#512 Cleon Jones - New York Mets

Cleon Joseph Jones
New York Mets
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  185
Born:  August 4, 1942, Plateau, AL
Signed:  Signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Major League Teams:  New York Mets 1963, 1965-75; Chicago White Sox 1976

World Series Appearances:  New York Mets 1969, 1973

Cleon Jones spent parts of 13 seasons in the majors, but his All-Star season of 1969 was by far his most memorable.  Jones first received regular playing time in 1966 as the team's everyday center fielder, and he finished fourth in the league's Rookie of the Year voting after batting .275 with 57 RBIs.  After a move to left field to accommodate the newly acquired Tommie Agee (#364), Jones had a career year in 1969.  He was named to the All-Star team and batted a career-high .340 (third in the league) with 12 home runs and 75 RBIs.  An offensive catalyst for the Amazing Mets, Jones caught the final out of the 1969 World Series, in which the Mets defeated the highly-favored Orioles in five games.  The Mets returned to the World Series in 1973, with Jones batting .286 with a pair of doubles and a home run against the victorious Athletics.

He played with the Mets through mid-1975, and attempted a comeback with the White Sox in 1976.  Jones  collected 1,196 hits overall in 1,213 games, batting .281 with 93 home runs and 524 RBIs.  He's currently fourth on the Mets' all-time franchise leaderboard with 1,188 hits, and he was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in 1991.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #621
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (Vintage Sports)

On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show.  The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year.  I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova.  I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.

I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set.  My second stop was the aptly named Vintage Sports table.  I always appreciate a dealer with clear signage explaining their pricing method, and Vintage Sports had a marker in their selection of 1969 Topps cards laying out that cards without a sleeve were $1 and cards with a sleeve were $2.  I had one "high number" in a sleeve, and that was a whopping $4. 

I found 28 commons needed before moving on to my third stop.  This was the 27th of 28 total cards bought from Vintage Sports, and the 62nd of 91 cards for the set added overall on the day.  Sleeved, this card cost less than $2 after a dealer discount.

The Card / Mets Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

Jones' pose on his 1970 Topps card is almost the exact same pose as shown on this card.  I had to study both cards side by side to determine they were slightly different photos.  Topps reprinted the card in its 2002 Topps Archives set.  The back of the card recounts Jones' hot finish to the 1968 season and the cartoon highlights his college football exploits.

Accuracy Index:  Jones' card earns a standard +5 for the accurate uniform and hat.

1969 Season
As noted above, this was by far Jones' best season in the majors.  From his SABR biography, written by Fred Worth: 

Cleon Jones was as big a part of the Mets championship as anyone.  He batted .340 with an on-base percentage of .422.  He led the team in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, hits, doubles, stolen bases, walks, and even hit by pitches.  He was second on the team in RBIs, one behind Agee.  He started in the All-Star Game (two singles, reached on an error, and scored twice) and finished seventh in the league Most Valuable Player voting, behind winner Willie McCovey (#440) and teammates Tom Seaver (#480) and Agee. 

During the first National League Championship Series in history, Jones batted .429 with a homer, two doubles, and four RBIs.  The Mets hit .327 overall in the three-game sweep of Atlanta. 

In the World Series win over Baltimore, Jones hit only .158, but he was in the thick of things. His foot and his knee live in Mets immortality.  He was hit by Dave McNally's (#340) "shoe polish" pitch and scored on Donn Clendenon's (#208) homer, getting the Mets back in the game.  And then, in the top of the ninth, he gently coaxed Davey Johnson's (#203) fly ball into his glove, making the Mets the world champions.

1965 Topps #308

1967 Topps #165

1972 Topps #31

1973 Topps #540

1975 Topps #43

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #308
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1965-75
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2018 Topps Heritage Miracle of '69 #MO69-CJ
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  121 in the Beckett online database as of 1/28/26.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#511 Diego Segui - Seattle Pilots / #513 Camilo Pascual - Washington Senators

#402 Ken Boswell - New York Mets

Kenneth George Boswell
New York Mets
Second Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  170
Born:  February 23, 1946, Austin, TX
Drafted:  Drafted by the New York Mets i the 4th round of the 1965 amateur draft, June 8, 1965
Major League Teams:  New York Mets 1967-74; Houston Astros 1975-77

World Series Appearances:  New York Mets 1969, 1973

Ken Boswell spent 11 seasons in the majors, seeing World Series action twice with the Mets in 1969 and 1973.  Boswell was a September call-up in 1967, never to return to the minor leagues, and one of his best season statistically was his rookie campaign of 1968.  In 75 games, Boswell batted .261 with four home runs and 11 RBIs while getting the majority of playing time at second base.  He was a member of the 1969 Amazin' Mets team that won the World Series, and his five RBIs in the NLCS against the Braves led the team.  Strong seasons followed in 1970 and 1971, with Boswell driving in a career-high 44 runs in 1970 and hitting a career-best 20 doubles in 1971.  Consistently working on his infield defense, Boswell put together an 85-game errorless streak in 1970.

He settled into a pinch-hitting role with the Mets in 1973, and was 3 for 3 in that year's World Series as a pinch-hitter against the Athletics.  Dealt to the Astros following the 1974 season, Boswell would play three seasons in Houston before retiring.  In 930 big league games, Boswell batted .248 with 91 doubles, 31 home runs and 244 RBIs.

Building the Set / Card #620
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (Vintage Sports)

On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show.  The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year.  I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova.  I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.

I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set.  My second stop was the aptly named Vintage Sports table.  I always appreciate a dealer with clear signage explaining their pricing method, and Vintage Sports had a marker in their selection of 1969 Topps cards laying out that cards without a sleeve were $1 and cards with a sleeve were $2.  I had one "high number" in a sleeve, and that was a whopping $4. 

I found 28 commons needed before moving on to my third stop.  This was the 26th of 28 total cards bought from Vintage Sports, and the 61st of 91 cards for the set added overall on the day.  Sleeved, this card cost less than $2 after a dealer discount.

The Card / Mets Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

This is Boswell's rookie card, and his Topps 1968 All-Star Rookie trophy is front and center.  Topps was high on the prospect given his success in the minor leagues and during his rookie season, as evidenced by the write-up and cartoon on the back of the card.  The cartoon has an uncorrected error, as Boswell's home run at Dodger Stadium came on September 30, 1967, not during the 1966 season.  Boswell connected off Don Drysdale (#400) for his first big league home run.

Accuracy Index:  Boswell's card earns a +5.  It's a great looking card, even if it's a Mets card.

1969 Season
Boswell played in 102 games overall with the Mets, making 91 starts at second base.  He batted .279 with three home runs and 32 RBIs, but was hot for the Mets down the stretch.  From his SABR biography, written by Mike Bender: 

He hit .407 over his last 29 games, with 12 multi-hit efforts, including six in a row from September 9 through September 18 . . . Boswell had arguably the biggest hit in Mets history, up to that time, on September 10.  His 12th-inning, two-out single scored the winning run in the first game of a doubleheader against the Expos - a win that put the Mets into first place for the first time in team history . . .

The Atlanta Braves, the Mets' opponent in the inaugural National League Championship Series, were scheduled to start three right-handed pitchers in the series.  Boswell and the rest of Gil Hodges's (#564) left-handed platoon would start each of the games.  It was a quick series.  After going hitless and making an error in the first game, Boswell hit two-run homers (his first since mid-July) in Game Two and Game Three, driving in four runs, as the Mets completed an unexpected three-game sweep.  He finished the series with a .333 average and a team-high five RBIs. 

On the field one last time in '69, Boswell started against Jim Palmer (#573) at Shea Stadium in Game Three, the first World Series game in New York since 1964 and the first ever-Series game at Shea Stadium.  Batting fifth, he had a single and run scored in three at-bats, as the Mets shut out the Orioles in a game best remembered for Tommie Agee’s (#364) acrobatics in the outfield.  Boswell did not play in either of the final two games of the Series, both wins in the team’s final at-bat . . . The 1969 season was Boswell’s finest year. He set career highs in runs (48), triples (7), batting average (.279), and slugging percentage (.381), and tied his career high for stolen bases with seven.

1970 Topps #214

1971 Topps #492

1972 Topps #306

1974 Topps #645

1977 Topps #429

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #402
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9):  1969-77
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2001 Upper Deck Legends of New York #71
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  59 in the Beckett online database as of 1/25/26.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#401 Jake Gibbs - New York Yankees / #403 Bob Miller - Minnesota Twins

#398 Tito Francona - Atlanta Braves

John Patsy Francona
Atlanta Braves
Outfield-First Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  190
Born:  November 4, 1933, Aliquippa, PA
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Browns as an amateur free agent before 1952 season
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1956-57; Chicago White Sox 1958; Detroit Tigers 1958; Cleveland Indians 1959-64; St. Louis Cardinals 1965-66; Philadelphia Phillies 1967; Atlanta Braves 1967-69; Oakland Athletics 1969-70; Milwaukee Brewers 1970

Died:  February 13, 2018, New Brighton, PA (age 84)

A journeyman bench player for most of his career, Tito Francona found his greatest success during the late 1950s/early 1960s with the Indians.  He was an All-Star in 1961, the year in which he hit his career high in RBIs with 85.  Francona batted a career best .363 over 122 games for the Indians in 1959 and led the league in doubles with 36 in 1960.  Over his 15-year career, Francona never appeared in the postseason.

Francona was sold to the Cardinals in December 1964, beginning a six-season odyssey that would take him to the Phillies, Braves, Athletics and Brewers where he wrapped up his playing days in 1970.  In 1,719 career games, Francona amassed 1,395 hits, 125 home runs and 656 RBIs.  His son Terry played for 10 seasons in the majors and went on to manage the Phillies, Red Sox, Indians/Guradians and Reds.  Terry won two World Series titles with the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007, and he took the Indians to the World Series in 2016 where they lost to the Cubs in seven games.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #619
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (Vintage Sports)

On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show.  The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year.  I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova.  I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.

I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set.  My second stop was the aptly named Vintage Sports table.  I always appreciate a dealer with clear signage explaining their pricing method, and Vintage Sports had a marker in their selection of 1969 Topps cards laying out that cards without a sleeve were $1 and cards with a sleeve were $2.  I had one "high number" in a sleeve, and that was a whopping $4. 

I found 28 commons needed before moving on to my third stop.  This was the 25th of 28 total cards bought from Vintage Sports, and the 60th of 91 cards for the set added overall on the day.  Unsleeved, this card cost less than $1 after a dealer discount.

The Card / Braves Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

Topps took photos of Francona by the batting cages at a visiting ballpark at some point in 1967, after he had joined the Braves, and two photos from the session appear on his 1968 and 1969 Topps cards.  The back of the card explains how Francona had filled in for the injured Rico Carty (#590) in 1968, batting .286 in 122 games.

Accuracy Index:  It's another +5 for this card.

1969 Season
Francona split the season between the Braves and Athletics, batting a healthy .318 overall with five home runs and 42 RBIs.  From his SABR biography, written by Joseph Wancho: 

For the most part he came off the bench to play all three outfield positions as well as first base.  His average dropped a bit (.258 over five years in the National League).  "I believe Tito is a better hitter now than I've ever seen him," said Atlanta manager Lum Harris (#196).  "I know one thing.  When they throw that steamer (fastball) up there, he can hit anybody who walks out to the mound." 

On August 22, 1969, the Braves sold Francona to the Oakland Athletics.  Again he was thrust into the reserve role.  Three weeks after joining the A's, on September 12, Francona equaled his career-best mark of five hits in a game.  He went 5-for-5 against Chicago, driving in two runs and scoring twice in a 12-5 Oakland win.

Phillies Career
On April 10, 1967, Francona was sold by the Cardinals to the Phillies.  In 27 games with the club, he hit .205 (15 for 73) with a double and three RBIs.  His services were needed solely for him to fill in at first for an injured Bill White (#588) and when White was activated in late May, Francona served only as a pinch-hitter or late inning defensive replacement.  

With his playing time significantly decreased, the Phillies sold him to the Braves on June 12th, a little over two months after they had acquired him.  His very short tenure with the Phillies is memorialized on his 1967 Topps card.

1957 Topps #184

1961 Topps #503

1967 Topps #443

1970 Topps #663

1985 Topps #134

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1957 Topps #184
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15):  1957-70, 1985
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2016 Topps Archives #306
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  96 in the Beckett online database as of 1/25/26.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog / The Phillies Room

#397 Chuck Dobson - Oakland Athletics / #399 Bob Bailey - Montreal Expos

#381 Ed Kranepool - New York Mets

Edward Emil Kranepool
New York Mets
First Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  205
Born:  November 8, 1944, New York, NY
Signed:  Signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent, June 27, 1962
Major League Teams:  New York Mets 1962-79

World Series Appearances:  New York Mets 1969, 1973
Died:  September 8, 2024, Boca Raton, FL (age 79)

Ed Kranepool played in 18 major league seasons, and his complete list of career transactions from his Baseball Reference page is extremely impressive:

At the end of his career, Kranepool had amassed 1,853 games with the Mets, still tops in franchise history.  He was a member of the original expansion Mets in 1962 at the age of 17, an All-Star in 1965, a World Series winner with the Miracle Mets in 1969 and a top pinch-hitter for the club during the latter part of his career between 1974 and 1979.

Primarily a first baseman, Kranepool's best season came in 1971 when he drove in a career high 58 runs and hit .280 with 14 home runs.  He owned a lifetime batting average of .261 with 118 career home runs.  Kranepool was the original all-time hits leader for the Mets with 1,418, but he's since been surpassed by David Wright (1,777) and Jose Reyes (1,491).  He was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1990.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #618
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (Vintage Sports)

On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show.  The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year.  I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova.  I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.

I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set.  My second stop was the aptly named Vintage Sports table.  I always appreciate a dealer with clear signage explaining their pricing method, and Vintage Sports had a marker in their selection of 1969 Topps cards laying out that cards without a sleeve were $1 and cards with a sleeve were $2.  I had one "high number" in a sleeve, and that was a whopping $4. 

I found 28 commons needed before moving on to my third stop.  This was the 24th of 28 total cards bought from Vintage Sports, and the 59th of 91 cards for the set added overall on the day.  Sleeved, this card cost less than $2 after a dealer discount.

The Card / Mets Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

A great-looking card of the legendary Met, and Topps used a photo that works really well with the set's design.  The cartoon on the back of the card highlights Kranepool's status as the dean of the Mets' roster, and he'd go on to play another decade with the club.

Accuracy Index:  Kranepool's card earns the standard +5.

1969 Season
Kranepool was the most regularly used first baseman for the Mets, making 97 starts at the position, but losing playing time as the season progressed to Donn Clendenon (#208).  He batted .238 with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs.  From his SABR biography, written by Tara Krieger: 

"Spring Training, Gil Hodges (#564) wanted you to lead by example," Kranepool said of early 1969. "He built the ballclub around leadership.  First, we had to get over .500 - we never got to the .500 level before - it's the only way to win the game.  The team that makes the fewest mental mistakes does.  We didn't beat ourselves; we had good pitching and defense; we started to play well. We did get to .500, beat L.A. and San Diego, and went on a 10-game winning streak." 

. . . The Mets finished the year with a league-best 100-62 record and swept the Braves in the three-game divisional playoff to win their first pennant and face the 109-win American League champion Baltimore Orioles in the World Series.  Though Kranepool played all three NLCS games against Atlanta - and batted .250 - Kranepool was benched in favor of the right-handed-hitting Donn Clendenon for all but one of the Series' five games (the only game started by a right-handed pitcher).  Kranepool made it count, hitting a home run off Dave Leonhard (#228) in the eighth inning of Game Three.  After 800 defeats - most of which Kranepool had witnessed himself - the Mets were crowned world champions.

1963 Topps #228

1965 Topps #144

1975 Topps #324

1978 Topps #49

1980 Topps #641

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1963 Topps #228
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (18):  1963-80
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Topps Archives Snapshots #AS-EK
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  210 in the Beckett online database as of 1/25/26.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#380 Stan Bahnsen - New York Yankees / #382 Pat Corrales - Cincinnati Reds

#380 Stan Bahnsen - New York Yankees

Stanley Raymond Bahnsen
New York Yankees
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  185
Born:  December 15, 1944, Council Bluffs, IA
Drafted:  Drafted by the New York Yankees in the 4th round of the 1965 amateur draft, June 8, 1965
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1966, 1968-71; Chicago White Sox 1972-75; Oakland Athletics 1975-77; Montreal Expos 1977-1981; California Angels 1982; Philadelphia Phillies 1982

A workhorse early in his career and appropriately nicknamed "Bahnsen Burner," Stan Bahnsen was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1968 before going on to have his most success with the White Sox in the early 1970s.  Bahnsen was 17-12 with a 2.05 ERA in 267 1/3 innings pitched in his rookie campaign, earning him nearly unanimous rookie accolades.  He'd suffer a sophomore slump in 1969, and he wouldn't fully regain his rookie form until a trade to the White Sox before the 1972 season.  Bahnsen won 21 and 18 games respectively for Chicago in 1972 and 1973, making over 40 starts each season.  Wear and tear started showing in the mid-1970s, and Bahnsen gradually shifted to a full-time relief role after a few seasons in Oakland and then moving on to the Expos in 1977.  He'd pitch in more games for the Expos (204) than any of the other five teams he'd appear with in the majors, bolstering their bullpen for five seasons.

Bahnsen's last action in the majors came in 1982, as he pitched in seven games with the Angels and his final eight big league games with the Phillies as a September call-up.  He was 146-149 lifetime, with a 3.60 ERA in 574 games pitched.  Bahnsen struck out 1,359, threw 73 complete games, including 16 shutouts, and had 20 career saves.

2015 Chachi Phillies Missing
Links of the 1980s #4

Building the Set / Card #617
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (Vintage Sports)

On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show.  The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year.  I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova.  I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.

I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set.  My second stop was the aptly named Vintage Sports table.  I always appreciate a dealer with clear signage explaining their pricing method, and Vintage Sports had a marker in their selection of 1969 Topps cards laying out that cards without a sleeve were $1 and cards with a sleeve were $2.  I had one "high number" in a sleeve, and that was a whopping $4. 

I found 28 commons needed before moving on to my third stop.  This was the 23rd of 28 total cards bought from Vintage Sports, and the 58th of 91 cards for the set added overall on the day.  Unsleeved, this card cost less than $1 after a dealer discount.

The Card / Yankees Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

Bahnsen shared Rookie Stars cards in the 1967 and 1968 Topps sets, and this is his first solo baseball card, which is appropriate given his Rookie of the Year accolades.  The back of the card highlights his rookie season success, and notes only Mel Stottlemyre (#470) had more wins on the Yankees than Bahnsen, with 21.

Accuracy Index:  Bahnsen's card earns a +5.

1969 Season
From Bahnsen's SABR biography, written by John Gabcik: 

For the 1969 season, Major League Baseball enacted two major changes in an attempt to adjust what was perceived as a disproportionate advantage to pitchers - the height of the mound was lowered from 15 to ten inches, and the strike zone was officially tightened. Bahnsen, who at times had difficulty controlling his curve, and whose fastball had benefited from the higher mound, was skeptical.  "I don’t like the lower mound, but the smaller strike zone doesn’t bother me since I’m not a spot pitcher," he told The Sporting News.  Bahnsen knew himself well.  He struggled with the lower mound throughout 1969, as his record dropped to 9-16 and his ERA almost doubled. A significant factor, given the times, was that Bahnsen tended to tire in later innings.  He completed only five of his 33 starts, a performance that magnified the weakness of the New York bullpen.

Phillies Career
Bahnsen began the 1982 season in the Angels' bullpen, pitching relatively well in five of his seven outing with the club.  But the team released him on May 14th, and the Phillies picked him up two weeks later on May 31st.  Bahnsen spent the summer with the Triple-A Oklahoma City 89ers, then the Phillies' top farm team, and was 4-3 with a 4.89 ERA in 23 games and 46 innings pitched.  Surprisingly, with the team still somewhat in a pennant race, he was called up in September and pitched better than expected.  In his final eight games in the majors, Bahnsen had a 1.35 ERA, allowing two earned runs in 8 2/3 innings pitched.  Looking at the bWAR of every Phillies' reliever used in 1982, only Ron Reed (2.6) (#177) and Bahnsen (0.6) had scores above zero.

He'd start the 1983 season with the team's new Triple-A team in Portland, struggling mightily with a 11.37 ERA in 25 1/3 innings pitched.  At some point, the Phillies cut ties with Bahnsen, ending his career.

Bahnsen is perhaps best remembered by Phillies fans as the pitcher who surrendered Mike Schmidt's 48th home run of the 1980 season, leading the Phillies to the National League East division title.  Audio of that blast, featuring Andy Musser's call, can be found here.

1967 Topps #93

1972 Topps #662

1975 Topps #161

1977 Topps #383

1982 Topps #131

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1967 Topps #93
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (16):  1967-82
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2002 Upper Deck Vintage Special Collection Game Jersey #S-STB
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  82 in the Beckett online database as of 1/25/26.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
The Phillies Room

#379 Ken Boyer - Los Angeles Dodgers / #381 Ed Kranepool - New York Mets

#347 Randy Hundley - Chicago Cubs

Cecil Randolph Hundley
Chicago Cubs
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  170
Born:  June 1, 1942, Martinsville, VA
Signed:  Signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent before 1960 season
Major League Teams:  San Francisco Giants 1964-65; Chicago Cubs 1966-73; Minnesota Twins 1974; San Diego Padres 1975; Chicago Cubs 1976-77

He played his first eight big league games with the Giants, but Randy Hundley is best known as the long-time leader and catcher for the Cubs, the team he played in 947 games with over ten seasons.  Blocked behind Tom Haller (#310) in San Francisco, Hundley got the chance to start for the Cubs when the team acquired him before the 1966 season.  His 19 home runs in 1966 set a National League record for rookie catchers, and he'd finish fourth in Rookie of the Year voting.  He'd enjoy arguably his best season in 1967, winning a Gold Glove, and batting .267 with 25 doubles, 14 home runs and 60 RBIs.  He'd make the All-Star team in 1969, his last great season before the heavy workload behind the plate started taking a toll on him.  Between 1970 and 1976, Hundley was injured more often than not, although he did regain the starting catcher's job for the Cubs in 1972 and 1973.

Hundley briefly spent time with the Twins and Padres before returning to the Cubs in 1976 for his swan song.  He served as the team's bullpen coach in 1977, activated late in the season and appearing in his final two games before retiring as a player.  In 1,061 career games, Hundley batted .236 with 82 home runs and 381 RBIs.  He managed in the Cubs' minor league system between 1979 and 1981, and was a part of a large inaugural class of Cubs Hall of Fame inductees in 2021.  Hundley is also credited with starting and running fantasy camps, now prevalent throughout the spring trainings of many big league teams.

Building the Set / Card #616
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (Vintage Sports)

On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show.  The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year.  I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova.  I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.

I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set.  My second stop was the aptly named Vintage Sports table.  I always appreciate a dealer with clear signage explaining their pricing method, and Vintage Sports had a marker in their selection of 1969 Topps cards laying out that cards without a sleeve were $1 and cards with a sleeve were $2.  I had one "high number" in a sleeve, and that was a whopping $4. 

I found 28 commons needed before moving on to my third stop.  This was the 22nd of 28 total cards bought from Vintage Sports, and the 57th of 91 cards for the set added overall on the day.  Unsleeved, this card cost less than $1 after a dealer discount.

The Card / Cubs Team Set / Accuracy Index +1

It's a great pose, but collectors had already seen this photo on Hundley's first solo card in the 1967 Topps set.  A few highlights from the 1967 season are covered on the back of the card - his 13-game hitting streak and his record-setting low of only four errors all season.

Accuracy Index:  Again, great card, but it scores only a +1 due to the repeat photo.

1969 Season
Hundley batted .255 with 18 home runs and 64 RBIs, starting 145 of the Cubs' 163 regular season games behind the plate.  From his SABR biography, written by Steve Dunn: 

For Randy and other Cub mainstays such as Ernie Banks (#20), [Ron] Santo (#570) and [Billy] Williams (#450), the 1969 season was the highlight and lowlight of their time in Chicago.  On August 14, the Cubs enjoyed a nine-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals and a 10-game cushion over the New York Mets after being in first place for 155 straight days. 

But the lead had shrunk to a half-game in early September when the Mets beat the Cubs twice in New York . . . It only got worse for the Cubs when they lost twice to the Philadelphia Phillies, while the Mets rolled over the Montreal Expos four times, putting the upstart New Yorkers in first place for good.  Like most of the other Cub regulars, Randy’s performance at the plate declined greatly in September.  On June 1, he was hitting .307 with eight homers, but he hit only .151 in the last month of the season. 

Nevertheless, the ironman catcher was named to the National League All-Star team for the first time and led the league's catchers in fewest errors and double plays turned by a catcher and tied for most games and assists.  He also hit a grand slam and a double on May 28, 1969, in a 9-8 win over the Giants.

1966 Topps #392

1967 Topps #106

1972 Topps #258

1976 Topps #351

1977 Topps #502

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1966 Topps #392
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1966-74, 1976-77
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2006 Fleer Greats of the Game #73
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  85 in the Beckett online database as of 1/19/26.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#346 Wayne Comer - Seattle Pilots / #348 Steve Hargan - Cleveland Indians