the #11 man on a 10-man pitching staff. His final appearance came on September 4th.

Ritchie played in the minors in 1969 and 1970. He retraced his career steps by returning to the Braves organization in July 1969 and the Red Sox in May 1970.

He passed away in 2016 at age 79.

Final Card - Jerry Fosnow

This may be the only time this has ever happened on my blogs, but today is Jerry's birthday! (Completely coincidental, as I didn't realize this until I checked Baseball-Reference.com for some career history. And, I just made it by 1 minute!) Happy 78th, Jerry!

Not only is this Jerry's final card, but it's also his rookie card (#529).

Fosnow signed with the Indians in 1959, and was dealt to the Twins before the 1962 season.

Jerry made his major-league debut in June 1964, pitching 7 games as a rookie.

The following season he appeared in 29 games, but none after mid-July. He was sent down to the minors, never to return.

Fosnow continued pitching in the Twins' system through the 1966 season, and for the Dodgers' AAA team in 1967 before retiring.

SABR biography
 

Final Card - Ron Locke

Here’s Mets’ short-timer Ron Locke (#511). By the time this card came out, Locke’s major-league career was already over.

Ron pitched in the Mets’ farm system from 1963 to 1970, save for the 1966 season when he pitched briefly in the Phillies’ and Reds’ organizations.

His only major-league playing time came in 1964, when he pitched 25 games for the Mets. (Even that season, he was in the minors for the month of July before returning to New York for the final 2 months.)

This is his 2nd of two Topps cards (having also appeared in the 1964 set on a Mets Rookie Stars card).

Final Card - Sterling Slaughter

Here is the 2nd and final card for Cubs’ pitcher Sterling Slaughter. He previously appeared on a Cubs Rookies card in the 1964 set.

After pitching for Arizona State University, Slaughter was signed by the Cubs in 1963. He played only 1 season in the minors, then made the Cubs’ squad in 1964, pitching 20 games (including 6 starts).

For some reason, he also pitched 14 games in the Arizona Instructional League that year, but never made it back to the majors. This card (unintentionally) includes his complete major-league stats.

Sterling pitched for the Cubs’ AA and AAA teams from 1965-1967 before hanging up his glove.

Bob Meyer (#219)

Here is the first solo card for pitcher Bob Meyer. Signed by the Yankees in 1960, Bob appeared on a Yankees Rookies card in the 1964 set, then after playing for 3 teams in his rookie season, we find him with his own card as an Athletic.

Unfortunately for Bob, 1964 was to be his last season in the majors until resurfacing in 1969 with the expansion Pilots. This did not go unnoticed by Topps, who left him out of the 1966-1969 sets. He had baseball cards in 1970 (Pilots) and 1971 (Brewers).

After laboring on the Athletics' farm for 4 1/2 seasons, Meyer was traded to the Pilots in August 1969 for pitcher Fred Talbot.

Bob began 1970 with the Brewers, pitching in 10 games (all in relief), the last coming on May 20th. Maybe he was injured, because he doesn't have any minor-league playing time that season.

Meyer was released in March 1971, ending his brief career. He pitched in 38 games over 3 seasons, but in actuality his 1969 and 1970 seasons lasted about 1 month each.


Even with such a short career, there were some highlights:

 - His first strikeout victim was Carl Yastrzemski.

 - In September 1964 he pitched a 1-hitter against the Orioles, but lost 1-0 when a runner scored on a sacrifice fly.

 - For the Pilots, he pitched the first 9 innings of a game against the Yankees, giving up only 1 run in a game the Pilots eventually won in the 13th inning.

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.