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Charles Wesley James
Cincinnati Reds
Outfield
Born: December 22, 1937, St. Louis, MO
Signed: Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1958 season
Major League Teams: St. Louis Cardinals 1960-1964; Cincinnati Reds 1965
Charlie James briefly assumed the starting left fielder job in for his hometown Cardinals after Stan Musial retired in 1963, but the acquisition of Lou Brock (#540) from the Cubs in June 1964 cut short his time as a starter. The starting right fielder for the Cardinals in 1962, James was moved to left following Musial's retirement. One of his biggest hits of his career was a three-run home run on opening day 1964 off the Dodgers' Sandy Koufax (#300). His predecessor Musial had thrown out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the game.
In parts of five seasons with the Cardinals, he hit .256 with 29 home runs and 172 RBIs. A bench player down the stretch run in 1964, James had three pinch-hitting appearances in the World Series, going hitless. James finished his six-year career with the Reds in 1965, appearing in 26 games and hitting .205.
Building the Set
December 7, 2019 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #17
We were up to 11 cards for our 1965 Topps set, and I honestly had it in mind that I wanted to purchase one fairly major "star" card during our remaining time at the Philadelphia Sportscard & Memorabilia Show inside the Valley Forge Casino. The showroom floor was packed as we were now into the early afternoon and autograph guests were showing up every 15 minutes or so. The PA announcer would call out ticket numbers in groups of 10 all while imploring collectors to back away from the entrance that led into the autograph signing area.
That was the backdrop when we came upon the table for MJW Collectibles out of Somerdale, NJ. This dealer had a bunch of 1960s Topps binders spread out, and the sign on the 1965 Topps binder caught my eye - ALL CARDS $1. And with Doug's help, I dug in.
The Card
This is the last of six appearances for James in a Topps flagship set. Topps went with Charley for his 1960, 1961, 1963 and 1964 cards, and he's Charlie in 1962 and 1965. James signed reprints of this card for inclusion in the 2014 Topps Heritage release. It's impressive that Topps was able to swap James' team from the Cardinals to the Reds in time for this card. The trade took place on December 14th with James and Roger Craig (#411) heading to the Reds for Bob Purkey (#214). The photo is undoubtedly from the same session that yielded James' 1964 Topps' photo and both are extremely tightly cropped.
I was really confused upon first reading, "The outfielder was Rookie of the Year in 1958," especially since James made his big league debut in 1960. His SABR biography points out that he was the Texas League Rookie of the Year, hitting .278 with 19 home runs and 104 RBIs for the Double-A Houston Buffaloes.
1965 Season
James was used sparingly by the Reds in 1965, as manager Dick Sisler (#158) awarded the starting left fielder's job to the incumbent, Tommy Harper (#47), instead of James. Of his 26 appearances with the Reds, only six were starts. He was sent down to the minors after not making the Reds out of spring training in 1966 and refusing to report, James retired from the game at 28.
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First Mainstream Card: 1960 Topps #517
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6): 1960-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-CJA
21 - James non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/23/19.
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: #140 Dean Chance - Los Angeles Angels
Next Card: #142 Bill Monbouquette - Boston Red Sox
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