#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

#363 Russ Nixon - Chicago White Sox

Russell Eugene Nixon
Chicago White Sox
Catcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  195
Born:  February 19, 1935, Cleves, OH
Signed:  Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1953 season
Major League Teams:  Cleveland Indians 1957-60; Boston Red Sox 1960-65; Minnesota Twins 1966-67; Boston Red Sox 1968

As a Manager:  Cincinnati Reds 1982-83; Atlanta Braves 1988-90
Died:  November 9, 2016, Las Vegas, NV (age 81)

For 12 seasons in the majors, Russ Nixon served one of two roles during his 906 games - back-up catcher or left-handed pinch-hitter.  His Appearances summary on his Baseball Reference page is very clean, showing 722 appearances behind the plate and 235 pinch-hitting appearances with nary a cameo at any other position.  His best season came during his first full year in the majors, with the Indians in 1958, when he batted .301 with career highs in home runs (9) and RBIs (46).  Nixon was a lifetime .268 batter with 27 home runs and 266 RBIs, and he was in the top ten for catcher's fielding percentage in the American League twice (1958, 1960).

Nixon managed the Single-A Tampa Tarpons in the Reds' system between 1971 and 1975, before joining the Reds' big league coaching staff under Sparky Anderson to start the 1976 season.  He remained a coach with the Reds until 1982 when he was promoted to manager after the team fired John McNamara.  After last place finishes in 1982 and 1983, Nixon was fired and moved on as a coach for the Expos (1984-85) and then the Braves (1986-87).  In 1988 he was managing the Braves' Double-A team in Greenville when he took over as manager in Atlanta when Chuck Tanner was fired.  Nixon managed the Braves through one of the worst stretches in franchise history, piloting the team to a 130-216 record between 1988 and 1990.  He stayed in baseball until 2008, returning to the majors only once in 1992 as the Mariners' bench coach, and last serving as a roving minor instructor for the Rangers in 2008.

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

Building the Set / Card #340
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 48th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me less than $1.

The Card / White Sox Team Set / Accuracy Index -16

Nixon never played for the White Sox (see below) and the photo used here dates from his Red Sox days between 1963 and 1965.  Those are the seasons he wore #5 with the club, and you can see the number peaking through on the back of his jersey.  The cartoon on the back mentions Nixon breeding Arabian horses during the offseason, and his SABR biography notes he went back to his 52-acre farm and his horses following his firing by the Reds in 1983.  This has to be one of the more unique cartoons in the entire set.

Accuracy Index:  Nixon's card loses points all over the place as the catcher didn't play with the White Sox in 1969 (-2) or ever (-6), he's wearing a Red Sox jersey (-5) and his hat is logo-less (-3).

1969 Season
On December 2, 1968, Nixon was drafted by the White Sox from the Red Sox in the annual rule 5 draft.  He must not have had a great spring training, as he was released on April 5th, and as the Red Sox declined to take him back he became a free agent.  Nixon was out of baseball for the year, and was hired as a minor league catching instructor for the Reds on February 14, 1970.

1958 Topps #133

1962 Topps #523

1968 Topps #515

1983 Topps #756

1990 Topps #171

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1958 Topps #133
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (17):  1958-69, 1983-84, 1988-90
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Fleer ProCards #883
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  78 in the Beckett online database as of 7/7/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#362 Jim Maloney - Cincinnati Reds / #364 Tommie Agee - New York Mets

#353 Jeff Torborg - Los Angeles Dodgers

Jeffrey Allen Torborg
Los Angeles Dodgers
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  195
Born:  November 26, 1941, Plainfield, NJ
Signed:  Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Major League Teams:  Los Angeles Dodgers 1964-70; California Angels 1971-73

As a Manager:  Cleveland Indians 1977-79; Chicago White Sox 1989-91; New York Mets 1992-93; Montreal Expos 2001; Florida Marlins 2002-03

A light-hitting back-up catcher, Jeff Torborg spent a decade as a player in the majors and another 11 years as a big league manager, winning American League Manager of the Year honors in 1990.  Torborg came up with the Dodgers in 1964, and he'd remain with the club through the 1970 season as the back-up for John Roseboro (#218) and later Tom Haller (#310).  He was behind the plate for Sandy Koufax's perfect game on September 9, 1965, and he'd later catch Bill Singer's (#575) no-hitter on July 20, 1970 and Nolan Ryan's (#533) first no-hitter on May 15, 1973.  He was a career .214 hitter with eight home runs and 101 RBIs, and never appeared in more than 100 games a season until his final year in the majors with the Angels in 1973.

Torborg retired as a player, coaching (1975-77) and then managing the Indians (1977-79).  He served as a long-time coach with the Yankees (1980-88) and took over as manager for the White Sox in 1989.  Torborg won Manager of the Year honors in 1990 after guiding the team to a 94-win season.  He'd later manage the Mets, Expos and Marlins, but never finished above fourth place with any of those clubs.  His lifetime managerial record was 634-718.  When not managing, Torborg worked in the broadcast booth for CBS, Fox and FSN South through the mid-2000s.

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

Building the Set / Card #332
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 40th 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 / Dodgers Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

The pictures used for Torborg's 1965, 1966 and this Topps card were likely all taken within seconds of each other.  The picture used here, of Torborg about to throw down to second base, works well with the 1969 Topps design.  On any other design, the photo would look incredibly off-center.  The write-up on the back of the card notes Roseboro's departure and predicted Torborg might see more playing time.  That ended up not being the case, as Haller got the bulk of the starts behind home plate while batting .263.  Torborg signed with the Dodgers for $100,000 in 1963, accounting for the many money bags in the cartoon on the card's back.

Accuracy Index:  Torborg's card scores a solid +5, a score becoming a little more prevalent as we've crossed over the mid-point of the set.

1969 Season
Now in his fifth full season as the Dodgers' back-up catcher, Torborg batted .185 in 51 games, with four doubles and seven RBIs.  He made 39 starts behind the plate, spelling Haller throughout the season.

1964 Topps #337

1973 Topps #154

1978 Topps #351

1990 Topps #21

2003 Topps #273

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1964 Topps #337
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (19):  1964-73, 1978-79, 1989-93, 2002-03
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2004 Fleer Greats of the Game #73
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  72 in the Beckett online database as of 7/5/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

1965 Topps Blog

#352 Paul Schaal - Kansas City Royals / #354 Nate Oliver - New York Yankees

#70 Tommy Helms - Cincinnati Reds

Tommy Vann Helms
Cincinnati Reds
Second Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  165
Born:  May 5, 1941, Charlotte, NC
Signed:  Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent before 1959 season
Major League Teams:  Cincinnati Reds 1964-1971; Houston Astros 1972-1975; Pittsburgh Pirates 1976-1977; Boston Red Sox 1977

World Series Appearances:  Cincinnati Reds 1970
As a Manager:  Cincinnati Reds 1988, 1989

After brief appearances with the Reds in 1964 and 1965, Tommy Helms won the every day third base job and won National League Rookie of the Year honors in 1966.  He'd go to the All-Star Game in 1967 and 1968 and win Gold Gloves at second base in 1970 and 1971.  Helms reached the World Series with the Reds in 1970, but his team lost to the Orioles in five games.  He was one of the players swapped to Houston in November 1971 that brought Joe Morgan (#35) and several other key members of the future Big Red Machine to Cincinnati.  Helms was an above average defender, leading the league in double plays turned three times and fielding percentage among second basemen three times.  In 1,435 career games, he accumulated 1,342 hits while batting .269.

Helms served as a major league coach with the Rangers (1981-1982) and the Reds (1983-1989).  He twice stepped in as interim manager for the Reds, going 12-15 when Pete Rose (#120) was suspended in 1988 for pushing umpire Dave Pallone.  Helms stepped in again in 1989 following the accusations against Rose for betting on baseball.  He guided the Reds to a 16-21 record and was replaced by Lou Piniella (#394) following the season. 

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

Building the Set / Card #121
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 44th 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 $1.25.

I'm about to fall behind a little on posting, as we enter our first mandatory summer close-down for routine maintenance.  Given I have 149 more cards to go through from this haul, I should be caught up at some point in February 2024?

The Card / Reds Team Set / Accuracy Index +1

Following the Steve Hamilton (#69) card, this is the second card in a row to use a photo from an old Topps set.  This card recycles the photo originally used on Helms' 1967 Topps card.  The back of the card highlights his Rookie of the Year win in 1966.  Helms appears again later in the set on an All-Star card.

Accuracy Index:  Helms scores a one given the correct uniform (+5) but its repeat use (-4).

Inserts:  Helms 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
Again the everyday second baseman for the Reds, Helms appeared in 126 games, batting .269.  The Reds finished in third place in the National West behind manager Dave Bristol (#234), and Bristol's most frequently used infield consisted of Lee May (#405) at first base, Helms at second, Woody Woodward (#142) at shortstop and Tony Perez (#295) at third base.

1967 Topps #505

1970 Topps #159

1976 Topps #583

1978 Topps #618

1990 Topps #110

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #243
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15):  1965-1978, 1990
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1990 Topps #110
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  90 in the Beckett online database as of 6/24/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#69 Steve Hamilton - New York Yankees / #71 Steve Whitaker - Kansas City Royals

#140 Jim Lefebvre - Los Angeles Dodgers

James Kenneth Lefebvre
Los Angeles Dodgers
Second Base-Third Base

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  180
Born:  January 7, 1942, Inglewood, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1962 season
Major League Teams:  Los Angeles Dodgers 1965-1972

World Series Appearances:  Los Angeles Dodgers 1965-1966
As a Manager:  Seattle Mariners 1989-1991; Chicago Cubs 1992-1993; Milwaukee Brewers 1999

Jim Lefebvre was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1965, and hit .400 (4 for 10) in the World Series as the Dodgers defeated the Twins in seven games.  Lefebvre's best season came in 1966 when he was the starting second baseman for the National League All-Star Team.  He hit .274 with 24 home runs and 74 RBIs that season - all career highs.  Lefebvre played for the Dodgers through the 1972 season and when the team released him, he began a successful four-season stint with the Lotte Orions in Japan.  In his eight major league seasons, he batted .251 with 74 home runs and 404 RBIs.  Lefebvre would later manage in the majors, guiding the Mariners, Cubs and Brewers to a 417-442 record over six seasons.

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

Building the Set / Card #45
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 Lefebvre card was $2.27, and arrived a week after I had made the return trip home from Dallas.

The Card / Dodgers Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

The back of the card highlights Lefebvre's team-leading, and career-best, 24 home runs from 1966.  Lou Johnson (#367) was second on the club that season with 17.  The career summary provided mentions his big first two seasons in 1965 and 1966 and the "serious injuries" suffered in 1967 and 1968.  Lefebvre was unlucky with injuries, dislocating his shoulder in 1967 and incurring a string of injuries in 1968, including a heel ailment, a sprained wrist and a pulled hamstring.

Accuracy Index:  The long-time Dodger easily scores a five for being pictured in a Dodgers uniform.  While the photo comes from the same session as the photo used for his 1968 Topps card, he's shown here batting and not fielding.

1969 Season
Lefebvre was the opening day second baseman for the Dodgers, but he would injure his ankle a week into the season and ultimately lose the position to rookie Ted Sizemore (#552).  He'd switch to third base in mid-June and entered into somewhat of a platoon with Bill Sudakis (#552).  In total, Lefebvre made 42 starts at third base, 32 starts at second base and six starts at first base.  In 95 games, he batted .236 with four home runs and 44 RBIs.

1965 Topps #561

1966 Topps #57

1972 Topps #369

1990 Topps #459

1992 Topps Traded #63T

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #561
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13):  1965-1972, 1989-1993
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2013 BBM Legendary Foreigners #9
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  82 in the Beckett online database as of 2/1/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#139 Andy Kosco - Los Angeles Dodgers / #141 Bill Dillman - Baltimore Orioles