#99 Twins Rookie Stars - Danny Morris / Graig Nettles

Danny Walker Morris
Minnesota Twins
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  200
Born:  June 11, 1946, Greenville, KY
Signed:  Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent before 1964 season
Major League Teams:  Minnesota Twins 1968-69

Died:  September 23, 2023, Oakland City, IN (age 77)

Graig Nettles
Minnesota Twins
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  180
Born:  August 20, 1944, San Diego, CA
Drafted:  Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 4th round of the 1965 amateur draft, June 8, 1965
Major League Teams:  Minnesota Twins 1967-69; Cleveland Indians 1970-72; New York Yankees 1973-83; San Diego Padres 1984-86; Atlanta Braves 1987; Montreal Expos 1988

World Series Appearances:  New York Yankees 1977-78, 1981; San Diego Padres 1984

Danny Morris pitched professionally for nine seasons, winning 16 games twice - with the Wisconsin Rapids Twins in 1965 and the Denver Bears in 1968.  His success in 1968 earned him a September call-up to Minnesota, where he pitched well in three games.  Morris was 0-1 with 1.69 ERA in 10 2/3 innings pitched in that brief audition.  Back with Denver to start the 1969 season, Morris would be recalled by the Twins in June, pitching in three more games.  He'd stick around in the minors through the 1972 season, never leaving the Twins organization, before retiring from baseball.  In six big league games, Morris was 0-2 with a 2.81 ERA in 16 innings pitched.

2001 Topps Archives #60

One of the best defensive third baseman of his era, Graig Nettles began his 22-year major league career with the Twins and Indians.  He'd show signs of what was to come during the decade in 1971 when he batted .261 with 28 home runs and 86 RBIs, leading the American League with a 7.5 bWAR as the Indians' third baseman.  Dealt to the Bronx in November 1972, Nettles would go on to enjoy the best years of his career.  He was a five-time All-Star between 1975 and 1980, winning Gold Gloves in 1977 and 1978.  Nettles helped lead the Yankees to pennants in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980 and 1981, winning World Championships in 1977 and 1978.  He led the league with 32 home runs in 1976 and attained career highs in home runs (37) and RBIs (107) in 1978.  Nettles would finish his career in the National League, earning one more trip to the World Series with the Padres in 1984, and one more All-Star Game berth in 1985.

Nettles played in 2,700 games, batting .248 with 2,225 hits, 390 home runs and 1,314 RBIs.  His defensive statistics at third base are among the all-time leaders as of this writing for games played (3rd with 2,412), assists (2nd with 5,279), double plays turned (3rd with 470) and fielding percentage (80th at .961).

Building the Set / Card #442
April 9, 2024 from Wenonah, NJ (Gar Miller Baseball Cards)
On April 7th, I received an e-mail from Gar Miller, hobby icon, informing me and other customers he had recently updated his inventory of vintage baseball cards for sale at garmillercards.com.  In need of some vintage cardboard, and wanting to see if Miller had any Diamond Stars cards I needed, I decided to check out the new inventory.  

1969 Topps #99 (No Loop Version)

A high-number Red Lucas card from the Diamond Stars set was reasonably priced, so I added it, a few cards needed for our 1969 Topps set and a few random Phillies-related cards to my cart and submitted my order.  Given the proximity of Miller to our house, I wasn't surprised when the cards arrived in our mail box in two days.  The Nettles rookie card joined Ernie Banks (#20) and Don Drysdale (#400) as the trio of cards added to our 1969 Topps set.

The Card / Twins Team Set / Morris Accuracy Index +5 / Nettles Accuracy Index +5
There are two versions of this card, one with a loop connecting the black border behind the blue circle with Twins in it, and one with no loop.  I have the loop version, and it seems as if one version isn't any rarer than the other.  Morris has a hard-to-find card in the 1967 Topps Venezuelan set, and this is his first and last appearance on a mainstream baseball card.  Nettles is listed as an outfielder, his primary position until the 1970 season when Indians' manager Alvin Dark (#91) opted to have Nettles as his opening day third baseman.  The Nettles half of the card was reprinted a few times in 2001 and 2002 as part of the Topps Archives set and the Team Topps Legends Autographs insert set.

The #8 on Nettles' helmet would seem to indicate he borrowed teammate's Ron Clark's (#561) helmet for the photo, as Clark wore #8 for the Twins between 1967 and 1969.

Accuracy Index:  Both sides of the card earn a solid +5.

1969 Season - Morris
Morris struggled somewhat in his return to the minors, going 9-9 with a 5.81 ERA in 26 games and 24 starts for the Bears.  He started for the Twins on June 17th against the Angels, lasting three innings and giving up three runs (two earned).  His final big league action came on June 29th against the Royals, pitching two innings of scoreless relief.

1969 Season - Nettles
In his first full season in the majors, Nettles appeared in 96 games for the Twins, batting .222 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs.  He made 60 starts overall for Billy Martin's (#547) Twins - 44 starts in left field and 16 starts at third base.  He was third on the Twins' third base depth chart behind Harmon Killebrew (#375) and Rick Renick.  Nettles had one at-bat in the ALCS, pinch-hitting in Game 3 and striking out against the Orioles' Jim Palmer (#573).

On December 10th, the Twins traded Nettles, Dean Chance (#620), Bob Miller (#403) and Ted Uhlaender (#194) to the Indians for Luis Tiant (#560) and Stan Williams (#118).

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Morris
First Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #99
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #99
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  6 in the Beckett online database as of 12/28/24.

Sources - Morris:  

Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Nettles
First Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #99
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (20):  1969-88
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2024 Topps Living #723
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  505 in the Beckett online database as of 12/28/24.

Sources - Nettles:  

Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

1971 Topps #324

1976 Topps #169

1980 Topps #710

1984 Topps Traded #83T

1988 Topps #574

#98 Dave Giusti - San Diego Padres / #100 Hank Aaron - Atlanta Braves

#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

#312 Lee Elia - Chicago Cubs

Lee Constantine Elia
Chicago Cubs
Infield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  175
Born:  July 16, 1937, Philadelphia, PA
Signed:  Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent, September 13, 1958
Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1966; Chicago Cubs 1968

As a Manager:  Chicago Cubs 1982-1983; Philadelphia Phillies 1987-1988

Lee Elia was an infielder for parts of two seasons with the White Sox and Cubs, and he's best remembered for his lengthy coaching and managerial career in the majors.  Elia was signed by his hometown Phillies and played six seasons in their minor league systems before a trade following the 1964 season sent him to the White Sox.  He'd appear in 80 games for the White Sox in 1966, batting .205 with three home runs and 22 RBIs.  Sold to the Cubs in May 1967, Elia would spend all of the 1967 season in the minor leagues before getting promoted to the Cubs in 1968.  He'd appear in just 15 games for the Cubs.  His big league totals include 95 games, 43 hits and a .203 batting average.

2010-22 Philadelphia Phillies Alumni Photo Cards

Elia returned to the Phillies organization in 1973, and he began his minor league managerial career in 1975.  He'd climb the ranks of the Phillies minor league system, earning a promotion to be bench coach for the Phillies in 1980 and 1981.  Elia followed Dallas Green to Chicago when Green departed as the Phillies' manager to become the Cubs' general manager.  Green named his former third base coach manager of the Cubs for the 1982 season, but Elia's team struggled and he'd be dismissed part way through 1983.  Returning to the Phillies again, Elia was manager John Felske's bench coach in 1985, 1986 and part of the 1987 season.  When Felske was fired, Elia took over and he'd manage the Phillies to a 111-142 record through the remainder of 1987 and most of 1988.  Elia's lifetime managerial record was 238-300.  A baseball lifer, Elia also coached at the major league level for the Yankees (1989), Mariners (1993-1997, 2001-2002, 2008), Blue Jays (2000), Rays (2003-2005) and Orioles (2006).

Building the Set / Card #300
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
This is milestone card #300!  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 eighth of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me a little over $1.25.

The Card / Cubs Team Set / Accuracy Index -10

Elia is wearing a White Sox uniform, and it looks as if a player from another team (Red Sox?) is taking batting practice behind him.  Let's assume that's a Red Sox player, and if the photo is from 1966, when Elia played for the White Sox, that would be Rico Petrocelli (#215), who wore #6 for Boston.  The cartoon on the back highlights Elia's 14 home runs and 59 RBIs from the 1967 season.

Accuracy Index:  Elia loses points since he didn't play for the Cubs in 1969 (-2), he's wearing a White Sox uniform (-5) and his hat is blank (-3).

1969 Season
Elia never played for the Cubs in 1969.  On April 19th he was traded to the Yankees for infielder Nate Oliver (#354), and I can only assume injuries derailed his season.  He played in just 17 games for the Syracuse Chiefs, batting .283 (15 for 53), in his final action as a player until a brief stint with the Eugene Emeralds in 1973 as a player-coach.

Phillies Career
Elia spent seven seasons (1959-1964, 1973) as a player in the Phillies' minor league system, making it as high as Triple-A, but never earning a promotion.  On December 1, 1964, Elia and Danny Cater (#44) were traded to the White Sox for Ray Herbert and Jeoff Long.  He'd return to the Phillies organization as a minor league player-coach in 1973, a full-time coach in 1974 and as a manager between 1975 and 1979.  Elia was named Minor League Manager of the Year twice, in 1975 when he led the Spartanburg Phillies to the Western Carolinas Championship, and in 1978 when he guided the Reading Phillies to a 79-57 record.

Elia was promoted to the Phillies in 1980, where he was the third base coach for the eventual World Champions.  He'd serve in the role again in 1981, before Green lured him away to Chicago.  Elia managed the Phillies' Triple-A team in 1984 and took over as Felske's bench coach in 1985.  When Felske was fired on June 18, 1987, Elia assumed the role.  He was fired with nine games remaining in the 1988 season, with John Vukovich briefly serving as interim manager.  Elia would return to the Phillies organization a few more times, most notable serving as the Single-A Clearwater Phillies manager in 1990 and 1991, and as the Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre Red Barons manager in 1992. 

1966 Topps #529

1967 Topps #406

1968 Topps #561

1983 Topps #456

1988 Topps #254

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1966 Topps #529
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1966-1969, 1983, 1987-1988
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1992 Fleer ProCards #2462
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  44 in the Beckett online database as of 5/20/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
The Phillies Room

#311 Sparky Lyle - Boston Red Sox / #313 Bill Robinson - New York Yankees

#120 Pete Rose - Cincinnati Reds

Peter Edward Rose
Cincinnati Reds
Outfield

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  192
Born:  April 14, 1941, Cincinnati, OH
Signed:  Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent, July 8, 1960
Major League Teams:  Cincinnati Reds 1963-1978; Philadelphia Phillies 1979-1983; Montreal Expos 1984; Cincinnati Reds 1984-1986

World Series Appearances:  Cincinnati Reds 1970, 1972, 1975-1976; Philadelphia Phillies 1980, 1983
As a Manager:  Cincinnati Reds 1984-1989

Major League Baseball's all-time leader in games played (3,562), plate appearances (15,890), at-bats (14,053) and hits (4,256), Pete Rose was permanently banned from the game he loves in 1989 for his gambling activities.  Rose was a spark plug player from the start, winning the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1963.  He was a 17-time All-Star, the league's MVP in 1973 and a two-time Gold Glove winner.  Rose won the league's batting title three times (1968, 1969, 1973) and led the league in hits a staggering seven times.  A versatile player on defense, he helped lead the Reds to the World Series four times as his club won it all in back-to-back years in 1975 and 1976.  Rose spent stints as the team's regular second baseman, left fielder, right fielder and third baseman.  He was the World Series MVP in 1975, after hitting .370 in the seven game victory over the Red Sox.  Rose left the Reds via free agency following the 1978 season, signing with the Phillies and guiding that club to its first World Championship title in 1980.  He returned to the Reds in 1984 as their player-manager, and surpassed Ty Cobb as the game's all-time hits leader on September 11, 1985, with a single to left off the Padres' Eric Show.

Rose retired as a player following the 1986 season, and would continue to manage the Reds until his ban from baseball on August 24, 1989.  Despite numerous reinstatement efforts, his ban has not been lifted as of yet, resulting in his exile from baseball's Hall of Fame.  In the years that followed the ban, Rose's troubles mounted and he served five months in prison in 1990 for tax evasion charges.  He was selected as an outfielder on the MLB All-Century Team in 1999 and the Reds retired his #14 in 2016, after receiving permission to do so from the commissioner's office.  Rose owns a .303 lifetime average and he's ranked 6th on the all-time runs scored list with 2,165, and 2nd on the all-time doubles list with 746.  In recent years, he's been ubiquitous at baseball card shows across the country and my son Doug and I briefly met Charlie Hustle, The Hit King in 2015.

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

1979 Burger King Phillies #13

1982 Donruss #1

1986 Topps #3

October 31, 2015

Building the Set / Card #271
September 23, 2023 from The Philly Show (Ed's Old Baseball Cards)
Given the massive haul of 193 cards acquired for our 1969 Topps set at the March Philly Show, I held off on adding more cards throughout the summer of 2023.  We weren't even going to go to the Philly Show last September, but our oldest son's baseball tournament was rained out, and we found ourselves with a free weekend.  I wrote about the show originally over at The Phillies Room.  

I added just 15 cards to our set build at this show, all from the same dealer, Ed's Old Baseball Cards out of the Buffalo area.  Technically, the cards I bought were from Ed's associate, Gary, who explained he was along for the ride and brought a bunch of his vintage cards for sale.  I picked four needed star cards, including this Rose, which was the most expensive of the bunch.  Gary gave us a nice discount on the purchase, so we went back after securing a few autographs and I picked 11 more commons and semi-stars from his modest selection of 1960s Topps cards for sale.  Posting for these 15 cards should take me a lot less longer than what it took to get through the box of cards brought home from the March 2023 Philly Show.

The Card / Reds Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

Rose is all over the 1969 Topps set and he appears on the front of three cards in the set - this base card, the National League Batting Leaders card (#2) and an All-Star card (#424).  He's also on the back of 10 different All-Star cards, forming a puzzle of the baseball superstar.  Growing up a Phillies fan, Rose was one of my earliest favorite players - see below.  It's cool to me that I now own a card like this, along with the card to be featured in the next post, after seeing pictures of this card in baseball card publications over the years and thinking I'd never have a card this "old" or this cool in my collection.

Accuracy Index:  Rose's card scores a solid +5.

Inserts:  Rose is included in the 35 card Topps Deckle Edge insert set and is one of 48 decals in the Topps Decals insert set.  He's one of 27 players to appear in both insert sets.

1969 Season
Rose was the opening day center fielder for the Reds.  In late June, he and Bobby Tolan (#448) would switch positions, with Rose going to right and Tolan moving to center.  Overall, Rose started 100 games in right and 56 games in center, on the way to his second straight batting title with a .348 average.  Rose collected 218 hits and led the league with 120 runs scored.  He was named to his fourth All-Star Game, placed fourth in MVP voting and won his first Gold Glove for his outfield defense.

Phillies Career
Rose was my first favorite Phillies player, and his 1979 Burger King Phillies card was the first baseball card I ever clearly remember seeing.  The Phillies won the Rose free agency lottery on December 5, 1978, signing him to a then-record four-year, $3.2 million contract.  With Mike Schmidt at third base, Rose moved to first base and he'd prove to be the final piece to the puzzle for the Phillies as the club advanced to and won the World Series in 1980.  He was an All-Star while in Philadelphia four times between 1979 and 1982, leading the league in doubles in 1980 with 42 and in hits in 1981 with 140.  Rose, now 42, helped the Phillies reach the World Series again in 1983, although he suffered through one of the worst seasons of his career.  Towards the end of the 1983 season, Rose was benched by manager Paul Owens in favor of giving Len Matuszek more playing time at first.  His last at-bat with the team came during Game 5 of the 1983 World Series.  Rose went 2 for 4 in that game, as the Orioles prevailed, 5-0, to give them the World Series title.  

Rose was released by the Phillies on October 19, 1983, and he'd somewhat surprisingly sign with the Expos.  In 745 games with the Phillies, Rose batted .291 with 826 hits.  He was set to be inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 2017, but the club cancelled the induction a week before the ceremony when news came to light of Rose's sexual relationship with a minor during the 1970s.

1963 Topps #537

1970 Topps #580

1975 Topps #320

1980 Topps #540

1988 Topps #475

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1963 Topps #537
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (27):  1963-1989
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2023 Panini Prizm #33
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  1,930 in the Beckett online database as of 3/24/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

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

#119 Doug Rader - Houston Astros / #121 Joe Grzenda - Minnesota Twins

#43 Joe Niekro - Chicago Cubs

Joseph Franklin Niekro
Chicago Cubs
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  185
Born:  November 7, 1944, Martins Ferry, OH
Drafted:  Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 3rd round of the 1966 amateur draft, June 7, 1966
Major League Teams:  Chicago Cubs 1967-1969; San Diego Padres 1969; Detroit Tigers 1970-1972; Atlanta Braves 1973-1974; Houston Astros 1975-1985; New York Yankees 1985-1987; Minnesota Twins 1987-1988

World Series Appearances:  Minnesota Twins 1987
Died:  October 27, 2006, Tampa, FL (age 61)

Like his older brother Phil Niekro (#355), Joe Niekro relied on a deceptive knuckle ball to baffle batters over 22 seasons in the major leagues.  Joe Niekro spent eight seasons with the Cubs, Padres, Tigers and Braves before being sold to the Astros on April 6, 1975, for $35,000.  He'd pitch in 11 seasons for the Astros, enjoying the most productive years of his lengthy career.  His best season came in 1979 when he was 21-11 with a 3.00 ERA for the Astors in 38 starts.  Niekro led the league in wins and with five shutouts, finishing as runner-up to Bruce Sutter in that year's Cy Young Award voting.

The durable Niekro won at least 10 games in 11 different seasons, and led the league in games started twice, in 1983 and 1984 with 38 each year.  He'd win a World Series ring with the Twins in 1987, the same season he was suspended for 10 games when an emery board and sandpaper flew out of his pocket during a mound visit by the umpires.  For his career, Niekro was 221-204 in 702 games pitched with a 3.59 ERA and 1,747 strikeouts over 3,584 1/3 innings pitched.  He made exactly 500 career starts, which is currently 49th on the all-time list.  His 172 wild pitches, courtesy of his knuckle ball, are currently 24th on the all-time list.  The Niekro brothers' combined win total of 539 is still the major league record for wins by a pair of brothers.  Nikero's son, Lance Niekro, played in parts of the four seasons with the Giants between 2003 and 2007.

Building the Set / Card #99
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 22nd 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 a surprisingly low $1.25.  If I stick to composing posts five times a week, and I'm already slipping off that pace a little, I should go through the stack and be caught up by the week of January 22, 2024!

The Card / Cubs Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

The photo used here likely dates from 1966, and similar photos were used for Niekro's 1967 and 1968 Topps cards.  The cartoon on the back is amusing, with the cartoon Brave kind of looking like Phil Niekro.  The write-up on the back discusses his 14 wins in 1968, and his 11 RBIs at the plate in 1967.  Niekro was a lifetime .156 batter with one home run to his name.  Appropriately enough, the home run was hit off his older brother Phil on May 29, 1976, in a game the Astros would win over the Braves by a score of 4-3.

Accuracy Index:  Niekro was with the Cubs for four games at the start of the 1969 season (see below), so this card scores a 5 for accuracy.

1969 Season
On April 25, 1969, Niekro, Frankie Libran and Gary Ross (#404) were traded to the expansion Padres for Dick Selma (#197).  Despite his 8-17 record with the Padres, Niekro was the club's best pitcher, making 31 starts and earning a 3.70 ERA in 202 innings pitched.  His 111 strikeouts were two short of the team lead, held by Clay Kirby (#637) who was 7-20 in 35 starts for San Diego.  Niekro's time with the Padres was short, as he was dealt to the Tigers on December 4th for Dave Campbell (#324) and Pat Dobson (#231).

1967 Topps #536

1975 Topps #595

1979 Topps #68

1985 Topps #295

1988 Topps #473

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1967 Topps #536
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (22):  1967-1988
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2004 Upper Deck Yankees Classics #37
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  164 in the Beckett online database as of 5/29/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#42 Tommy Harper - Seattle Pilots / #44 Danny Cater - Oakland Athletics