#23 Bob Tiefenauer - Milwaukee Braves

Bobby Gene Tiefenauer
Milwaukee Braves
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  185
Born:  October 10, 1929, Desloge, MO
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1952, 1955; Cleveland Indians 1960; St. Louis Cardinals 1961; Houston Colt .45s 1962; Milwaukee Braves 1963-1965; New York Yankees 1965; Cleveland Indians 1965, 1967; Chicago Cubs 1968
Died:  June 13, 2000, Desloge, MO (age 70)

Bobby Tiefenauer was a knuckle-ball throwing relief pitcher whose professional career spanned 21 seasons between 1948 and 1969.  He found more success in the minor leagues than in the majors leagues and he was inducted posthumously into the International League Hall of Fame in 2008.

Tiefenauer appeared in 179 games over 10 seasons in the majors, all in relief, compiling a career record of 9-25.  He saw the most action in 1962 with the Colt .45s (43 games, 4.34 ERA) and in 1964 with the Braves (46 games, 3.21 ERA).

Building the Set
December 7, 2019 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #12
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.

1979 Phillies Photocards

I first determined I'd buy 10 cards, and then that went up to 15.  My only criteria was that the cards needed to be a good shape with four sharp corners.  Doug helped me pick the cards in best shape, especially when there were several of the same card to a page.  This Tiefenauer card was the first of the 15 commons we added from MJW Collectibles.  Some were fairly random additions, and others had some meaning to me and I'll feature each of the next 14 cards in upcoming posts.

The Card
Topps went with Bob on the front but Bobby on the back for this card.  Topps also appropriately notes Tiefenauer's success in the minor leagues.  He finished his minor league career with a 147-88 record and 811 strikeouts over 1,879 innings pitched.  We also see the rarely used "Voluntarily Retired" on the back for his 1959 season, as he missed the entire year with an arm injury.

1965 Season
Tiefenauer had an eventful season in 1965.  He appeared in six games for the Braves before being traded on June 16th to the Yankees for Tom Dukes.  With the Yankees, he lasted 10 games, saving a pair of games and earning his lone win of the year on June 26th.  He was then sold to the Indians on August 11th.  He started off fine with the Indians but then struggled mightily in his final eight appearances, going 0-5 with a 7.36 ERA over 11 innings.  He didn't appear in any of the Indians' final 15 games.

In total, and for three different teams, Tiefenauer went 1-6 with a 4.71 ERA over 31 games.

Phillies Career
Tiefenauer was a coach in the Phillies system throughout the entire decade of the 1970s and most of the 1980s.  Joining the club in 1970, he first served as a roving minor league pitching coach and was eventually named to manager Danny Ozark's staff in 1979 as the Phillies' bullpen coach.  He was the big club's bullpen coach for only one season before returning to the Phillies' minor leagues.

His minor league baseball card history is the best way to track his coaching path through the 1980s, as he appeared in the following minor league team sets - 1980 Peninsula Pilots, 1983 Reading Phillies, 1985-1986 Portland Beavers, 1987 Spartanburg Phillies and 1988 Batavia Clippers.  His only official Phillies card can be found within the 1979 Phillies Photo Card set.

1959 Topps #501

1962 Topps #227

1964 Topps #522

1968 Topps #269

1987 ProCards #1811

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1959 Topps #501
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1959, 1962-1965, 1968
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1968 Topps #269

25 - Tiefenauer non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/22/19.

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:  #22 Charlie Smith - New York Mets

Next Card:  #24 Minnesota Twins Team Card