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Woodson George Held
Chicago White Sox
Infield-Outfield
Born: March 25, 1932, Sacramento, CA
Signed: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1951 season
Major League Teams: New York Yankees 1954, 1957; Kansas City Athletics 1957-58; Cleveland Indians 1958-64; Washington Senators 1965; Baltimore Orioles 1966-67; California Angels 1967-68; Chicago White Sox 1968-69
Died: June 11, 2009, DuBois, WY (age 77)
Woodie Held, or Woody as he was known by Topps on most of his baseball cards, was a super utility player who appeared in 14 big league seasons, spending most of his career with the Indians. Held spent 6 1/2 seasons in the Yankees' minor league system before a blockbuster trade in June 1957 (including Billy Martin, #547) sent him to the Athletics and made him that team's everyday centerfield. Held was on the move again in 1958, dealt to the Indians with Vic Power with Roger Maris (#164) heading to Kansas City. Held settled into the role of the Indians' regular shortstop, enjoying his best seasons between 1959 and 1961. He became the first Indians' shortstop to hit at least 20 home runs in a season, hitting a career-high 29 in 1959. His 85 home runs as a shortstop for the club was a record until broken by Jhonny Peralta in 2009.
Woodie Held, or Woody as he was known by Topps on most of his baseball cards, was a super utility player who appeared in 14 big league seasons, spending most of his career with the Indians. Held spent 6 1/2 seasons in the Yankees' minor league system before a blockbuster trade in June 1957 (including Billy Martin, #547) sent him to the Athletics and made him that team's everyday centerfield. Held was on the move again in 1958, dealt to the Indians with Vic Power with Roger Maris (#164) heading to Kansas City. Held settled into the role of the Indians' regular shortstop, enjoying his best seasons between 1959 and 1961. He became the first Indians' shortstop to hit at least 20 home runs in a season, hitting a career-high 29 in 1959. His 85 home runs as a shortstop for the club was a record until broken by Jhonny Peralta in 2009.
After a brief stint with the Senators, Held moved on to the Orioles where he was a valuable utility player and pinch-hitter. He was on the team's World Series roster in 1966, earning a ring when the Orioles swept the Dodgers, but he didn't see any action in the four games. Held would play three more years in the majors with the Angels and White Sox before retiring. Over 1,390 games, Held collected 963 hits, batted .240 and had 179 home runs with 559 RBIs.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #525
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 -8
1969 Season
In his 14th and final season in the majors, Held appeared in 56 games for the White Sox, batting .143 with a pair of doubles, three home runs and six RBIs. Most of his appearances came as a pinch-hitter, and he batted .100 (2 for 20) in that role with a home run. True to his super utility status, Held saw time in the field at all three outfield spots, second base, third base and shortstop. Two of his final four appearances in the big leagues came as a pinch-runner.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1958 Topps #202
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1958-69
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1979 TCMA The 1950s #174
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 75 in the Beckett online database as of 6/13/25.
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 81st of 98 commons pulled from the binder. After a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card cost me a little less than $1.50.
The Card / White Sox Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
Held is wearing an Angels uniform here, his team for parts of the 1967 and 1968 seasons. Both the cartoon and write-up on the back harken back to his minor league days, with the 35 home runs and 125 RBIs referenced hit during his 1956 season with the Triple-A Denver Bears.
Accuracy Index: Held receives a rare, late series -8 for the former team's uniform (-5) and lack of a hat (-3).
1969 Season
In his 14th and final season in the majors, Held appeared in 56 games for the White Sox, batting .143 with a pair of doubles, three home runs and six RBIs. Most of his appearances came as a pinch-hitter, and he batted .100 (2 for 20) in that role with a home run. True to his super utility status, Held saw time in the field at all three outfield spots, second base, third base and shortstop. Two of his final four appearances in the big leagues came as a pinch-runner.
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First Mainstream Card: 1958 Topps #202
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1958-69
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1979 TCMA The 1950s #174
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 75 in the Beckett online database as of 6/13/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog
1965 Topps Blog
#635 George Culver - Cincinnati Reds / #637 Padres Rookie Stars
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