#595 Don Lee - Los Angeles Angels

Donald Edward Lee
Los Angeles Angels
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  205
Born:  February 26, 1934, Globe, AZ
Signed:  Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent, June 27, 1956
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1957-1958; Washington Senators 1960; Minnesota Twins 1961-1962; Los Angeles Angels 1962-1964; California Angels 1965; Houston Astros 1965-1966; Chicago Cubs 1966

Don Lee was a journeyman pitcher who appeared in parts of nine seasons with five different clubs.  He had his best seasons in the early 1960s with the Senators/Twins and Angels.  In 1962, he recorded a career high 11 wins and posted a 3.46 ERA.  His career record was 40-44 over 244 games (97 starts) with a 3.61 ERA.

His father, Thornton Lee, was a pitcher for the Indians, White Sox and Giants between 1933 and 1948.  Both Thornton and Don Lee allowed home runs to Ted Williams with Williams homering off Thornton on September 17, 1939 and off Don on September 2, 1960.  Williams became the only player in Major League history to hit home runs against a father and son combination and the Lee's in turn became the only father-son team to allow a home run to the same batter.

Building the Set
February 29, 2020 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #73
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 Lee 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.

This was the final card purchase at the show featuring a player I didn't know anything about.  I've enjoyed going through each of these 17 cards and learning about each of the players featured.

Thornton Lee, 1938

The Card
Lee would play another season in the big leagues, but this was to be his final Topps card.  That looks to be the Yankee Stadium facade behind Lee in the background.  Thornton Lee makes a cameo in cartoon form on the back of the card, but sadly Thornton did not have a beard that reached his knees nor did he wear a plaid baseball uniform when he pitched.

Lee signed copies of a reprinted version of this card for inclusion in the 2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs insert set.

Angels Team Set

1965 Season
Lee started the season with the Angels, appearing in 10 games for the club and going 0-1 with a 6.43 ERA.  On June 1st, he was traded to the Astros for Al Spangler (#164).  With the Astros, he only appeared in seven games, pitching eight innings and compiling a 3.38 ERA.  Lee's best pitching performances in 1965 came with the Astros' top farm team, the Oklahoma City 89ers.  With the 89ers, he appeared in 14 games, going 6-1 with a 2.48 ERA.

1957 Topps #379

1959 Topps #132

1960 Topps #503

1962 Topps #166

1964 Topps #493

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1957 Topps #379
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1957, 1959-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-DLE

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

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

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:  #594 Joe Gaines - Houston Astros

Next Card:  #596 Don Landrum - Chicago Cubs