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Horace Guy Womack
Houston Astros
Pitcher
Born: August 25, 1939, Columbia, SC
Signed: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1958 season
Major League Teams: New York Yankees 1966-68; Houston Astros 1969; Seattle Pilots 1969; Oakland Athletics 1970
Pitcher Dooley Womack pitched professionally for 14 seasons, spending eight full seasons in the minor leagues before earning a promotion to the Yankees in 1966. His best season came in 1967 when Womack relieved in 65 games, going 5-6 with a 2.41 ERA. He was the most frequently used reliever by manager Ralph Houk (#447), leading the club with 18 saves, and was the winning pitcher on May 14, 1967, the game in which Mickey Mantle (#500) hit his 500th career home run. Womack didn't return to the success he found in 1967, relieving in 45 games in 1968 and going 3-7 with a 3.21 ERA and only a pair of saves. Within a nine-month period following the 1968 season, Womack was dealt first to the Astros and then to the Pilots. He'd pitch relatively well for both clubs, but spent most of 1970 pitching for the Reds' Triple-A team in Indianapolis.
Womack's last big league action came with two games for the Athletics, after the club had purchased his contract from the Reds on August 14, 1970. For his career, Womack was 19-18 with a 2.95 ERA in 193 games pitched, with 177 strikeouts and 111 walks over 302 1/3 innings.
Building the Set / Card #501
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 57th of 98 commons pulled from the binder. After a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card cost me less than $1.50.
The Card / Astros Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
Kudos to Topps for getting a photo of Womack during spring training in 1969 wearing his new club's uniform. The back is mostly his long list of minor and major league pitching statistics. This is his last appearance in a Topps flagship set, and despite his successful 1969 season, Topps omitted him from its 1970 release.
Accuracy Index: Womack's card earns a +5.
1969 Season
On December 4, 1968, Womack was traded by the Yankees to the Astros for outfielder Dick Simpson (#608). He relieved in 30 games for the Astros, going 2-1 with a 3.51 ERA in 51 1/3 innings pitched. On August 24th, he was dealt straight up to the Pilots for veteran pitcher Jim Bouton. Womack appeared in nine games and was 2-1 with a 2.51 ERA in 14 1/3 innings pitched. Bouton would write in his tell-all memoir Ball Four, "Maybe it's me for a hundred thousand, and Dooley Womack is just a throw-in. I'd hate to think that at this stage of my career I was being traded even-up for Dooley Womack."
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First Mainstream Card: 1966 Topps #469
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4): 1966-69
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1981 TCMA The 1960s II #339
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 16 in the Beckett online database as of 5/11/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
It's been a number of years since I've read Ball Four. One of the things that I remember from the book is Bouton's comments about being traded to Houston and that he was 'shockingly' traded for Dooley Womack.
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