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William Hambly Stoneman
Montreal Expos
Pitcher
Born: April 7, 1944, Oak Park, IL
Drafted: Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 31st round on the 1966 amateur draft, June 7, 1966
Major League Teams: Chicago Cubs 1967-1968; Montreal Expos 1969-1973; California Angels 1974
Bill Stoneman was one of the first stars of the expansion Expos, pitching a no-hitter against the Phillies on April 17, 1969, in the ninth game of the franchise's history. It was only Stoneman's fifth start overall in the majors. He was an 11-game winner in 1969, leading the league with 123 walks and 12 hit batters. In 1971, Stoneman would again lead the league with 146 walks, but he'd go 17-16 with a 3.15 ERA for the Expos, striking out a career-high 251 in 294 2/3 innings pitched. Stoneman would be named to the National League All-Star team in 1972, and at the end of the season, on October 2, 1972, he'd throw his second career no-hitter. Stoneman worked over 200 innings in each of the Expos' first four seasons. Injuries would curtail his career in 1973, and he'd appear in his last big league game with the Angels in 1974. Stoneman had a lifetime record of 54-85 with a 4.08 ERA in 245 games pitched. He struck out 934 while walking 602.
He returned to the Expos in 1983, working in the team's front office, and he'd serve as their general manager in 1987 and 1988. He became the general manager of the Angels in 1999, hiring Mike Scioscia to manage the club, and the Angels won their first World Championship in 2002. He'd step down as Angels' general manager in 2007, returning briefly on an interim basis in 2015.
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 41st 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 $1.25. If I stick to composing posts five times a week, I should go through the stack and be caught up by the end of January. But as the summer begins, that's becoming a bigger If.
The Card / Expos Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
Stoneman's rookie card can be found in the 1968 Topps set, and this photo, with him wearing a Cubs uniform, is likely taken during the same time as the photo used for his rookie card. His SABR biography mentions he received his master's in education from the University of Oklahoma, closing the loop on the cartoon on the back of the card.
Accuracy Index: It's another -8, given the hatlessness (-3) if that's a word, and the Cubs uniform (-5).
1969 Season
Stoneman was the second starting pitcher in Expos history, with Mudcat Grant (#306) getting the opening day start. Stoneman would make more starts than any other Expos pitcher in their inaugural season, going 11-19 in 42 games overall and 36 starts. He'd lead the team in wins, innings pitched (235 2/3) and strikeouts (185). As mentioned above, he also led the league in walks and hit batters.
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First Mainstream Card: 1968 Topps #179
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1968-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1974 Topps #352
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 41 in the Beckett online database as of 6/11/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
#66 Orioles Rookie Stars / #68 Dave Duncan - Oakland Athletics
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