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Gary Merle Geiger
Houston Astros
Outfield
Born: April 4, 1937, Sand Ridge, IL
Signed: Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1954 season
Major League Teams: Cleveland Indians 1958; Boston Red Sox 1959-1965; Atlanta Braves 1966-1967; Houston Astros 1969-1970
Died: April 24, 1996, Murphysboro, IL (age 59)
Gary Geiger battled through injuries and other ailments to play parts of 12 seasons in the major leagues, reaching the 100-game plateau four times. His disabled list visits were frequent and included stints for a violent collision with teammate Don Buddin in spring training in 1959, a collapsed lung in 1960, injuries sustained while running at full speed into the Fenway Park center field wall in 1962, a bleeding ulcer in 1964 and a triple fracture of his left hand in 1965. Terrified of flying, he'd cope by taking a few drinks which led to a life-long battle with alcoholism.
Gary Geiger battled through injuries and other ailments to play parts of 12 seasons in the major leagues, reaching the 100-game plateau four times. His disabled list visits were frequent and included stints for a violent collision with teammate Don Buddin in spring training in 1959, a collapsed lung in 1960, injuries sustained while running at full speed into the Fenway Park center field wall in 1962, a bleeding ulcer in 1964 and a triple fracture of his left hand in 1965. Terrified of flying, he'd cope by taking a few drinks which led to a life-long battle with alcoholism.
Geiger was a career .246 batter with 77 home runs and 283 RBIs. Known more for his speed and his defense in center field than his bat, he led the American League in assists in both 1961 and 1962. After retiring as a player, Geiger managed the Cedar Rapids Cardinals in the Midwest League during the 1972 season. Sadly, his alcoholism took a toll and Geiger passed away from cirrhosis at the young age of 59.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #257
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Astros Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
1969 Season
Out of the majors entirely in 1968, Geiger was drafted by the Astros from the Cardinals in the annual rule 5 draft on December 2, 1968. He'd spend the entire 1969 season, his last full season in the majors, with the Astros as a back-up outfielder and pinch-hitter. He appeared in 93 games overall, making 14 starts in left field and 11 stars in right field. Geiger batted .269 (7 for 26) as a pinch-hitter, but only .224 overall.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1958 Topps #462
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1958-1967, 1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #278
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 49 in the Beckett online database as of 3/6/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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.
This is the 180th 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 / Astros Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
In his final appearance in a Topps set, Geiger is shown wearing a Braves uniform. The back of the card is light on information, noting Geiger's .268 average while with the Tulsa Oilers in 1968, and the fact he'd been playing professional baseball since 1954.
Accuracy Index: Geiger's card scores a -8 for the Braves uniform (-5) and blank hat (-3).
1969 Season
Out of the majors entirely in 1968, Geiger was drafted by the Astros from the Cardinals in the annual rule 5 draft on December 2, 1968. He'd spend the entire 1969 season, his last full season in the majors, with the Astros as a back-up outfielder and pinch-hitter. He appeared in 93 games overall, making 14 starts in left field and 11 stars in right field. Geiger batted .269 (7 for 26) as a pinch-hitter, but only .224 overall.
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First Mainstream Card: 1958 Topps #462
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1958-1967, 1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #278
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 49 in the Beckett online database as of 3/6/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog
1965 Topps Blog
#277 Rod Hendricks - Baltimore Orioles / #279 Roger Nelson - Kansas City Royals
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