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Raymond Leonard Culp
Boston Red Sox
Pitcher
Born: August 6, 1941, Elgin, TX
Signed: Signed as an amateur free agent by the Philadelphia Phillies, June 6, 1959
Major League Teams: Philadelphia Phillies 1963-66; Chicago Cubs 1967; Boston Red Sox 1968-73
Ray Culp enjoyed a solid first few seasons of his career with the Phillies before settling in as one of the top Red Sox starters in the late 1960s/early 1970s. Culp was named to the National League All-Star team in his rookie season of 1963 and at the end of that season his 14-11 record and 2.97 ERA earned him Rookie Pitcher of the Year honors from The Sporting News. After a few seasons with the Phillies and pitching in the shadow of Jim Bunning (#175), Chris Short (#395) and Larry Jackson, Culp requested a trade and was dealt to the Cubs before the 1967 season. After a season with the Cubs, Culp joined the Red Sox and he'd win at least 14 games in four straight seasons between 1968 and 1971. His 17 wins in 1969 led the club and resulted in his second All-Star Game appearance. He matched his 17 win tally in 1970, again leading the Red Sox.
Culp battled elbow injuries over the next few years and was released by Boston following the 1973 season. Culp finished in the top ten in the league for strikeouts four times and his 22 career shutouts is currently 217th on the all-time list. In 322 career games, his record was 122-101 with a 3.58 ERA and 1,411 strikeouts.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #359
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Red Sox Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
1969 Season
As mentioned above, this was one of Culp's best seasons, as he was 17-8 with a 3.81 ERA in 32 starts. Culp pitched the final inning of the All-Star Game, won by the National League by a score of 9-3, striking out Tony Perez (#295) and Randy Hundley (#347).
Phillies Career
Expectations for Culp were high given his $100,000 signing bonus, and while he had a pair of 14-win seasons and an All-Star Game appearance while with the club he never quite lived up the expectations set for him. In four seasons in Philadelphia, Culp pitched in 131 games and went 43-32 with a 3.64 ERA and 506 strikeouts. On December 7, 1966, the club traded him (with cash) to the Cubs for pitcher Dick Ellsworth (#605).
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1960 Leaf #75
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10): 1963-72
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #197
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 60 in the Beckett online database as of 9/2/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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 67th 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 / Red Sox Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
Culp is wearing a Cubs uniform here, and the only difference between the photo used for this card and his 1968 Topps card is that the photographer asked him to leave his hat on. The cartoon on the back celebrates his first All-Star Game selection in 1963, and the write-up highlights his successful 1968 season. Culp led the Red Sox pitching staff in ERA (2.91), games started (30), complete games (11), shutouts (six), innings pitched (216 1/3) and strikeouts (190) in 1968.
Accuracy Index: We're back to another -8 for the Cubs jersey (-5) and blank hat (-3).
1969 Season
As mentioned above, this was one of Culp's best seasons, as he was 17-8 with a 3.81 ERA in 32 starts. Culp pitched the final inning of the All-Star Game, won by the National League by a score of 9-3, striking out Tony Perez (#295) and Randy Hundley (#347).
Expectations for Culp were high given his $100,000 signing bonus, and while he had a pair of 14-win seasons and an All-Star Game appearance while with the club he never quite lived up the expectations set for him. In four seasons in Philadelphia, Culp pitched in 131 games and went 43-32 with a 3.64 ERA and 506 strikeouts. On December 7, 1966, the club traded him (with cash) to the Cubs for pitcher Dick Ellsworth (#605).
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First Mainstream Card: 1960 Leaf #75
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10): 1963-72
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #197
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 60 in the Beckett online database as of 9/2/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog / The Phillies Room
1965 Topps Blog / The Phillies Room
#390 Bill Freehan - Detroit Tigers / #392 Bob Burda - San Francisco Giants
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