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Leon Lamar Wagner
Cincinnati Reds
Outfield
Born: May 13, 1934, Chattanooga, TN
Signed: Signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent before 1954 season
Major League Teams: San Francisco Giants 1958-1959; St. Louis Cardinals 1960; Los Angeles Angels 1961-1963; Cleveland Indians 1964-1968; Chicago White Sox 1968; San Francisco Giants 1969
Died: January 3, 2004, Los Angeles, CA (age 69)
As one of the first All-Stars in Angels franchise history, left fielder Leon "Daddy Wags" Wagner went 3 for 4, including a two-run home run, in the second 1962 All-Star Game, becoming the first American League player to win All-Star Game MVP honors. Wagner was named to three All-Star Games overall. He peaked with the Angels in the early 1960s, hitting 37 home runs and driving in 107 runs in 1962 while finishing fourth overall in the league's MVP voting. Wagner hit at least 20 home runs in six consecutive seasons between 1961 and 1966, and drove in over 100 runs twice. He was reportedly upset at leaving the Angels, dealt to the Indians in December 1963. Wagner enjoyed a few decent seasons in Cleveland and finished his career as a respected pinch-hitter with the Indians, White Sox and (briefly) the Giants.
As one of the first All-Stars in Angels franchise history, left fielder Leon "Daddy Wags" Wagner went 3 for 4, including a two-run home run, in the second 1962 All-Star Game, becoming the first American League player to win All-Star Game MVP honors. Wagner was named to three All-Star Games overall. He peaked with the Angels in the early 1960s, hitting 37 home runs and driving in 107 runs in 1962 while finishing fourth overall in the league's MVP voting. Wagner hit at least 20 home runs in six consecutive seasons between 1961 and 1966, and drove in over 100 runs twice. He was reportedly upset at leaving the Angels, dealt to the Indians in December 1963. Wagner enjoyed a few decent seasons in Cleveland and finished his career as a respected pinch-hitter with the Indians, White Sox and (briefly) the Giants.
He batted .272 in 1,352 games, collecting 1,202 hits, 150 doubles, 211 home runs and 669 RBIs. Wagner briefly tried acting after his baseball career ended, earning roles in the 1974 film A Woman Under the Influence and in the 1976 film The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings. He fell on hard times later in life, struggling with drug addiction and still apparently resenting his trade from Los Angeles.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #201
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Reds Team Set / Accuracy Index -17
1969 Season
Wagner spent the 1969 season with three different organizations, appearing at the major league level in 11 games with the Giants as a September call-up. On December 5, 1968, the Reds purchased Wagner from the White Sox, but on April 5th, with no spot for Wagner on their roster, the Reds returned him to the White Sox. He'd be released the same day by the White Sox and a month later signed with the Giants. In Triple-A Phoenix, Wagner batted .295 with six home runs and 41 RBIs, leading his teammates to vote the 35-year-old the club's Most Inspirational Player. With the Giants in September, and in his final big league action, Wagner batted .333 (4 for 12) almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter.
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 124th 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 / Reds Team Set / Accuracy Index -17
This is first instance I've come across in the set of Topps at least attempting to change a player's hat logo. Wagner is wearing an Indians uniform here, and it's the same photo Topps used for his 1967 card. They simply changed the color of the "C" on his hat from blue to white and hoped collectors didn't notice. It's a fairly convincing job, and I only caught it when I realized Wagner never played for the Reds, so there's no way Topps would have a picture of him in a Reds uniform.
The caption on the cartoon is wrong, as Wagner was dealt by the Indians to the White Sox in June 1968, and then sold to the Reds by the White Sox in December 1968.
Accuracy Index: It's our first ever -17! Wagner never played for the Reds (-6), and that's not his team in 1969 (-2). He's wearing an Indians uniform (-5) and the photo has been used before (-4). Topps saved itself from losing 3 more points by leaving the "C" on the hat and changing its color.
1969 Season
Wagner spent the 1969 season with three different organizations, appearing at the major league level in 11 games with the Giants as a September call-up. On December 5, 1968, the Reds purchased Wagner from the White Sox, but on April 5th, with no spot for Wagner on their roster, the Reds returned him to the White Sox. He'd be released the same day by the White Sox and a month later signed with the Giants. In Triple-A Phoenix, Wagner batted .295 with six home runs and 41 RBIs, leading his teammates to vote the 35-year-old the club's Most Inspirational Player. With the Giants in September, and in his final big league action, Wagner batted .333 (4 for 12) almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter.
The Giants released him on October 8th, resigning him as a minor league free agent for the 1970 season. Wagner would play in parts of two more minor league seasons before retiring.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1959 Topps #257
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1959-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2005 Upper Deck Classics #35
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 94 in the Beckett online database as of 11/26/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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First Mainstream Card: 1959 Topps #257
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1959-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2005 Upper Deck Classics #35
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 94 in the Beckett online database as of 11/26/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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