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Harvey Haddix
Baltimore Orioles
Pitcher
Born: September 18, 1925, Medway, OH
Signed: Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1947 season
Major League Teams: St. Louis Cardinals 1952-1956; Philadelphia Phillies 1956-1957; Cincinnati Reds 1958; Pittsburgh Pirates 1959-1963; Baltimore Orioles 1964-1965
Died: January 8, 1994, Springfield, OH (age 68)
A three-time All-Star and a three-time Gold Glove winner, Harvey Haddix enjoyed a successful 14-year career in the big leagues, winning 136 games and a World Series ring with the 1960 Pirates. His most famous feat was pitching a 12-inning perfect game against the Braves on May 26, 1959, a game he ultimately lost when the Braves scored an unearned run in the 13th inning.
Haddix was a 20-game winner in 1953, the first of his three years in a row to make the N.L. All-Star team. That was his best season, as he went 20-9 with a 3.06 ERA, including 19 complete games and six shutouts. He won at least 10 games in nine different seasons. Given the nickname "Kitty" in part because of his fielding prowess on the mound, Haddix went the entire 1959 season without committing an error. Some sources have him earning the nickname "The Kitten" due to his resemblance to Harry "The Cat" Brecheen, while other sources note he had the nickname before ever becoming a teammate of Brecheen's.
In the 1960 World Series, Haddix started and won Game 5 and was the winning pitcher in Game 7 when Bill Mazeroski (#95) hit his game-winning home run against the Yankees' Ralph Terry (#406). Following his playing career, Haddix went on to coach for the Mets, Reds, Red Sox, Indians and Pirates.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.
December 7, 2019 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #11
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 Haddix card was the fourth of those four cards along with Robin Roberts (#15), Jim Fregosi (#210) and Juan Pizarro (#125). 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
This is Haddix's final appearance in a Topps flagship set, and he had appeared in every set since 1953. His career stats are complete on the back, with the exception of his 24 appearances for the Orioles in 1965. I don't have his other Topps cards readily available, but I'd have to imagine his 12-inning perfect game is mentioned on the back of most of them. The photo used for this card was taken no later than the 1963 season, as the team dropped the Oriole Bird logo from its away jerseys in 1964.
Haddix was in fact a bullpen ace for the Orioles in 1964, appearing in 49 games and pitching to a 2.31 ERA over 89 2/3 innings at 38 years old. But Stu Miller (#499) might have a claim to the title as well, as the Orioles closer had a 3.06 ERA over 66 games and 97 innings, recording 22 saves.
1965 Season
Haddix's final season in the majors, he began the season in the Orioles bullpen again but was hampered by arm problems. He appeared in just 24 games before the Orioles sold him to the Braves on August 30th. Rather than report to Milwaukee and pitch with an injured arm, Haddix opted to retire as he knew he couldn't help the club. The Braves returned him to the Orioles on September 2nd, and Haddix officially retired.
Originally hired in November to be the pitching coach of the Vancouver Mounties, the A's top farm team, Haddix resigned that position to become the Mets pitching coach to start the 1966 season. There, he was instrumental in helping develop the careers of young Mets' pitchers Tug McGraw (#533), Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman.
On May 11, 1956, Haddix was traded with Ben Flowers and Miller (his future Orioles teammate) to the Phillies for Murry Dickson and Herm Wehmeier. Even though he originally didn't want to go to the Phillies, Haddix had a good season, compiling a record of 12-8 after tweaking his mechanics with the help of pitching coach Whit Wyatt. He would have had 16 wins if not for four blown saves by the Phillies bullpen. Following the season, and according to his SABR biography, manager Mayo Smith said the acquisition of Haddix had been the "year's most pleasant surprise."
Haddix was back in the Phillies starting rotation in 1957, appearing in 27 games and going 10-13 with a 4.06 ERA. His inconsistency landed him in the bullpen for part of the season, but his best game came in July when he threw an 11-inning complete game shutout against the Cubs. Haddix was dealt to the Reds following the 1957 season for outfielder Wally Post.
Haddix appears in the 1957 Topps set with the Phillies, and a few years back I modified his original 1956 Topps card to update it for his actual team that season.
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First Mainstream Card: 1953 Topps #273
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13): 1953-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2014 Panini Golden Age #74
108 - Haddix non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/21/19.
Sources:
1956 Topps Blog
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: #66 Bill Rigney MG - Los Angeles Angels
Next Card: #68 Del Crandall - San Francisco Giants
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