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Victor Jose Davalillo
California Angels
Outfield
Bats: Left Throws: Left Height: 5'7" Weight: 150
Born: July 30, 1939, Cabimas, Valenzuela
Signed: Signed by the Cincinnati Redlegs as an amateur free agent, April 16, 1958
Major League Teams: Cleveland Indians 1963-1968; California Angels 1968-1969; St. Louis Cardinals 1969-1970; Pittsburgh Pirates 1971-1973; Oakland Athletics 1973-1974; Los Angeles Dodgers 1977-1980
Born: July 30, 1939, Cabimas, Valenzuela
Signed: Signed by the Cincinnati Redlegs as an amateur free agent, April 16, 1958
Major League Teams: Cleveland Indians 1963-1968; California Angels 1968-1969; St. Louis Cardinals 1969-1970; Pittsburgh Pirates 1971-1973; Oakland Athletics 1973-1974; Los Angeles Dodgers 1977-1980
World Series Appearances: Pittsburgh Pirates 1971; Oakland Athletics 1973; Los Angeles Dodgers 1977-1978
Venezuelan Vic Davalillo played professionally for 24 seasons, as a leadoff hitter, speedy baserunner and later a successful pinch-hitter. He found his most success early with six seasons as the Indians' starting center fielder between 1963 and 1968. Davalillo won a Gold Glove in 1964 and was an All-Star in 1965, earning MVP votes that season as well. The Indians traded him to the Angels in June 1968, beginning his decade-plus journey that saw him play with five different teams. Davalillo collected 24 pinch-hits in 1970, breaking the Major League record held by Dave Philley. He won World Series rings as a member of the Pirates in 1971, and with the Athletics in 1973.
Venezuelan Vic Davalillo played professionally for 24 seasons, as a leadoff hitter, speedy baserunner and later a successful pinch-hitter. He found his most success early with six seasons as the Indians' starting center fielder between 1963 and 1968. Davalillo won a Gold Glove in 1964 and was an All-Star in 1965, earning MVP votes that season as well. The Indians traded him to the Angels in June 1968, beginning his decade-plus journey that saw him play with five different teams. Davalillo collected 24 pinch-hits in 1970, breaking the Major League record held by Dave Philley. He won World Series rings as a member of the Pirates in 1971, and with the Athletics in 1973.
Davalillo finished in the top 10 in stolen bases in three seasons, and in the top ten for batting average twice. At 43, he was the oldest player in the National League when he retired from Major League baseball at the end of the 1980 season. Davalillo appeared in 1,458 career games, batting .279 with 125 stolen bases. A legend in his native Venezuela, he's the all-time leader in hits (1,505) and batting average (.325) in the Venezuelan Winter League. He played in the 1987 Caribbean Series at the age of 48 before finally retiring as a player. Davalillo was inducted with the inaugural class into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame, and the the Venezuelan League's annual MVP award is named for him.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #25
September 4, 2022 from Deptford Mall Baseball Card Show
On the Sunday afternoon of Labor Day Weekend, Doug and I drove to the Deptford Mall for a mini baseball card show and Bobby Abreu signing. We were among the first in line to secure our Abreu signatures, and then we spent about a half hour browsing the six or so tables set up in the mall. I found one dealer (Cash for Cards, from Delaware) with stacks of vintage commons for sale, adding cards to my then not-yet-officially-collecting 1955 Bowman, 1959 Topps and 1969 Topps sets. This Davalillo card was one of seven cards added to my small stack of 1969 Topps cards, and was less than a dollar.
The Card / Angels Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
1969 Season
Davalillo began the season with the Angels making 15 starts in the outfield between April and May and appearing in 33 games overall. In those games he batted .155 (11 for 71) with a pair of extra-base hits. On May 30, 1969, the Angels traded him to the Cardinals for Jim Hicks (#559), and he'd be used primarily as a pinch-hitter in St. Louis, making just 11 starts in the outfield. He had much more success with the Cardinals than with the Angels however, batting .265. A former minor league pitcher, as the back of this card mentions, Davalillo appeared as a reliever in two games for the Cardinals, both blow-out losses against the Mets. He didn't record an out in either outing, giving up a pair of hits and a pair of walks and allowing a run to score, leaving him with a major league ERA of infinity.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #324
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14): 1963-1974, 1978-1979
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1981 Fleer #132
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 81 in the Beckett online database as of 1/5/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
September 4, 2022 from Deptford Mall Baseball Card Show
On the Sunday afternoon of Labor Day Weekend, Doug and I drove to the Deptford Mall for a mini baseball card show and Bobby Abreu signing. We were among the first in line to secure our Abreu signatures, and then we spent about a half hour browsing the six or so tables set up in the mall. I found one dealer (Cash for Cards, from Delaware) with stacks of vintage commons for sale, adding cards to my then not-yet-officially-collecting 1955 Bowman, 1959 Topps and 1969 Topps sets. This Davalillo card was one of seven cards added to my small stack of 1969 Topps cards, and was less than a dollar.
The Card / Angels Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
Topps got some mileage out of a photo session for Davalillo from most likely the 1965 season. Photos from that session appear on his 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1969 Topps cards. I didn't realize until scanning the card, but Davalillo is holding his bat perfectly parallel with the card's right border.
Davalillo's last name is misspelled on the back of this card. The cartoon on the back highlights his trade from the Indians in 1968, but it looks as if Topps got the details wrong. On June 15, 1968, Davalillo was traded from Cleveland to California for Jimmie Hall (#61), and not Jose Cardenal (#325). Cardenal had been traded by the Angels to the Indians on November 29, 1967 for Chuck Hinton (#644). Right teams, wrong trades.
Accuracy Index: -8 for Davalillo for being hatless (-3) and wearing an Indians jersey (-5).
1969 Season
Davalillo began the season with the Angels making 15 starts in the outfield between April and May and appearing in 33 games overall. In those games he batted .155 (11 for 71) with a pair of extra-base hits. On May 30, 1969, the Angels traded him to the Cardinals for Jim Hicks (#559), and he'd be used primarily as a pinch-hitter in St. Louis, making just 11 starts in the outfield. He had much more success with the Cardinals than with the Angels however, batting .265. A former minor league pitcher, as the back of this card mentions, Davalillo appeared as a reliever in two games for the Cardinals, both blow-out losses against the Mets. He didn't record an out in either outing, giving up a pair of hits and a pair of walks and allowing a run to score, leaving him with a major league ERA of infinity.
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First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #324
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14): 1963-1974, 1978-1979
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1981 Fleer #132
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 81 in the Beckett online database as of 1/5/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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