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Donald Ray Bryant
Houston Astros
Catcher
Born: July 13, 1941, Jasper, FL
Signed: Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent, June 24, 1959
Major League Teams: Chicago Cubs 1966; Houston Astros 1969-70
Died: January 22, 2015, Jacksonville, FL (age 73)
Steven Francis Shea
Houston Astros
Pitcher
Born: December 5, 1942, Worcester, MA
Signed: Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent before 1961 season
Major League Teams: Houston Astros 1968; Montreal Expos 1969
Died: March 4, 2015, North Hampton, NH (age 72)
Don Bryant played briefly in the majors, but spent 13 seasons and 871 games in the minor leagues between 1960 and 1973. Drafted by the Tigers, Bryant spent the first 5 1/2 seasons of his professional career climbing the ranks of Detroit's minor league system. In 1962 with the D-Level Jamestown Tigers, Bryant batted .272 while attaining career highs in a single season for home runs and RBIs, with eight and 65, respectively. Sold to the Cubs in December 1965, he'd finally crack the major leagues, playing 13 games with Chicago in the summer of 1966. Bryant was back to the minors for two more seasons before getting another chance with the Astros in 1969. For his big league career, he batted .220 in 59 games, with one home run and 13 RBIs.
Bryant finished up his playing days as a player-coach with the Pawtucket Red Sox in 1973. Pawtucket's manager, Darrell Johnson, was promoted to manage the Red Sox in 1974, and brought Bryant with him. Bryant served as Johnson's bullpen coach with the Red Sox (1975-76) and Mariners (1977-80).
Steve Shea was originally signed by the Cubs in 1961, but released by the team three years later. After being out of baseball for over a year, Shea signed with the Astros in August 1965. He'd earn a promotion in July 1968, eventually pitching in 30 games, all in relief, for Houston. Shea was 4-4 with a 3.38 ERA and six saves in his lone season with the Astros, and those six saves led the team. Right before the start of the 1969 season, Shea was sold to the expansion Expos. He'd make 10 appearances with the Expos, pitching fairly well, before getting demoted back to the minors. Shea wouldn't return to the big leagues before retiring from baseball in 1971. In 40 games with the Astros and Expos, he was 4-4 with a 3.22 ERA in 50 1/3 innings pitched.
Building the Set / Card #437
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Astros Team Set / Bryant Accuracy Index +5 / Shea Accuracy Index -7
This is the rookie card for both players, and the first and last card for Shea.
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
This is it! After a full year of having these cards stacked on my project table, I finally picked up the last card on the bottom of the pile to admire and write about for this blog. I have a few more cards to go before I'm completely up to date, but it's nice to have this haul from last December cleared out and properly bindered.
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 last 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.
The Card / Astros Team Set / Bryant Accuracy Index +5 / Shea Accuracy Index -7
This is the rookie card for both players, and the first and last card for Shea.
Accuracy Index: Bryant scores a standard +5, but Shea drops to -7, losing points since he didn't actually play for the Astros in 1969.
Other Notable Baseball Cards - Bryant
First Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #499
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4): 1969-70, 1974, 1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1977 Topps #597
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 13 in the Beckett online database as of 12/3/24.
Sources - Bryant:
Other Notable Baseball Cards - Shea
First Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #499
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1): 1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #499
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 2 in the Beckett online database as of 12/3/24.
Sources - Shea:
1969 Season - Bryant
On December 2, 1968, the Astros selected Bryant from the Giants in the annual rule 5 draft. Required to stay on the Astros roster all season, Bryant made it into 31 games, batting .186 with a home run and six RBIs. In a rare start on May 1st against the Reds, Bryant caught Don Wilson's second career no-hitter. He'd make just 18 starts all season as the back-up to regular catcher Johnny Edwards.
On December 2, 1968, the Astros selected Bryant from the Giants in the annual rule 5 draft. Required to stay on the Astros roster all season, Bryant made it into 31 games, batting .186 with a home run and six RBIs. In a rare start on May 1st against the Reds, Bryant caught Don Wilson's second career no-hitter. He'd make just 18 starts all season as the back-up to regular catcher Johnny Edwards.
1969 Season - Shea
On April 3rd, the Expos purchased Shea's contract from the Astros. He make his Expos debut six days later, pitching two-thirds of a scoreless inning on April 9th. He was used sparingly by manager Gene Mauch over the first two months of the season, appearing in 10 games overall, and having a 2.87 ERA in 15 2/3 innings pitched. Shea struck out 11 and walked eight. Demoted to the Triple-A Vancouver Mounties for the remainder of the season, Shea appeared in 33 games, all in relief, and was 2-5 with a 3.68 ERA over 71 innings pitched.
On April 3rd, the Expos purchased Shea's contract from the Astros. He make his Expos debut six days later, pitching two-thirds of a scoreless inning on April 9th. He was used sparingly by manager Gene Mauch over the first two months of the season, appearing in 10 games overall, and having a 2.87 ERA in 15 2/3 innings pitched. Shea struck out 11 and walked eight. Demoted to the Triple-A Vancouver Mounties for the remainder of the season, Shea appeared in 33 games, all in relief, and was 2-5 with a 3.68 ERA over 71 innings pitched.
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Other Notable Baseball Cards - Bryant
First Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #499
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4): 1969-70, 1974, 1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1977 Topps #597
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 13 in the Beckett online database as of 12/3/24.
Sources - Bryant:
Other Notable Baseball Cards - Shea
First Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #499
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1): 1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #499
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 2 in the Beckett online database as of 12/3/24.
Sources - Shea:
#498 Juan Pizarro - Boston Red Sox / #500 Mickey Mantle - New York Yankees
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