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David John Giusti
San Diego Padres
Pitcher
Born: November 27, 1939, Seneca Falls, NY
Signed: Signed by the Houston Colt .45s as an amateur free agent, June 16, 1961
Major League Teams: Houston Colt .45s 1962, 1964; Houston Astros 1965-1968; St. Louis Cardinals 1969; Pittsburgh Pirates 1970-1976; Oakland Athletics 1977; Chicago Cubs 1977
World Series Appearances: Pittsburgh Pirates 1971
Dave Giusti began his big league career as a starting pitcher in Houston, but he found his most success as a closer for the Pirates dynasty that won five National League East pennants between 1970 and 1975. Giusti won at least 11 games in three seasons in a row between 1966 and 1968, winning 15 games in 1966. After an unremarkable season with the Cardinals in 1969, he was dealt to the Pirates and began his multi-season reign as one of the best closers in the game.
Dave Giusti began his big league career as a starting pitcher in Houston, but he found his most success as a closer for the Pirates dynasty that won five National League East pennants between 1970 and 1975. Giusti won at least 11 games in three seasons in a row between 1966 and 1968, winning 15 games in 1966. After an unremarkable season with the Cardinals in 1969, he was dealt to the Pirates and began his multi-season reign as one of the best closers in the game.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #140
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Padres Team Set / Accuracy Index -16
1969 Season
On October 11, 1968, the Astros traded Giusti and Dave Adlesh (#341) to the Cardinals for Tommy Smith and Johnny Edwards (#186). Three days later, Giusti was the 3rd pick by the Padres in the 1968 expansion draft, as the Cardinals had left him unprotected. He'd never suit up with the Padres as they traded him back to the Cardinals on December 3, 1968 for Philip Knuckles, Danny Breeden (#536), Ron Davis (#553) and Ed Spiezio (#249). It's odd the Cardinals would leave him exposed to the draft and then deal four players not two months later in order to get him back. Giusti appeared in 22 games for the Cardinals, making 12 starts, and was 3-7 with a 3.61 ERA in 99 2/3 innings pitched. On October 21st, he was on the move again, dealt to the Pirates.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #509
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (16): 1962-1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1989 Swell Baseball Greats #58
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 74 in the Beckett online database as of 10/3/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Building the Set / Card #140
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 63rd 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 / Padres Team Set / Accuracy Index -16
Giusti is shown wearing an Astros uniform, and his uniform #39, which he wore between 1965 and 1968, is visible on his back. By the time this card was printed, Topps had already updated the text on the back to reflect Giusti had been dealt back to the Cardinals from the Padres (see below). It seems as if it would have been fairly easy for Topps to update the team designation on the front of the card to the Cardinals.
The cartoon on the back highlights his 12 complete games in 1968, which topped the 11 complete games thrown by Mike Cuellar (#453).
Accuracy Index: Giusti receives one of the lowest possible scores given the Astros jersey (-5) and hat (-3), along with his not playing for the Padres in 1969 (-2) or ever (-6).
1969 Season
On October 11, 1968, the Astros traded Giusti and Dave Adlesh (#341) to the Cardinals for Tommy Smith and Johnny Edwards (#186). Three days later, Giusti was the 3rd pick by the Padres in the 1968 expansion draft, as the Cardinals had left him unprotected. He'd never suit up with the Padres as they traded him back to the Cardinals on December 3, 1968 for Philip Knuckles, Danny Breeden (#536), Ron Davis (#553) and Ed Spiezio (#249). It's odd the Cardinals would leave him exposed to the draft and then deal four players not two months later in order to get him back. Giusti appeared in 22 games for the Cardinals, making 12 starts, and was 3-7 with a 3.61 ERA in 99 2/3 innings pitched. On October 21st, he was on the move again, dealt to the Pirates.
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First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #509
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (16): 1962-1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1989 Swell Baseball Greats #58
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 74 in the Beckett online database as of 10/3/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog
1965 Topps Blog
#97 Buddy Bradford - Chicago White Sox / #99 Twins Rookie Stars
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