196(9) At A Time - Page 45

#392 – Bob Burda Burda was 30 years old and hadn’t been in the major leagues since 1966. But a .301 average in AAA in 1968 renewed the Giants’ interest in him and he played in 97 games in 1969.



#393 – Gene Brabender The righty is shown as an Oriole, but the Birds sent him to the Pilots at the end of spring training and Brabender spent the season in the starting rotation. He posted a record of 13-14, not too bad for an expansion team.



#394 – Pilots Rookies In a really bad trade, the Pilots sent Lou to the Royals at the end of spring training for John Gelnar and Steve Whitaker. Piniella won the Rookie of the Year for the Royals. Marv Staehle was a perennial rookie, getting cups of coffee with the White Sox for four straight years, 1964-1967. He never played with the Royals and was sold to the Expos in September, 1969.



#395 – Chris Short The picture on this card was taken at the Polo Grounds, which dates it from 1962 or 1963. Yet Short had been with the Phillies for ten seasons. Why didn’t Topps have a more recent shot to use? Short was the ace of the Phillies staff, having won 19 games in 1968. That was his last winning record as injuries began taking a toll on him. In 1969 he pitched in only two games.



#396 – Jim Campanis One way to make it into the major leagues is to have a father that works in the front office. The Dodgers signed the catcher as an undrafted free agent and his dad Jim worked for the Dodgers. In 1968, dad Jim became the Dodgers GM and he traded his son to the Royals. Jim hit .202 for KC in 30 games.



#397 – Chuck Dobson Dobson was a fixture in the A’s rotation in the late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s. He made 35 starts in 1969 and went 15-13.



#398 – Tito Francona I like that the pose on this card, which gives a nice look at the patch the Braves wore on their left sleeve. Tito was at the journeyman phase of his career this point. The Braves were his third team in three years, and after spending half of 1969 with Atlanta, he was sent to the A’s. He went on a tear in Oakland, hitting a career high .341 in 32 games.



#399 – Bob Bailey Bailey spent all of 1967 and 1968 with the Dodgers, but Topps used this older picture of him in a Pirates uniform. The Expos purchased him from the Dodgers and he played in 111 games for the expansion team.



#400 – Don Drysdale This is the last card of the Hall of Fame pitcher as an active player, as he retired during the 1969 season. In 1968, Drysdale set a major league record with 58 consecutive scoreless innings, a record broken 20 years later by another Dodger, Orel Hersheiser. Drysdale was also the last active Dodger to play with the team in Brooklyn. In 1969, after putting up a 5-4 record in 12 starts, he called it quits because of shoulder problems. He was only 32 years old when he hung up his spikes.




Overall Set Totals (player cards only)
Hall of Famers - 26
Hatless - 97
Airbrush - 85
Cubs (includes past, present, or future) - 56