#599 - John Boozer The good news: In 1969 John Boozer would pitch in a career high 46 games. The bad news: 1969 would be his last in the majors.
#600 - Tony Oliva Oliva was at the top of his game in 1969, as he made the All Star team for the sixth season in a row. He led the American League in hits and doubles while posting a .309 average. He also hit 24 home runs and drove in 101 runs. Not too shabby of a season!
#601 - Tug McGraw I don't gotta believe nothin!
#602 - Cubs Rookies This trio gets a separate post tomorrow.
#603 - Joe Keough After a decent rookie campaign for the A's in 1968, Keough was the 8th pick in the expansion draft. He was a pinch hitter in the Royals' very first game, on April 8, 1969. Here's something unusual about the game: the paid attendance in Kansas City at the Royals first game ever was...........17, 688. Does that seem low to anyone? It sure does to me.
#604 - Bobby Etheridge After playing in 47 games for the Giants in 1967, Etheridge spent all of 1968 back in AAA. He returned to the Giants in '69 and was a .260 hitter in 56 games. After the season he was traded to the Padres, but never made the team. He bounced around in the minors until quitting after the 1973 season.
#605 - Dick Ellsworth My guess is that hatless Dick is wearing a Cubs uniform. He spent the first eight seasons of his career on the north side, winning 22 games in 1963 and losing 22 games in 1966. He was traded to the Phillies for the 1967 season and then was with the Red Sox before landing in Cleveland as part of the Hawk Harrelson trade on April 19, 1969. He started 22 games for the Tribe and was 6-9.
#606 - Gene Mauch Topps snapped plenty of other Expos' pictures during spring training. I wonder why they didn't get one of the team's skipper? Instead, we get a shot of Mauch in Phillies' pinstripes. The inaugural Expos were not a very good team, winning only 52 games. But Mauch got them to improve by winning an additional 21 games in 1970. He remained with the Expos through the 1975 season.
#607 - Dick Bosman This card gives us a nice shot of the Senators' curly W hat, which is also now worn by the Nationals (and by Walgreens). Coming into 1969, Bosman had a career record of 7-16 over three years. So it was quite a surprise that he would end up leading the American League with a 2.19 ERA while winning 14 games and losing only 5.
Overall Set Totals (player cards only)
Hall of Famers - 43
Hatless - 132
Airbrush - 93
Cubs (includes past, present, or future) - 87
Keough: Joe's brother Marty played for 11 years in the 1950s and 1960s as an outfielder.
ReplyDeleteEllsworth: Dick should just be thankful that Topps used a picture of HIM. In 1966, the Dick Ellsworth card showed a picture of Ken Hubbs, Chicago's 2nd baseman who died TWO YEARS EARLIER!
Mauch: Wow! There's absolutely no excuse for Topps' laziness here. This is card #606. There was plenty of time for them to get a picture in an Expos uniform.