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Don Wilson Lock
Philadelphia Phillies
Outfield
Born: July 27, 1936, Wichita, KS
Signed: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1958 season
Major League Teams: Washington Senators 1962-1966; Philadelphia Phillies 1967-1969; Boston Red Sox 1969
Died: October 8, 2017, Wichita, KS (age 81)
Don Lock enjoyed a few seasons as one of the Senators' top sluggers in the early 1960s, and played in eight big league seasons overall. In 1963, Lock was the opening day center fielder for a Senators team that would go on to lose 106 games. Lock batted .252 while leading the club in both home runs, with 27, and RBIs, with 82. He improved upon those numbers in 1964, winning the team's triple crown with a .274 average and 28 home runs with 80 RBIs. Lock then fell into a slump in 1965 and he'd never again enjoy the regular production he had in the prior two seasons. Following the 1966 season, the Senators traded him to the Phillies and he'd share center field duties with John Briggs (#73) and Tony Gonzalez (#501) in 1967. He was relegated to back-up duty in 1968 and then dealt to Boston in May 1969.
Lock would appear in 53 games for the Red Sox in 1969, and retire following a year playing exclusively with their minor league team in Louisville in 1970. He was a solid defender when playing regularly, and Lock finished in the top three for assists by a center fielder in five different seasons. Overall, he batted .238 with 122 home runs and 373 RBIs in 921 big league games.
Don Lock enjoyed a few seasons as one of the Senators' top sluggers in the early 1960s, and played in eight big league seasons overall. In 1963, Lock was the opening day center fielder for a Senators team that would go on to lose 106 games. Lock batted .252 while leading the club in both home runs, with 27, and RBIs, with 82. He improved upon those numbers in 1964, winning the team's triple crown with a .274 average and 28 home runs with 80 RBIs. Lock then fell into a slump in 1965 and he'd never again enjoy the regular production he had in the prior two seasons. Following the 1966 season, the Senators traded him to the Phillies and he'd share center field duties with John Briggs (#73) and Tony Gonzalez (#501) in 1967. He was relegated to back-up duty in 1968 and then dealt to Boston in May 1969.
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| 1967 Dexter Press Phillies |
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #228
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Phillies Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
1969 Season
As mentioned above and below, Lock started his final season in the majors with the Phillies and ended it with the Red Sox. He appeared in only four games with the Phillies, going 0 for 4. His first game with the Red Sox was on May 11th, and he'd play in 53 games for Boston, batting .224 (13 for 58) with a home run and a pair of RBIs.
Phillies Career
On November 30, 1966, the Phillies acquired Lock from the Senators for pitcher Darold Knowles and cash. Acquired mainly for his defense, he'd platoon with the left-handed hitting Gonzalez and Briggs in center field throughout the season, appearing in 112 games overall and batting .252. His 14 home runs were tied for second on the club with Johnny Callison (#133), and Dick Allen (#350) led the team with 23 home runs. Lock was a true back-up in 1968, appearing in 99 games but making only 58 starts. He'd hit just .210 and fell out of the Phillies plans in 1969 with the arrival of Larry Hisle (#206). Lock played four games for the Phillies in early 1969 before a trade sent him to the Red Sox on May 5th for Bill Schlesinger. In 215 games with the Phillies, Lock batted .232 with 22 home runs and 85 RBIs. He appeared in three Topps sets with the Phillies, with none of those cards featuring him actually wearing a Phillies uniform.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #47
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1963-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #34
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 37 in the Beckett online database as of 2/6/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Building the Set / Card #228
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 151st 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 a little over $2.
The Card / Phillies Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
Lock is hatless and wearing a Senators uniform here, despite having joined the Phillies in 1967. His 1959 and 1960 minor league home run totals are celebrated in the cartoon on the back. Topps highlights his fielding skills, and Lock finished in the top five among center fielders in fielding percentage four years in a row between 1963 and 1966. He led all American League outfielders in putouts with 377 and in double plays turned with six in 1963.
Accuracy Index: Lock's bare dome costs him points (-3) as does the Senators jersey (-5).
1969 Season
As mentioned above and below, Lock started his final season in the majors with the Phillies and ended it with the Red Sox. He appeared in only four games with the Phillies, going 0 for 4. His first game with the Red Sox was on May 11th, and he'd play in 53 games for Boston, batting .224 (13 for 58) with a home run and a pair of RBIs.
On November 30, 1966, the Phillies acquired Lock from the Senators for pitcher Darold Knowles and cash. Acquired mainly for his defense, he'd platoon with the left-handed hitting Gonzalez and Briggs in center field throughout the season, appearing in 112 games overall and batting .252. His 14 home runs were tied for second on the club with Johnny Callison (#133), and Dick Allen (#350) led the team with 23 home runs. Lock was a true back-up in 1968, appearing in 99 games but making only 58 starts. He'd hit just .210 and fell out of the Phillies plans in 1969 with the arrival of Larry Hisle (#206). Lock played four games for the Phillies in early 1969 before a trade sent him to the Red Sox on May 5th for Bill Schlesinger. In 215 games with the Phillies, Lock batted .232 with 22 home runs and 85 RBIs. He appeared in three Topps sets with the Phillies, with none of those cards featuring him actually wearing a Phillies uniform.
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First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #47
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1963-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #34
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 37 in the Beckett online database as of 2/6/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
It's odd that Topps couldn't get a photo of Lock as a Phillie in 3 sets, yet they were able to get Dick Hall during his 1st year in Philadelphia.
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