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John Alban Edwards
Houston Astros
Catcher
Born: June 10, 1938, Columbus, OH
Signed: Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent before 1959 season
Major League Teams: Cincinnati Reds 1961-1967; St. Louis Cardinals 1968; Houston Astros 1969-1974
World Series Appearances: Cincinnati Reds 1961; St. Louis Cardinals 1968
Known for his excellent defensive skills behind the plate, Johnny Edwards was a three-time All-Star and a two-time Gold Glove winner in 1963 and 1964. Edwards went to the World Series with the Reds in 1961, his rookie season, starting three games and batting .364 (4 for 11) in the losing effort against the Yankees. His finest seasons came between 1963 and 1965 when he established himself as one of the best catchers in the National League. Edwards batted a career-high .281 in 1964 and hit a career-high 17 home runs in 1965. He was behind the plate for both games in 1965 during which Reds' pitcher Jim Maloney (#362) threw ten innings without allowing a hit. With Johnny Bench (#95) arriving, Edwards was dealt to the Cardinals following the 1967 season and he'd serve as a back-up to Tim McCarver (#475). He'd go to his second World Series in 1968, but received only one at-bat in Game 6 as a pinch-hitter.
Known for his excellent defensive skills behind the plate, Johnny Edwards was a three-time All-Star and a two-time Gold Glove winner in 1963 and 1964. Edwards went to the World Series with the Reds in 1961, his rookie season, starting three games and batting .364 (4 for 11) in the losing effort against the Yankees. His finest seasons came between 1963 and 1965 when he established himself as one of the best catchers in the National League. Edwards batted a career-high .281 in 1964 and hit a career-high 17 home runs in 1965. He was behind the plate for both games in 1965 during which Reds' pitcher Jim Maloney (#362) threw ten innings without allowing a hit. With Johnny Bench (#95) arriving, Edwards was dealt to the Cardinals following the 1967 season and he'd serve as a back-up to Tim McCarver (#475). He'd go to his second World Series in 1968, but received only one at-bat in Game 6 as a pinch-hitter.
Moving on to the Astros, Edwards would receive MVP votes in 1969 based primarily on his defense. He'd play five more seasons in Houston before retiring. Edwards' 8,925 putouts as a catcher are currently 24th all-time and his .992 career fielding percentage is 80th all-time. In 1,470 games, he batted .242 with 1,106 hits, 81 home runs and 524 RBIs.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #200
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Astros Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
1969 Season
On October 11, 1968, the Cardinals traded Edwards nd Tommy Smith to the Astros for Dave Addles and Dave Giusti (#98). Edwards started behind the plate for 140 of the Astros' 162 games, with Don Bryant (#499) and Marty Martinez (#337) getting the other 22 starts. Edwards batted .232 with six home runs and 50 RBIs, while leading all National League catchers in putouts (1,135), assists (79) and fielding percentage (.994). He was second in runners caught stealing with 49. Despite the league leading defensive numbers, Bench took home the Gold Glove honors, his second win in what would be a 10-year streak.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #302
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13): 1962-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1974 Topps #635
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 84 in the Beckett online database as of 11/26/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Milestone card #200! 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 123rd 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.
The Card / Astros Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
Topps isn't fooling anyone here, and Edwards is wearing a Reds jersey. This is essentially the same photo from his 1967 Topps card, except the photographer asked him to remove his hat and look slightly into the distance. The back of the card explains that Edwards is now with the Astros and highlights his 1961 World Series batting average. I know when I was a younger collector, the way I sometimes found out about trades was through baseball cards. I imagine it was the same in 1969 for some collectors surprised to see Edwards with "Houston" on the front of his card and not "Cards."
Accuracy Index: Another -8, which is the standard score for wrong jersey (-5), no hat (-3).
1969 Season
On October 11, 1968, the Cardinals traded Edwards nd Tommy Smith to the Astros for Dave Addles and Dave Giusti (#98). Edwards started behind the plate for 140 of the Astros' 162 games, with Don Bryant (#499) and Marty Martinez (#337) getting the other 22 starts. Edwards batted .232 with six home runs and 50 RBIs, while leading all National League catchers in putouts (1,135), assists (79) and fielding percentage (.994). He was second in runners caught stealing with 49. Despite the league leading defensive numbers, Bench took home the Gold Glove honors, his second win in what would be a 10-year streak.
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First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #302
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13): 1962-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1974 Topps #635
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 84 in the Beckett online database as of 11/26/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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