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Steven Absher Hamilton
New York Yankees
Pitcher
Born: November 30, 1934, Columbia, KY
Signed: Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent, April 3, 1958
Major League Teams: Cleveland Indians 1961; Washington Senators 1962-1963; New York Yankees 1963-1970; Chicago White Sox 1970; San Francisco Giants 1971; Chicago Cubs 1972
World Series Appearances: New York Yankees 1963-1964
Died: December 2, 1997, Morehead, KY (age 63)
Steve Hamilton established several basketball records while attending Morehead State, and was later a power forward/center for the Minneapolis Lakers. After playing for the Lakers in the 1959 NBA Finals, during which his team was swept by the Celtics, Hamilton left the basketball court and set his sights on the baseball diamond. He'd establish himself as a reliable lefty reliever during his 12-year big league career, playing primarily for the Yankees. He appeared in the 1963 and 1964 World Series for the Yankees, although his team lost to the Dodgers and then the Cardinals. Hamilton earned a save in Game 6 of the 1964 World Series, recording the final two outs of the game after Jim Bouton had pitched 8 1/3 innings. He's one of only two people, along with Gene Conley, to have played in a World Series and in the NBA Finals.
Died: December 2, 1997, Morehead, KY (age 63)
Steve Hamilton established several basketball records while attending Morehead State, and was later a power forward/center for the Minneapolis Lakers. After playing for the Lakers in the 1959 NBA Finals, during which his team was swept by the Celtics, Hamilton left the basketball court and set his sights on the baseball diamond. He'd establish himself as a reliable lefty reliever during his 12-year big league career, playing primarily for the Yankees. He appeared in the 1963 and 1964 World Series for the Yankees, although his team lost to the Dodgers and then the Cardinals. Hamilton earned a save in Game 6 of the 1964 World Series, recording the final two outs of the game after Jim Bouton had pitched 8 1/3 innings. He's one of only two people, along with Gene Conley, to have played in a World Series and in the NBA Finals.
Hamilton's best season came in 1965 when he was 3-1 with a 1.39 ERA in 46 appearances, pitching 58 1/3 innings as one of the Yankees' best relievers. He briefly served as the Yankees' closer in 1968, recording 11 saves. Late in his career, Hamilton developed an eephus-style pitch dubbed the "folly-floater." He retired after the 1972 season with a career record of 40-31 in 421 games, a 3.05 ERA in 663 innings pitched and 42 saves. Hamilton was the Tigers' pitching coach in 1975.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #120
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Yankees Team Set / Accuracy Index +1
1969 Season
The tall lefty came in from the bullpen 38 times for the Yankees, going 3-4 with a 3.32 ERA in 57 innings pitched. He saved a pair of games, with either Jack Aker (#612) or Lindy McDaniel (#191) getting most of the save opportunities for the Yankees.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #171
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10): 1963-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1972 Topps #766
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 45 in the Beckett online database as of 6/24/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
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 43rd 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.
The Card / Yankees Team Set / Accuracy Index +1
This card uses the same photo from Hamilton's 1964 Topps card, meaning it was taken at least six years prior to the card's release. Given his 1965 Topps card likely uses a photo from the same session, the player making a cameo in the back is likely Tony Kubek, who wore #10 with the Yankees and last played in 1965. The cartoon on the back highlights Hamilton's time with the Lakers, and the write-up shorts him a pair of saves. Hamilton saved 11 games in 1968, and not nine.
Accuracy Index: Hamilton scores the lowest possible score without going negative given he's shown in the correct uniform (+5) but with a photo used before by Topps (-4).
1969 Season
The tall lefty came in from the bullpen 38 times for the Yankees, going 3-4 with a 3.32 ERA in 57 innings pitched. He saved a pair of games, with either Jack Aker (#612) or Lindy McDaniel (#191) getting most of the save opportunities for the Yankees.
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First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #171
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10): 1963-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1972 Topps #766
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 45 in the Beckett online database as of 6/24/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
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