#527 Al Lopez MG - Chicago White Sox

Alfonso Ramon Lopez
Chicago White Sox
Manager

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  165
Born:  August 20, 1908, Tampa, FL
Acquired:  Purchased by the Brooklyn Robins from Jacksonville (Southeastern), August 26, 1927
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Robins 1928, 1930-31; Brooklyn Dodgers 1932-35; Boston Bees 1936-40; Pittsburgh Pirates 1940-46; Cleveland Indians 1947

As a Manager:  Cleveland Indians 1951-56; Chicago White Sox 1957-65, 1968-69
Died:  October 30, 2005, Tampa, FL (age 97)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1977

As a catcher, Al Lopez played in 19 seasons and was a two-time All-Star in 1934 with the Dodgers and in 1941 with the Pirates.  Durable behind the plate, he at one time held the record for total games caught with 1,918, broken by Bob Boone in 1987 and since surpassed by nine other backstops.  Known more for his defense than his bat, Lopez was still a career .261 hitter and he hit 51 home runs with 652 RBIs over 1,950 games.

As a manager, Lopez built a Hall of Fame resume by leading the 1954 Indians and 1959 White Sox to the World Series, interrupting a dynasty of Yankee pennant winning teams between 1949 and 1964.  Over 17 seasons as a manager, he compiled a lifetime winning percentage of .584, going 1,410-1,004.  In the years between 1951 and 1965, his teams finished in second place or won the pennant 12 out of 15 times.  The Veterans Committee elected him into the Hall of Fame in 1977.

At the age of 97, Lopez watched the White Sox win the World Series in 2005, their first title since 1917.  He passed away four days later and at the time of his death he represented the last living ballplayer who had played in the majors in the 1920s.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #459
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 15th of 98 commons pulled from the binder.  After a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card cost me less than $3.

The Card / White Sox Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

Lopez had last appeared on a Topps card back in 1965, and the photo used here is from the same session as the photo used for that 1965 card.  The back of the card highlights his 1959 American League pennant winning team.

Accuracy Index:  Lopez earns a +5.

1969 Season
Lopez managed the first 17 games of the White Sox season, guiding the team to an 8-9 record, before the insomnia that plagued his later years as a manager returned.  Acknowledging it was time to leave the dugout, he first told his coaches of his decision to step down, and handed the reins to coach Don Gutteridge.  With Gutteridge at the helm, the White Sox compiled a 60-85 record, finishing 68-94 overall, and in fifth place in the American League West.  The expansion Pilots lost four more games, saving the White Sox from a last place finish.

Starting pitcher Tommy John (#465) and shortstop Luis Aparicio (#75) were the team's best players.  Aparicio batted .280 while providing steady infield defense.  Third baseman Bill Melton (#481) led the team with 23 home runs and 87 RBIs.  Left fielder Carlos May (#654) was second on the club with 18 home runs.  John was 9-11 with a 3.25 ERA in 33 starts.  Joe Horlen (#328) led the staff with 13 wins, and lefty Gary Peters (#34) had a team-leading 140 strikeouts.  Wilbur Wood (#123) and his knuckleball made 76 relief appearances, saving 15 games.

The White Sox nearly left Chicago for Milwaukee, as car salesman Bud Selig tried to convince their owner to sell to him.  The White Sox would remain in Chicago, with Selig instead orchestrating the Pilots move from Seattle to Milwaukee for the 1970 season.

1934-36 National Chicle Diamond Stars (R327) #28

1938 Goudey Heads-Up (R323) #281

1951 Bowman #295

1960 Topps #222

1965 Topps #414

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1934-36 National Chicle Diamond Stars (R327) #28
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1960-65, 1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2023 Panini Prize #267
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  235 in the Beckett online database as of 2/2/25.

Update Cards

For my 1965 Topps blog, I used the team card posts to come up with five or six candidates per team for an imaginary update series.  With no team cards in the 1969 Topps set, I'll use each manager card for this exercise, and come up with a list of deserving cards to be included in an 8th/update series. 

• Don Gutteridge (manager) - Gutteridge would manage the White Sox for the bulk of the 1969 season and for 136 games of the 1970 season, before being replaced by Bill Adair on an interim basis and then Chuck Tanner on a permanent basis.
• Gail Hopkins (1b) - Gail Hopkins made 94 starts at first base and would earn his rookie card in the 1970 Topps set.
• Bobby Knoop (2b) - Bobby Knoop (#445) made 100 starts at second base after being acquired from the Angels on May 14th for Sandy Alomar (#283) and Bob Priddy (#248).
• Carlos May (lf) - May was Chicago's regular left fielder and shared a Rookie Stars card in the set with two other players.
• Billy Wynne (rhp) - And finally, Billy Wynne, a classmate of my Dad's at Pfeiffer College, would earn a card in my update set.  Wynne was 7-7 with a 4.06 ERA in 20 starts.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference - Lopez / Baseball Reference - 1969 White Sox / SABR / Wikipedia

National Baseball Hall of Fame
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1934-36 Diamond Stars Blog / 1965 Topps Blog

#526 Hector Torres - Houston Astros / #528 Claude Osteen - Los Angeles Dodgers

#274 Clyde King MG - San Francisco Giants

Clyde Edward King
San Francisco Giants
Manager

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  175
Born:  May 23, 1924, Goldsboro, NC
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1944 season
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1944-1945, 1947-1948, 1951-1952; Cincinnati Redlegs 1953

As a Manager:  San Francisco Giants 1969-1970; Atlanta Braves 1974-1975; New York Yankees 1982
Died:  November 2, 2010, Goldsboro, NC (age 86)

Clyde King was a veteran of 67 baseball seasons, as a pitcher, coach, manager, general manager and front office executive, with 35 of those seasons coming with the New York Yankees.  As a pitcher, King pitched in six different seasons with the Dodgers between 1944 and 1952, and was a member of their pennant-winning teams in 1947 and 1952.  In 1951, he was 14-7 with a 4.15 ERA in 48 games and a career-high 121 1/3 innings pitched.  In 200 major league games, King was 32-25 with a 4.14 ERA.  He was a member of the major league coaching staffs of the Reds (1959) and Pirates (1965-1967), before getting his first major league managerial assignment with the Giants in 1969.  

King guided the Giants to 90 wins in his first season, but he clashed with star Willie Mays (#190) and he'd be dismissed half-way through the 1970 season.  He'd manage the Braves for parts of two seasons in the mid-1970s, and joined the Yankees' front office in 1976.  With the Yankees, King was a super scout, coach (1978, 1981-1982, 1988), general manager and special advisor to owner George Steinbrenner.  He finished out the 1982 season as the Yankees' manager, his last managerial stint, and his lifetime record at the helm was 234-229.

Building the Set / Card #255
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

In mid-March last year, over a year ago at this point, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set.  That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon.  I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.

This is the 178th of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York.  My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside.  After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far.  With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298.  The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me $1.25.

The Card / Giants Team Set / Accuracy Index -8

This card marks King return to Topps set, as he had last appeared in the 1952 Topps set on a somewhat iconic card that appears to show the pitcher cross-eyed.  King is wearing a Pirates uniform here, as he had been the team's pitching coach through the 1967 season.  The highlight on the back mentions King winning both ends of a double header, which happened on August 22, 1951 against the Cardinals.

Accuracy Index:  King drops to -8 for the Pirates jersey (-5) and blacked out hat (-3).

1969 Season
King managed the Triple-A Phoenix Giants in 1968, and he was named the Giants' manager for the 1969 season following the dismissal of Herman Franks.  The Giants were in first place as late as September 22nd, ultimately falling to the Braves for the National League West pennant over the final week of the season.  The Giants boasted future Hall of Famers Willie McCovey (#440) at first base, Mays in center field and Gaylord Perry (#485) and Juan Marichal (#370) atop their pitching rotation.

McCovey won the team's Triple Crown, batting .320 with 45 home runs and 126 RBIs, and won the league MVP award following the season.  Right fielder Bobby Bonds (#630) was also an offensive force, batting .259 with 32 home runs and 90 RBIs.  Marichael was a 21-game winner with Perry winning 19 games.

Phillies Connection
King was the property of the Dodgers for nine years between 1944 and 1952, with only a five-day period during which he was a member of the Phillies organization.  The Phillies selected King off waivers from the Dodgers on June 9, 1948, with the Dodgers re-acquiring him off waivers from the Phillies on June 14, 1948.  He didn't appear in any games for any of the Phillies' minor league affiliates during that brief time.

1951 Bowman #299

1952 Topps #205

1970 Topps #624

1975 Topps #589

1983 Topps #486

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #299
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1952, 1969-1970, 1975, 1983
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1995 Topps Archives Brooklyn Dodgers #12
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  31 in the Beckett online database as of 3/3/24.

Update Cards

For my 1965 Topps blog, I used the team card posts to come up with five or six candidates per team for an imaginary update series.  With no team cards in the 1969 Topps set, I'll use each manager card for this exercise, and come up with a list of deserving cards to be included in an 8th/update series.

Like the Reds before them, the Giants are very well-represented in the set and I only came up with five potential update cards.

• Ken Henderson (of) - Fourth outfielder Ken Henderson appeared in 113 games, batting .225.
• Tito Fuentes (inf) - Tito Fuentes made it into 67 games, and was a regular at either third base or shortstop by the end of the season.
• Ron Bryant (lhp) - Ron Bryant appeared in 16 games, including eight starts and was 4-3 with 4.37 ERA.
• Rich Robertson (rhp) - Rich Robertson stars a Rookie Stars card with Cesar Gutierrez (#16), and I'd give him a solo card in my update set.
• George Foster (of) - Future MVP George Foster was a September call-up, appearing in nine games with the Giants.  His rookie card from the 1971 Topps set was still a few years away.
  

Sources:  
Baseball Reference - King / Baseball Reference - 1969 Giants / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#273 Ron Willis - St. Louis Cardinals / #275 Vic Davalillo - California Angels

#91 Al Dark MG - Cleveland Indians

Alvin Ralph Dark
Cleveland Indians
Manager

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  185
Born:  January 7, 1922, Comanche, OK
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Braves as an amateur free agent, July 4, 1946
Major League Teams:  Boston Braves 1946, 1948-1949; New York Giants 1950-1956; St. Louis Cardinals 1956-1958; Chicago Cubs 1958-1959; Philadelphia Phillies 1960; Milwaukee Braves 1960

World Series Appearances:  Boston Braves 1948; New York Giants 1951, 1954; San Francisco Giants 1962; Oakland Athletics 1974
As a Manager:  San Francisco Giants 1961-1964; Kansas City Athletics 1966-1967; Cleveland Indians 1968-1971; Oakland Athletics 1974-1975; San Diego Padres 1977
Died:  November 13, 2014, Easley, SC (age 92)

Al Dark spent 27 years in the majors first as an All-Star shortstop between 1946 and 1960 and then as a successful manager between 1961 and 1977.  Dark was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1948, batting .322 with 48 RBIs.  He was a three-time All-Star (1951, 1952 and 1954) and earned MVP votes in six different seasons.  Dark led the league in doubles with 41 in 1951, the year he helped the Giants reach the World Series.  He'd have to wait until 1954 to win his first World Series ring when he batted .412 during the series while helping the Giants sweep the Indians.  Dark finished eight seasons in the top five for fielding percentage among all National League shortstops and he led the league in double plays turned three times.  In 1,828 career games, Dark batted .289 with 126 home runs and 2,089 hits.

After retiring as a player, Dark began his managerial career with the Giants in 1961, guiding the team to the National League pennant in 1962.  After stints with the Kansas City Athletics and Indians, Dark took over the Oakland Athletics in 1974 and led the team to its third straight World Series.  (The team had won in 1972 and 1973 with Dick Williams (#349) as the manager.)  He was 994-954 as a manager, just missing the 1,000-win plateau.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #44
January 17, 2023 from Greg Morris Cards - Los Angeles, CA
On the evening of January 8th, I found myself sitting in Terminal C of the Philadelphia International Airport waiting to board my flight to Dallas.  Earlier that day, I had enjoyed watching our oldest son Doug at a winter track meet as he pole vaulted for his high school.  I was in a good mood despite the the fact that like most flights that day, my flight had been delayed.  This was for a work trip, and I was doing my best to stay positive and keep myself in the post-holiday happiness hangover that had lingered into the year's second week.  eBay seller Greg Morris Cards, based out of Los Angeles, somehow seems to post cards from various vintage baseball card set breaks on a weekly basis, with the cards typically all in fantastic condition.  With time to kill, knowing that bidding on baseball cards was a surefire good mood sustainer, and having only 40 cards so far for our 1969 Topps set, I pleasantly passed the time by bidding on 62 commons, all with no previous bidders, and all ending within the next 30 hours.

The next afternoon, while on a break at our work conference in the Hilton Anatole, I checked on the auctions, noting I had been outbid on a few, but was still the high bidder for most of the 62 cards.  That night, as auctions were close to ending, and as I was enjoying a few adult beverages at the fine Rodeo Goat establishment across the street from the Hilton, my Apple Watch began vibrating every few seconds as I was outbid on dozens of auctions.  When the dust had settled, I had won 24 new cards at an average price of about $2.50 per card.  This Dark card was $4, and arrived a week after I had made the return trip home from Dallas.

The Card / Indians Team Set / Accuracy Index -8

Dark is wearing a Giants uniform here, a team he last managed in 1964.  Topps had more recent photos of the veteran manager in an Athletics uniform, but this photo was selected as the dark colors more closely approximated an Indians jersey.  The back of the card highlights his World Series heroics.  Dark's .323 average was a result of him going 21 for 65 in the 1948, 1951 and 1954 World Series.  Topps goes with Al for the front, but Alvin on the back.

Accuracy Index:  Dark loses 5 points for the Giants jersey and another 3 points for having his hat logo blacked out.

1969 Season
Dark managed for parts of 13 seasons in the majors, and this was by far the worst.  His Indians team went 62-99 to finish in sixth place in the American League East, 46 1/2 games behind the Orioles.  First baseman Tony Horton took the team Triple Crown by batting .278 with 27 home runs and 93 RBIs.  Right fielder Ken Harrelson (#240) also had 27 home runs.  Sam McDowell (#220) went 18-14 with a 2.94 ERA, 18 complete games and four shutouts.

Phillies Career
Dark came to the Phillies in the trade that saw popular Phillie and future Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn (depart the franchise.  On January 11, 1960, the Phillies acquired Dark, John Buzhardt and Jim Woods from the Cubs for Ashburn.  With Dark at 38, only Dave Philley was older on the club at 40.  Dark was the Phillies' opening day third baseman in 1960 and he was a regular in the line-up until the team traded him on June 23rd to the Braves for Joe Morgan.

His first hit of the season in the team's home opener on April 14th was the 2,000 of his career, a sixth inning infield single off pitcher Don McMahon (#616).  With the Phillies, Dark hit .242 over 55 games, with 3 home runs and 14 RBIs.  His short time with the club earned him a 1960 Topps card, released late in the season.

1949 Bowman #67

1951 Bowman #14

1960 Topps #472

1970 Topps #524

1978 Topps #467

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #67
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (19):  1952-1953, 1956-1964, 1966-1970, 1975, 1978
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2011 Topps Lineage Autographs #RA-AD
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  139 in the Beckett online database as of 1/30/23.

Update Cards

For my 1965 Topps blog, I used the team card posts to come up with five or six candidates per team for an imaginary update series.  With no team cards in the 1969 Topps set, I'll use each manager card for this exercise, and come up with a list of deserving cards to be included in an 8th/update series.  I cut the list off at seven for the Indians, although I could have easily added a few more.

• Tony Horton (1b) - Horton played in seven seasons, with the Indians and Red Sox, and never received a Topps baseball card.  He was the Indians' regular first baseman in 1969, appearing in 159 games.
• Ken Harrelson (rf) - Harrison and Pizarro were acquired from the Red Sox on April 19th.
• Juan Pizarro (lhp) - Like Harrelson, Pizarro (#498) has a card in the set with the Red Sox.
• Lou Klimchock (3b) - The team's most regularly used third baseman was omitted from the set.
• Zoilo Versalles (inf) - The Indians' opening day third baseman, the former MVP is in the set with the expansion Padres (#38), but he'd be traded to Cleveland before ever putting on a Padres uniform.
• Frank Baker (lf) - The Indians used nine different starting left fielders in 1969, with Baker topping them all with 44 starts.  His rookie card is in the 1970 Topps set.
• Ron Law (rhp) - Law's only major league action came in 1969 when he pitched in 35 games for the Indians.  He never appeared in a Topps set.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference - Dark / Baseball Reference - 1969 Indians / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1956 Topps Blog / The Phillies Room

#90 Jerry Koosman - New York Mets / #92 Jack Billingham - Montreal Expos

#500 Mickey Mantle - New York Yankees

Mickey Charles Mantle
New York Yankees
First Base

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  195
Born:  October 20, 1931, Spavinaw, OK
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1951-1968

World Series Appearances:  New York Yankees 1951-1953, 1955-1958, 1960-1964
Died:  August 13, 1995, Dallas, TX (age 63)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1974

Writing about the extremely well-known Hall of Famers in this set is way more difficult and daunting than writing about the fringe players who enjoyed a cup of coffee in the majors.  What can I write here about Mickey Mantle that isn't already well known and better written?

With that caveat out of the way . . . Mickey Mantle, the popular center fielder for the Yankees during their 1950s and early 1960s dynasty, was a three-time A.L. MVP winner, a 20-time All-Star, a triple crown winner in 1956 and a member of 7 World Champion Yankees teams.  He's regarded as one of the best switch hitters in baseball history and was a first ballot Hall of Famer in 1974.  Mantle led the league in home runs four times and in runs scored five times.  He finished his career with a .298 batting average, 2,415 hits, 536 home runs (currently 18th all-time) and 1,509 RBIs.  His #7 was retired by the Yankees upon his retirement in 1969, he ranked 17th on the 1998 Sporting News list of Baseball's 100 Greatest Players, and he was voted as one of the three outfielders on Major League Baseball's All-Century Team.

Not surprisingly, Mantle was my Dad's favorite non-Phillies baseball player.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #32
December 3, 2022 from The Philly Show (Sports Card Plus - Cooper City, FL)
At the outset of The Philly Show, more formally known as the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania, we needed just four cards to complete our 1965 Topps set.  We arrived at the show in a steady rain right after doors opened at 9am, secured our autograph tickets and started walking the floor prior to the arrival of most of the crowd.  My goal for the show was simple:  Find those last four cards needed to complete our 1965 Topps set.  I wrote a full summary of the show in this post over at The Phillies Room.

I found the first three (Orlando Cepedea, Gordy Coleman, Tony Perez rookie card) of the final four after carefully scouring dealer tables throughout the expansive layout.  Having spent a few hours at this point walking the show floor, I had added notes in my phone for the location of five ungraded 1965 Topps Mickey Mantles I had come across so far, none of which had checked off the two qualities I was looking for - relative affordability and excellent or better condition.

When I came across a Mantle card from Sports Card Plus, I knew we had completed our 1965 Topps set.  There was some negotiation, and a little hesitation, but I eventually agreed to the price the dealer finally offered.  And then . . . I went a step further.  In the case next to the stack of 1965 Topps superstar cards was a stack of 1969 Topps superstar cards with the 1969 Topps Mantle card, one of the key cards of that set, on top of the stack.  I asked to see that card as well, studied it for a minute or two, and offered the dealer a bundled price for the two Mantle cards.  My offer was accepted after a few beats, Venmo information was exchanged, and the cards were ours.  Our 1965 Topps set, begun almost three years prior, was complete, and I had also added one of the most expensive cards needed for our relatively new 1969 Topps set build.

I found Doug and casually announced, "We completed the set."  Smiling, he asked to see the Mantle card and then I proceeded to show him not one but two new Mantle cards.  I then regaled him with my negotiation story, which will be embellished and lengthened for dramatic effect as the years go on.  My Dad would be proud.  The card was tucked away for a few weeks and found its way under our Christmas tree as a "gift" from my sons to me.

The Card / Yankees Team Set / Accuracy Index +3

The back of this card contains Mantle's complete big league career statistics, and reflects his retirement announcement from earlier in the year.  Like all Mantle Topps flagship cards, this card has seen a fair share of reprints over the years beginning with the 1996 Topps Commemorative Mickey Mantle Reprints inset set.  Mantle would appear in nine more Topps flagship sets in the coming years, but this is his final Topps flagship card issued contemporaneously with his playing career.

This is one of 23 cards available in the set's fifth series available as either "yellow letter" or "white letter" variations, with the yellow letter variations being more prevalent.  This is the more prevalent yellow letter variation with Mantle's name printed in yellow.

Accuracy Index:  Topps gets a +3 for this Mantle card on a technicality.  Five points are awarded since Mantle is obviously shown on the correct team, but then two points are subtracted since he didn't play for the Yankees in 1969.

Inserts:  Mantle is included as one of the 48 decals in the Topps Decals insert set.

1969 Season
Mantle played in his final big league game on September 28, 1968, starting at first base for the Yankees against the Red Sox in Fenway Park.  Facing Boston starter Jim Lonborg (#109), he popped up to shortstop Rico Petrocelli (#215) in the top of the first inning, and was replaced in the bottom of the inning at first by Andy Kosco (#139).  On March 1, 1969, he officially announced his retirement and the Yankees hosted Mickey Mantle Day on June 8th.  More than 70,000 fans attended the ceremony that saw Mantle's #7 permanently retired.  At the time, the Yankees had only previously retired three other numbers - #4 for Lou Gehrig in 1939, #3 for Babe Ruth in 1948 and #5 for Joe DiMaggio in 1952.

1951 Bowman #253

1952 Topps #311

1959 Topps #10

1962 Topps #200

1968 Topps #280

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #253
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (25):  1952-1953, 1956-1969, 1975, 1996, 2006-2012
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2022 Topps Update Salute to the Mick #STM-9
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  5,875 in the Beckett online database as of 1/15/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR

National Baseball Hall of Fame
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1956 Topps Blog / 1965 Topps Blog

#499 Astros Rookie Stars / #501 Tony Gonzalez - San Diego Padres

#606 Gene Mauch MG - Montreal Expos

Gene William Mauch
Montreal Expos
Manager

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  165
Born:  November 18, 1925, Salina, KS
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1943 season
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1944; Pittsburgh Pirates 1947; Brooklyn Dodgers 1948; Chicago Cubs 1948-1949; Boston Braves 1950-1951; St. Louis Cardinals 1952; Boston Red Sox 1956-1957

As a Manager:  Philadelphia Phillies 1960-1968; Montreal Expos 1969-1975; Minnesota Twins 1976-1980; California Angels 1981-1982, 1985-1987
Died:  August 8, 2005, Ranco Mirage, CA (age 79)

As a manager of nearly 4,000 Major League games, Gene Mauch holds the dubious distinction of being the winningest manager in history without a World Series appearance to his resume.  His small ball style of managing got him to within a game of the Fall Classic three separate times - in 1964 with the Phillies, and in 1982 and 1986 with the Angels.  Mauch's career win total as a manager (1,902) is currently 14th all-time.  He twice endured historic and lengthy losing streaks, as his 1961 Phillies lost 23 games in a row and his 1969 Expos, in their inaugural season, lost 20 games in a row.  He served as a bench coach for Angels' manager Bob Boone in 1995, his final year in a baseball uniform.

As a player, Mauch appeared in parts of nine seasons with six different teams, seeing his most action in 1949 when he played in 72 games for the Cubs.  A middle infielder, Mauch was a career .239 batter over 304 games.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #16
May 3, 2022 from Wenonah, NJ (Gar Miller Cards)

Growing up in South Jersey, I'd look forward to the Ocean City Baseball Card show every summer, saving my precious birthday or gas mowing money so that I could spend it all during one glorious afternoon inside the Ocean City Music Pier among dozens of tables of vintage baseball cards.  When my wife Jenna texted me that there was a baseball card show scheduled in Ocean City this past April 30th, I admittedly got giddy.  We needed 11 cards to complete our 1965 Topps set, I had plans to begin collecting a 1969 Topps set, and I figured I'd add a Diamond Stars card or two to that growing set.  We loaded the family in the car, trekked down to Ocean City, and I stepped inside the Music Pier for the first time in over 20 years.

The memories came flooding back, but none of the former baseball card dealers from my youth did.  There were maybe 15 tables scattered on the lower portion of the Music Pier floor and I immediately scanned mostly shiny slabbed cards, bobble heads, signed jerseys, and nary a vintage baseball card in sight.  It was a little depressing.  Determined to come away with something, anything for my collection, I scoured a "3 for $20" box and came away with a few cards for Doug's collection, namely Alec Bohm relic cards, and six cards from sets I wasn't even collecting yet.

All of this is meant as a prelude to how this card ended up in my collection.  My budgeted show money burning a hole in my pocket, I navigated over to Gar Miller Cards' online store when we got home and held my own virtual baseball card show.  I added four cards to our Diamond Cards set, crossed off three more cards for our 1965 Topps set and threw in a few cool cards to add to the 1969 Topps pile I had started, including this Mauch card.

The Card / Expos Team Set / Accuracy Index -8

Mauch's photo is from the same session the photo used for his 1968 Topps card came from, as both photos show him standing in front of a chain link fence with his red Phillies jacket collar sticking out from under the neck of his jersey.  The cartoon on the back demonstrates the exhaustion experienced by Mauch at having managed the Phillies for nine seasons.  Each of the manager cards in the set have a drawn portrait of the skipper on the back of the card, and Topps missed an opportunity here to place the new Expos logo on the cap of the drawing.

Accuracy Index:  Mauch scores a -8 for being hatless (-3) and for wearing a Phillies jersey (-5).

1969 Season
Mauch was named the first manager in Expos franchise history, and he'd guide the team to a 52-110 record and a last place finish behind his former team, the Phillies, in the standings.  Right fielder Rusty Staub (#230) was the team's MVP, batting .302 with 29 home runs and 79 RBIs.  Mauch's Expos club suffered from a lack of any decent pitching, and his top starter, Bill Stoneman (#67), was 11-19 with a 4.39 ERA in 42 appearances.

Phillies Career
Mauch was offered and accepted the team's manager position when outgoing manager Eddie Sawyer quit following opening day in 1960.  At the time, Sawyer said he "was 49 years old and he wanted to live to be 50."  Mauch was 34 at the time and his top starting pitcher, Robin Roberts, was only a year younger.  In nine seasons managing the Phillies, Mauch compiled a record of 646-684, finishing in second place in 1964 and having six straight winning seasons between 1962 and 1967.  In 1962, the team's first winning season since 1953, Mauch was named Manager of the Year by the Associated Press.  Mauch was fired 54 games into the 1968 season with his team at 27-27, and replaced by Bob Skinner (#369).

His 645 wins as manager of the club was tops on the franchise's all-time list until Charlie Manuel surpassed him and eventually tallied 780 wins.  Mauch's 684 losses is still the most in Phillies franchise history.

1951 Bowman #312

1957 Topps #342

1961 Topps #219

1974 Topps #531

1988 Topps #774

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #312
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (26):  1957, 1961-1980, 1983, 1985-1988
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1988 Topps #774
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  89 in the Beckett online database as of 12/31/22.

Update Cards

For my 1965 Topps blog, I used the team card posts to come up with five or six candidates per team for an imaginary update series.  With no team cards in the 1969 Topps set, I'll use each manager card for this exercise, and come up with a list of deserving cards to be included in an 8th/update series.

• Coco Laboy (3b) - The expansion team's regular third baseman, Laboy (#524) appears on a Rookie Stars card in the set.
• Adolfo Phillips (cf) - Phillips (#372) appears with the Cubs in the set, and he'd become a regular with the Expos following a June trade to Montreal.
• Ron Fairly (1b-of) - Acquired from the Dodgers by the Expos in June, Fairly (#122) would appear in 70 games with his new club and become of their best hitters.
• Steve Renko (rhp) - Renko appeared in 18 games, making 15 starts and his rookie card would appear in the 1970 Topps set.
• Dan McGinn (lhp) - One of the many closers used by manager Mauch, McGinn (#646) appears late in the set on a Rookie Stars card.
• Roy Face (rhp) - The veteran made his final appearances with the Expos, appearing in 44 games.  He's in the set with the Tigers (#207).

Sources:  
Baseball Reference - Mauch / Baseball Reference - 1969 Expos / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog / The Phillies Room

#605 Dick Ellsworth - Cleveland Indians / #607 Dick Bosman - Washington Senators