#361 Gary Holman - Washington Senators

Gary Richard Holman
Washington Senators
First Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  200
Born:  January 25, 1944, Long Beach, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1964 season
Major League Teams:  Washington Senators 1968-69

A college baseball star at the University of Southern California, Gary Holman was signed by the Dodgers and began his professional playing career in 1964.  At season's end, he was drafted by the Senators in the first-year draft, and Holman would climb steadily through Washington's minor league system, driving in 66 runs in both 1966 and 1967.  Promoted to the majors in late June 1968, Holman appeared in 75 games, batting .294 with five doubles and seven RBIs.  Those numbers were good enough for Topps to select Holman as the first baseman on its 1968 All-Star Rookie team.

Holman slumped badly in 1969, which may have been due to a lack of playing time.  With the club since opening day, he made just one start in right field before being sent down to the minors in mid-June.  Manager Ted Williams (#650) used him primarily in a pinch-hitting role, and Holman was batting .161 at the time of his demotion.  He'd play out the remainder of the 1969 season in Buffalo before retiring from baseball.  In 116 major league games, Holman batted .259 with six doubles and nine RBIs.

Building the Set / Card #338
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 46th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me less than $1.

The Card / Senators Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

If you're going to have one, and only one, baseball card, this is a pretty good one to have.  The back of the card highlights Holman's promotion and success from 1968, but also notes he was used primarily for late inning defense and as a pinch-hitter.  The prediction that "fans should see lots more of Gary in 1969" proved to be incorrect.

Accuracy Index:  Holman's first and last baseball card scores a +5.

1969 Season
Holman played in 41 games, making it onto the field 14 times for defense.  His appearances were mostly for pinch-hitting (29 games) or pinch-running (two games) duties.  He batted .161 (5 for 31) with a pair of RBIs.  With the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, Holman batted .264 in 66 games, with 12 doubles and 26 RBIs.

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #361
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #361
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  3 in the Beckett online database as of 7/6/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#360 Jim Wynn - Houston Astros / #362 Jim Maloney - Cincinnati Reds