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Harry Wayne Comer
Seattle Pilots
Outfield
Born: February 3, 1944, Shenandoah, VA
Signed: Signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent before 1962 season
Major League Teams: Detroit Tigers 1967-68; Seattle Pilots 1969; Milwaukee Brewers 1970; Washington Senators 1970; Detroit Tigers 1972
World Series Appearances: Detroit Tigers 1968
Died: October 2, 2023, Shenandoah, VA (age 79)
Originally signed by the Senators, Wayne Comer was traded to Detroit in March 1963, and he'd spend four seasons working his way up the Tigers' minor league system. He was a September call-up in 1967 and saw action in 48 games in 1968 as a pinch-hitter, back-up outfielder and catcher. Comer had one brief moment in the postseason, connecting for a pinch-hit single in Game 3 off Cardinals' pitcher Joe Hoerner (#522). His Tigers would defeat the Cardinals in seven games, and Comer was left unprotected following the series for the expansion draft. He was the 41st pick by the Pilots, and as their regular center fielder in 1969, Comer had his best season in the majors. In 147 games in Seattle, Comer batted .245 with 15 home runs and 54 RBIs. He moved with the Pilots to Milwaukee for the 1970 season, but his time with the Brewers was temporary as he was dealt to the Senators on May 10th.
His last action in the majors came in 1972 in a reunion with the Tigers. Comer played in 1973 and 1974 in the minor league systems of the Tigers and Phillies before retiring. In 316 games over five seasons, he batted .229 with 16 home runs and 67 RBIs.
Died: October 2, 2023, Shenandoah, VA (age 79)
Originally signed by the Senators, Wayne Comer was traded to Detroit in March 1963, and he'd spend four seasons working his way up the Tigers' minor league system. He was a September call-up in 1967 and saw action in 48 games in 1968 as a pinch-hitter, back-up outfielder and catcher. Comer had one brief moment in the postseason, connecting for a pinch-hit single in Game 3 off Cardinals' pitcher Joe Hoerner (#522). His Tigers would defeat the Cardinals in seven games, and Comer was left unprotected following the series for the expansion draft. He was the 41st pick by the Pilots, and as their regular center fielder in 1969, Comer had his best season in the majors. In 147 games in Seattle, Comer batted .245 with 15 home runs and 54 RBIs. He moved with the Pilots to Milwaukee for the 1970 season, but his time with the Brewers was temporary as he was dealt to the Senators on May 10th.
His last action in the majors came in 1972 in a reunion with the Tigers. Comer played in 1973 and 1974 in the minor league systems of the Tigers and Phillies before retiring. In 316 games over five seasons, he batted .229 with 16 home runs and 67 RBIs.
Building the Set / Card #328
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.
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 36th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me less than $1.
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| 1970 Topps #323 |
Comer is likely wearing a minor league uniform here on his rookie card, as his only major league experience prior to joining the Pilots was with a Tigers, a non-pinstripe wearing team. Given how he was in the league for parts of five seasons, and how liberally Topps seemed to add players to its checklists, it's odd Comer only appeared within two Topps sets. The cartoon on the back highlights his league leading 86 runs scored in 1967 while playing for the Toledo Mud Hens.
Accuracy Index: Comer receives a fairly standard -8 for the former team jersey (-5) and lack of a hat (-3).
1969 Season
Jim Gosger (#482) was the Pilots' opening day center fielder, but Comer soon took over the job, eventually making 85 starts in center, 40 starts in right and three starts in left. Comer led the Pilots with 88 runs scored and was second on the club in RBIs, behind Tommy Davis (#135), who had 80. Comer led all American League outfielders with six double plays turned and was second in the league with 14 outfield assists.
Phillies Connection
Comer spent his final season of professional baseball playing in 1974 for the Reading Phillies. In 102 games, he batted .260 with four home runs and 17 RBIs. The 1974 Phillies Media Guide shows that Comer wasn't given an invitation to spring training.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #346
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2): 1969-70
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2019 Topps Heritage Inaugural Brew Crew Autographs #IBC-WC
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 18 in the Beckett online database as of 7/2/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
First Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #346
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2): 1969-70
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2019 Topps Heritage Inaugural Brew Crew Autographs #IBC-WC
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 18 in the Beckett online database as of 7/2/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
#345 Frank Linzy - San Francisco Giants / #347 Randy Hundley - Chicago Cubs
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