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Robert Awtry Locker
Chicago White Sox
Pitcher
Born: March 15, 1938, George, IA
Signed: Signed by the Chicago White as an amateur free agent, June 14, 1960
Major League Teams: Chicago White Sox 1965-69; Seattle Pilots 1969; Milwaukee Brewers 1970; Oakland Athletics 1970-72; Chicago Cubs 1973, 1975
World Series Appearances: Oakland Athletics 1972
Died: August 15, 2022, Bozeman, MT (age 84)
Sinker baller Bob Locker was a durable reliever throughout his ten seasons in the majors, appearing in at least 45 games in every season except his last. He led the American League in games pitched with 77 in 1967, a year in which he earned an impressive 2.09 ERA and saved 20 games, second best in the league. Locker was dealt to the expansion Pilots in the middle of 1969 and he followed the club when they moved to Milwaukee for the 1970 season. After a short time with the Brewers, he was sold to the Athletics, where he'd be a key part of that team's bullpen when they advanced to the playoffs in 1971 and 1972. Locker won a World Series ring with Oakland in 1972, but pitched just a third of an inning in that year's World Series.
Died: August 15, 2022, Bozeman, MT (age 84)
Sinker baller Bob Locker was a durable reliever throughout his ten seasons in the majors, appearing in at least 45 games in every season except his last. He led the American League in games pitched with 77 in 1967, a year in which he earned an impressive 2.09 ERA and saved 20 games, second best in the league. Locker was dealt to the expansion Pilots in the middle of 1969 and he followed the club when they moved to Milwaukee for the 1970 season. After a short time with the Brewers, he was sold to the Athletics, where he'd be a key part of that team's bullpen when they advanced to the playoffs in 1971 and 1972. Locker won a World Series ring with Oakland in 1972, but pitched just a third of an inning in that year's World Series.
He enjoyed one more solid season with the Cubs in 1973, going 10-6 with a 2.54 ERA and saving 18 games as the team's closer. In 576 career games, Locker's record was 57-39 with a 2.75 ERA and 95 saves. His saves total is currently 179th on the all-time list while his games finished total of 288 is 140th.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #467
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
The Card / White Sox Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
Having had success the prior two shows at Uncle Dick's Cards with his well-organized, neon common binders, I opted to pull up a chair once again at the friendly dealer's array of tables. The aim was simple: Clear out Uncle Dick's 1969 Topps commons, starting off where I had left off the year before with card #501 and going through the end of the set, card #664. In less than 25 minutes, I completed my quest, and this is the 23rd of 98 commons pulled from the binder. After a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card cost me less than a dollar.
The Card / White Sox Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
Locker wore #23 during his time with the White Sox, and the uniform number can be seen on his right shoulder. The White Sox went from a block-lettered "Chicago" on the front of their jerseys to a script "Chicago" in 1967, meaning this picture of Locker was taken during the 1966 season. The back of the card highlights his status as one of the top American League relievers, while the cartoon focuses on his geology degree, attained from Iowa State University.
Accuracy Index: Locker's card scores a +5.
1969 Season
Locker began the season in the White Sox bullpen, appearing in 17 games and enduring a pair of rough relief outings that saw his ERA balloon above seven. On June 8th, Locker was dealt to the Pilots for pitcher Gary Bell (#377), and he'd go from a third place team in Chicago to a fourth place team in Seattle. Both the White Sox and Pilots would eventually settle at the bottom of the American League West. Locker was one of the best relievers for the Pilots. He went 3-3 with an impressive 2.18 ERA in 51 appearances, with only Diego Segui (#511), Jim Bouton and John O'Donoghue getting more use out of the bullpen.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #541
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1965-75
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2019 Topps Heritage Inaugural Brew Crew Autographs #IBC-BL
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 57 in the Beckett online database as of 2/17/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Locker began the season in the White Sox bullpen, appearing in 17 games and enduring a pair of rough relief outings that saw his ERA balloon above seven. On June 8th, Locker was dealt to the Pilots for pitcher Gary Bell (#377), and he'd go from a third place team in Chicago to a fourth place team in Seattle. Both the White Sox and Pilots would eventually settle at the bottom of the American League West. Locker was one of the best relievers for the Pilots. He went 3-3 with an impressive 2.18 ERA in 51 appearances, with only Diego Segui (#511), Jim Bouton and John O'Donoghue getting more use out of the bullpen.
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First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #541
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1965-75
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2019 Topps Heritage Inaugural Brew Crew Autographs #IBC-BL
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 57 in the Beckett online database as of 2/17/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog
1965 Topps Blog
#547 Billy Martin MG - Minnesota Twins / #549 Ron Brand - Montreal Expos
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