#333 Ivan Murrell - San Diego Padres

Ivan Augustus Murrell
San Diego Padres
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  195
Born:  April 24, 1943, Almirante, Panama
Signed:  Signed by the Houston Colt .45s as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Major League Teams:  Houston Colt .45s 1963-1964; Houston Astros 1967-1968; San Diego Padres 1969-1973; Atlanta Braves 1974

Died:  October 8, 2006, Stuart, FL (age 63)

Ivan Murrell was an original Padre who spent most of his 10 years in the majors as a back-up outfielder and pinch-hitter for the expansion club.  Murrell first came up to the majors as a September call-up by the Colt .45s in 1963.  Injuries and an established outfield in Houston limited his playing time, and Murrell got his first real opportunity in the majors with the Padres in 1969.  With the exception of a stint in the minors in 1972, Murrell was with the Padres for most of their first five seasons.  In 1970, he reached career highs for games played (125), home runs (12) and RBIs (35) while batting .245.  His final stop in the majors came with the Braves in 1974.

Murrell continued to play professionally in Mexico through the 1983 season, and following his playing days he worked as a scout and minor league coach for his original team, the Astros.  Murrell accumulated 308 hits in 564 big league games, batting .236 with 33 home runs and 123 RBIs.

Building the Set / Card #284
September 23, 2023 from The Philly Show (Ed's Old Baseball Cards)
Given the massive haul of 193 cards acquired for our 1969 Topps set at the March Philly Show, I held off on adding more cards throughout the summer of 2023.  We weren't even going to go to the Philly Show last September, but our oldest son's baseball tournament was rained out, and we found ourselves with a free weekend.  I wrote about the show originally over at The Phillies Room.

I added just 15 cards to our set build at this show, all from the same dealer, Ed's Old Baseball Cards out of the Buffalo area.  Technically, the cards I bought were from Ed's associate, Gary, who explained he was along for the ride and brought a bunch of his vintage cards for sale.  I picked four needed star cards first, and Gary gave us a nice discount on the purchase, so we went back after securing a few autographs.  I picked 11 more commons and semi-stars from his modest selection of 1960s Topps cards for sale, including this Murrell card.  Posting for these 15 cards should take me a lot less longer than what it took to get through the box of cards brought home from the March 2023 Philly Show.

The Card / Padres Team Set / Accuracy Index -8

Murrell is wearing an Astros jersey in the photo, and the back of the card explains his 1968 season was cut short by heel surgery.  His 1967 season with the Oklahoma City 89ers was perhaps his best professionally.  Murrell batted .289 in 124 games, with 14 home runs and 82 RBIs, while also leading all outfielders with 298 putouts as highlighted by the cartoon.

Accuracy Index:  Murrell card receives a -8, which is the standard for most early series Padres cards.

1969 Season
The Padres made Murrell the 42nd pick in the expansion draft, plucking him from the Astros.  He'd play in 111 games for the new team, batting .255 with three home runs and 25 RBIs.  Murrell made 41 starts in center field, nine starts in right field, two starts in left field and a start at first base.

1968 Topps #569

1970 Topps #179

1971 Topps #569

1973 Topps #409

1974 Topps #628

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1968 Topps #569
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1968-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1990 Pacific Senior League #131
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  26 in the Beckett online database as of 4/17/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#332 Fred Talbot - New York Yankees / #334 Phil Roof - Oakland Athletics