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Curtis Leroy Blefary
Houston Astros
Outfield
Born: July 5, 1943, Brooklyn, NY
Signed: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1962 season
Major League Teams: Baltimore Orioles 1965-68; Houston Astros 1969; New York Yankees 1970-71; Oakland Athletics 1971-72; San Diego Padres 1972
World Series Appearances: Baltimore Orioles 1966
Died: January 28, 2001, Pompano Beach, FL (age 57)
Curt Blefary edged out Marcelino Lopez for American League Rookie of the Year honors in 1965, hitting .260 with 22 home runs and 70 RBIs. In 1966, and at 22 years old, he was the every day left fielder for the Orioles team that would go on to sweep the World Series against the Dodgers. Nicknamed "Clank" by teammate Frank Robinson (#250) for his questionable fielding skills, Blefary made the rare position shift to first base and catcher after starting his career as an outfielder. He was behind the plate for Tom Phoebus' (#185) no-hitter against the Red Sox on April 27, 1968. After a season as the regular first baseman for the Astros in 1969, Blefary spent the last three seasons in the big leagues as a back-up with the Yankees, Athletics and Padres. He hit .237 over 974 games with 112 home runs and 382 RBIs.
Died: January 28, 2001, Pompano Beach, FL (age 57)
Curt Blefary edged out Marcelino Lopez for American League Rookie of the Year honors in 1965, hitting .260 with 22 home runs and 70 RBIs. In 1966, and at 22 years old, he was the every day left fielder for the Orioles team that would go on to sweep the World Series against the Dodgers. Nicknamed "Clank" by teammate Frank Robinson (#250) for his questionable fielding skills, Blefary made the rare position shift to first base and catcher after starting his career as an outfielder. He was behind the plate for Tom Phoebus' (#185) no-hitter against the Red Sox on April 27, 1968. After a season as the regular first baseman for the Astros in 1969, Blefary spent the last three seasons in the big leagues as a back-up with the Yankees, Athletics and Padres. He hit .237 over 974 games with 112 home runs and 382 RBIs.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #403
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Astros Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
1969 Season
In what turned out to be a great deal for the Orioles, the Astros acquired Blefary and minor leaguer John Mason on December 4, 1968, for Mike Cuellar (#453), Enzo Hernandez and Elijah Johnson. The deal was precipitated by Blefary falling out with new Orioles' manager Earl Weaver (#516). Blefary made 149 starts at first base for the Astros, and in 155 games overall he batted .253 with 12 home runs and 67 RBIs. He connected for a career-best 26 doubles to lead the team. On December 4th, exactly a year following his trade from Baltimore, the Astros shipped Blefary to the Yankees for Joe Pepitone (#589).
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #49
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1965-72
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1981 TCMA The 1960s II #412
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 62 in the Beckett online database as of 11/17/24.
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 111th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost a little less than a dollar.
Blefary is wearing an Orioles jersey in this photo. The cartoon on the back highlights the three home runs he hit against the Angels on June 6, 1967 in a 16-4 drubbing by the Orioles. His home runs came off Angels' pitchers Pete Cimino, Jack Sanford and Lew Burdette. The write-up contains an odd statement, noting Blefary is "devoted to the game and will play anywhere on the field." I guess this is a fancier way of saying he's extremely versatile.
Accuracy Index: Blefary's card scores the somewhat standard -8, which is becoming rarer as we get deeper into the set.
1969 Season
In what turned out to be a great deal for the Orioles, the Astros acquired Blefary and minor leaguer John Mason on December 4, 1968, for Mike Cuellar (#453), Enzo Hernandez and Elijah Johnson. The deal was precipitated by Blefary falling out with new Orioles' manager Earl Weaver (#516). Blefary made 149 starts at first base for the Astros, and in 155 games overall he batted .253 with 12 home runs and 67 RBIs. He connected for a career-best 26 doubles to lead the team. On December 4th, exactly a year following his trade from Baltimore, the Astros shipped Blefary to the Yankees for Joe Pepitone (#589).
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First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #49
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1965-72
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1981 TCMA The 1960s II #412
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 62 in the Beckett online database as of 11/17/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog
1965 Topps Blog
#457 Dalton Jones - Boston Red Sox / #459 Dave Boswell - Minnesota Twins
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