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William Henry Davis
Los Angeles Dodgers
Outfield
Born: April 15, 1940, Mineral Springs, AR
Signed: Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent, June 20, 1958
Major League Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers 1960-1973; Montreal Expos 1974; Texas Rangers 1975; St. Louis Cardinals 1975; San Diego Padres 1976; California Angels 1979
World Series Appearances: Los Angeles Dodgers 1963, 1965-1966
Died: Died: March 9, 2010, Burbank, CA (age 69)
Known originally as the player who replaced Duke Snider in center field for the Dodgers, Willie Davis carved out his own historic Dodgers career, playing in nearly 2,000 games for the club over a 14 year span. Davis won World Series rings with the Dodgers in 1963 and 1965, using his speed at the top of the line-up, along with Maury Wills (#45), to pace the team's offense. His career year came in 1964 when he batted .294 with 42 stolen bases. One of the fastest in the game, Davis led the league in triples twice (1962 and 1970) and stole at least 20 bases in 13 different seasons. Batting a career-high .311 in 1969, he tallied a 31-game hitting streak that season. He was an All-Star in 1971 and 1973, and won three consecutive Gold Gloves between 1971 and 1973. Dealt to the Expos following the 1973 season, Davis would have a final great year in 1974, batting .295 with 12 home runs, 89 RBIs and 25 stolen bases for Montreal. He'd play a final season in the Mexican League at the age of 40 in 1980.
Davis collected 2,561 hits, 182 home runs, 1,053 RBIs and 398 stolen bases while batting .279 over his lengthy career. He ranks fourth all-time in games played in the outfield (2,239) and fifth all-time for putouts by a center fielder (5,279). Davis is among the all-time leaders in Dodgers franchise history, ranking third in hits (2,091), second in triples (171) and third in stolen bases (490).
Died: Died: March 9, 2010, Burbank, CA (age 69)
Known originally as the player who replaced Duke Snider in center field for the Dodgers, Willie Davis carved out his own historic Dodgers career, playing in nearly 2,000 games for the club over a 14 year span. Davis won World Series rings with the Dodgers in 1963 and 1965, using his speed at the top of the line-up, along with Maury Wills (#45), to pace the team's offense. His career year came in 1964 when he batted .294 with 42 stolen bases. One of the fastest in the game, Davis led the league in triples twice (1962 and 1970) and stole at least 20 bases in 13 different seasons. Batting a career-high .311 in 1969, he tallied a 31-game hitting streak that season. He was an All-Star in 1971 and 1973, and won three consecutive Gold Gloves between 1971 and 1973. Dealt to the Expos following the 1973 season, Davis would have a final great year in 1974, batting .295 with 12 home runs, 89 RBIs and 25 stolen bases for Montreal. He'd play a final season in the Mexican League at the age of 40 in 1980.
Davis collected 2,561 hits, 182 home runs, 1,053 RBIs and 398 stolen bases while batting .279 over his lengthy career. He ranks fourth all-time in games played in the outfield (2,239) and fifth all-time for putouts by a center fielder (5,279). Davis is among the all-time leaders in Dodgers franchise history, ranking third in hits (2,091), second in triples (171) and third in stolen bases (490).
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #43
January 17, 2023 from Greg Morris Cards - Los Angeles, CA
On the evening of January 8th, I found myself sitting in Terminal C of the Philadelphia International Airport waiting to board my flight to Dallas. Earlier that day, I had enjoyed watching our oldest son Doug at a winter track meet as he pole vaulted for his high school. I was in a good mood despite the the fact that like most flights that day, my flight had been delayed. This was for a work trip, and I was doing my best to stay positive and keep myself in the post-holiday happiness hangover that had lingered into the year's second week. eBay seller Greg Morris Cards, based out of Los Angeles, somehow seems to post cards from various vintage baseball card set breaks on a weekly basis, with the cards typically all in fantastic condition. With time to kill, knowing that bidding on baseball cards was a surefire good mood sustainer, and having only 40 cards so far for our 1969 Topps set, I pleasantly passed the time by bidding on 62 commons, all with no previous bidders, and all ending within the next 30 hours.
The Card / Dodgers Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
1969 Season
As mentioned above, Davis batted a career-high .311 in 1969, stringing together a 31-game hitting streak between August 1st and September 3rd. He broke the prior Dodgers franchise record set by Zack Wheat who had hit in 29 straight games, and Davis earned National League Player of the Month honors for August with a .459 average.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1961 Topps #506
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (17): 1961-1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2001 Topps Archives Autographs #TAA70
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 150 in the Beckett online database as of 1/26/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
January 17, 2023 from Greg Morris Cards - Los Angeles, CA
On the evening of January 8th, I found myself sitting in Terminal C of the Philadelphia International Airport waiting to board my flight to Dallas. Earlier that day, I had enjoyed watching our oldest son Doug at a winter track meet as he pole vaulted for his high school. I was in a good mood despite the the fact that like most flights that day, my flight had been delayed. This was for a work trip, and I was doing my best to stay positive and keep myself in the post-holiday happiness hangover that had lingered into the year's second week. eBay seller Greg Morris Cards, based out of Los Angeles, somehow seems to post cards from various vintage baseball card set breaks on a weekly basis, with the cards typically all in fantastic condition. With time to kill, knowing that bidding on baseball cards was a surefire good mood sustainer, and having only 40 cards so far for our 1969 Topps set, I pleasantly passed the time by bidding on 62 commons, all with no previous bidders, and all ending within the next 30 hours.
The next afternoon, while on a break at our work conference in the Hilton Anatole, I checked on the auctions, noting I had been outbid on a few, but was still the high bidder for most of the 62 cards. That night, as auctions were close to ending, and as I was enjoying a few adult beverages at the fine Rodeo Goat establishment across the street from the Hilton, my Apple Watch began vibrating every few seconds as I was outbid on dozens of auctions. When the dust had settled, I had won 24 new cards at an average price of about $2.50 per card. This Davis card was $4.25, and arrived a week after I had made the return trip home from Dallas.
The Card / Dodgers Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
Being able to identify old ballparks or spring training locations is my baseball blindspot. I can pick out Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium easily on baseball cards from the 1970s and 1980s, but I've got no hope of being able to identify where Davis is standing in this photo. At first glance, it seems as if he's standing in a parking lot across the street from the Dodgers' spring training home. The back of the card highlights his Dodgers team lead in 1968 in hits, triples and stolen bases. No one else was really close. Tom Haller (#310) was second in hits (135) and triples (5), while Zoilo Versalles (#38) was a distant second in stolen bases with 6.
This is one of 83 cards reprinted in the now classic 1982 Dover Publications Reprints set, which if I remember correctly featured reprints of classic baseball cards you'd have to separate from perforated pages.
Accuracy Index: Topps scores a solid 5 for featuring the long-time Dodgers' outfielder in a Dodgers uniform.
1969 Season
As mentioned above, Davis batted a career-high .311 in 1969, stringing together a 31-game hitting streak between August 1st and September 3rd. He broke the prior Dodgers franchise record set by Zack Wheat who had hit in 29 straight games, and Davis earned National League Player of the Month honors for August with a .459 average.
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First Mainstream Card: 1961 Topps #506
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (17): 1961-1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2001 Topps Archives Autographs #TAA70
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 150 in the Beckett online database as of 1/26/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
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