#564 Gil Hodges MG - New York Mets

Gilbert Raymond Hodges
New York Mets
Manager

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  200
Born:  April 4, 1924, Princeton, IN
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent, September 6, 1943
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1943, 1947-57; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-61; New York Mets 1962-63

World Series Appearances:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1947, 1949, 1952-53, 1955-56, 1959
As a Manager:  Washington Senators 1963-67; New York Mets 1968-71
Died:  April 2, 1972, West Palm Beach, FL (age 47)

Hall of Fame Induction:  2022

Jackie Robinson called Gil Hodges, "The core of the Brooklyn Dodgers."  Originally a catcher, Hodges moved to first base for the Dodgers in the late 1940s where he'd be a mainstay for the club throughout the next decade, including their move west to Los Angeles.  Hodges had seven straight seasons of 100 RBIs or more between 1949 and 1955, and his bat helped lead the Dodgers to World Series titles in 1955 and 1959.  He never won an MVP, but the eight-time All-Star was a perennial MVP vote getter.  Considered one of the finest defensive first baseman of his era, he won three Gold Gloves.  His 361 career home runs are second on the Dodgers' all-time list behind Duke Snider's 389 and he finished his playing career as a member of the expansion Mets.  In 1,921 career games he hit .273 with 370 home runs and 1,274 RBIs.

Hodges retired as an active player when the Mets traded him to the Senators on May 23, 1963 for Jim Piersall, and Hodges assumed managerial duties for the departed Mickey Vernon.  His years with the Senators were fairly dismal as the team never finished above sixth place.  He took over at the helm for the Mets in 1968 and led the club to their first improbable World Championship title in 1969 with a miraculous victory over the heavily favored Orioles.  Hodges passed away unexpectedly during spring training 1972, felled by a heart attack after a round of golf with his Mets coaches.

His #14 was retired by the Mets in 1973 and he was elected into the Mets Hall of Fame in 1982.  Hodges was finally elected in the Hall of Fame in December 2021 by the Golden Days Era Committee, and was inducted posthumously in 2022.

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

Building the Set / Card #645

September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (Crazy Boxes)

On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show.  The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year.  I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova.  I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.

I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set.  I'm not even sure how best to describe the fifth table I visited.  I typically steer clear of tables that look incredibly disorganized or tables that look as if the dealer put minimal effort into his/her display.  This table was both.  But the crudely designed, hand-made sign advertising "Entire Table is 50% Off" made me stop and at least look at what was in the 1969 Topps hodgepodge of cards.  And I'm glad I did.  It took me a solid 20-25 minutes to go through the cards that were loosely in order, but I found seven cards I needed with either mislabeled prices (?) or prices that hadn't been updated since the 1980s.  I paid $1 for this Hodges card, the fifth of seven cards purchased from what I'm calling the Crazy Boxes table, and I wished I had made this table my first stop.

The Card / Mets Team Set / Accuracy Index +1

Collectors had already seen this exact same photo on Hodges' card in the 1968 Topps set, and the card would appear again in the 1989 Topps set on a Turn Back the Clock subset card.  Topps reprinted the full card for its 2002 Topps Archives set.  With not a lot of managerial highlights to date, Topps celebrated the four home runs Hodges hit in one game in 1950 on the back of the card.

Accuracy Index:  Hodges' card loses points for the duplicate photo.

1969 Season
From his SABR biography, written by John Saccoman: 

Hodges' first winning season as manager came with the 1969 Mets, a team that went 100-62, 27 wins more than the previous year.  They were led by rising star pitchers Tom Seaver (#480), Jerry Koosman (#90), and promising youngster Nolan Ryan (#533), as well as left fielder Cleon Jones (#512) and center fielder Tommie Agee (#364) . . . 

Hodges' level-headedness and humor were certainly a factor in guiding the team through this season . . . What is truly remarkable about Hodges' managerial achievement, besides the 27-win improvement from the previous season, was the fact that the Mets only had two players (Jones and Agee) who had enough plate appearances to qualify for a batting title. In fact, Hodges platooned at catcher, right field, and all the infield positions.  While the Mets did not finish above the league average in any major offensive statistic, they had one more run allowed than the league leading St. Louis Cardinals. 

Projecting wins based on runs scored and runs allowed (Bill James' Pythagorean Projection), the Mets were expected to have 92 wins. They wound up with an even 100.  The Mets beat the Atlanta Braves, with four future Hall of Famers on its roster, in three straight games in the NL playoffs . . . Hodges and the Mets defeated the heavily-favored Baltimore Orioles (also with four future Hall of Famers, including manager Earl Weaver - #516) in five games in the World Series, making the Mets the first expansion team ever to participate in and win a World Series.  

Hodges was voted Manager of the Year for turning the lovable losers into World Champions.

1949 Bowman #100

1952 Topps #36

1959 Topps #270

1972 Topps #465

1989 Topps #664

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #100
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (22):  1951-52, 1954-72, 1989
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2025 Topps Living #861
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  585 in the Beckett online database as of 3/1/26.

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.  They're not all attractive cards, but the Mets are already fairly represented in the 1969 Topps set.

• Wayne Garrett (3b) - Wayne Garrett played in 124 games, batting just .218 but starting more games at third base (63) than any other Mets player.
• Rod Gaspar (of) - Back-up outfielder Rod Gaspar batted .228 in 118 games.  Garrett's and Gaspar's rookie cards are in the 1970 Topps set.
• Donn Clendenon (1b) - I'd give Donn Clendenon his third card in the set (#208), as he was previously featured with the Astros and Expos, but he's justifiably best remembered as a member of the Mets.
• Gary Gentry (rhp) - Gary Gentry shared a Rookie Stars card with Amos Otis (#31), but only Seaver started as many games as he did with 35.
• Bobby Pfeil (3b) - Bobby Pfeil appeared in 62 games, the most of his two seasons in the majors.
• Yogi Berra (coach) - And coach Yogi Berra gets a card in my update set.  The Mets' first base coach, he'd take over for Hodges when the popular manager died suddenly of a heart attack on April 2, 1972.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference - Hodges / Baseball Reference - 1969 Mets / SABR / Wikipedia

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

#563 Marty Pattin - Seattle Pilots / #565 Hoyt Wilhelm - California Angels

#462 Red Schoendienst MG - St. Louis Cardinals

Albert Fred Schoendienst
St. Louis Cardinals
Manager

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  170
Born:  February 2, 1923, Germantown, IL
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1942 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1945-56; New York Giants 1956-57; Milwaukee Braves 1957-60; St. Louis Cardinals 1961-63

World Series Appearances:  St. Louis Cardinals 1946; Milwaukee Braves 1957-58
As a Manager:  St. Louis Cardinals 1965-76, 1980, 1990
Died:  June 6, 2018, Town and Country, MO (age 95)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1989

Amazingly, 67 of Red Schoendienst's 76 years in baseball were spent as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals organization.  Schoendienst was a 10-time All-Star, a steady hitter and an above-average defender who led all National League second basemen in fielding percentage in six different seasons.  He enjoyed his finest seasons in the early 1950s, batting over .300 three seasons in a row and hitting a career-high .342 in 1953.  He won his first World Series ring with the Cardinals in 1946 and he won the All-Star Game for his league in 1950 with a 14th inning home run.  Schoendienst departed St. Louis in a highly unpopular trade with the Giants in June 1956.  A year later, he was dealt to the Braves and he won his second World Series ring when Milwaukee defeated the Yankees in seven games in the 1957 series.  Schoendienst led the league that season with 200 hits.

After three seasons as a back-up infielder and pinch-hitter in a return trip to the Cardinals in the early 1960s, he retired as a player and began his lengthy coaching and managing career.  In 2,216 career games, Schoendienst collected 2,449 hits while batting .289.  He'd manage the Cardinals in parts of 14 different seasons, over four different decades, winning National League pennants in 1967 and 1968.  His lifetime managerial record was 1,041-955 with a World Series title in 1967.  He served as a coach for the Cardinals (1961-1964, 1979-1995) and Athletics (1977-1978) and won two more World Series rings as a member of the Cardinals coaching staff in 1964 and 1982.  Schoendienst was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989, and the Cardinals retired his #2 in 1996.

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

Building the Set / Card #571
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime)

On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show.  The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year.  I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova.  I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.

I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set.  The first place I stopped was a table with well-organized and well-marked binders of commons and semi-stars with 20% Off notes across the front of each binder.  

I took my time and found 32 commons and semi-stars needed before asking to see the dealer's star cards from the set.  It turned out this first purchase was also my biggest, as I spent over half my allotted budget here, America's Pastime from Fair Lawn, New Jersey, before moving on to my second stop.  This was the 12th of 36 total cards bought from America's Pastime, and the 12th of 91 cards for set added overall on the day, and it cost less than $5 after the dealer discount.

The Card / Cardinals Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

Topps really had to schmoosh Schoendienst's last name to fit it in the yellow circle on the front of the card.  It looks as if Topps used photos from the same session for Schoendienst's 1967 and 1969 cards, and then photos from another session for his 1968 and 1970 Topps cards.  I'll give them some credit for mixing it up a little.  The back of the card celebrates his All-Star Game winning home run from 1962.

Accuracy Index:  Schoendienst's card scores a +5.

1969 Season
A year after leading the Cardinals to a National League pennant and to within a game of winning back-to-back World Series, Schoendienst guided the club to an 87-75 record and a fourth place finish.  Bob Gibson (#200) and Steve Carlton (255) led the pitching-strong club, going 20-13 and 17-11, respectively and finishing second and third for the best ERA in the leagues with marks of 2.18 and 2.17.  Gibson led the league with 28 complete games, and both he and Curt Flood (#540) were Gold Glove winners.  Center fielder Flood was the Cardinals' top offensive performer, hitting .285 with 31 doubles.  Left fielder Lou Brock (#85) led the league with 53 stolen bases and first baseman Joe Torre (#460) led the Cardinals with 18 home runs and 101 RBIs.  Joe Hoerner (#522) and Chuck Taylor were Schoendienst's top relievers.

1948 Bowman #38

1952 Topps #91

1957 Topps #154

1967 Topps #512

1990 Topps Traded #113T

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1948 Bowman #38
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (24):  1951-53, 1956-62, 1965-76, 1988, 1990
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2023 Panini Chronicles Pinnacle #28
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  702 in the Beckett online database as of 10/8/25.

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.  Surprisingly, there are quite a few great candidates for update cards from the defending National League champions, and I couldn't narrow it down to less than seven cards.

• Chuck Taylor (rhp) - Taylor got left out of the set altogether, and his rookie card appeared in the 1970 Topps set.
• Mudcat Grant (rhp) - Mudcat Grant was the second most frequently used reliever before Hoerner, and he's in the set with the Expos (#306).
• Steve Huntz (ss) - Steve Huntz and Mike Torrez share a Rookie Stars card (#136) and they'd each have solo cards in my update set.
• Mike Torrez (rhp)
• Dave Giusti (rhp) - Dave Giusti is in the set with the Padres (#98), a team he never pitched for.  He appeared in 22 games for the Cardinals.
• Ted Simmons (c) - Future Hall of Famer Ted Simmons was a September call-up in 1968 and 1969, and his rookie card wouldn't appear until the 1971 Topps set.
• Dick Sisler (coach) - And finally, my Dad's favorite player and former Whiz Kid Dick Sisler coached with the Cardinals between 1966 and 1970.  He'd get a card in my update set.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference - Schoendienst / Baseball Reference - 1969 Cardinals / SABR / Wikipedia

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

#461 Mike Epstein - Washington Senators / #463 Dennis Ribant - Kansas City Royals

#447 Ralph Houk MG - New York Yankees

Ralph George Houk
New York Yankees
Manager

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  193
Born:  August 9, 1919, Lawrence, KS
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1939 season
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1947-54

World Series Appearances:  New York Yankees 1947, 1952, 1961-63
As a Manager:  New York Yankees 1961-63, 1966-73; Detroit Tigers 1974-78; Boston Red Sox 1981-84
Died:  July 21, 2010, Winter Haven, FL (age 90)

As the back-up to Yogi Berra's back-up during his playing days, Ralph Houk saw limited major league action in his parts of eight seasons with the Yankees.  He earned the most playing time in his rookie season of 1947, playing in 41 games, and batting .272 with 12 RBIs.  Houk had a pinch-hit single in 1947's World Series Game 6, the first of four World Series winners Houk played for between his rookie season and 1952.  Between 1948 and 1954, he appeared in a low range of one to a high of 14 games each season, retiring with a .272 lifetime average, 43 hits, no home runs and 20 RBIs.  In his last few years as an active player, Houk transitioned into the role of full-time bullpen coach.  He'd manage in the minors for a few seasons before assuming the role of Casey Stengel's first base coach in 1958.  Houk took over for Stengel as the club's manager beginning in 1961.

His Yankees won 109 games in 1961, and defeated the Reds in five games in the World Series.  They'd win the pennant and World Series again in 1962, defeating the Giants in seven games.  Houk's 1963 team won 104 games, but were swept in the 1963 World Series by the Dodgers.  He'd move into the front office in 1964 as the Yankees' general manager, but return to the dugout in 1966 following the firing of Johnny Keane.  Houk's tenure with the Yankees came to an end following the 1973 season, and he'd join the Tigers as their manager between 1974 and 1978.  His final managerial stint came with the Red Sox between 1981 and 1984.  Houk's record as a manager was 1,619-1,531, including three pennants and a pair of World Championship titles.

Building the Set / Card #395
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times.  I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.

Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders.  I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500.  This card was the 103rd of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost a little less than $2.

The Card / Yankees Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

This card is so, so close to using the exact same photo as Houk's 1968 Topps card, but the manager has turned his head ever so slightly here.  The back of the card pays tribute to his pennant winning teams from 1961, 1962 and 1963.

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 Houk's last name printed in yellow.

Accuracy Index:  Houk's card just barely scores a +5.

1969 Season
Now 49 years old and in his third full season back at the helm for the Yankees, Houk guided his club to a 80-81 finish in the American League East, 28 1/2 games behind the Orioles and a fifth place finish.  Mel Stottlemyre (#470) and Fritz Peterson (#46) were bright spots for the Yankees.  Stottlemyre was 20-14 with a 2.82 ERA in 39 starts, while Peterson was 17-16 with a 2.55 ERA in 37 starts.  Closer Jack Aker (#612), rescued from the Pilots, had 11 saves and a 2.06 ERA in 38 appearances.

Left fielder Roy White (#25) led the club with a .290 average.  Right fielder Bobby Murcer (#657) had a team-leading 26 home runs and 82 RBIs.  Mickey Mantle (#500), who had retired following the 1968 season, had his #7 retired on Mickey Mantle Day at Yankee Stadium on June 8th.  Joe DiMaggio, the player Mantle had replaced, presented him with his plaque.  On August 8th, catcher Thurman Munson made his big league debut, catching a complete game shutout thrown by Al Downing (#292).

1952 Topps #200

1962 Topps #88

1968 Topps #47

1978 Topps #684

1985 Topps #11

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #200
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (21):  1952, 1960-63, 1967-78, 1981, 1983-85
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2004 Topps Fall Classic Covers #FC1961
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  112 in the Beckett online database as of 11/10/24.

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.

• Thurman Munson (c) - Munson's rookie card would appear in the 1970 Topps set, but I'd give him a card in my update series.
• Jack Kenney (3b) - The regular third baseman, Jack Kenney (#519) shared a Rookie Stars card with Len Boehmer in the main set.
• Ron Woods (cf) - Ron Woods (#544) was also on a Rookie Stars card in the main set, but with his former team, the Tigers.
• Bill Burbach (rhp) - Fifth starter Bill Burbach (#658) was on a three-player Rookie Stars card late in the set.  He appeared in 31 games overall, making 24 starts.
• Jack Aker (rhp) - Aker is in the set with the Pilots.  He came over to the Yankees in a May 20th trade that sent Fred Talbot (#332) to Seattle.
• Jimmie Hall (of) - And finally, Jimmie Hall (#61) was a back-up outfielder with the Yankees, and he appears early in the set with the Indians.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference - Houk / Baseball Reference - 1969 Yankees / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#446 Claude Raymond - Atlanta Braves / #448 Bob Tolan - Cincinnati Reds

#349 Dick Williams MG - Boston Red Sox

Richard Hirschfeld Williams
Boston Red Sox
Manager

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  190
Born:  May 7, 1929, St. Louis, MO
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1947 season
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1951-54, 1956; Baltimore Orioles 1956-57; Cleveland Indians 1957; Baltimore Orioles 1958; Kansas City Athletics 1959-60; Baltimore Orioles 1961-62; Boston Red Sox 1963-64

World Series Appearances:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1953; Boston Red Sox 1967; Oakland Athletics 1972-73
As a Manager:  Boston Red Sox 1967-69; Oakland Athletics 1971-73; California Angels 1974-76; Montreal Expos 1977-81; San Diego Padres 1982-85; Seattle Mariners 1986-88
Died:  July 7, 2011, Las Vegas, NV (age 82)
Hall of Fame Induction:  2008

As a player, Dick Williams appeared in 13 big league seasons, mostly with the Orioles in three different stints.  He was a valuable super utility player, able to play all three outfield positions, first base, second base and third base.  Williams earned the most playing time with the Athletics in 1959 and 1960, batting .266 with career highs in home runs (16) and RBIs (75) in 1959, and batting a career-best .288 in 1960.  Primarily a pinch-hitter over the final years of his career, Williams last played in the majors in 1964 with the Red Sox.

1981 Donruss #453

He remained with the Red Sox organization as manager for their Triple-A team in 1965 and 1966, leading his team both seasons to first place finishes.  The hard-nosed and intense Williams was named Red Sox manager in 1967, and he led his "Impossible Dream" team to the World Series, the first time Boston had appeared in the Fall Classic since 1946.  He won Manager of the Year honors from The Sporting News, but was out of Boston two years later after clashing with ownership and star Carl Yastrzemski (#130).  Williams next managed the Athletics, leading the club to a 101-win season in 1971, and World Championships in 1972 and 1973.  He surprisingly resigned after another clash with ownership, this time A's owner Charlie Finley.  

Williams would go on to manage the Expos for five seasons, the Padres for four seasons and the Mariners for three seasons before stepping away from major league dugouts.  For his lifetime record of 1,571-1,451, including four pennants and two World Series victories, Williams was voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee in 2008.  He's also a member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame (2006) and the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame (2009).

Building the Set / Card #330
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times.  I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.

Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders.  I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500.  This card was the 38th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me little over $1.

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

This card is very similar to Williams' 1968 Topps card, with the young manager just turning his head slightly for the Topps photographer when compared to his prior year baseball card.  There's an unknown Red Sox player making a cameo appearance directly behind Williams.  The back of the card focuses solely on his successful 1967 campaign, leading the Red Sox to the World Series.

Accuracy Index:  Williams' card earns a +5.

1969 Season
The Red Sox couldn't repeat the success they found in 1967, and Williams guided the team to a 82-71 record before being fired on September 23rd and replaced by Eddie Popowski for the final nine games of the season.  Popowski had been the third base coach for the Red Sox.  Shortstop Rico Petrocelli (#215) had a career year, batting .297 with 40 home runs and 97 RBIs, and finishing seventh in the league's MVP voting.  He led all American League players with a bWAR of 10.0.  Yastrzemski also had a 40 home run season and led the club with 111 RBIs.  Ray Culp (#391) was a 17-game winner and the team's top starter, and Sparky Lyle (#311) saved 17 games, third best in the league.

1952 Topps #396

1959 Topps #292

1968 Topps #87

1972 Topps #137

1988 Topps #104

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #396
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (29):  1952-53, 1957-64, 1967-69, 1971-73, 1975-81, 1983-88
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2024 Topps Heritage #134
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  209 in the Beckett online database as of 7/4/24.

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.

The Red Sox had quite a few candidates for this imaginary set, but I limited them to just six cards.

• Eddie Popowski (manager) - Popowski guided the team to a 5-4 record over the final week-plus of the 1969 season.  He'd manager one more game on an interim basis in 1973 after Eddie Kasko departed.
• Mike Nagy (rhp) - Mike Nagy was 12-2 in 33 appearances, including 28 starts, and he'd get his rookie card in the 1970 Topps set.
• Sonny Siebert (rhp) - The early season Ken Harrelson (#240) trade with the Indians caused issues for the Topps checklist creators.  Sonny Siebert (#455) and reliever Vicente Romo (#267) are in the 1969 Topps set with the Indians, but my update set would show them both on the Red Sox.
• Vicente Romo (rhp)
• Dick Schofield (2b) - Dick Schofield (#18) joined the Red Sox in December 1968, and he's in the set with his former team, the Cardinals.
• Red Sox Rookie Stars - Carlton Fisk / Bill Lee - Why not?  Carlton Fisk made his debut on September 18th and Spaceman Bill Lee joined the Red Sox on June 20th, making 20 appearances.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference - Williams / Baseball Reference - 1969 Red Sox / SABR / Wikipedia

National Baseball Hall of Fame
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#348 Steve Hargan - Cleveland Indians / #350 Richie Allen - Philadelphia Phillies

#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

#182 Bill Rigney MG - California Angels

William Joseph Rigney
California Angels
Manager

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  178
Born:  January 29, 1918, Alameda, CA
Acquired:  Traded by Oakland (PCL) to the New York Giants for Dolph Camilli
Major League Teams:  New York Giants 1946-1953

World Series Appearances:  New York Giants 1951
As a Manager:  New York Giants 1956-1957; San Francisco Giants 1958-1960; Los Angeles Angels 1961-1964; California Angels 1965-1969; Minnesota Twins 1970-1972; San Francisco Giants 1976
Died:  February 20, 2001, Walnut Creek, CA (age 83)

Bill Rigney was the first manager in Angels' history, leading the team throughout the 1960s to a 625-707 record during a time when the team finished mostly in the second division in the American League.  Prior to taking the job with the Angels, Rigney was the last manager of the New York Giants and the first manager of the San Francisco Giants following their move west in 1958.  His sole postseason experience as a manager came in 1970 when he guided the Twins to a first place finish in the A.L. West, only to be swept in the ALCS by the A.L. East winner Orioles.  With the Giants, Angels and Twins he managed for 18 seasons and had a lifetime record of 1,239-1,321.  After leaving the Giants organization, Rigney latched on with the Oakland A's where he served as a front office consultant and occasional broadcaster throughout the 1980s and up until his death in 2001.

As a player, Rigney was an infielder with the Giants for eight seasons between 1946 and 1953.  The start of his big league career was delayed until 1946 as Rigney missed the 1943 through 1945 seasons while serving in the Navy.  He had his best seasons in the late 1940s, reaching career highs in home runs (17) and RBIs (59) in 1947 and being named to the N.L. All-Star team in 1948.

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

Building the Set / Card #196
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

In mid-March, 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 119th 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 less than a dollar.

The Card / Angels Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

The photo is likely from 1967 as Rigney is wearing the same sweater under his jersey on his 1968 and 1969 Topps cards.  The back of the card highlights his 1962 Manager of the Year award, as named by The Sporting News.

Accuracy Index:  Rigney wasn't around for much of the 1969 season (see below), but he earns a +5 nevertheless.

1969 Season
Rigney had guided the Angels since their inception in 1961, and 39 games into the 1969 season, his tenure as Angels' manager came to an end.  The Angels had an 11-28 record and had lost 10 in a row when Rigney was dismissed on May 27th and replaced with Lefty Phillips, the Angels' pitching coach.  Rigney joined the Giants' broadcast booth later in the 1969 season.

Under Phillips, the Angels went 60-63 for the duration of the season, finishing in third place in the A.L. West, 26 games behind the division winning Twins.  Shortstop Jim Fregosi (#365) was the team's top offensive player, batting .260 with 12 home runs, 47 RBIs and an .742 OPS.  Left fielder Rick Reichardt (#205) led the club with 13 home runs and 68 RBIs.  Andy Messersmith (#296) was a 16-game winner, pitching to a 2.52 ERA while throwing 10 complete games and a pair of shutouts.  As the Angels' closer, Ken Tatum saved 22 games.  Future Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm (#565) appeared in 44 games for the Angels before a trade in early September sent him to the Braves. 

1948 Bowman #32

1952 Topps #125

1960 Topps #225

1962 Topps #549

1972 Topps #389

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1948 Bowman #32
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14):  1952, 1960-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1991 Topps Archives 1953 #328
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  76 in the Beckett online database as of 11/23/23.

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.

• Lefty Phillips (manager) - Phillips managed the team for most of the year, and I'd give him a card in my update set.
• Jim Spencer (1b) - Rookie Jim Spencer was the club's regular first baseman, and his rookie card would appear in the 1970 Topps set.
• Sandy Alomar (2b) - Sandy Alomar was acquired from the White Sox on May 14th, and has a card in the set with his former team (#283).
• Rudy May (lhp) - Starting pitcher Rudy May appeared in 43 games and made 25 starts for the Angels.  His rookie card is found in the 1965 Topps set, and he'd not appear again in a Topps set until 1970.
• Ken Tatum (rhp) - Closer Ken Tatum has his rookie card in the 1970 Topps set.
• Pedro Borbon (rhp) - As does Pedro Borbon, but Borbon had moved on to the Reds by then.  I'd give him a card in my update set with the Angels, his first team.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference - Rigney / Baseball Reference - 1969 Angels / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#181 Mel Nelson - St. Louis Cardinals / #183 Don Shaw - Montreal Expos