#324 Tigers Rookie Stars - Les Cain / Dave Campbell

Leslie Cain
Detroit Tigers
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  200
Born:  January 13, 1948, San Luis Obispo, CA
Drafted:  Drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 4th round of the 1966 amateur draft
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1968, 1970-1972

David Wilson Campbell
Detroit Tigers
Second Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  180
Born:  January 14, 1942, Manistee, MI
Signed:  Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent before 1964 season
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1967-1969; San Diego Padres 1970-1973; St. Louis Cardinals 1973; Houston Astros 1973-1974

Les Cain was a promising left-hand pitcher for the Tigers whose career was cut short by arm injuries.  Cain appeared in eight games for the eventual World Champion Tigers in 1968, and earned a regular spot in their rotation in 1970.  Through the first half of 1970, Cain was 9-2 with a 3.82 ERA in 16 starts.  He'd win 12 games overall in 1970, pitching in a career-high 180 2/3 innings.  He made 26 starts in 1971, going 10-9 with a 4.35 ERA.  His shoulder injury couldn't be overcome in 1972 and the Tigers sold him to the Giants organization.  Cain attempted comebacks but was out of baseball by 1974.  He went 23-19 in 68 games pitched, earning a 3.98 ERA.  Following his playing career, Cain filed a disability claim against the Tigers, claiming manager Billy Martin (#547) forced him to pitch through his injuries.  The courts ruled in Cain's favor, with the Tigers having to pay him $111 a week for the rest of his life.

Dave Campbell played in eight major league seasons, primarily with the Padres in the early 1970s.  Campbell saw limited action with the Tigers between 1967 and 1969.  Dealt to the Padres on December 4, 1969 with Pat Dobson (#231) for Joe Niekro (#43), Campbell served as San Diego's regular second baseman for the 1970 and 1971 seasons.  He played in a career-high 154 games in 1970, batting .219 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs.  Campbell had more of a utility role in 1971, spending time at all four infield spots, along with left field.  His last big league action came with the Astros in 1974, and his last few seasons were spent as an occasional back-up infielder and pinch-hitter.  Campbell's broadcasting career began in the late 1970s, and he worked for ESPN as a color commentator for 20 years between 1990 and 2010.

Building the Set / Card #311
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times.  I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.

Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders.  I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500.  This card was the 19th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me a little over $2.

The Card / Tigers Team Set / Cain Accuracy Index -5 / Campbell Accuracy Index +5
This is the rookie card for both Cain and Campbell.

Accuracy Index:  Maybe Cain is wearing a Tigers jersey?  I've scored his card a -5 since he's hatless (-3) and didn't play with the Tigers in 1969 (-2), but I couldn't dock more points given there's no telling what jersey he's wearing.  Campbell's side of the card scores a +5.

1969 Season - Cain
Cain spent the 1969 season with the Toledo Mud Hens in the International League, making 23 starts and appearing in 26 games overall.  He was 4-12 with a 5.71 ERA in 123 innings pitched.  Cain struggled with his control, walking almost as many batters (71) as he struck out (79).

1969 Season - Campbell
Campbell spent most of the season on the Tigers roster, with two trips to Toledo in which he attempted to improve his batting average.  Overall, he played in 32 games for the Tigers at first base, second base and third base, batting .103 (4 for 39) with a double and a pair of RBIs.

1971 Topps #101

1972 Topps #783

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Cain
First Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #324
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (3):  1969, 1971-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1972 Topps #783
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  9 in the Beckett online database as of 6/2/24.

Sources - Cain:  

Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Campbell
First Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #324
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1969-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1974 Topps #556
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  25 in the Beckett online database as of 6/3/24.

Sources - Campbell:  

Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

1970 Topps #639

1971 Topps #46

1972 Topps #384

1973 Topps #488

1974 Topps #556

#323 Larry Miller - Baltimore Orioles / #325 Jose Cardenal - Cleveland Indians

#323 Larry Miller - Baltimore Orioles

Larry Don Miller
Baltimore Orioles
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  195
Born:  June 19, 1937, Topeka, KS
Signed:  Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1959 season
Major League Teams:  Los Angeles Dodgers 1964; New York Mets 1965-1966
Died:  March 21, 2018, Phoenix, AZ (age 80)

Larry Miller pitched in three minor league seasons in the Dodgers' system between 1959 and 1961, missed two full seasons while serving in the military and finally got the call to the majors in June 1964.  Inserted into the Dodgers' starting pitching rotation, Miller went 4-8 with a 4.18 ERA in 16 appearances, including 14 starts.  He pitched a complete game victory against the Phillies on August 2, 1964, a month before the Phillies endured their historic collapse.  Dealt to the Mets for outfielder Dick Smith following the season, Miller pitched in 32 games for the Mets, going a combined 1-6 with a 5.35 over parts of two seasons.  He last pitched in the majors in September 1966, and spent three more seasons in the Mets and Giants minor league system before retiring.

Miller was 5-14 lifetime with a 4.71 ERA and 93 strikeouts over 145 1/3 innings pitched.  In the minors, he was 58-51 over 284 appearances in parts of nine seasons.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

1965 Topps #349

Building the Set / Card #310
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times.  I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.

Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders.  I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500.  This card was the 18th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me a little over $1.25.

The Card / Orioles Team Set / Accuracy Index -16

Miller is listed as a member of the Orioles on this card, but he never pitched for the Orioles or for any team within their minor league system.  This is his second and final appearance in a Topps flagship set, and the back offers no clues as to how Miller came to be featured as an Oriole.  I think, but I'm not certain, the photo for this card and the photo for Miller's 1965 Topps card were taken a few years apart.

Accuracy Index:  We've got another -16, the eighth instance so far among the cards we've collected.  Miller didn't play for the Orioles in 1969 (-2) or ever (-6), he's wearing a Mets uniform (-5) and hatless (-3).

1969 Season
As noted above, Miller never pitched for the Orioles.  He spent all of 1969 with the Phoenix Giants in the Pacific Coast League, going 6-2 with a 3.68 ERA in 47 games, all in relief.  Miller threw 66 innings with 42 strikeouts and 16 walks in his final season of professional baseball.

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #349
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2):  1965, 1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1981 TCMA The 1960s II #373
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  9 in the Beckett online database as of 6/2/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#322 Jose Vidal - Seattle Pilots / #324 Tigers Rookie Stars

#321 Jim McAndrew - New York Mets

James Clement McAndrew
New York Mets
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  185
Born:  January 11, 1944, Lost Nation, IA
Drafted:  Drafted by the New York Mets in the 11th round of the 1965 amateur draft
Major League Teams:  New York Mets 1968-1973; San Diego Padres 1974

Died:  March 14, 2024, Scottsdale, AZ (age 80)

Jim McAndrew was a member of both 1969 and 1973 National League Champion Mets teams, serving as key pitching depth on both clubs.  Used as a swingman throughout his big league career, McAndrew came up to the Mets for good in 1968 and was a back of the rotation starter in 1969 behind Tom Seaver (#480), Jerry Koosman (#90) and Gary Gentry (#31).  McAndrew pitched in a career high 184 1/3 innings in 1970 and had his best season in 1972 when he was 11-8 with a 2.80 ERA in 28 games pitched.  His time in 1973 was limited due to injury and the Mets dealt him to the Padres following the 1973 World Series.  Following a brief stint withe Padres, a knee injury resurfaced, prematurely ending his pitching career.

In 161 games, McAndrew was 37-53 with a 3.65 ERA in 771 1/3 innings pitched, recording four saves.

Building the Set / Card #309
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times.  I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.

Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders.  I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500.  This card was the 17th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me a little over $2.

The Card / Mets Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

This is McAndrew's rookie card and his first of five appearances in Topps flagship sets.  The write-up on the back of the card defends McAndrew's won-loss record from 1968 given his poor run support from the Mets offense.  The cartoon demonstrates his involvement with the Job Corps, which is still active today.  McAndrew's home town of Lost Nation, Iowa has a total area of 0.64 square miles and had a population of 434 at the time of the 2020 census.

Accuracy Index:  McAndrew's excellent looking 1969 Topps card scores a +5.

1969 Season
McAndrew started the second game of the season for the Mets, behind Seaver.  He was hassled by injuries and bad luck throughout the year, and pitched in 27 games, making 21 starts.  McAndrew was 6-7 with a 3.47 ERA in 135 innings pitched, throwing four complete games and a pair of shutouts.  His biggest outing of the season came in the first game of a double header on September 10th against the Expos.  McAndrew pitched 11 innings, in a game eventually won by the Mets in 12 innings, landing them in first place in the National League East for the first time all season.

1970 Topps #246

1971 Topps #428

1972 Topps #781

1973 Topps #436

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #321
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1969-1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1973 Topps #436
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  25 in the Beckett online database as of 6/2/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#320 Dal Maxvill - St. Louis Cardinals / #322 Jose Vidal - Seattle Pilots

#320 Dal Maxvill - St. Louis Cardinals

Charles Dallan Maxvill
St. Louis Cardinals
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  157
Born:  February 18, 1939, Granite City, IL
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1960 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1962-1972; Oakland Athletics 1972-1973; Pittsburgh Pirates 1973-1974; Oakland Athletics 1974-1975

World Series Appearances:  St. Louis Cardinals 1964, 1967-1968; Oakland Athletics 1974

Dal Maxvill was a light-hitting middle infielder who played 14 years in the majors and collected four World Series rings along the way.  Known more for his glove than his bat, Maxvill finished four seasons in the top ten for assists among National League shortstops, and three seasons in the top ten for putouts.  His .973 career fielding percentage as a shortstop is currently 74th all-time.  Maxvill won a Gold Glove in 1968, a year in which he batted a career high .253 and also collected some postseason MVP votes.  His teams made it to five World Series, and while Maxvill hit just .115 (7 for 61), he handled 88 chances without an error.  For his career, Maxvill appeared in 1,423 games and was a lifetime .217 hitter.

Maxvill served as a coach with the Athletics (1975), Yankees (1978), Cardinals (1979-1980) and Braves (1983-1984) before joining the front office of the Cardinals following the 1984 season as the team's general manager.  He helped construct teams that would win National League pennants in 1985 and 1987, but was unable to spend on free agents as the Cardinals' ownership group tightened the team's budget.  He was dismissed following the 1994 player's strike, and while he briefly scouted for the Yankees after that, he's been absent from baseball ever since.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #308
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times.  I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.

Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders.  I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500.  This card was the 16th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me a little over $1.25.

The Card / Cardinals Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

Maxvill's uniform #27 is peaking through at the bottom of the card.  The write-up on the back correctly calls his 1968 season his "finest in the big leagues."  The cartoon reminds collectors Maxvill caught the final out of the 1964 World Series.  In Game 7 that year, Bob Gibson (#200) looked to hold off the Yankees entering the ninth inning with a 7-3 lead.  Clete Boyer (#489) and Phil Linz hit solo home runs off Gibson to narrow the deficit to 7-5, but then Bobby Richardson popped up to Maxvill at second base to clinch the championship.

Accuracy Index:  This is another solid baseball card, scoring a +5.

1969 Season
Coming off back-to-back World Series appearances, the Cardinals fell back to fourth place in the National League East in 1969.  Maxvill was again the regular shortstop, batting .175 in 132 games.  The highlight of his season came on April 14th when he became the first major leaguer to hit a grand slam in Canada.  In front of nearly 30,000 fans at Parc Jarry in Montreal, Maxvill hit a fourth inning grand slam off the Expos' Larry Jaster (#496).  It would be one of only two home runs Maxvill hit all season.

1963 Topps #49

1968 Topps #141

1971 Topps #476

1973 Topps #483

1974 Topps #358

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1963 Topps #49
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12):  1963-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2002 Topps Super Teams #75
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  59 in the Beckett online database as of 5/31/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#319 Ken McMullen - Washington Senators / #321 Jim McAndrew - New York Mets

#319 Ken McMullen - Washington Senators

Kenneth Lee McMullen
Washington Senators
Third Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  190
Born:  June 1, 1942, Oxnard, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1960 season
Major League Teams:  Los Angeles Dodgers 1962-1964; Washington Senators 1965-1970; California Angels 1970-1972; Los Angeles Dodgers 1973-1975; Oakland Athletics 1976; Milwaukee Brewers 1977

Ken McMullen struggled early in his career at the plate and with the glove, but improved enough in both areas to spend parts of 16 seasons in the majors.  McMullen was the opening day third baseman for the Dodgers in 1963, but a batting (and fielding) slump saw him back in the minors early that season.  Traded to the Senators in a seven-player trade in December 1964, McMullen was again given the chance to start and was the regular third baseman for Gil Hodges' (#564) (and later Ted Williams' (#650)) team between 1965 and 1969.  The late 1960s were the most productive for him and his career year came in 1969 when he batted .272 with 19 home runs and 87 RBIs.  McMullen had also worked on his fielding and turned himself into one of the better third baseman in the league.

He'd spend three full seasons with the Angels, traded to the club in April 1970.  Following the 1972 season, he was on the move again, this time back to the Dodgers, in the trade that sent Frank Robinson (#250) to the Angels.  McMullen would see his only postseason action with the Dodgers in 1974, appearing as a pinch-hitter in the NLCS against the Pirates.  He'd settle into a pinch-hitter/designated hitter role over the final seasons of his career with the Dodgers, Athletics and Brewers.  In 1,583 career games, McMullen batted .248 with 156 home runs and 606 RBIs.  His .961 fielding percentage at third base is currently 72nd all-time.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #307
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times.  I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.

Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders.  I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500.  This card was the 15th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me a little over $1.25.

The Card / Senators Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

The photo for this card and McMullen's 1968 Topps card were likely taken at the same session.  The cartoon on the back highlights his league-leading 38 double plays as a third baseman in 1967.  Frank Howard (#170) more than doubled McMullen's home run total from 1968, 44 to 20.  And Howard led the club with 106 RBIs with McMullen coming in second with 62.

In what is just pure coincidence, McMullen is card #319 in both the 1965 and 1969 Topps sets.

Accuracy Index:  McMullen's card scores a solid +5.

1969 Season
As mentioned above, this was McMullen's career year.  Leading all Senators' players with a 5.9 bWAR, he was the Senators and manager Williams' top player.  McMullen made 151 out of 162 starts at third base, appearing in 158 games overall.  He reached career highs in runs (83), hits (153), doubles (25), RBIs (87), walks (70) and OBP (.349).

1963 Topps #537

1965 Topps #319

1971 Topps #485

1974 Topps #434

1977 Topps #181

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1963 Topps #537
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15):  1963-1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1981 TCMA The 1960s II #338
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  60 in the Beckett online database as of 5/31/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#318 Jack Fisher - Cincinnati Reds / #320 Dal Maxvill - St. Louis Cardinals

#318 Jack Fisher - Cincinnati Reds

John Howard Fisher
Cincinnati Reds
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  215
Born:  March 4, 1939, Frostburg, MD
Signed:  Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent, June 24, 1957
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1959-1962; San Francisco Giants 1963; New York Mets 1964-1967; Chicago White Sox 1968; Cincinnati Reds 1969

An innings eater for several bad Mets teams in the mid-1960s, Jack Fisher led the league twice in losses with 24 in 1965 and 18 in 1967.  Fisher's best seasons came early in his career with the Orioles and he went 12-11 with a 3.41 ERA in 1960, at one point pitching 29 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings.  Fisher gave up a few milestone home runs during his career, surrendering a home to Ted Williams (#650) on September 28, 1960 in his final major league at-bat and also giving up Roger Maris' (#164) record-tying 60th home run on September 26, 1961.  Fisher threw the first official pitch at Shea Stadium in 1964 as the starting pitcher for the team's home opener.  He appeared in 160 games for the Mets, going 38-73 with a respectable 4.12 ERA in 133 starts.  He spent the last two seasons of his career with the White Sox and Reds, and was released by the Angels on opening day 1970.

In exactly 400 career appearances, Fisher was 86-139 with a 4.06 ERA and 1,017 strikeouts over 1,975 2/3 innings pitched.  In his retirement, he owned and operated Fat Jack's sports bar in Easton, Pennsylvania, so named because of the nickname given to him by former teammate Hoyt Wilhelm (#565).

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #306
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times.  I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.

Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders.  I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500.  This card was the 14th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me a little over $1.25.

The Card / Reds Team Set / Accuracy Index -8

Fisher is wearing a Mets jersey here and he'd be in a Mets jersey (and hat) again for his final card in the 1970 Topps set.  Topps diplomatically sums up his Mets tenure as "pitching in tough luck."  Unfortunately for Fisher, he'd miss the success coming to the Mets as they won the World Series in 1969.

Accuracy Index:  The hatless (-3) Fisher and his Mets jersey (-5) score a -8.

1969 Season
Fisher was traded by the White Sox to the Reds on December 5, 1968, for Don Pavletich (#179) and Don Secrist (#654).  In his final big league season, he was 4-4 with a 5.50 ERA in 34 games, including 15 starts.  He pitched 113 innings and recorded one save.

1960 Topps #46

1962 Topps #203

1965 Topps #93

1967 Topps #533

1970 Topps #684

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1960 Topps #46
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1960-1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2008 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-JF
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  55 in the Beckett online database as of 5/31/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#317 Bruce Look - Minnesota Twins / #319 Ken McMullen - Washington Senators