#125 Juan Pizarro - Chicago White Sox

Juan Roman Pizarro
Chicago White Sox
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  170
Born:  February 7, 1937, Santurce, Puerto Rico
Signed:  Signed by the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent before 1956 season
Major League Teams:  Milwaukee Braves 1957-1960; Chicago White Sox 1961-1966; Pittsburgh Pirates 1967-1968; Boston Red Sox 1969; Cleveland Indians 1969; Oakland Athletics 1969; Chicago Cubs 1970-1973; Houston Astros 1973; Pittsburgh Pirates 1974

A veteran of 18 Major League seasons, Juan Pizarro was a two-time All-Star with the White Sox in 1963 and 1964.  Pizarro went 16-8 with a 2.39 ERA in 1963 and topped that performance with a 19-win season in 1964.  His ERA in 1963 was second only to his teammate Gary Peters (#430) who had a 2.33 ERA.  Prior to joining the White Sox, Pizarro pitched in parts of four seasons with his original team, the Milwaukee Braves, winning a World Series ring with them in 1957.

Pizarro was a journeyman towards the latter part of his career, and his Baseball Reference page shows an impressive display of the uniform numbers he wore throughout his career.  After being traded to the Pirates in 1966, Pizarro played for seven different teams over a nine-year period.  He wrapped up his big league career in 1974 with the Pirates, helping them win the N.L. East pennant.

Pizzaro finished his career with close to 400 professional wins - 131 in the majors, 66 in the minors, 38 in Mexico and 157 while playing winter ball in his native Puerto Rico.

Building the Set
December 7, 2019 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #10
Earlier this month, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sportscard & Memorabilia Show held inside the Valley Forge Casino.  After meeting Benito Santiago, Brad Lidge and Ryan Howard and having secured the first five cards for our 1965 Topps set, I continued scanning tables for the final two cards I needed to complete my 1971 Topps set.

I found a dealer with organized binders of vintage Topps cards, and I dug in.  Quickly finding the last two cards I needed from 1971 - #662 Mike Hedlund and #715 Horace Clarke,  both in great shape - I started browsing through binders from other years, in search of cards for my 1960s Phillies team sets.  I added five cards (all high numbers) for those sets and then decided to look through the 1965 Topps binder, figuring Doug wouldn't mind if I added a few more cards to our set.  I found four more sharp cards for our set, featuring players who all had some meaning for me personally.

This Pizarro card was the third of those four cards along with Robin Roberts (#15), Jim Fregosi (#210) and Harvey Haddix (#67).  For all 11 cards, the dealer gave me a price of $62, which I felt was fair given I had calculated a price of $75 in my head for the lot.

As told in my first post for the Joe Jay (#174) card, the 1961 Topps Pizarro card was one of the oldest cards in my collection for a while.  I vaguely recall my Dad had bought the card for me due to the similarities between our name and Pizarro's, but I never really knew anything about the pitcher smiling back at me.  When I came across his card in the binder of 1965 Topps cards for sale, I felt it fitting that it should be one of the first cards in our new set.

The Card
Pizarro was already a veteran of eight big league seasons when his card was released.  Given that Topps could have highlighted his 19-win season in 1964 or his 2.39 ERA in 1963, it's odd they decided to highlight his best minor league season in 1956.  Pitching for the Jacksonville Braves, Pizarro went 23-6 with 318* strikeouts over 274 innings pitched.  (*According to Topps, as his Baseball Reference page doesn't include a strikeout tally for 1956.)

According to the source for baseball logos, Chris Creamer's Sportslogos.net, the primary logo used by the White Sox in 1965 was the logo shown above with the batter superimposed over a floating white sock.  The team's alternate logo, and the one used by Topps, shows the flying white sock with a yellow circular background.

Pizarro is in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set, but he's not in the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set.

1965 Season
Pizarro's 1965 season was cut short by an arm injury and a salary holdout.  He struggled over his first seven starts, not lasting more than five innings in any appearance and going 1-2 with a 7.32 ERA.  He was shut down for a month and returned at the end of July, going 5-1 with a 2.44 ERA.  On August 11th, he threw a one-hitter against the Senators.  The White Sox finished second in the league, seven games behind the Twins.

1957 Topps #383

1961 Topps #227

1963 Topps #160

1968 Topps #19

1972 Topps #18

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1957 Topps #383
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14):  1957, 1959-1969, 1971-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1980 TCMA 1957 Braves #18

86 - Pizarro non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/17/19.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

Prior Card:  #124 Tom Satriano - Los Angeles Angels

Next Card:  #126 Los Angeles Dodgers Team Card

#210 Jim Fregosi - Los Angeles Angels

James Louis Fregosi
Los Angeles Angels
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  190
Born:  April 4, 1942, San Francisco, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent before 1960 season
Major League Teams:  Los Angeles Angels 1961-1965; California Angels 1966-1971; New York Mets 1972-1973; Texas Rangers 1973-1977; Pittsburgh Pirates 1977-1978
As a Manager:  California Angels 1978-1981; Chicago White Sox 1986-1988; Philadelphia Phillies 1991-1996; Toronto Blue Jays 1999-2000
Died:  February 14, 2014, Miami, FL (age 71)

A six-time All-Star and a Gold Glove shortstop, Jim Fregosi was the first star of the expansion Los Angeles Angels before his trade to the Mets in December 1971 for future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan.  Fregosi led the league in triples with 13 in 1968 and won his Gold Glove in 1967.  He held most of the Angels' franchise hitting records until Brian Downing began breaking them in the late 1980s.  Over his 18-year career, Fregosi hit .265 with 151 home runs and 706 RBIs.  He was inducted into the Angels Hall of Fame in 1989 and the club retired his #11 in 1998.

Following his playing days, Fregosi was a successful manager, leading the Angels to their first playoff berth in 1979 and the Phillies to the World Series in 1993.  His 15-year managerial career spanned between 1978 and 2000, earning him a career record of 1028-1094.  A baseball lifer, he spent five full decades in the game earning friends at each franchise he joined.  Fregosi was the top advance scout for the Braves in 2014 when a series of strokes led to his passing.

Building the Set
December 7, 2019 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #9
Earlier this month, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sportscard & Memorabilia Show held inside the Valley Forge Casino.  After meeting Benito Santiago, Brad Lidge and Ryan Howard and having secured the first five cards for our 1965 Topps set, I continued scanning tables for the final two cards I needed to complete my 1971 Topps set.

1993 Medford Phillies Update - 1993 All-Stars

I found a dealer with organized binders of vintage Topps cards, and I dug in.  Quickly finding the last two cards I needed from 1971 - #662 Mike Hedlund and #715 Horace Clarke,  both in great shape - I started browsing through binders from other years, in search of cards for my 1960s Phillies team sets.  I added five cards (all high numbers) for those sets and then decided to look through the 1965 Topps binder, figuring Doug wouldn't mind if I added a few more cards to our set.  I found four more sharp cards for our set, featuring players who all had some meaning for me personally.  This Fregosi card was the second of those four cards along with Robin Roberts (#15), Juan Pizarro (#125) and Harvey Haddix (#67).  For all 11 cards, the dealer gave me a price of $62, which I felt was fair given I had calculated a price of $75 in my head for the lot.

The Card
File this in the category of things I never knew:  The Los Angeles Angels changed their name to the California Angels on September 2, 1965, with a month remaining in the 1965 season.  Since they were the Los Angeles Angels for most of the 1965 season, that's what I'm going with in these posts.

Fregosi's 140 hits and 72 RBIs were tops on the 1964 Angels team, and he finished second in home runs with 18 behind the 21 hit by Joe Adcock.  Fregosi, at card #39, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of three Angels in the set.  He's also in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set.

1965 Season
This was the only season between 1964 and 1970 in which Fregosi wasn't named to the A.L. All-Star team.  As the Angels' starting shortstop, he hit .277 over 161 games with a team-leading 15 home runs and 64 RBIs.  As was the case for much of the 1960s, Fregosi was the team's MVP, but the Angels still finished in 7th place with a 75-87 record for manager Bill Rigney (#66).  1965 was also the Angels' final season sharing Dodger Stadium, and as noted above they changed their name to the California Angels late in the season in anticipation of their move into the new Anaheim Stadium.

Phillies Career
Fregosi was originally hired by the Phillies by his former teammate and friend Lee Thomas (#111) on May 29, 1989 as a special assignment assistant to Thomas, the team's general manager.  He was serving as a minor league pitching instructor and part-time broadcaster for the Phillies when Nick Leyva was fired in early 1991.  Fregosi was named the club's new manager on April 23, 1991, leading them to a third place finish that season, the club's best finish since 1986.  He guided the Phillies from a last place finish in 1992 to the World Series in 1993, only to lose the Series on Joe Carter's dramatic walk-off home run off Mitch Williams in Game 6.  Fregosi was credited with effectively leading a band of veteran cast-offs to an unexpected and improbable postseason run.

Unfortunately, it was all downhill for Fregosi and the Phillies following the 1993 season and the club wouldn't finish above .500 during the remainder of his tenure.  He was fired following the 1996 season, a dismal year in which the Phillies went 67-95 to finish in last place in the division.  In six years as Phillies manager, Fregosi had a 431-463 record and his win total is third behind Danny Ozark (594) and Charlie Manuel (780) for the club since 1970.

1962 Topps #209

1970 Topps #570

1975 Topps #339

1978 Topps #323

2001 Topps #345

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1962 Topps #209
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (27):  1962-1976, 1978-1981, 1986-1989, 1991-1993, 2001
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2002 Topps Archives #40

It's early, but Fregosi jumps into the lead of players featured so far on this blog with Topps flagship set appearances.  Between 1962 and 2001, Fregosi's cards can be found within 27 Topps base and update sets.

186 - Fregosi non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/16/19.

Sources:  
1992 Phillies Media Guide
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

Prior Card:  #209 Pittsburgh Pirates Team Card

Next Card:  #211 Steve Ridzik - Washington Senators

#15 Robin Roberts - Baltimore Orioles

Robin Evan Roberts
Baltimore Orioles
Pitcher

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  190
Born:  September 30, 1926, Springfield, IL
Signed:  Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 1948-1961; Baltimore Orioles 1962-1965; Houston Astros 1965-1966; Chicago Cubs 1966
Hall of Fame Induction:  1976
Died:  May 6, 2010, Temple Terrace, FL (age 83)

Hall of Famer Robin Roberts was one of the most dominant right-handed pitchers of the 1950s, leading the National League in wins for four straight seasons between 1952 and 1955 and earning seven straight All-Star Game appearances.  A work horse for the Phillies, his 20-win season in 1950 led the Phillies to the World Series and made him the first pitcher to win at least 20 games for the club since Grover Cleveland Alexander did it in 1917.  Straddling the 1952 and 1953 seasons, he pitched 28 complete games in a row with his appearance on September 6, 1952 lasting 17 innings.  He led the league in strikeouts in 1953 and 1954, and was named The Sporting News pitcher of the year in both 1952 and 1955.

After departing the Phillies, Roberts bounced from the Yankees, Orioles, Astros and Cubs, pitching a total of 19 seasons and retiring at the age of 39.  He finished with a career record of 286-245 with a 3.41 ERA and exactly half of his 609 starts resulted in complete games (305).  His 609 games started currently rank 20th on the all-time list.  He was the first Phillies player to have his number retired in 1962 and the first player inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1978.

Building the Set
December 7, 2019 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #8
Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sportscard & Memorabilia Show held inside the Valley Forge Casino.  After meeting Benito Santiago, Brad Lidge and Ryan Howard and having secured the first five cards for our 1965 Topps set, I continued scanning tables for the final two cards I needed to complete my 1971 Topps set.

I found a dealer with organized binders of vintage Topps cards, and I dug in.  Quickly finding the last two cards I needed from 1971 - #662 Mike Hedlund and #715 Horace Clarke,  both in great shape - I started browsing through binders from other years, in search of cards for my 1960s Phillies team sets.  I added five cards (all high numbers) for those sets and then decided to look through the 1965 Topps binder, figuring Doug wouldn't mind if I added a few more cards to our set.  I found four more sharp cards for our set, featuring players who all had some meaning for me personally.  This Roberts card was the first of those four cards along with Jim Fregosi (#210), Juan Pizarro (#125) and Harvey Haddix (#67).  For all 11 cards, the dealer gave me a price of $62, which I felt was fair given I had calculated a price of $75 in my head for the lot.  I snapped a quick picture of his table before moving along.

The Card

2006 Toyota Phillies Wall of Fame Postcards

This is Roberts' third and final Topps card showing him with the Orioles, as he previously appeared with the team in the 1963 and 1964 Topps sets.  It's still odd seeing Roberts in anything other than red pinstripes.  It's also odd that Roberts wore #38 with the Orioles instead of his familiar #36.  Darrell Johnson wore #36 for the Orioles in 1962, Roberts first year with the club, and he only appeared in six games.  No one wore #36 for the Orioles during Roberts' remaining time with the club.

With the palm tree visible over Roberts' right shoulder, it would appear this photo was taken during spring training.

1965 Season
At the start of the 1965 season, Roberts was relegated to the Orioles bullpen as the team already had set its starting pitching rotation with Steve Barber (#113), Dave McNally (#249), Wally Bunker (#290) and Milt Pappas (#270).  With Pappas missing a few games in May, Roberts got his shot and pitched four straight complete games.  But he struggled after that, going 1-7 over his final eight starts with the club and the Orioles released him on July 31st.

The Astros picked him up a week later, and he immediately rewarded them with two shutouts in first two starts.  His first Astros start came against the Phillies, and he allowed just four hits while striking out six.  In total, Roberts started 25 games for both teams, going a combined 10-9 with a 2.78 ERA.

Phillies Career
Roberts signed with the Phillies as an amateur free agent before the 1948 season and he was sold to the Yankees on October 16, 1961.  In the decade-plus in between, he established himself as the best right-handed pitcher in franchise history.  He still ranks first in franchise history in games (529), complete games (272), and innings pitched (3,739 1/3), and is second only to Steve Carlton in games started (472), wins (234) and strikeouts (1,871).

Following his big league career, and after a partial season with the Reading Phillies in 1967 attempting a comeback, Roberts' later crossed paths with the Phillies when he served as a color commentary on Phillies broadcasts for games between 1974 and 1976.  Along with his induction into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1978, he was also named to their Centennial Team in 1983.  His statute sits outside the first base gate of Citizens Bank Park, and when he passed away in 2010 the Phillies wore a black #36 patch on their uniforms and hung a Roberts jersey in their dugout during each game.

1949 Bowman #46

1952 Topps #59

1956 Topps #180

1959 Topps #352

1966 Topps #530

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #46
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12):  1952, 1956-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2019 Topps Archives #212

483 - Roberts non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/14/19.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Doug in the Hall of Fame Club at Citizens Bank Park in 2015
Photo shows the four greatest Phillies players together in Cooperstown

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

Prior Card:  #14 Len Gabrielson - Chicago Cubs

Next Card:  #16 Astros Rookie Stars

#474 Cookie Rojas - Philadelphia Phillies

Octavio Victor Rojas
Philadelphia Phillies
Infield-Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  160
Born:  March 6, 1939, La Habana, Cuba
Signed:  Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent before 1956 season
Major League Teams:  Cincinnati Reds 1962; Philadelphia Phillies 1963-1969; St. Louis Cardinals 1970; Kansas City Royals 1970-1977
As a Manager:  California Angels 1988; Florida Marlins 1996

A long-time utility player for the Phillies, I honestly never realized before researching this post that Cookie Rojas enjoyed the best years of his career as the starting second baseman for the Royals in the early 1970s.  Rojas was a five time All-Star - once with the Phillies in 1965 and then four times with the Royals between 1971 and 1974.  Blocked at second base by Tony Taylor (#296), Rojas moved around the field playing wherever needed for manager Gene Mauch (#489).  He finished in the top 10 in singles in his respective league in 1965, 1966 and 1974.  Rojas is second on the Royals' all-time games played at second base behind Frank White.

Rojas played for 16 seasons, accumulating a .263 average over 1,822 games.  Following his playing career, Rojas stayed in the game serving as a coach for the Cubs between 1978 and 1981, and becoming the first Cuban born manager in major league history when he was at the helm for the Angels in 1988.  (He succeeded his former manager Mauch as manager of the Angels.)  He later served as a coach for the Marlins (1993-1996), Mets (1997-2000) and Blue Jays (2001-2002).  He's been the Spanish-language color commentator on Marlins television broadcasts since 2003.

Rojas signing at the show

Building the Set
December 7, 2019 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #7
This was one of five Phillies cards purchased from a dealer at the Philadelphia Sportscard & Memorabilia Show held inside the Valley Forge Casino on the bottom floor.  I had told the dealer I was looking for a few hard to find Phillies high numbers from older Topps sets, and he helped me find the 1962 Topps Jack Hamilton Rookie Parade card and the 1972 Topps Tommy Hutton Rookie Stars card.  Both those cards together totalled $50.  I then waited for Doug to find his way over to me and I pointed out the dealer's binder of Topps Phillies cards from the 1960s.  I told Doug to pick a few Phillies cards to mark the official start to our set, and we were off.

Doug picked this Rojas card along with cards for players he had heard of before - Taylor (#296), Dallas Green (#203), Rick Wise (#322) and Johnny Callison (#310).  "How many cards do you guys need for your 1965 Topps set?" the dealer asked.  I told him these would be the fist five cards added.  "In that case," he said, "I'll take five dollars for those five cards and good luck with your set!"  What was probably close to $20 or $25 in cards were ours for a $1 a piece.

I'm not sure how many times this will happen again, or if it will ever happen again, but Rojas was also an autograph guest at the show.  Unfortunately, his visit was scheduled for much later in the day Saturday and were already home sorting our new cards when he started signing.  The photo above is from the Facebook page for the Philadelphia Sportscard & Memorabilia Show.

1969 Phillies Postcards

The Card
I'm sure there are collectors out there who can already answer this question, but I'm curious to see if there are any other cards in the set with the "INF-OF" position designation.  In 1964, Rojas' games in the field broke down like this - 54 in center field, 23 in left field, 20 at second base, 18 at shortstop, 1 at third base, 1 in right field and 1 at catcher.  His sole catching appearance came in the second game of a double header against the Reds.  Regular catcher Clay Dalrymple (#372) had been pinch-run for in the ninth and back-up catcher Gus Triandos (#248) was seemingly unavailable.  Rojas would complete his trip around the diamond with a pitching appearance in 1967.

1965 Season
Rojas was named to his first All-Star team in 1965, joining his teammates Dick Allen (#460) and Callison.  He appeared in 142 games, and saw more time at second base than usual due to a season long slump endured by regular second baseman Taylor.  Rojas ended up playing 84 games at second base, 41 games in center field, 11 games in left field, 11 games at shortstop, five games in right field, two games at catcher, and a game at first base.  He led the team with a .303 average, which was also placed him eighth in the league.

Phillies Career
The Phillies acquired Rojas from the Reds on November 27, 1962 for reliever Jim Owens (#451), and his Topps rookie card in the 1963 set shows him wearing a Reds uniform top.  He played for seven seasons with the Phillies, appearing in at least 100 games every year except his first in 1963.  His best season with the club was 1965 (see above) and the Phillies ultimately traded him in October 1969 to make room for the up and coming prospect Denny Doyle.  Rojas was one of the players included in the blockbuster deal between the Phillies and Cardinals that shipped Allen and Jerry Johnson to St. Louis in exchange for Curt Flood (#415), Tim McCarver (#294), Byron Browne and Joe Hoerner.  (Flood never reported to the Phillies, but that's a story for another post.)

Rojas played in 880 games for the Phillies - the exact amount of games he played in for the Royals.

1963 Topps #221

1968 Topps #39

1971 Topps #118

1975 Topps #169

1988 Topps Traded #97T

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1963 Topps #221
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (16):  1963-1977, 1988
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2019 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-CR

85 - Rojas non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/13/19.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

Prior Card:  #473 Orioles Rookie Stars

Next Card:  #475 Clete Boyer - New York Yankees

#310 Johnny Callison - Philadelphia Phillies

John Wesley Callison
Philadelphia Phillies
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  175
Born:  March 12, 1939, Qualls, OK
Signed:  Signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent, June 14, 1957
Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1958-1959; Philadelphia Phillies 1960-1969; Chicago Cubs 1970-1971; New York Yankees 1972-1973
Died:  October 12, 2006, Abington, PA (age 67)

One of the top players for the Phillies in the 1960s, and a fan favorite as well, Johnny Callison was a three-time All-Star and MVP of the 1964 All-Star Game.  He led or tied for the league lead in triples twice (10 in 1962, 16 in 1965) and doubles once (40 in 1966).  He finished in the top 10 for runs scored in the N.L. five different times during the decade, and in the top 10 for home runs three different times.  A top defender as well, Callison led all N.L. outfielders in assists in four straight seasons between 1962 and 1965.  His 90 assists during that period were tops in the league, with Roberto Clemente's (#160) 59 assists a distant second.  He had 197 total chances in 1968 without committing an error.

In 16 seasons and 1,886 career games, Callison hit .264 with 226 home runs and 840 RBIs, and he was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1997.

Building the Set
December 7, 2019 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #6
This was one of five Phillies cards purchased from a dealer at the Philadelphia Sportscard & Memorabilia Show held inside the Valley Forge Casino on the bottom floor.  I had told the dealer I was looking for a few hard to find Phillies high numbers from older Topps sets, and he helped me find the 1962 Topps Jack Hamilton Rookie Parade card and the 1972 Topps Tommy Hutton Rookie Stars card.  Both those cards together totalled $50.  I then waited for Doug to find his way over to me and I pointed out the dealer's binder of Topps Phillies cards from the 1960s.  I told Doug to pick a few Phillies cards to mark the official start to our set, and we were off.

Callison was the fourth card selected by Doug along with cards for players he had heard of before - Tony Taylor (#296), Dallas Green (#203), Rick Wise (#322), and Cookie Rojas (#474).  "How many cards do you guys need for your 1965 Topps set?" the dealer asked.  I told him these would be the fist five cards added.  "In that case," he said, "I'll take five dollars for those five cards and good luck with your set!"  What was probably close to $20 or $25 in cards were ours for a $1 a piece.

The Card

2006 Toyota Phillies Wall of Fame Postcards

The feat for which Callison is best remembered is mentioned on the back of this card.  In the ninth inning of the 1964 All-Star Game, with the score tied 4-4, Callison hit a walk-off three-run home run off Dick Radatz (#295) to give the N.L. squad a 7-4 victory.  Curt Flood (#415) and Johnny Edwards (#418) scored before him, and my earliest memories of Callison are hearing about his All-Star game heroics.  I've always loved the All-Star game, and it was cool to learn that a former Phillies player had once been the star of the mid-summer classic.

The three home runs depicted in the cartoon at the top of the card came on September 27, 1964 in a game the Phillies lost to the Braves, 14-8.  Callison hit two home runs off Chi-Chi Olivo and one off Tony Cloninger (#520), but pitchers Jim Bunning (#20) and Green were shelled in the loss.  Callison, at card #32, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of four Phillies in the set.  He's also in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set.

1965 Season
1965 was the third and final season Callison was an All-Star.  The team's top slugger, Callison reached his career high in home runs with 32 and passed the century mark in RBIs for the second time in his career with 101.  He hit .262 over 160 games as the team's regular right fielder, starting 154 games.  He tied for the team lead in runs scored (93) with Dick Allen (#460) and his 162 hits were second on the team to Allen's 187.  He hit three home runs (again) in a game on June 6th, with the Phillies winning this time, 10-9.

Phillies Career
The Phillies acquired Callison from the White Sox on December 9, 1959 for third baseman Gene Freese (#492).  He spent his first two seasons as the team's regular left fielder before moving over to right field for good in 1962.  He was the Phillies regular right fielder for eight seasons, through 1969, and he's currently fourth on the franchise's all-time games played in the outfield list behind Richie Ashburn, Del Ennis and Sherry Magee.  A fan favorite and a loyal player for manager Gene Mauch (#489), Callison was arguably the most popular Phillies player during the decade of the 1960s.

The Phillies traded him to the Cubs on November 17, 1969, with Larry Colton for Oscar Gamble and Dick Selma.  He retired from baseball after the 1973 season and was a mainstay for years at the Phillies annual fantasy camp in Clearwater, Florida.

1959 Topps #119

1961 Topps #468

1967 Topps #85

1971 Topps #12

1973 Topps #535

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1959 Topps #119
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15):  1959-1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2003 Upper Deck Yankees Signature Series #48

Callison appeared in 15 Topps flagship sets between 1959 and 1973, and for some reason Topps designated his first name as John on only his first and final cards.

118 - Callison non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/12/19.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

Prior Card:  #309 Steve Hamilton - New York Yankees

Next Card:  #311 Orlando Pena - Kansas City Athletics