#417 Ed Brinkman - Washington Senators

Edwin Albert Brinkman
Washington Senators
Shortstop

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  170
Born:  December 8, 1941, Cincinnati, OH
Signed:  Signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent before 1961 season
Major League Teams:  Washington Senators 1961-1970; Detroit Tigers 1971-1974; St. Louis Cardinals 1975; Texas Rangers 1975; New York Yankees 1975
Died:  September 30, 2008, Cincinnati, OH (age 66)

1987 Topps #356

A Gold Glove winner in 1972 and an All-Star in 1973 with the Tigers, Ed Brinkman was a steady fielding shortstop over 15 big league seasons.  A teammate of Pete Rose (#207) in high school, Brinkman signed with the Senators in 1961 and spent 10 seasons with the club as their regular shortstop.  Under the tutelage of manager Ted Williams, Brinkman hit .266 for the Senators in 1969, a career high.  Traded to the Tigers in October 1970 in the deal that sent Denny McLain (#236) to the Senators, Brinkman was one of the top players for the club despite his low batting average.  He helped lead the Tigers to the 1972 ALCS and was named Tiger of the Year that season even though he hit just .203.

Brinkman was consistently among the league leaders in defensive categories throughout his career, but in 1,846 career games he hit only .224.  Later as a minor league manager in the Tigers system for the Montgomery Rebels, he helped develop young infield prospects Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker.  He spent a season with the Tigers in 1979 on their coaching staff, and was the infield coach for the White Sox between 1983 and 1988.  Brinkman made a cameo on the White Sox Team Leaders card with Julio Cruz in the 1987 Topps set.  If I had to guess, I'd say I personally own at least 10 copies of this card based on the number of 1987 Topps packs I opened as a kid and how familiar I am with this particular card.

Building the Set
February 29, 2020 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #68
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 Brinkman 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
Brinkman's high school career is highlighted on the back of the card.  Mentioned above, he was a teammate of Rose's and his SABR biography includes a quote from their high school coach describing Rose as "a good ballplayer (but) not a Brinkman."  Brinkman apparently had offers from 15 different teams following his senior year of high school, but he signed with the Senators as he realized the expansion team gave him the best chance of moving up the ranks quickly.  He made his debut with the Senators as a September call-up in 1961.

Senators Team Set

1965 Season
Only 23 at the start of the 1965 season, Brinkman was already in his third year as the everyday shortstop for the Senators.  He hit .185 (a career low) but started 131 of the team's 162 games.  His SABR biography notes he struck up a strong friendship with teammate Frank Howard (#40), who he played with between 1965 and 1970, and then again between 1972 and 1973 with the Tigers.

1963 Topps #479

1968 Topps #49

1970 Topps #711

1973 Topps #5

1975 Topps #439

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1963 Topps #479
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14):  1963-1975, 1987
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1987 Topps #356

69 - Brinkman non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/13/20.

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:  #416 Jim Brewer - Los Angeles Dodgers

Next Card:  #418 Johnny Edwards - Cincinnati Reds