#407 Lee Maye - Milwaukee Braves

Arthur Lee Maye
Milwaukee Braves
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  190
Born:  December 11, 1934, Tuscaloosa, AL
Signed:  Signed by the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent, June 1954
Major League Teams:  Milwaukee Braves 1959-1965; Houston Astros 1965-1966; Cleveland Indians 1967-1969; Washington Senators 1969-1970; Chicago White Sox 1970-1971
Died:  July 17, 2002, Riverside, CA (age 67)

An outfielder and pinch-hitter on the baseball diamond, Lee Maye moonlighted as a successful R&B and doo wop singer in the 1950s, leading his band Arthur Lee Maye and the Crowns.  Maye bounced around during his 13-year big league career, playing the bulk of his years with the Braves.  His best seasons came with the Braves in 1963 and 1964.  As the club's regular center fielder in 1964, Maye hit .304 with 10 home runs and 74 RBIs while leading the N.L. in doubles with 44.  He never quite recaptured the success he had with the Braves in the mid-1960s, and he was never again a regular player for any team following the 1965 season.  Over the final six seasons of his career, Maye spent time with the Astros, Indians, Senators and White Sox.

In 1,288 career games, Maye hit .274 with 1,109 hits, 94 home runs and 419 RBIs.

Building the Set
February 29, 2020 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #67
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 Maye 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
Maye's singing prowess is reported by Topps on the back of his card.  With the lead vocalist for the Crowns, as a backing singer and later as a solo artist, Maye made several popular recordings throughout the '50s, '60s, '70s and into the '80s.  The Crowns had modest hits in the Los Angeles area with "Truly" and "Love Me Always" on the Modern label.  In 1956, their best known record, "Gloria," was released on the Specialty label.  Maye also recorded the song "Moonlight" in the mid-1980s which would appear on several doo wop compilation releases.  Maye, at card #62, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of four Braves in the set.  He's also in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set.

Braves Team Set

1965 Season
Maye began 1965 as the Braves' opening day center fielder and was hitting .326 through the first two weeks of the season when a leg injury cost him three weeks.  He had briefly returned from the disabled list when the Braves traded him to the Astros on May 23rd for Jim Beauchamp (#409) and Ken Johnson (#359).  Maye was upset to leave the Braves, as he had been part of the franchise for 11 years, but he'd see regular playing time as the Astros' left fielder.  In 108 games with the Astros, Maye hit .251 with 3 home runs and 36 RBIs.  A shaky defender for most of his career, Maye found playing the outfield in the Astrodome to be especially challenging.

1960 Topps #246

1962 Topps #518

1966 Topps #162

1970 Topps #439

1971 Topps #733

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1960 Topps #246
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12):  1960-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1978 TCMA The 1960s I #107

51 - Maye non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/8/20.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
Discogs.com
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:  #406 Ralph Terry - Cleveland Indians

Next Card:  #408 Larry Sherry - Detroit Tigers