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James Hubert King
Washington Senators
Outfield
Born: August 27, 1932, Elkins, AR
Acquired: Send from Vernon (Longhorn) to the St. Louis Cardinals in an unknown transaction before the 1951 season
Major League Teams: Chicago Cubs 1955-1956; St. Louis Cardinals 1957; San Francisco Giants 1958; Washington Senators 1961-1967; Chicago White Sox 1967; Cleveland Indians 1967
Died: February 23, 2015, Fayetteville, AR (age 82)
Jim King was the starting left fielder for the first game ever played by the San Francisco Giants, and he was the longest tenured member of the expansion Washington Senators having joined that club in 1960 and departing in the middle of the 1967 season. Playing in parts of 11 seasons, King was a career .240 hitter and hit 117 home runs. His best seasons came with the Senators where he hit his career highs for average (.270 in 1961), home runs and RBIs (24 and 62 in 1963). He hit for the cycle and accomplished a three-home run game in 1964. His SABR biography notes he was heartbroken when the Senators traded him to the White Sox on June 15, 1967, as he and his family loved the city and King loved playing for manager Gil Hodges (#99).
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.
February 29, 2020 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #61
Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sportscard & Memorabilia Show held on the bottom floor of the Valley Forge Casino on the final day of February. This was our first baseball card show of 2020 and the fourth show we've attended in Valley Forge since March 2019. I did a post over at The Phillies Room with a few pictures of Doug taken with some of the show's autograph guests. We ended up adding 23 cards to our set.
This King card was from an initial batch of 17 commons and semi-stars purchased from John's Sports Cards within the first hour of our arrival. I didn't track each individual price of the cards purchased, but this card was from a half-price binder and the 17-card lot cost me $50 total. John's table has been located in the back right of the showroom floor for as long as we've been going to these shows, and I know I've bought a bunch of vintage Topps cards from him in the past including cards needed for my 1971 Topps set. He's one of those dealers who you can't help but remember, probably because he genuinely seems happy and to be enjoying what he's doing. Doug and I would come back to him later in the show for a few major purchases for our set, and I'll eventually feature all cards added in upcoming posts.
The Card
When I featured King's 1956 Topps card over at my 1956 Topps blog, I noted he looked like a catcher to me and I stand by that comment. On the back, Topps celebrates King's league-leading four double plays turned as an outfielder in 1962. Carl Yastrzemski (#385) was second that year with three double plays. King's .333 average in 1951 led the Class C Fresno Cardinals. King, at card #54, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of two Senators in the set. He's also in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set.
Senators Team Set
1965 Season
As the semi-regular right fielder for the Senators, King appeared in 120 games and hit .213 with 14 home runs and 49 RBIs. Washington finished in 8th place in the league, kept out of the basement by the Red Sox and Athletics. His SABR biography notes the Yankees tried both before and during the season to acquire King, at one point offering infielder Phil Liz (#369) straight up for the Senators' outfielder. It's odd the Senators wouldn't part with King, as he was one of three right fielders rotated at the position by manager Hodges throughout the season. King started 61 games in right, while Willie Kirkland (#148) started 47 and Woodie Held (#336) started 46.
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First Mainstream Card: 1956 Topps #74
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10): 1956-1958, 1961-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA 1960s I #207
30 - King non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/2/20.
Sources:
1956 Topps Blog
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: #37 Fred Gladding - Detroit Tigers
Next Card: #39 Gerry Arrigo - Minnesota Twins
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