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Wilbur Gary Bell
Seattle Pilots
Pitcher
Born: November 17, 1936, San Antonio, TX
Signed: Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1955 season
Major League Teams: Cleveland Indians 1958-67; Boston Red Sox 1967-68; Seattle Pilots 1969; Chicago White Sox 1969
World Series Appearances: Boston Red Sox 1967
Pitching as a starter, a reliever and an occasional closer, Gary Bell was a four-time All-Star over 12 major league seasons. Arm problems hampered him early in his career, but Bell was a 16-game winner in 1959 and made his first two All-Star teams in 1960. Serving as the Indians' closer in 1965, he converted a career-high 16 saves. His best season came in 1966 when he was 14-15 with a 3.22 ERA for the Indians in 40 games, including 37 starts. He pitched a career best 254 1/3 innings that season and made his third All-Star team. After a decade in Cleveland, Bell was dealt to the Red Sox in June 1967 to help with their pennant hopes. When the Impossible Dream team improbably clinched the American League pennant, Bell appeared in three World Series games, starting Game 3 against the Cardinals' Nelson Briles (#60). The Cardinals would prevail in seven games.
Pitching as a starter, a reliever and an occasional closer, Gary Bell was a four-time All-Star over 12 major league seasons. Arm problems hampered him early in his career, but Bell was a 16-game winner in 1959 and made his first two All-Star teams in 1960. Serving as the Indians' closer in 1965, he converted a career-high 16 saves. His best season came in 1966 when he was 14-15 with a 3.22 ERA for the Indians in 40 games, including 37 starts. He pitched a career best 254 1/3 innings that season and made his third All-Star team. After a decade in Cleveland, Bell was dealt to the Red Sox in June 1967 to help with their pennant hopes. When the Impossible Dream team improbably clinched the American League pennant, Bell appeared in three World Series games, starting Game 3 against the Cardinals' Nelson Briles (#60). The Cardinals would prevail in seven games.
Bell made his final All-Star team in 1968 with the Red Sox and was selected by the Pilots following the season in the expansion draft. He'd play one last season in 1969 with the Pilots and White Sox. Bell earned a career record of 121-117 over 519 games, with a 3.68 ERA and 50 saves.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #351
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Pilots Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
1969 Season
Bell started the home opener for the Pilots, pitching a shutout in the first major league game to be played in Seattle. That was to be the season highlight for Bell, as he'd go 2-6 with a 4.70 ERA in 13 games for the Pilots. As one of the flurry of moves made by the team throughout the season, Bell was dealt on June 8th to the White Sox for Bob Locker (#548). In Chicago, he had no record and a 6.28 ERA in 23 appearances and 38 2/3 innings pitched. Bell would see his final big league action that September.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1959 Topps #327
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1959-69
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1989 Pacific Legends II #213
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 63 in the Beckett online database as of 8/31/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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| 1989 Pacific Legends II #213 |
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 59th 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 / Pilots Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
Bell is wearing an Indians jersey here, in a photo that could date back to 1964. He's modeling an impressive head of hair here too. This would be his final appearance in a Topps flagship set. The back of the card touts his credentials as an All-Star Game and World Series veteran, with the cartoon harking back to his basketball playing days while attending San Antonio College.
Accuracy Index: It's another -8 for Bell's card.
1969 Season
Bell started the home opener for the Pilots, pitching a shutout in the first major league game to be played in Seattle. That was to be the season highlight for Bell, as he'd go 2-6 with a 4.70 ERA in 13 games for the Pilots. As one of the flurry of moves made by the team throughout the season, Bell was dealt on June 8th to the White Sox for Bob Locker (#548). In Chicago, he had no record and a 6.28 ERA in 23 appearances and 38 2/3 innings pitched. Bell would see his final big league action that September.
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First Mainstream Card: 1959 Topps #327
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1959-69
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1989 Pacific Legends II #213
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 63 in the Beckett online database as of 8/31/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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