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Woodrow Thompson Fryman
Philadelphia Phillies
Pitcher
Born: April 12, 1940, Ewing, KY
Signed: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent, July 6, 1965
Major League Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates 1966-1967; Philadelphia Phillies 1968-1972; Detroit Tigers 1972-1974; Montreal Expos 1975-1976; Cincinnati Reds 1977; Chicago Cubs 1978; Montreal Expos 1978-1983
Died: February 4, 2011, Lexington, KY (age 70)
Woodie Fryman, or "Woody" as preferred by Topps for his earlier baseball cards, pitched in 18 big league seasons, primarily with the Expos in two different stints. Used almost equally as a starter or reliever throughout his career, he won at least 10 games in six different seasons. Fryman was an All-Star with the Phillies in 1968, the team's sole representative, finishing that season with a 12-14 record and a 2.78 ERA in 34 appearances. He was claimed off waivers by the Tigers in August 1972, going 10-3 with a 2.06 ERA in 16 appearances in the final months of the season to help Detroit reach the playoffs. Fryman was named to his second All-Star team in 1976 while with the Expos, and he finished that year with a 13-13 record and a 3.37 ERA. After brief stints with the Reds and Cubs, he returned to the Expos in 1979 where he'd spend the final five seasons of his career. Fryman was a reliable and frequently used reliever during his final years, appearing in 61 games in 1980 and 60 games in 1982 as a 42-year-old.
Woodie Fryman, or "Woody" as preferred by Topps for his earlier baseball cards, pitched in 18 big league seasons, primarily with the Expos in two different stints. Used almost equally as a starter or reliever throughout his career, he won at least 10 games in six different seasons. Fryman was an All-Star with the Phillies in 1968, the team's sole representative, finishing that season with a 12-14 record and a 2.78 ERA in 34 appearances. He was claimed off waivers by the Tigers in August 1972, going 10-3 with a 2.06 ERA in 16 appearances in the final months of the season to help Detroit reach the playoffs. Fryman was named to his second All-Star team in 1976 while with the Expos, and he finished that year with a 13-13 record and a 3.37 ERA. After brief stints with the Reds and Cubs, he returned to the Expos in 1979 where he'd spend the final five seasons of his career. Fryman was a reliable and frequently used reliever during his final years, appearing in 61 games in 1980 and 60 games in 1982 as a 42-year-old.
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| 1968 Topps #112 |
Building the Set / Card #10
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY)
I've posted a complete summary of this fantastic show over at The Phillies Room, and this was one of six cards from the 1969 Topps set I added to our stack of 1965 Topps commons, almost as an afterthought. In total, I added 94 cards to our 1965 Topps set from Uncle Dick's and his neon green binders, six cards from the 1969 Topps set and two 1959 Topps cards for a future set build. This Fryman card was $1.50. Composing posts for these six cards will take much less time than it took to compose posts for the 94 cards added to our 1965 Topps set.
The Card / Phillies Team Set / Accuracy Index -12
This photo could easily be from 1965 and come from the same photo shoot that provided photos for Fryman's 1966, 1967 and 1968 Topps cards. It's the same exact photo used for his 1968 Topps card, and he'd finally appear with the Phillies in the 1970 Topps set. His team-leading five shutouts from 1968 are highlighted in cartoon form on the back. His scoreless inning streak as a rookie with the Pirates in 1966 is mentioned, as is his shutout against the Braves on July 27, 1968.
Accuracy Index: Fryman tallies a -12 since he's in a Pirates uniform (-5), hatless (-3) and the photo was used before by Topps (-4).
1969 Season
Wearing #22, Fryman began the season in the team's starting pitching rotation behind Chris Short (#395) and Rick Wise (#188). He'd make 35 starts overall and was 12-15 with a 4.41 ERA in 228 1/3 innings pitched. Fryman threw 10 complete games, including a shutout on August 14th against the Braves. Only Grant Jackson (#174) with 253 threw more innings than Fryman for the Phillies in 1969.
Fryman came to the Phillies in a blockbuster trade with the Pirates on December 15, 1967. Dealt with Harold Clem, Bill Laxton and Don Money (#454), the Phillies sent future Hall of Famer Jim Bunning (#175) to the Pirates. Money was the centerpiece of the haul for the Phillies, but Fryman got off to a 10-5 start in 1968, and his 1.61 ERA led to his selection to the 1968 All-Star Game. (He'd not pitch in the game.) 1968 was his best season with the club. Fryman was an effective starter for the Phillies for the next 3 1/2 seasons, suffering through a lengthy rebuild by the franchise as they waited for young prospects Larry Bowa, Bob Boone, Greg Luziznksi and Mike Schmidt to come into their own.
Fryman got off to a rough start in 1972, going 4-10 with a 4.36 ERA in 23 games, and the team placed him on waivers in early August. He'd be claimed by the Tigers on August 2nd of that season, helping Detroit reach the playoffs. In his nearly five seasons with the Phillies, Fryman appeared in 157 games, making 121 starts, and was 46-52 with a 3.76 ERA. He had 571 strikeouts with the club, which is over a hundred more than the 469 he had in eight seasons with the Expos.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1966 Topps #498
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (18): 1966-1983
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1983 Topps #137
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 90 in the Beckett online database as of 12/29/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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First Mainstream Card: 1966 Topps #498
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (18): 1966-1983
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1983 Topps #137
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 90 in the Beckett online database as of 12/29/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
The Phillies Room
The Phillies Room
#50 Bob Clemente - Pittsburgh Pirates / #52 Mike Andrews - Boston Red Sox
I just added this card not long ago ... I didn't come across Woodie Fryman until he was with the Expos, probably around his '77 Topps card. My main memories of him were a childhood friend liked him, I think solely because his name was Woodie, and Howard Cosell chatting him up incessantly during the 1981 NLCS.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I became aware of him was from his 1981 Topps card. I thought he looked ancient. And now somehow I'm 8 years older than he was when that picture was taken!
ReplyDelete