#479 Ken Harrelson - Kansas City Athletics

Kenneth Smith Harrelson
Kansas City Athletics
First Base-Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  190
Born:  September 4, 1941, Woodruff, SC
Signed:  Signed by the Kansas City Athletics as an amateur free agent before 1959 season
Major League Teams:  Kansas City Athletics 1963-1966; Washington Senators 1966-1967; Kansas City Athletics 1967; Boston Red Sox 1967-1969; Cleveland Indians 1969-1971

Before he was a long-time television broadcaster with the White Sox, and recipient of the 2020 Ford C. Frick Award for his contributions to baseball as a broadcaster, Ken "Hawk" Harrelson played nine seasons in the majors with the Athletics, Senators, Red Sox and Indians.  Never one to shy away from sharing his opinions, Harrelson's second stint with the Athletics came to an end in August 1967 when the team abruptly released him.  He had been quoted as calling Athletics' owner Charlie Finley "a menace to baseball" after the firing of popular manager Alvin Dark.  Harrelson signed with the Red Sox where he'd see his only postseason play in the 1967 World Series.

His three seasons in Boston were the best of his career.  Harrelson was an All-Star in 1968, led the league in RBIs with 109 and finished third in MVP voting behind Denny McLain (#236) and Bill Freehan (#390).  He wrapped up his playing career with three seasons with the Indians and a broken leg suffered in the spring training 1970 cut down significantly on his playing time.  After retiring from baseball, Harrelson attempted a career as a professional golfer but he'd find his true calling as a broadcaster.  He was the play-by-play announcer for the Red Sox between 1975 and 1980, and joined the White Sox booth in 1981.  Following a brief stint in the White Sox front office, and working Yankees' broadcasts between 1987 and 1990, Harrelson returned to the White Sox broadcasting team where he announced games for 28 seasons between 1991 and 2018.

Building the Set
February 29, 2020 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #71
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 Harrelson 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
Amazingly enough, this is the first Athletics card we've added to the set.  Harrelson earned his "Hawk" nickname due to his distinctive profile and that's not really highlighted on this card.  You'd have to wait until receiving Harrelson's 1968 Topps card to truly appreciate the appropriateness of the nickname.  This photo is from the same session that yielded the photo used for his 1964 Topps rookie card.  His athleticism his highlighted on the back of the card, and while his SABR biography mentions nothing of a boxing career, the biography does mention his success with football, basketball and golf.

Athletics Team Set

1965 Season
This was Harrelson's first full season in the Majors, and he appeared in 150 games for the Athletics as their regular first baseman.  He hit .238 with 23 home runs and 66 RBIs, totals that would not be bettered until his 1968 All-Star season with the Red Sox.

1964 Topps #419

1966 Topps #55

1967 Topps #188

1968 Topps #566

1971 Topps #510

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1964 Topps #419
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1964-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-KH

71 - Harrelson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/14/20.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
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:  #478 Wilbur Wood - Pittsburgh Pirates

Next Card:  #480 Joel Horlen - Chicago White Sox