 |
 |
William Edwin Melton
Chicago White Sox
Third Base
Born: July 7, 1945, Gulfport, MS
Signed: Signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before 1964 season
Major League Teams: Chicago White Sox 1968-75; California Angels 1976; Cleveland Indians 1977
Slugger Bill Melton played eight seasons with the White Sox and ten seasons in the majors overall. Melton earned Chicago's regular third baseman's job in 1969, and he'd become known for his power numbers and for his adventures in fielding at third base. He hit 33 home runs and had a career-high 96 RBIs in 1970, and then had a career year in 1971. Melton batted .269 with 33 home runs and 86 RBIs, being named to his sole All-Star team and finishing 13th in the league's MVP voting. He was the first White Sox player to lead the league in home runs, beating out Norm Cash (#80) and Reggie Jackson (#260) with a single home run. An offseason back injury suffered while falling off his roof cut his 1972 season short and diminished his power numbers over the remainder of his playing days.
Melton settled into more of a designated hitter role later in his career, playing a final two seasons with the Angels and Indians. Upon his retirement, he was the all-time home run leader for the White Sox with 154. Melton batted .253 with 160 home runs overall and 591 RBIs. He'd return to the White Sox in 1992 in a community relations role, and he was a member of the team's broadcast booth between 1998 and 2020.
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 131st of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost a little over a dollar.
The Card / White Sox Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
I don't think Melton is wearing a White Sox uniform here, despite the fact he hadn't yet played for another big league team. The picture seems to be taken inside a clubhouse and is similar to the photo used for his 1970 Topps card, where the hat logo is blacked out. If you squint, and use a little imagination, the sign behind him possibly says Hawaii Islanders, which is where Melton spent the bulk of the 1968 season. The Islanders were then the top farm team for the White Sox.
This is Melton's rookie card. The back of the card mentions Melton got his shot when regular third baseman Pete Ward (#155) was injured in 1968. Ward would serve as a super utility player in 1969 and then get dealt to the Yankees once Melton proved he could handle the everyday third base job. I love how Topps depicts any offseason activity in cartoon form with falling snow.
Accuracy Index: I'm making the call that Melton isn't actually wearing a White Sox jersey here, dropping his score to -8.
1969 Season
Melton's first full season in the majors, he batted .255 with 23 home runs and 87 RBIs, leading the team in both power categories. This was the first of seven consecutive seasons Melton was the team's opening day third baseman. Melton hit three home runs agains the Pilots June 24th.
|
|
|
|
|
First Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #481
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1969-77
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1977 Topps #107
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 65 in the Beckett online database as of 11/29/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
No comments:
Post a Comment