#264 Bill Landis - Boston Red Sox

William Henry Landis
Boston Red Sox
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  178
Born:  October 8, 1942, Hanford, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Kansas City Athletics as an amateur free agent before 1961 season
Major League Teams:  Kansas City Athletics 1963; Boston Red Sox 1967-1969

Bill Landis was a frequently-used reliever for the Red Sox in 1968 and 1969, and his major league career was cut short due to an arm injury and bouts of wildness.  Landis pitched in one game for the Athletics in 1963 after earning a September call-up, and he'd not return to the majors until his debut with the Red Sox in mid-April 1967.  A rule 5 draft selection, Landis was required to remain on the Red Sox roster all season and he was used in only 18 games during the team's Impossible Dream season.  He'd have his best season in 1968, pitching to a 3.15 ERA in 38 games and 60 innings pitched.  Landis pitched in 45 games in 1969 as one of manager Dick Williams' (#349) most frequently used relievers, but he'd return to the minors in 1970 and 1971 before retiring from baseball.  In 102 big league games, Landis was 9-8 with a 4.46 ERA and four saves.

Building the Set / Card #249
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

In mid-March last year, over a year ago at this point, 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.

1968 Topps #189

This is the 172nd 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 $1.25.

The Card / Red Sox Team Set / Accuracy Index +1

Landis appears in two Topps flagship sets during his career, and both cards use the same exact photo.  The cartoon on the back highlights his successful collegiate career while playing at Coalinga, a junior college located about 60 miles from his hometown of Hanford, California.  The school later changed its name to West Hills Community College.

Accuracy Index:  Landis' score drops to +1 given the correct uniform (+5) but the repeat use of the photo (-4).

1969 Season
As mentioned above, Landis pitched in 45 games, making five spot starts over the course of the 1969 season.  He was 5-5 with a 5.25 ERA and one save.  Only Vicente Romo (#267) and closer Sparky Lyle (#311) got more use out of the bullpen than Landis during the year.  Three of Landis' five wins came during the first four games of the Red Sox season.

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1968 Topps #189
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2):  1968-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #264
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  9 in the Beckett online database as of 2/16/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#263 Jerry May - Pittsburgh Pirates / #265 Chico Cardenas - Minnesota Twins