#196 Ron Fairly - Los Angeles Dodgers

Ronald Ray Fairly
Los Angeles Dodgers
First Base-Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  175
Born:  July 12, 1938, Macon, GA
Signed:  Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent, June 24, 1958
Major League Teams:  Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-1969; Montreal Expos 1969-1974; St. Louis Cardinals 1975-1976; Oakland Athletics 1976; Toronto Blue Jays 1977; California Angels 1978
Died:  October 30, 2019, Palm Desert, CA (age 81)

There are players from the 1960s and 1970s that I know little to nothing about, but I know I should learn about them.  Ron Fairly was one of those players.  He played for an incredible 21 seasons, accumulating 215 home runs and a .266 average over 2,442 games.  He appeared in every Topps flagship release for the entire decade of the 1960s and the 1970s, and I'm very curious to know if anyone else accomplished that feat.  He served as a broadcaster for the Angels, Giants and Mariners between 1979 and 2006, meaning he was active in Major League baseball for 48 seasons.

Fairly won three World Series rings with the Dodgers in 1959, 1963 and 1965.  But his best seasons came later in his career with the expansion Expos, and he was named to his first All-Star team in 1973 at the age of 34.  He hit his career high mark for home runs with 17 in both 1972 and 1973.  He earned his second All-Star nod in 1977 for the Blue Jays, becoming the first All-Star in that franchise's history.  Fairly accumulated 1,913 career hits and 1,044 RBIs over his career and he was the oldest player in the Majors at 39 in 1978 when he retired.

Building the Set
December 7, 2019 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #21
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.

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 Fairly card was one 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 cards acquired in upcoming posts.

The Card
The position designation on Fairly's card is a little outdated for his 1965 card, as he only played first base during the 1964 season.  He had split time between the two positions in 1963, and he'd serve primarily as an outfielder in 1965.  The back of the card plays up Fairly's fielding, and he was known as a good defender at both first base and in the outfield.  Fairly is in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set, but he's not in the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set.

Dodgers Team Set

1965 Season
Fairly was the Dodgers' primary right fielder during their World Series winning season, their third title in seven seasons.  He patrolled the outfield along with Lou Johnson in left and Willie Davis (#435) in center and he started 12 games at first whenever regular first baseman Wes Parker (#344) was in need of a day off.  Fairly most often hit eighth in the Dodgers line-up, but led the team with 70 RBIs.

In 158 games, he hit .274 with 9 home runs.  Fairly was one of the team's best hitters in the World Series against the Twins, hitting .379 (11 for 29) with two home runs and six RBIs.

1959 Topps #125

1963 Topps #105

1972 Topps #405

1975 Topps #270

1979 Topps #580

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1959 Topps #125
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (21):  1959-1979
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2001 Upper Deck Decade 1970s #131

119 - Fairly non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/27/19.

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:  #195 Bob Veale - Pittsburgh Pirates

Next Card:  #197 Diego Segui - Kansas City Athletics