#274 Lum Harris MG - Houston Astros

Chalmer Luman Harris
Houston Astros
Manager

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  180
Born:  January 17, 1915, New Castle, AL
Acquired:  Traded by Atlanta (Southern Association) to the Philadelphia Athletics for Ed Heusser
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Athletics 1941-1944, 1946; Washington Senators 1947
As a Manager:  Baltimore Orioles 1961; Houston Colt .45s 1964; Houston Astros 1965; Atlanta Braves 1968-1972
Died:  November 11, 1996, Pell City, AL (age 81)

1983 TCMA 1943 Play Ball #21

As a player, Lum Harris pitched in six seasons as both a starter and reliever, missing the 1945 season due to military service.  Playing primarily for Connie Mack's Philadelphia A's, Harris compiled a lifetime record of 35-63 with a 4.16 ERA over 820 innings pitched.

Following his playing career, he coached for the White Sox (1951-1954) and Orioles (1955-1961) before getting his shot as the interim manager for the Orioles in 1961 after their previous manager, Paul Richards, left the club in August 1961 to become the general manager of the Houston Colt .45s.  Following the season, Harris followed Richards to Houston where he was an original coach for the expansion team.  He took over when manager Harry Craft was fired in September 1964 and served as the first ever manager for the re-branded Houston Astros in 1965.

He was let go by Houston following the 1965 season when a new ownership group took over.  Harris followed Richards again to Atlanta, serving first as a minor league manager, then as a Major League coach, and eventually the manager of the Braves.  He led the club to its first ever N.L. West title in 1969, but the Braves lost the divisional championship series to the Mets.  In eight seasons as a manager, Harris had a record of 466-488 with his 93-win season for the 1969 Braves as his high water mark.

Building the Set
February 13, 2020 from Los Angeles, CA - Card #57

eBay can be a dangerous place during long work days in the winter, and on a long work day in early February I found myself once again browsing through listings from a 1965 Topps set break from Greg Morris Cards.  I again bid on 20 cards, placing my maximum bid on each of the 20 and then vowing not to go back and increase my bid if someone else came in over me.  I stuck to my vow, and came away with another 11 new cards for our set, including this Harris card.  I didn't track my original minimum bids, but I won this card for $2.04.

The Card
That's an odd (creepy?) look Harris is giving in his picture.  Looking at his lifecycle of cards in Topps flagship sets, he never looked directly at the photographer for any of the pictures used.  The back of this card mentions his close relationship with Richards with both the Baltimore and Houston organizations.  He and Richards were teammates on Harris' first professional team, the 1937 Atlanta Crackers.

Astros Team Set

1965 Season
The Astros were bad in 1965, finishing in ninth place with a record of 65-97.  It was the team's first season playing indoors in the Astrodome, and the hitters suffered while the pitchers flourished.  The Astros' pitchers actually allowed the second fewest runs among pitching staffs in the league.  When asked to assess his team's season, Harris replied, "I'd rather not."

Jim Wynn (#257) and Joe Morgan (#16) paced the offense with Wynn taking the team's triple crown by hitting .275 with team leading 22 home runs and 73 RBIs.  Morgan hit .271 with a .373 OBP.  The team's top starting pitcher, Robin Roberts (#15), wasn't even acquired until August and he only started 10 games.  But he went 5-2 with a 1.89 ERA during his short time with the club.  Turk Farrell (#80) was an 11-game winner and Jim Owens (#451) led the team with 8 saves.

1960 Topps #455

1966 Topps #147

1968 Topps #439

1970 Topps #86

1972 Topps #484

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1960 Topps #455
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1960, 1965-1966, 1968-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1983 TCMA 1943 Play Ball #21

32 - Harris non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/19/20.

1964 Houston Colt .45s Team Photo

Update Cards
There's no team card for the Astros in the 1965 set, so I'll need to reflect here the checklist of cards that could have been included in a 1965 Topps update set for the team.

• Joe Morgan - Morgan shares a Rookie Stars card with Sonny Jackson but I'd give him a solo card in the update set.
• Lee Maye - Acquired from the Braves (#407) in May, Maye became the team's everyday left fielder.
• Jim Gentile - Gentile was acquired from the Athletics (#365) in June, and was the team's regular first baseman for much of the second half.
• Larry Dierker - Like Morgan, Dierker appeared on a Rookie Stars card (#409).
• Robin Roberts - Future Hall of Famer Roberts appears with the Orioles in the set, but he'd get an Astros card in my update set.
• Mike Cuellar - Cuellar (#337) and Ron Taylor (#568) were both acquired from the Cardinals in mid-June, and I'll give the nod to Cuellar over Taylor for an Astros update card.
• Eddie Kasko - Finally, and only because he never received a proper Astros card, future Red Sox manager Kasko makes the set as well.  He played in 201 games for the Houston in 1964 and 1965.
• Team Card - And let's give the Astros their first team card in our update series too.

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:  #273 4th Series Checklist 265-352

Next Card:  #275 Dick Groat - St. Louis Cardinals