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Richard Joseph Tracewski
Detroit Tigers
Infield
Born: February 3, 1935, Eynon, PA
Signed: Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1953 season
Major League Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers 1962-1965; Detroit Tigers 1966-1969
World Series Appearances: Los Angeles Dodgers 1963, 1965; Detroit Tigers 1968
As a Manager: Detroit Tigers 1979
A light-hitting back-up infielder, Dick Tracewski won four World Series rings over a baseball career that spanned five decades. Tracewski played in at least 100 games twice during his playing career, in 1963 and 1964. He was the starting second baseman in all four games of the 1963 World Series, when the Dodgers swept the Yankees. Tracewski was at second base for the Dodgers on September 9, 1965 when Sandy Koufax pitched a perfect game against the Cubs, and he also started four of the seven games at second for the Dodgers in the 1965 World Series when his club prevailed over the Twins. On December 15, 1965, Tracewski was dealt to the Tigers for pitcher Phil Regan (#535), and his long-time connection with Detroit began. He appeared in 90 games for the Tigers team that defeated the Cardinals in seven games in the 1968 World Series. In parts of eight seasons, Tracewski batted .213 with 262 hits.
After managing in the Tigers' minor league system for two seasons (1970-1971), he began a 24-year stint as the first or third base coach with the big league Tigers. He briefly served as their interim manager in 1979 before the arrival of Sparky Anderson. Both Tracewski and Anderson retired together following the 1995 season, having won the 1984 World Series.
As a Manager: Detroit Tigers 1979
A light-hitting back-up infielder, Dick Tracewski won four World Series rings over a baseball career that spanned five decades. Tracewski played in at least 100 games twice during his playing career, in 1963 and 1964. He was the starting second baseman in all four games of the 1963 World Series, when the Dodgers swept the Yankees. Tracewski was at second base for the Dodgers on September 9, 1965 when Sandy Koufax pitched a perfect game against the Cubs, and he also started four of the seven games at second for the Dodgers in the 1965 World Series when his club prevailed over the Twins. On December 15, 1965, Tracewski was dealt to the Tigers for pitcher Phil Regan (#535), and his long-time connection with Detroit began. He appeared in 90 games for the Tigers team that defeated the Cardinals in seven games in the 1968 World Series. In parts of eight seasons, Tracewski batted .213 with 262 hits.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #162
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Tigers Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
1969 Season
Tracewski played in his final big league games in 1969, and in 66 games for the Tigers he batted .139 (11 for 79). He started only 18 times all season at shortstop (10), second base (6) and third base (2). Following the season, Detroit offered him a minor league coaching job, which he quickly accepted.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #154
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1964-1969, 1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2018 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-DT
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 45 in the Beckett online database as of 11/1/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Building the Set / Card #162
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 85th 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 less than a dollar.
The Card / Tigers Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
The uniform number Tracewski wore throughout his big league career, #44, is visible here on his right sleeve. Topps reprinted this card in 2018 as part of its Topps Heritage release, with Tracewski adding his autograph to the cards. And while this is his last Topps flagship appearance as a player, he shows up in the 1973 Topps set as a coach on Billy Martin's (#547) manager card. The back of the card provides a lengthy summary of his minor league career, and the cartoon tells collectors how he found himself in Detroit.
Accuracy Index: It's another +5 for this card, as Tracewski is shown wearing a Tigers uniform in a photo not seen before.
1969 Season
Tracewski played in his final big league games in 1969, and in 66 games for the Tigers he batted .139 (11 for 79). He started only 18 times all season at shortstop (10), second base (6) and third base (2). Following the season, Detroit offered him a minor league coaching job, which he quickly accepted.
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First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #154
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1964-1969, 1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2018 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-DT
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 45 in the Beckett online database as of 11/1/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog
1965 Topps Blog
#125 Ray Sadecki - San Francisco Giants / #127 Kevin Collins - New York Mets
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