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Richard Clark Ellsworth
Cleveland Indians
Pitcher
Born: March 22, 1940, Lusk, WY
Signed: Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent, June 16, 1958
Major League Teams: Chicago Cubs 1958, 1960-66; Philadelphia Phillies 1967; Boston Red Sox 1968-69; Cleveland Indians 1969-70; Milwaukee Brewers 1970-71
Died: October 10, 2022, Fresno, CA (age 82)
One of the most reliable starting pitchers for a long run of awful Cubs teams, Dick Ellsworth won 22 games in 1963 and was a National League All-Star in 1964. The 1963 season was by far his best over a 13-year career as Ellsworth went 22-10 with a 2.11 ERA and garnered some MVP votes. He struck out 185 batters over 290 2/3 innings pitched. It wasn't being tracked then, but his 1963 bWAR of 9.9 puts him in the company of Willie Mays - 10.6 (#190), Sandy Koufax - 9.9, and Henry Aaron - 9.1 (#100) for the year. He leads all Cubs pitchers in several pitching categories for the decade of the 1960s, including wins (84), games started (235), complete games (71) and innings pitched (1,611).
After leaving the Cubs in a trade with the Phillies in December 1966, Ellsworth never found the same success he had enjoyed in Chicago, although he did go 16-7 with a 3.03 ERA for the 1968 Red Sox. In 407 career games, Ellsworth was 115-137 with a 3.72 ERA and 1,140 strikeouts.
One of the most reliable starting pitchers for a long run of awful Cubs teams, Dick Ellsworth won 22 games in 1963 and was a National League All-Star in 1964. The 1963 season was by far his best over a 13-year career as Ellsworth went 22-10 with a 2.11 ERA and garnered some MVP votes. He struck out 185 batters over 290 2/3 innings pitched. It wasn't being tracked then, but his 1963 bWAR of 9.9 puts him in the company of Willie Mays - 10.6 (#190), Sandy Koufax - 9.9, and Henry Aaron - 9.1 (#100) for the year. He leads all Cubs pitchers in several pitching categories for the decade of the 1960s, including wins (84), games started (235), complete games (71) and innings pitched (1,611).
After leaving the Cubs in a trade with the Phillies in December 1966, Ellsworth never found the same success he had enjoyed in Chicago, although he did go 16-7 with a 3.03 ERA for the 1968 Red Sox. In 407 career games, Ellsworth was 115-137 with a 3.72 ERA and 1,140 strikeouts.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #507
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 / Indians Team Set / Accuracy Index +1
1969 Season
After pitching in two games for the Red Sox, Ellsworth, along with Ken Harrelson (#240) and Juan Pizarro (#498), was traded to the Indians for Joe Azcue (#176), Vicente Romo (#267) and Sonny Siebert (#455). Ellsworth pitched in 34 games for the Indians, making 22 starts and throwing 135 innings. For the season, he was 6-9 with a 4.10 ERA in 36 games in 147 innings pitched.
Phillies Career
On December 7, 1966, the Cubs traded Ellsworth to the Phillies for Ray Culp (#391) and cash. He was to bolster a strong pitching rotation that already included Jim Bunning (#175), Chris Short (#395) and his former Cubs teammate Larry Jackson. The starting pitching held up their end of the bargain in 1967, but the offense did not and the Phillies finished with a 82-80 record and in fifth place. Ellsworth had an inconsistent season, and he found himself in the bullpen for a stretch. His best performance was most likely his first start of the season, in which he allowed a run in a complete game victory over the Mets. He also pitched a complete game shutout against the Cubs on August 12th, and at one point had thrown 19 2/3 scoreless innings in relief.
A little over a year after first joining the Phillies, he was dealt to the Red Sox on December 15, 1967 with Gene Oliver (#247) for Mike Ryan (#28) and cash. In his one season with the Phillies, Ellsworth went 6-7 over 32 games (21 starts) with a 4.38 ERA.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1960 Topps #125
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1960-71
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1971 Topps #309
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 61 in the Beckett online database as of 5/23/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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 63rd 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 / Indians Team Set / Accuracy Index +1
Ellsworth is wearing a Cubs jersey here, and the photo could be from the same session as the photo used by Topps for his 1965 card. The cartoon on the back of the card highlights the 10 complete games thrown by Ellsworth in 1968, and the write-up explains to collectors why Ellsworth is shown with the Indians as his team.
Accuracy Index: Ellsworth's card drops to a -8 for the wrong jersey (-5) and no hat (-3).
1969 Season
After pitching in two games for the Red Sox, Ellsworth, along with Ken Harrelson (#240) and Juan Pizarro (#498), was traded to the Indians for Joe Azcue (#176), Vicente Romo (#267) and Sonny Siebert (#455). Ellsworth pitched in 34 games for the Indians, making 22 starts and throwing 135 innings. For the season, he was 6-9 with a 4.10 ERA in 36 games in 147 innings pitched.
On December 7, 1966, the Cubs traded Ellsworth to the Phillies for Ray Culp (#391) and cash. He was to bolster a strong pitching rotation that already included Jim Bunning (#175), Chris Short (#395) and his former Cubs teammate Larry Jackson. The starting pitching held up their end of the bargain in 1967, but the offense did not and the Phillies finished with a 82-80 record and in fifth place. Ellsworth had an inconsistent season, and he found himself in the bullpen for a stretch. His best performance was most likely his first start of the season, in which he allowed a run in a complete game victory over the Mets. He also pitched a complete game shutout against the Cubs on August 12th, and at one point had thrown 19 2/3 scoreless innings in relief.
A little over a year after first joining the Phillies, he was dealt to the Red Sox on December 15, 1967 with Gene Oliver (#247) for Mike Ryan (#28) and cash. In his one season with the Phillies, Ellsworth went 6-7 over 32 games (21 starts) with a 4.38 ERA.
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First Mainstream Card: 1960 Topps #125
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1960-71
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1971 Topps #309
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 61 in the Beckett online database as of 5/23/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Poor Dick Ellsworth. After Topps botched his 1966 card by including a photo of the 2-years-deceased Ken Hubbs, for the next 3 years they used unattractive "giant head" photos of him.
ReplyDeleteBack in the 1960s, the Phillies (and I suspect most teams) used a 4-man pitching rotation. Ellsworth started off the 1967 season as the #4 starter, but was soon passed by Rick Wise, and relegated to spot starting and bullpen work. At some point, they started using Grant Jackson as the spot starter - mostly for 2nd games of doubleheaders.
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