#43 Joe Niekro - Chicago Cubs

Joseph Franklin Niekro
Chicago Cubs
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  185
Born:  November 7, 1944, Martins Ferry, OH
Drafted:  Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 3rd round of the 1966 amateur draft, June 7, 1966
Major League Teams:  Chicago Cubs 1967-1969; San Diego Padres 1969; Detroit Tigers 1970-1972; Atlanta Braves 1973-1974; Houston Astros 1975-1985; New York Yankees 1985-1987; Minnesota Twins 1987-1988

World Series Appearances:  Minnesota Twins 1987
Died:  October 27, 2006, Tampa, FL (age 61)

Like his older brother Phil Niekro (#355), Joe Niekro relied on a deceptive knuckle ball to baffle batters over 22 seasons in the major leagues.  Joe Niekro spent eight seasons with the Cubs, Padres, Tigers and Braves before being sold to the Astros on April 6, 1975, for $35,000.  He'd pitch in 11 seasons for the Astros, enjoying the most productive years of his lengthy career.  His best season came in 1979 when he was 21-11 with a 3.00 ERA for the Astors in 38 starts.  Niekro led the league in wins and with five shutouts, finishing as runner-up to Bruce Sutter in that year's Cy Young Award voting.

The durable Niekro won at least 10 games in 11 different seasons, and led the league in games started twice, in 1983 and 1984 with 38 each year.  He'd win a World Series ring with the Twins in 1987, the same season he was suspended for 10 games when an emery board and sandpaper flew out of his pocket during a mound visit by the umpires.  For his career, Niekro was 221-204 in 702 games pitched with a 3.59 ERA and 1,747 strikeouts over 3,584 1/3 innings pitched.  He made exactly 500 career starts, which is currently 49th on the all-time list.  His 172 wild pitches, courtesy of his knuckle ball, are currently 24th on the all-time list.  The Niekro brothers' combined win total of 539 is still the major league record for wins by a pair of brothers.  Nikero's son, Lance Niekro, played in parts of the four seasons with the Giants between 2003 and 2007.

Building the Set / Card #99
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set.  That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon.  I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.

This is the 22nd of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York.  My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside.  After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far.  With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298.  The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me a surprisingly low $1.25.  If I stick to composing posts five times a week, and I'm already slipping off that pace a little, I should go through the stack and be caught up by the week of January 22, 2024!

The Card / Cubs Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

The photo used here likely dates from 1966, and similar photos were used for Niekro's 1967 and 1968 Topps cards.  The cartoon on the back is amusing, with the cartoon Brave kind of looking like Phil Niekro.  The write-up on the back discusses his 14 wins in 1968, and his 11 RBIs at the plate in 1967.  Niekro was a lifetime .156 batter with one home run to his name.  Appropriately enough, the home run was hit off his older brother Phil on May 29, 1976, in a game the Astros would win over the Braves by a score of 4-3.

Accuracy Index:  Niekro was with the Cubs for four games at the start of the 1969 season (see below), so this card scores a 5 for accuracy.

1969 Season
On April 25, 1969, Niekro, Frankie Libran and Gary Ross (#404) were traded to the expansion Padres for Dick Selma (#197).  Despite his 8-17 record with the Padres, Niekro was the club's best pitcher, making 31 starts and earning a 3.70 ERA in 202 innings pitched.  His 111 strikeouts were two short of the team lead, held by Clay Kirby (#637) who was 7-20 in 35 starts for San Diego.  Niekro's time with the Padres was short, as he was dealt to the Tigers on December 4th for Dave Campbell (#324) and Pat Dobson (#231).

1967 Topps #536

1975 Topps #595

1979 Topps #68

1985 Topps #295

1988 Topps #473

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1967 Topps #536
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (22):  1967-1988
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2004 Upper Deck Yankees Classics #37
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  164 in the Beckett online database as of 5/29/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#42 Tommy Harper - Seattle Pilots / #44 Danny Cater - Oakland Athletics

#42 Tommy Harper - Seattle Pilots

Tommy Harper
Seattle Pilots
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  165
Born:  October 14, 1940, Oak Grove, LA
Signed:  Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent before 1960 season
Major League Teams:  Cincinnati Reds 1962-1967; Cleveland Indians 1968; Seattle Pilots 1969; Milwaukee Brewers 1970-1971; Boston Red Sox 1972-1974; California Angels 1975; Oakland Athletics 1975; Baltimore Orioles 1976

Tommy Harper was considered one of the first (if not the first) superstars for the Milwaukee Brewers, joining the exclusive 30-30 Club in 1970 when he hit 31 home runs and stole 38 bases.  At the time, the only other club members were Hank Aaron (#100), Bobby Bonds (#630), Willie Mays (#190) and Ken Williams.  A few years later, he was one of the top hitters for the 1973 Red Sox, hitting .281 and leading the league with 54 stolen bases.  His only other time topping the league in stolen bases came in 1969 during the only year of the Seattle Pilots' existence.  Mostly a left fielder throughout his career, Harper was the team's opening day second baseman and finished the season as their regular third baseman.

Harper played 15 seasons in the majors, hitting .257 with 146 career home runs and 408 stolen bases.  He finished in the top ten in the league in stolen bases ten different times and his career tally currently has him sitting at 68th on the all-time stolen base leaders list.  After retiring, Harper served as a coach for the Red Sox (1980-1984, 2000-2002) and Expos (1990-1999).  He was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2010.

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

Building the Set / Card #98
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set.  That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon.  I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.

This is the 21st of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York.  My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside.  After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far.  With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298.  The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me $1.25.  If I stick to composing posts five times a week, and I'm already slipping off that pace a little, I should go through the stack and be caught up by the week of January 22, 2024!

The Card / Pilots Team Set / Accuracy Index -8

Harper is wearing an away jersey of one of his two former teams here, either the Reds or the Indians, with whom he had spent the 1968 season.  Given the Indians had piping around the neck of their 1968 uniforms, and as it's unlikely Topps would have gotten a picture of Harper in his Indians gear, I'm going with this being a Reds away jersey.  The back of the card summarizes his path to the expansion Pilots.  Drafted as the third pick in the 1968 expansion draft, I imagine it was a little surprising for Harper to have been left unprotected by Cleveland.  On November 21, 1967, less than a year before the expansion draft, the Indians had dealt George Culver (#635), Bob Raudman and Fred Whitfield (#518) to the Reds in exchange for Harper.

Accuracy Index:  Harper loses five points for the Reds jersey and another three for being hatless.

1969 Season
In a mostly forgettable season with the Pilots, if not for Jim Bouton's Ball Four book, Harper was the team's opening day second baseman.  He has the distinction of starting the most games ever for the Pilots with 137, which included 58 starts at third base, 57 starts at second base, 21 starts in center field and a start in right field.  Given a permanent green light by Pilots' manager Joe Schultz (#254), Harper stole 73 bases to lead the league.  (He also led the league with being caught stealing 18 times.)  Overall, Harper batted .235 with 78 runs scored, nine home runs and 41 RBIs.

1963 Topps #158

1967 Topps #392

1970 Topps #370

1975 Topps #537

1977 Topps #414

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1963 Topps #158
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15):  1963-1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1983 Galasso 1969 Seattle Pilots #37
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  102 in the Beckett online database as of 5/20/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#41 Bob Barton - San Francisco Giants / #43 Joe Niekro - Chicago Cubs

#41 Bob Barton - San Francisco Giants

Robert Wilbur Barton
San Francisco Giants
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  175
Born:  July 30, 1941, Norwood, OH
Signed:  Signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent before 1959 season
Major League Teams:  San Francisco Giants 1965-1969; San Diego Padres 1970-1972; Cincinnati Reds 1973; San Diego Padres 1974

Died:  January 15, 2018, Vista, CA (age 76)

A back-up catcher for the bulk of his career, Bob Barton spent parts of 10 seasons in the major leagues primarily with the Giants and Padres.  With the Giants, Barton saw infrequent playing time as the back-up for regular catcher Tom Haller (#310) and later Dick Dietz (#293).  Traded to the Padres on December 5, 1969, with Bobby Etheridge (#604) and Ron Herbel (#251) for Frank Reberger (#637), Barton would finally get the chance to start more games.  He was the Padres' back-up for Chris Cannizzaro (#131) in 1970, but took over regular catching duties for the relatively new expansion club in 1971.  Barton appeared in a career-high 121 games that season, batting .250 with five home runs and 23 RBIs, while leading all National League catchers with 42 runners caught stealing.

The success was short-lived as Barton would revert to being a back-up in 1972 and over the final few seasons of his playing career.  He'd return to the Padres for a final season in 1974, appearing in 30 games but leading all catchers with a 51.2% caught stealing percentage.  Barton played in 393 games in the big leagues, batting .226 while collecting 31 doubles, 9 home runs and 66 RBIs.  He threw out 125 would be base-stealers, or 41% overall for his career.

Building the Set / Card #97
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set.  That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon.  I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.

This is the 20th of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York.  My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside.  After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far.  With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298.  The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me less than a dollar.  If I stick to composing posts five times a week, and I'm already slipping off that pace a little, I should go through the stack and be caught up by the week of January 22, 2024!

The Card / Giants Team Set / Accuracy Index +1

Topps recycled the exact photo used for Barton's 1968 Topps card, which uses a photo likely taken from the same session as the photos used for his 1966 and 1967 Topps cards.  The back of the card rightfully points out Barton is known as a "strong-armed" and a "top-notch receiver."

Accuracy Index:  Barton slips to +1 even though he's pictured correctly in a Giants uniform (+5), given the photo had been used the year before (-4).

1969 Season
Barton started the season as one of three catchers on the Giants' roster, behind Dietz and Jack Hiatt (#204) in the pecking order.  Dietz and Hiatt got most of the time behind the plate, with Barton not making a start until April 27th.  Barton would make 33 starts overall, starting every day for a stretch between July 4th and July 25th.  He'd hit just 212 during that 19-game run, which may explain why Dietz took over again for the majority of the games to finish the season.  Barton appeared in 49 games, batting .170 overall with only two doubles and nary a home run.

1966 Topps #511

1968 Topps #351

1971 Topps #589

1972 Topps #40

1973 Topps #626

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1966 Topps #511
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1966-1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1973 Topps #626
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  31 in the Beckett online database as of 5/17/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#40 Mayo Smith MG - Detroit Tigers / #42 Tommy Harper - Seattle Pilots

#38 Zoilo Versalles - San Diego Padres

Zoilo Casanova Versalles
San Diego Padres
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  146
Born:  December 18, 1939, La Habana, Cuba
Signed:  Signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent before 1958 season
Major League Teams:  Washington Senators 1959-1960; Minnesota Twins 1961-1967; Los Angeles Dodgers 1968; Cleveland Indians 1969; Washington Senators 1969; Atlanta Braves 1971

World Series Appearances:  Minnesota Twins 1965
Died:  June 9, 1995, Bloomington, MN (age 55)

A two-time All-Star, a two-time Gold Glove winner and the improbable 1965 A.L. MVP, Zoilo Versalles has been described as the catalyst for the 1965 Twins team, leading them to their first World Championship.  During that career year, he led the league in runs scored (126), doubles (45) and triples (12) while hitting 19 home runs and driving in a career-high 77.  He also had a .273 batting average which almost topped his career high of .280 from the 1961 season.  He received 19 out of the 20 first place votes for A.L. MVP, with his teammate Tony Oliva (#600) receiving the other first plate vote.  Some of the credit for his successful season has been attributed to Twins' third base coach Billy Martin (#547).  The Twins lost to the Dodgers in the World Series in seven games, with Versalles hitting .286 with a home run and four RBIs.

Following that magical 1965 season, Versalles began a steady decline.  Over the next five seasons, he'd hit .217 in 588 games, spending time with the Twins, Dodgers, Indians, expansion Senators and finally the Braves.  Despite his prior Gold Gloves, he led the league in errors three times - 1965, 1966 and 1967.  Towards the end of his career, he spent a season playing in the Mexican League in 1970 and another season in Japan with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in 1972.  In 1,400 big league games, Versalles hit .242 with 95 home runs and 471 RBIs.  He was posthumously elected to the Twins Hall of Fame in 2006.

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

Building the Set / Card #96
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set.  That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon.  I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.

This is the 19th of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York.  My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside.  After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far.  With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298.  The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me $1.25.  If I stick to composing posts five times a week, and I'm already slipping off that pace a little, I should go through the stack and be caught up by the week of January 22, 2024!

The Card / Padres Team Set / Accuracy Index -16

If an alien landed on Earth and wanted to understand why the 1969 Topps set is considered one of the worst in the seven-decade run of Topps flagship sets, I'd show this card.  This is one of the 1969 Topps-iest cards in the set.  Even Versalles looks confused and suspicious.  This has to be a Twins uniform he's wearing here, as his 1968 team (the Dodgers) didn't wear pinstripes.  Topps would go back to this exact photo for some reason for Versalles' 1970 card.

On the back, Topps cleverly uses Zorro in the cartoon to highlight his 1965 A.L. MVP win, as that was Versalles' nickname.  The brief write-up on the back alerts collectors Versalles is no longer on the Padres, which raises the question, why couldn't the front of the card have been updated too?

Accuracy Index:  Versalles climbs the leaderboard with a -16 score, compiled as follows - never played for the Padres (-6), former team uniform (-5), hatless (-3) and not the correct 1969 team (-2).

1969 Season
On October 14, 1968, Versalles was the 20th pick by the Padres in the expansion draft, left unprotected by the Dodgers.  A month and a half later, on December 2nd (according to Baseball Reference), Versalles was sent to the Indians as the player to be named later in a deal that had sent first baseman Bill Davis (#304) to the Padres.  Topps cites the Padres receiving two players for Versalles, but Baseball Reference lists only Davis.  Versalles was the opening day third baseman for the Indians, and he'd appear in 72 games, batting .226.  On July 26th, he was sold to the Senators, where he'd finish out the season.  In 31 games with Washington, Versalles batted .267, making 15 starts at shortstop and third base.

1961 Topps #21

1963 Topps #349

1965 Topps #157

1968 Topps #315

1970 Topps #365

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1961 Topps #21
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1961-1970, 1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2006 SP Legendary Cuts #98
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  85 in the Beckett online database as of 5/16/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#37 Curt Motton - Baltimore Orioles / #39 Dick Hughes - St. Louis Cardinals

#37 Curt Motton - Baltimore Orioles

Curtell Howard Motton
Baltimore Orioles
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'8"  Weight:  164
Born:  September 24, 1940, Darnell, LA
Signed:  Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent, July 20, 1961
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1967-1971; Milwaukee Brewers 1972; California Angels 1972; Baltimore Orioles 1973-1974

World Series Appearances:  Baltimore Orioles 1969
Died:  January 21, 2010, Parkton, MD (age 69)

Curt Motton played in parts of eight seasons in the majors, almost exclusively with the Orioles, as a back-up corner outfielder and pinch-hitter.  Motton was a member of the Orioles squad that won three consecutive American League pennants between 1969 and 1971, winning the World Series in 1970 in five games against the Reds.  During his Orioles tenure, Motton served as an occasional back-up for Don Buford (#478) and Frank Robinson (#250) and was a frequently used right-handed bat off the bench.  He saw his most action in 1968, platooning in left field with Curt Blefary (#458) and appearing in 83 games, attaining career highs in both home runs (8) and RBIs (25), but batting just .198.  He'd enjoy his best season in 1969, appearing in 56 games and batting .303 with over half his appearances coming as a pinch-hitter or pinch-runner.  In Game 2 of the 1969 ALCS, Motton connected for a game-winning, pinch-hit single to right, scoring Boog Powell (#15) for the only run of the game.  The Orioles would go on to sweep the Twins in three games in that series.

For his career, Motton batted .213 in 316 games, with 25 home runs and 89 RBIs.  He was a Giants minor league instructor between 1981 and 1985, and a coach with the Rochester Red Wings, the Orioles' top farm team, between 1986 and 1988.  Motton joined manager Robinson's staff on the Orioles as their first base coach between 1989 and 1991, and remained within the Orioles' organization as a scout until the early 2000s.

Building the Set / Card #95
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set.  That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon.  I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.

This is the 18th of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York.  My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside.  After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far.  With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298.  The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me less than a dollar.  If I stick to composing posts five times a week, and I'm already slipping off that pace a little, I should go through the stack and be caught up by the week of January 22, 2024!

The Card / Orioles Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

This is Motton's first solo Topps baseball card, as he shared a Rookie Stars card in the 1968 Topps set with pitcher Roger Nelson (#279).  (His photo is flipped on his 1968 rookie card, showing the right-handed hitting Motton batting left.)  His uniform #21, which he would wear during both his stints with the Orioles, is visible on the front of his jersey.  It's odd to me Topps would point out on the back that Motton is the shortest player on the Orioles roster, at 5'8".  For the record, his teammate Buford is listed as 5'7" by Baseball Reference.

Accuracy Index:  There are a ton of bad-looking baseball cards in this set, but occasionally we get a great looking card, like this one of Motton.  It lands at +5 for the non-recycled Orioles photo.

1969 Season
As mentioned above, this was Motton's best season and only 17 of his 56 appearances were starts.  He batted .286 (8 for 28) during the regular season as a pinch-hitter, with two home runs and eight RBIs.  His big pinch-hit in Game 2 of the ALCS came on October 5th against reliever Ron Perranoski (#77), who had just entered the game after Twins' starter Dave Boswell (#459) had pitched 10 2/3 innings.  Orioles starter Dave McNally (#340) pitched all 11 innings for the win.

1968 Topps #549

1970 Topps #261

1971 Topps #684

1972 Topps #393

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1968 Topps #549
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1968-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1988 ProCards #218
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  33 in the Beckett online database as of 5/16/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#36 Luke Walker - Pittsburgh Pirates / #38 Zoilo Versalles - San Diego Padres

#36 Luke Walker - Pittsburgh Pirates

James Luke Walker
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  190
Born:  September 2, 1943, DeKalb, TX
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent
Major League Teams:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1965-1966, 1968-1973; Detroit Tigers 1974

World Series Appearances:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1971

Luke Walker pitched in parts of nine seasons in the major leagues, with all but his final season spent with the Pirates.  Walker was a classic swingman for the Pirates, appearing in 91 games overall and making 42 starts.  He was a key component of a Pirates pitching staff that would help lead the team to National League pennants in 1970, 1971 and 1972.  His finest season came in 1970 when Walker was 15-6 with a 3.04 ERA in a career-high 42 games pitched.  He threw five complete games that season, including three shutouts and had three saves, while striking out a career best 124.  Walker would win a World Series ring with the Pirates in 1971, but his sole World Series start didn't go as planned.  Tasked to start Game 4, Walker was pulled after 2/3 of an inning, having allowed three runs.  But the Pirates would come back to win that game, and ultimately defeat the Orioles in seven games.  His name is still in the history books, as he's the first pitcher to throw a pitch in a World Series night game.

Walker spent his final year in the majors with the Tigers, and pitched for the Astros' top farm team in 1975 before retiring.  He earned a lifetime record of 45-47 with a 3.64 ERA in 243 games pitched.

Building the Set / Card #94
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set.  That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon.  I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.

This is the 17th of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York.  My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside.  After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far.  With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298.  The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me less than a dollar.  If I stick to composing posts five times a week, and I'm already slipping off that pace a little, I should go through the stack and be caught up by the week of January 22, 2024!

The Card / Pirates Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

This photo could easily date back to 1965, as it matches up with photos used for Walker's 1966, 1967 and 1968 Topps cards.  Walker shared Rookie Stars cards with Woody Fryman (#51), Jim Price (#472) and Carl Taylor (#357) for those three Topps sets, before finally getting his own solo card in the 1969 Topps sets.  The back of the card flashes back to 1965, when Walker struck out 197 batters with the Double-A Asheville Tourists, and led the Southern League with a 2.26 ERA.

Accuracy Index:  Walker's card scores a five for using a not previously seen photo of the pitcher in a Pirates uniform.

1969 Season
In his second full season in the majors, Walker was again shuttled between a bullpen and starting role, appearing in 31 games overall and making 15 starts.  He was 4-6 with a 3.64 ERA in 118 2/3 innings pitched as the Pirates finished in third place in the N.L. East.  Walker threw a complete game shutout against the Mets on September 19th.

1966 Topps #498

1970 Topps #322

1971 Topps #534

1972 Topps #471

1975 Topps #474

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1966 Topps #498
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10):  1966-1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1975 Topps #474
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  45 in the Beckett online database as of 5/16/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#35 Joe Morgan - Houston Astros / #37 Curt Motton - Baltimore Orioles