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George Heard Stone
Atlanta Braves
Pitcher
Born: July 9, 1946, Ruston, LA
Drafted: Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 5th round of the 1966 amateur draft, June 7, 1966
Major League Teams: Atlanta Braves 1967-72; New York Mets 1973-75
World Series Appearances: New York Mets 1973
Drafted by the Braves in 1966, George Stone made his big league debut a year later as a September call-up. After an additional audition in 1968, he'd be up for good in 1969. Stone went 13-10 with a 3.65 in 36 games in 1969, helping to lead the Braves to the National League West pennant. He'd get his first taste of postseason action that year against the Mets, the team for which, a few years later, he'd have the most success. Stone won 11 games in 1970 while throwing a career-high 207 1/3 innings. A swingman for the Braves the next two seasons, he was traded to the Mets on November 2, 1972 with Felix Millan (#210) for Danny Frisella (#343) and Gary Gentry (#31). Stone was a key member of the Mets' pitching staff in 1973, going 12-3 with a 2.80 ERA and winning his last eight decisions to help the Mets reach the postseason. He started Game 4 of the NLCS against the Reds, and was used out of the bullpen in a losing World Series effort against the Athletics. Stone earned a save in Game 2 of the World Series.
Drafted by the Braves in 1966, George Stone made his big league debut a year later as a September call-up. After an additional audition in 1968, he'd be up for good in 1969. Stone went 13-10 with a 3.65 in 36 games in 1969, helping to lead the Braves to the National League West pennant. He'd get his first taste of postseason action that year against the Mets, the team for which, a few years later, he'd have the most success. Stone won 11 games in 1970 while throwing a career-high 207 1/3 innings. A swingman for the Braves the next two seasons, he was traded to the Mets on November 2, 1972 with Felix Millan (#210) for Danny Frisella (#343) and Gary Gentry (#31). Stone was a key member of the Mets' pitching staff in 1973, going 12-3 with a 2.80 ERA and winning his last eight decisions to help the Mets reach the postseason. He started Game 4 of the NLCS against the Reds, and was used out of the bullpen in a losing World Series effort against the Athletics. Stone earned a save in Game 2 of the World Series.
He was dealt to the Rangers on February 24, 1976 for Bill Hands (#115), with both pitchers retiring instead of reporting to their new teams. In 203 games, including 145 starts, Stone was 60-57 with a 3.89 ERA in 1,020 2/3 innings pitched.
Building the Set / Card #518
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 74th of 98 commons pulled from the binder. After a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card cost me less than $2.
This is Stone's rookie card, and he's modeling the new pinstriped home jerseys debuted by the Braves in 1969. Cecil Upshaw (#568) has the only other card in the set showing the new uniforms. The cartoon on the back of the card lets collectors know that Stone and Upshaw were cousins. The write-up on the back summarizes Stone's successful ascent to the majors in 1968.
Accuracy Index: Stone's card earns a +5 and could have received extra credit for showing the new Braves uniforms.
1969 Season
Stone began the season in the Braves' bullpen, but moved into the starting pitching rotation in late April. As mentioned above, his pitching helped the Braves to the first National League West pennant. On September 12th against the Astros, Stone hit his only career home run to give the Braves a 4-3 win.
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First Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #627
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1969-76
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1976 Topps #567
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 28 in the Beckett online database as of 5/31/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
#626 Gene Michael - New York Yankees / #628 Red Sox Rookie Stars
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