#203 Dave Johnson - Baltimore Orioles

David Allen Johnson
Baltimore Orioles
Second Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  170
Born:  January 30, 1943, Orlando, FL
Signed:  Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent, June 2, 1962
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1965-72; Atlanta Braves 1973-75; Philadelphia Phillies 1977-78; Chicago Cubs 1978

World Series Appearances:  Baltimore Orioles 1966, 1969-71
As a Manager:  New York Mets 1984-90; Cincinnati Reds 1993-95; Baltimore Orioles 1996-97; Los Angeles Dodgers 1999-00; Washington Nationals 2011-13
Died:  September 5, 2025, Sarasota, FL (age 82)

Davey Johnson was the everyday second baseman for the Orioles between 1966 and 1972, winning two World Series rings with the club in 1966 and 1970.  He made three All-Stars teams with the Orioles and won three Gold Gloves.  Traded to the Braves following the 1972 season, Johnson's power numbers exploded as he hit a career-high 43 home runs (42 as a second baseman) to go along with 99 RBIs.  His home run tally tied the record for second baseman set by Rogers Hornsby, and the record stood until 2021 when Marcus Semien hit 44 at the position.  Johnson, Darrell Evans and Henry Aaron (#100) all hit at least 40 home runs in 1973, making that Braves team the first with a trio of players to reach the mark.  Johnson spent the 1975 and 1976 seasons playing in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants.  He returned to the majors in 1977 with the Phillies and played two more seasons before retiring and beginning his managerial career.

From the 1978 Phillies Yearbook

Following several seasons as a minor league manager, Johnson was named the Mets manager for their 1984 season and he'd lead the club to their second World Series title in 1986.  Johnson would enjoy a lengthy managerial career, winning Manager of the Year honors twice - in 1997 with the Orioles, and in 2012 with the Nationals.  Johnson's career record as a manager was 1,372-1,071, ranking him 10th all time in winning percentage among all managers with at least 1,000 wins.  He was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 1997 and the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 2010.

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

Building the Set / Card #606
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (Vintage Sports)

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.  My second stop was the aptly named Vintage Sports table.  I always appreciate a dealer with clear signage explaining their pricing method, and Vintage Sports had a marker in their selection of 1969 Topps cards laying out that cards without a sleeve were $1 and cards with a sleeve were $2.  I had one "high number" in a sleeve, and that was a whopping $4. 

I found 28 commons needed before moving on to my third stop.  This was the 11th of 28 total cards bought from Vintage Sports, and the 47th of 91 cards for the set added overall on the day.  Unsleeved, this card cost less than $1 after a dealer discount - a surprisingly low price for a semi-star card from the set.

The Card / Orioles Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

This is Johnson's fifth appearance in a Topps flagship set, and he'd start to earn so-called Topps hero numbers (cards ending in 0s or 5s) in the 1970 Topps set.  The back of the card focuses on his success against the Dodgers in the 1966 World Series and his "skindiving" hobby.

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

1969 Season
Johnson spent his fourth season in a row as the Orioles' everyday second baseman.  From his SABR biography, written by Mark Armour: 

Johnson battled back woes in 1969, but still hit .280 with 34 doubles, his best offensive season to date.  He was selected to another All-Star Game, though he did not play, and won his first Gold Glove for his defensive play.  He did all this despite regular visits to the chiropractor and enough discomfort that he often could not sit down.  He hit just .231 in the playoff series with the Twins, and was just 1-for-16 in the World Series loss to the Mets.  "I'm still flabbergasted we lost," remembered Johnson decades later, "that destiny made all sorts of funky things happen.  Gusts of wind blowing balls back to their outfielders, [Ron] Swoboda’s (#585) diving catch, Al Weis hitting a home run; our winning just wasn’t meant to be."

Phillies Career - Johnson
Johnson joined the Phillies as a free agent in February 1977 after spending two seasons playing in Japan.  With Ted Sizemore (#552) and Larry Bowa as the regulars at second base and shortstop, Johnson was used in a utility role, appearing in 78 games overall with most of his time spent at first base.  Wearing uniform #15, he had a solid first year with the Phillies, batting .321 with eight home runs in his limited role.  He appeared in his final postseason game in 1977, starting at first base in Game 1 of the NLCS against the Dodgers and going 1 for 4 at the plate.  Johnson began the 1978 season on the bench again and slumped to a .191 average.  On August 6, 1978, the Phillies dealt him to the Cubs for pitcher Larry Anderson.  Overall, Johnson appeared in 122 games for the Phillies, batting .273 with 10 home runs and 50 RBIs.

1965 Topps #473

1971 Topps #595

1974 Topps #45

1986 Topps #501

2001 Topps #340

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #473
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (22):  1965-75, 1978-79, 1984-90, 1993, 2001
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2022 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #83FF-DJ
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  191 in the Beckett online database as of 1/2/26.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

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

#202 Don Wilson - Houston Astros / #204 Jack Hiatt - San Francisco Giants

#597 A.L. Rookie Stars - Bob Floyd / Larry Burchart / Rollie Fingers

Robert Nathan Floyd
Baltimore Orioles
Infield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  180
Born:  October 20, 1943, Hawthorne, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent before 1964 season
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1968-70; Kansas City Royals 1970-74

Larry Wayne Burchart
Cleveland Indians
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  205
Born:  February 8, 1946, Tulsa, OK
Drafted:  Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 3rd round of the 1967 amateur draft, June 6, 1967
Major League Teams:  Cleveland Indians 1969

Roland Glen Fingers
Oakland Athletics
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  190
Born:  August 25, 1946, Steubenville, OH
Signed:  Signed by the Kansas City Athletics as an amateur free agent, December 24, 1964
Major League Teams:  Oakland Athletics 1968-76; San Diego Padres 1977-80; Milwaukee Brewers 1981-82, 1984-85

World Series Appearances:  Oakland Athletics 1972-74
Hall of Fame Induction:  1992

Bobby Floyd put in seven seasons in the majors as a back-up infielder and pinch-hitter, appearing in a career-high 61 games with the Royals in 1971.  Blocked by Mark Belanger (#299) in Baltimore and Freddie Patek (#219) in Kansas City, Floyd started sparingly while in the majors.  He spent the entire 1969 season on the Orioles roster, but did not see any action in that year's ALDS or World Series.  Dealt to the Royals in June 1970 for Moe Drabowsky (#508), Floyd was a key reserve for the team between 1970 and 1974.  His best season came in 1973 when he batted .333 in 51 games for the Royals.  In 214 big league games, Floyd batted .219 overall with 18 doubles and 26 RBIs.  Floyd would manage in the Mariners and Mets minor league systems following his retirement as a player until the early 2000s.  He served on the Mets' coaching staff in 2001 and 2004.

After a successful collegiate career at Oklahoma State University, and two successful seasons in the Dodgers' minor league system, Larry Burchart was selected by the Indians in the 1968 rule 5 draft.  He'd join Cleveland's bullpen for the 1969 season, appearing in 29 games and pitching to a 4.25 ERA in 42 1/3 innings pitched.  Burchart had his season, and likely his career, cut short following a violent collision at first base with the Red Sox' George Scott (#574).  Having torn muscles in his pitching shoulder, Burchart pitched for two more seasons in the minor leagues before retiring from baseball.

With his signature handle-bar mustache, Rollie Fingers authored a 17-season Hall of Fame career, winning three World Series rings with the Athletics and earning both American League MVP and Cy Young Award honors in 1981.  Fingers helped usher in the modern closer role, dominating at the back-end of the bullpen, and leading the league in saves in 1977 (35), 1978 (37) and the strike-shortened 1981 (28).  He was a seven-time All-Star, including four straight appearances with the Athletics between 1973 and 1976.  That run corresponded with the Athletics dynasty that won three straight World Championships between 1972 and 1974.  Fingers was the MVP of the 1974 series, after winning the first game and saving the final three wins.  He departed Oakland in 1976 as a free agent, and after four dominant seasons with the Padres, Fingers joined the Brewers for the final act of his career.

He helped pitch the Brewers to their first postseason berth in 1981, going 6-3 with a 1.04 ERA in 78 innings pitched.  Fingers retired following the 1985 season as the all-time saves leader with 341, the record until surpassed by Jeff Reardon in 1992.  He was 114-118 lifetime with a 2.90 ERA in 1,701 1/3 innings pitched, and his 709 career games finished still ranks fifth all-time.  Fingers was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992, the second reliever in the Hall, after Hoyt Wilhelm (#565).  His #34 was retired by both the Athletics and the Brewers.

Building the Set / Card #543
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.

Having had success the prior two shows at Uncle Dick's Cards with his well-organized, neon common binders, I opted to pull up a chair once again at the friendly dealer's array of tables.  The aim was simple:  Clear out Uncle Dick's 1969 Topps commons, starting off where I had left off the year before with card #501 and going through the end of the set, card #664.  In less than 25 minutes, I completed my quest, and over the past seven months, I've composted a post for each of the 98 commons and semi-stars I pulled from the binder.

But I had one more card to purchase from Uncle Dick's Cards.  My Dad taught me one particular negotiation tactic at some of the earliest baseball card shows we attended together, held inside the Ocean City Music Pier in the early to mid-1980s.  I had already expressed interest in this Hall of Fame rookie card before diving into the last binder of commons.  After totaling the cards I had committed to purchase, I asked the dealer what kind of a deal he could give me on the Fingers card, seeing as I had just shown him I was an interested buyer.  The suggested price offered was lower than the sale price on the sticker, and I added this key card from the set to my day's haul.

The Card / Orioles Team Set / Indians Team Set / Athletics Team Set

Floyd Accuracy Index -3 / Burchart Accuracy Index +5 / Fingers Accuracy Index +5
No offense to Floyd or Burchart, but this card is rightfully known as the "Rollie Fingers rookie card," and I would have been hard pressed to name the other two players with Fingers before adding this card to our set.  Topps has reprinted the card a few times over the years, both with Floyd and Burchart and without.  They created a great "card that never was" in 2018 for Fingers to sign as part of the Topps Heritage release.

Accuracy Index:  Burchart and Fingers both score a +5, and Floyd loses points for the mystery jersey and lack of a hat.

1969 Season - Floyd
Floyd appeared in 39 games for the Orioles, batting .202 with four doubles.  He made 19 starts all season - 12 at shortstop, backing up Belanger, five at second base and two at third base.  His other appearances came as a late inning defensive replacement, and he made one pinch-hitting appearance all season, going 0 for 1.

1970 Topps #101

1971 Topps #646

1972 Topps #273

1974 Topps #41

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Floyd
First Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #597
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1969-72, 1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1997 Topps Stars Rookie Reprints #5
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  30 in the Beckett online database as of 8/3/25.

Sources - Floyd:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

1969 Season - Burchart
Burchart had to remain on the Indians' roster all season given they had picked him up in the rule 5 draft.  He appeared in five games for the Indians in April, before his collision with Scott during the game on April 18th.  Burchart would miss two months while recovering, and likely should have taken more time to heal.  He'd pitch fairly well upon his return though, and for the season Burchart was 0-2 with a 4.25 ERA.

1969 Season - Fingers
Following a September call-up in 1968, Fingers came up for good in 1969.  He began the season as a fifth starter for the Athletics, but found most of his work from the bullpen.  In 60 appearances, including eight starts, Fingers was 6-7 with a 3.71 ERA in 119 innings pitched.  No other reliever was used more frequently than him, and Fingers led the club with 12 saves.

1970 Topps #412

1997 Topps Stars Rookie Reprints Autographs #5

2001 Topps Archives #281

2018 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-RF

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Burchart
First Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #597
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2):  1969-70
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1997 Topps Stars Rookie Reprints #5
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  6 in the Beckett online database as of 8/3/25.

Sources - Burchart:  
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Fingers
First Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #597
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (18):  1969-86
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2025 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-RF
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  966 in the Beckett online database as of 8/3/25.

Sources - Fingers:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

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

1970 Topps #502

1975 Topps #21

1978 Topps #140

1981 Topps Traded #761

1986 Topps #185

#596 Chuck Hartenstein - Pittsburgh Pirates / #598 Ruben Amaro - California Angels

#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