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Lawrence William Shepard
Pittsburgh Pirates
Manager
Born: April 3, 1919, Lakewood, OH
Signed: Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
As a Manager: Pittsburgh Pirates 1968-69
Died: April 5, 2011, Lincoln, NE (age 92)
Larry Shepard was a long-time minor league player-manager, doing double duty as a skipper and right-handed pitcher in 13 seasons in the Dodgers and Pirates minor league systems. He won at least 20 games each season between 1948 and 1951 with his Billings Mustangs team winning the Pioneer League playoffs in 1949. Shepard continued to win in the minors throughout the 1950s, winning Western League championships with the Lincoln Chiefs in 1956 and 1957, and guiding the Triple-A Salt Lake City Bees and Columbus Jets to three first places finishes between 1958 and 1966. He joined the major league coaching staff of the Phillies as their pitching coach in 1967, and was named the manager of the Pirates to start the 1968 season.
His big league managerial career was short-lived as he was dismissed by the Pirates towards the end of the 1969 season, having guided the team to a 164-155 record. Shepard teamed up with manager Sparky Anderson as the pitching coach of the Reds between 1970 and 1978, winning five pennants and two World Championships with the Big Red Machine dynasty. Shepard last coached in the majors with the Giants in 1979.
Died: April 5, 2011, Lincoln, NE (age 92)
Larry Shepard was a long-time minor league player-manager, doing double duty as a skipper and right-handed pitcher in 13 seasons in the Dodgers and Pirates minor league systems. He won at least 20 games each season between 1948 and 1951 with his Billings Mustangs team winning the Pioneer League playoffs in 1949. Shepard continued to win in the minors throughout the 1950s, winning Western League championships with the Lincoln Chiefs in 1956 and 1957, and guiding the Triple-A Salt Lake City Bees and Columbus Jets to three first places finishes between 1958 and 1966. He joined the major league coaching staff of the Phillies as their pitching coach in 1967, and was named the manager of the Pirates to start the 1968 season.
Building the Set / Card #355
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
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 63rd 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 / Pirates Team Set / Accuracy Index +1
Shepard's "rookie" card can be found in the 1968 Topps set, and it uses the exact same photo found here. Topps likely got a picture of the new manager during Pirates' spring training in 1968, given the palm trees prevalent in the background. His minor league success is highlighted on the back of the card.
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| From the 1967 Phillies Yearbook |
1969 Season
Shepard guided the Pirates to a 84-73 record before being let go during the last week of the season. Alex Grammas took over and went 4-1 in an interim role as the Pirates finished in third place in the National League East. Roberto Clemente (#50) and Willie Stargell (#545) were the offensive stars of the club, with Clemente batting .345 with 19 home runs and 92 RBIs. Stargell led the team with 29 home runs and 92 RBIs. Steve Blass (#104) led the pitching staff with 16 wins, but Bob Veale (#520) was probably the club's most reliable starter with a 13-14 record and a 3.23 ERA in 34 starts. Swingman Bob Moose (#409) was 14-3 with a 2.91 ERA, and threw a no-hitter against the Mets on September 20th. Chuck Hartenstein (#596) led the Pirates with 10 saves.
Shepard joined manager Gene Mauch's (#606) staff as the Phillies' pitching coach in 1967 following the dismissal of Cal McLish after the 1966 season. The Phillies finished with an 82-80 record and a fifth place finish in the National League, with Jim Bunning (#175) leading the staff with 17 wins and 253 strikeouts. Other bright spots from Shepard's pitching staff included Larry Jackson, 13-15 with a 3.10 ERA in 40 games, 11-game winner Rick Wise (#188) and Chris Short (#395), who was 9-11 with a 2.39 ERA in 29 games. Veteran Turk Farrell (#531) was the club's top reliever with a 2.05 ERA in 92 innings pitched, and 12 saves. Shepard departed the Phillies to take the Pirates' top spot, and was replaced on Mauch's staff by Al Widmar.
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First Mainstream Card: 1968 Topps #584
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4): 1968-69, 1973-74
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1974 Topps #326
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 15 in the Beckett online database as of 9/1/24.
Update Cards
For my 1965 Topps blog, I used the team card posts to come up with five or six candidates per team for an imaginary update series. With no team cards in the 1969 Topps set, I'll use each manager card for this exercise, and come up with a list of deserving cards to be included in an 8th/update series.
- Alex Grammas (interim manager) - Long-time player and coach Grammas would reunite with Shepard on Anderson's Reds coaching staff. Danny Murtaugh replaced him as manager to start the 1970 season.
- Al Oliver (1b) - The regular first baseman, Oliver, and the regular third baseman, Richie Hebner, share a Rookie Stars card in the set (#82), but I'd give them each solo cards in my update set.
- Richie Hebner (3b)
- Bruce Dal Canton (rhp) - Reliever Bruce Dal Canton (#468) made 57 relief appearances, leading the Pirates bullpen in that category, and he's worth of a solo card as well.
- Joe Gibbon (lhp) - Lefty Joe Gibbon (#158) is in the set with the Giants, and he'd make 35 relief appearances with the Pirates following an early June trade.
- Pirates Rookie Stars - Dave Cash / Gene Garber - Knowing both these players would be Phillies in a few short years, I'd give them a combo Rookie Stars card.
Baseball Reference - Shepard / Baseball Reference - 1969 Pirates / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
#383 Casey Cox - Washington Senators / #385 Orlando Cepeda - Atlanta Braves
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