#535 Jack Kralick - Cleveland Indians

John Francis Kralick
Cleveland Indians
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  180
Born:  June 1, 1935, Youngstown, OH
Signed:  Signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before 1955 season
Major League Teams:  Washington Senators 1959-1960; Minnesota Twins 1961-1963; Cleveland Indians 1963-1967
Died:  September 18, 2012, San Blas, Mexico (age 77)

Primarily a starting pitcher, Jack Kralick appeared in nine major league seasons with the Senators/Twins and Indians compiling a lifetime record of 67-65 with a 3.56 ERA.  He won at least 12 games in four different seasons and he earned an All-Star berth in 1964.  It wasn't calculated at the time, but his 6.0 WAR for pitchers in 1961 led the American League as he was arguably the Twins' best pitcher and MVP in their inaugural season.  For a Twins team that lost 90 games, Kralick went 13-11 with a 3.61 ERA and 11 complete games.  He fortified the Twins pitching rotation in 1961 with Pedro Ramos (#13) and Camilo Pascual (#255), with only Kralick recording a winning record that season.

In 1962, Kralick pitched the first no-hitter in Twins franchise history against the Athletics on August 26th.  Only a ninth inning walk to George Alusik kept Kralick from recording a perfect game.  Following four full seasons with the Indians between 1963 and 1966, Kralick was sold to the Mets on May 1, 1967.  A day later, he sustained head trauma in a single-car crash in Cleveland.  He missed the rest of the 1967 season and was invited to Mets spring training in 1968, but opted to retire from baseball.

Building the Set
May 11, 2020 from El Paso, TX - Card #95
As we closed in on the two-month social distancing mark during the coronavirus pandemic, I found myself once again browsing eBay.  I'm primarily a Phillies collector, and with no new products coming out, at least any that interested me, I once again turned to looking for cards for our 1965 Topps set.  Using the strategy I first considered when recently adding two League Leaders cards (#3 and #4), this time I decided to work my way backwards through the set.

I found and won the Al Downing (#598) card, the final card in the set, from Diamond Smiles, located in El Paso, Texas.  Not wanting Downing to travel alone from Texas, I also bid on two other 1965 Topps cards up for auction from the same seller, winning both of those too.  This Kralick card was mine for a winning bid of $2.05, and the card of manager Chuck Dressen (#538) joined the padded envelope too.

I was first hesitant to populate our 1965 Topps set with cards impersonally acquired through eBay auctions, but who knows when we'll attend another baseball card show again?  And I like the idea of bidding on and winning cards from small dealers on eBay.  I'm keeping track of each of these purchases, and it would be cool to see how many different states I can "visit" through my auction wins.  My co-set builder, my son Doug, remains mildly interested in the few cards that arrived in padded envelopes for our set.  Like me, he's anxious for real live baseball to return.  And like me, he realizes that could be a while and the only thing we can do is wait and hope and stay positive.

The Card
The photo used could very well be from the same session that yielded the photo used for Kralick's 1964 Topps card.  Having never seen the old-school, 1960s vested look for the Indians, my son Doug commented that he liked that look.  "That's noice," I think was his exact quote.

Kralick's 1962 no-hitter is rightfully highlighted on the back of the card.  Kralick, at card #72, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of five Indians in the set.

Indians Team Set

1965 Season
Kralick had a forgettable 1965 season due to a spring skin infection, a left arm injury and a fight with roommate Gary Bell (#424) that left him with nine stitches across his cheek.  In 30 games (16 starts), Kralick went 5-11 with a 4.92 ERA and manager Birdie Tebbets (#301) alternated between using him as a fifth starter and a long reliever.  His fight with Bell took place on August 23rd in Washington.  Kralick missed the team flight to California but still arrived in time to make his scheduled start and get hit around by the Angels in an 8-2 loss.

1961 Topps #36

1962 Topps #346

1963 Topps #448

1964 Topps #338

1967 Topps #316

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1961 Topps #36
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1961-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1978 TCMA The 1960s I #134

37 - Kralick non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/13/20.

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.

Previous Card:  #534 John Herrnstein - Philadelphia Phillies

Next Card:  #536 Andre Rodgers - Pittsburgh Pirates

#598 Al Downing - New York Yankees

Alphonso Erwin Downing
New York Yankees
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  175
Born:  June 28, 1941, Trenton, NJ
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1961 season
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1961-1969; Oakland Athletics 1970; Milwaukee Brewers 1970; Los Angeles Dodgers 1971-1977

Al Downing played in parts of 17 seasons in the big leagues, was an A.L. All-Star in 1967 and was the N.L. Comeback Player of the Year in 1971 after winning 20 games with the Dodgers.  He had a lifetime record of 123-107 with a 3.22 ERA, and he allowed 177 home runs - including one of the most famous home runs ever hit.  Despite his success and longevity, Downing is best remember as the pitcher who surrendered Hank Aaron's (#170) record breaking 715th home run on April 8, 1974.

Downing was a member of the Yankees starting pitching rotation in the mid to late 1960s, as the franchise's perennial hold on the American League was waning.  He won at least 13 games in 1963, 1964 and in his All-Star season of 1967.  He led the league in strikeouts in 1964 with 217, the only time in his career he'd surpass the 200-strikeouts in a season mark.  Following brief stays with the A's and Brewers, Downing enjoyed a resurgence with the Dodgers in the early to mid 1970s.  He went 20-9 with the Dodgers in 1971, leading the league in shutouts with five, and finishing third in Cy Young voting behind Ferguson Jenkins and Tom Seaver.

Following his playing days, Downing served as a color analyst on Dodgers TV broadcasts between 1980 and 1987, and on radio in 2005.  He also briefly broadcast for the Braves in 2000.  Embedded below is a short video from 2014 with Aaron and Downing together, reminiscing over home run #715.


Building the Set
May 11, 2020 from El Paso, TX - Card #94
As we closed in on the two-month social distancing mark during the coronavirus pandemic, I found myself once again browsing eBay.  I'm primarily a Phillies collector, and with no new products coming out, at least any that interested me, I once again turned to looking for cards for our 1965 Topps set.  Using the strategy I first considered when recently adding two League Leaders cards (#3 and #4), this time I decided to work my way backwards through the set.

That meant looking for this card, the final card in the set, in excellent to mint shape and reasonably priced.  I found what I was looking for in an auction hosted by Diamond Smiles located in El Paso, Texas and I won this card with a bid of $9.60.  Not wanting Downing to travel alone from Texas, I also bid on two other 1965 Topps cards up for auction from the same seller, winning both of those too.  (#535 Jack Kralick and #538 Chuck Dressen)

I was first hesitant to populate our 1965 Topps set with cards impersonally acquired through eBay auctions, but who knows when we'll attend another baseball card show again?  And I like the idea of bidding on and winning cards from small dealers on eBay.  I'm keeping track of each of these purchases, and it would be cool to see how many different states I can "visit" through my auction wins.  My co-set builder, my son Doug, remains mildly interested in the few cards that arrived in padded envelopes for our set.  Like me, he's anxious for real live baseball to return.  And like me, he realizes that could be a while and the only thing we can do is wait and hope and stay positive.

The Card
Downing appeared on the A.L. Strikeout Leaders card (#11) way back in the first series, and Yankees collectors would have to wait all the way until the 7th series to obtain his solo card.  This is his third appearance in a Topps flagship set, as his rookie card appeared in the 1962 set and he appeared in 1964 set after being omitted in 1963.

On the back, the no-hitter Downing threw in 1962 while a member of the Richmond Virginians is highlighted.  The four World Series games referenced came in 1963 and 1964.  Downing struggled in those games, going 0-2 with a 7.11 ERA with the Yankees losing all four of those games to the Dodgers and Cardinals.  He'd appear in one more World Series game, starting Game 3 in 1974 against the A's.  He took the loss in that game as well, lasting 3 2/3 innings and allowing three runs (one earned).

Yankees Team Set

1965 Season
Downing appeared in 35 games, making 32 starts, and going 12-14 with a 3.40 ERA.  He was the solid third starter in the Yankees' pitching rotation that season behind Mel Stottlemyre (#550) and Whitey Ford (#330), as the Yankees fell to sixth place in the A.L.  Downing led the team in strikeouts with 179 and threw two shutouts.  His best start of the season came on June 6th, when he three-hit the White Sox while striking out nine in the second of his two shutouts that year.

1962 Topps #219

1968 Topps #105

1970 Topps #584

1972 Topps #460

1976 Topps #605

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1962 Topps #219
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14):  1962, 1964-1976
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2004 Upper Deck Legends Timeless Teams #96

76 - Downing non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/13/20.

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.

Previous Card:  #597 Twins Rookie Stars

#4 1964 N.L. Home Run Leaders - Mays, Williams, Callison, Cepeda & Hart

Beginning in 1961, Topps started including league leader cards in its sets and there are 12 league leaders cards kicking off the 1965 Topps set.

Building the Set
April 29, 2020 from Huntington, WV - Card #93

In the middle of the sixth week of the coronavirus lockdown, I decided I needed some cardboard therapy.  The last card I had added for our set was back in the beginning of April when I went searching for the Al Kaline (#130) card upon his passing.  With no clear direction in mind, I went out to eBay and decided I'd pool my budget together for a few of the bigger cards in the set.  I browsed aimlessly until deciding on a reasonable strategy for my search - I'd look for cards in the order we needed them.  We already have cards #1 and #2, so I started looking for cards #3 and #4.  If I use this strategy again, I might start going backwards too, looking for cards #598, #597, etc.  I realize I'm lucky I can still buy baseball cards at this time and I don't take it for granted that I'm able to do so.  I'd like to think that buying these few cards is also helping the sellers in some small way.

I bought this from a seller in Huntington, WV on a Sunday and the card arrived at our house on Wednesday.  Both this card and card #3, the A.L. Home Run Leaders card, arrived on the same day.  The price I paid for it was fair and the happiness it brought me upon its arrival was immediate and much needed.

At the end of April, the end of the lockdown was still no where in sight, although some states had started to (most likely prematurely) ease restrictions.  My family was safe and healthy and we had settled into our new routine, only leaving the house for walks, to play outside or to venture to the grocery store.  What a strange, stressful and scary time.

The Card
This is one of two league leaders cards featuring five players, with the other being the A.L. Pitching Leaders (#9) card.  Seven of the top eight N.L. home run leaders in 1964 were from the Giants (3), Cubs (2) or Phillies (2).  There's an uncorrected error on the back as Willie Mays (#250) is given a team designation of "N.Y." even though the Giants had moved to San Francisco seven years earlier.

Mays ran away with this title, his third to date, and he'd add one more home run title to his resume in 1965 when he hit a career high 52 home runs.  Billy Williams (#220) never led the league in home runs, although he did finish twice in both 1964 and 1970 and he finished in the top ten in the league nine times.

Orlando Cepeda (#360) had led the league in home runs in 1961 with 46.  Johnny Callison (#310) made the cut with his three home run performance on September 25th in a game against the Braves.  Jim Ray Hart (#395) snuck onto the front of this card with his 31st home run on October 2nd, the penultimate game of the season for the Giants.

Flipping to the back, and similar to what Topps did with the A.L. home run leaders card, every N.L. player to have hit a grand slam during the 1964 season is listed.

Giants Team Set / Cubs Team Set / Phillies Team Set

Previous Card:  #3 1964 A.L. Home Run Leaders

Next Card:  #5 1964 A.L. RBI Leaders

#3 1964 A.L. Home Run Leaders - Killebrew, Powell & Mantle

Beginning in 1961, Topps started including league leader cards in its sets and there are 12 league leaders cards kicking off the 1965 Topps set.

Building the Set
April 29, 2020 from Olney, MD - Card #92

In the middle of the sixth week of the coronavirus lockdown, I decided I needed some cardboard therapy.  The last card I had added for our set was back in the beginning of April when I went searching for the Al Kaline (#130) card upon his passing.  With no clear direction in mind, I went out to eBay and decided I'd pool my budget together for a few of the bigger cards in the set.  I browsed aimlessly until deciding on a reasonable strategy for my search - I'd look for cards in the order we needed them.  We already have cards #1 and #2, so I started looking for cards #3 and #4.  If I use this strategy again, I might start going backwards too, looking for cards #598, #597, etc.  I realize I'm lucky I can still buy baseball cards at this time and I don't take it for granted that I'm able to do so.  I'd like to think that buying these few cards is also helping the sellers in some small way.

This card is the priciest of the league leaders cards as it features Mickey Mantle (#350).  I bought this from a seller in Olney, MD on a Sunday and the card arrived at our house on Wednesday.  The price I paid for it was fair and the happiness it brought me upon its arrival was immediate and much needed.

At the end of April, the end of the lockdown was still no where in sight, although some states had started to (most likely prematurely) ease restrictions.  My family was safe and healthy and we had settled into our new routine, only leaving the house for walks, to play outside or to venture to the grocery store.  What a strange, stressful and scary time.

The Card
The A.L. Batting Leaders card (#1) features the same three teams as this card, in the same order, but with three different players - Tony Oliva (#340), Brooks Robinson (#150) and Elston Howard (#450).  Rather than displaying each player's team name next to their names, I would have preferred Topps gave us their leading totals on the fronts of these cards.  Harmon Killebrew (#400) had 49 home runs, and it was the fourth time he had led the league in this category.  He'd top the league twice more in 1967 and 1969, with the 49 home runs he hit in 1964 and 1969 representing career highs.

Boog Powell (#560) had 39 home runs, a career high for him, and this was the closest he'd ever come to leading the league.  He had seven top 10 finishes in the home run category between 1964 and 1975.  Mantle's 35 home runs would be the last time the slugger surpassed the 30-home run plateau in his career.  He had previously led the league in 1955, 1956, 1958 and 1960.  He hit home run #35 on September 30th, breaking the tie he had with Rocky Colavito (#380).  Colavito had hit his 34th home run of the season on September 29th and had Mantle not connected on the 30th, he would have been squeezed into the bottom row of this card with Powell and Mantle.

Flipping to the back, it's cool that Topps decided to include every A.L. batter who had hit a grand slam in 1964.

Twins Team Set / Orioles Team Set / Yankees Team Set

Previous Card:  #2 1964 N.L. Batting Leaders

Next Card:  #4 1964 N.L. Home Run Leaders

#130 Al Kaline - Detroit Tigers

Albert William Kaline
Detroit Tigers
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  175
Born:  December 19, 1934, Baltimore, MD
Signed:  Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent in 1953
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1953-1974
Died:  April 6, 2020, Bloomfield Hills, MI (age 85)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1980

Al Kaline, "Mr. Tiger," became the regular right fielder for the Tigers in 1954 at the age of 19.  He'd stay with the franchise for parts of three decades, eventually retiring at the age of 39 following the 1974 season.  At just 20 years old in 1955, Kaline led the American League in hitting with a .340 average becoming the youngest player to accomplish that feat.  He'd finish his impressive career with 15 All-Star Game selections, 10 Gold Gloves, a .297 lifetime average, 399 home runs and 1,582 RBIs.  His ability to serve as the Tigers' designated hitter in 1974 allowed him to reach the 3,000 hit plateau, and he'd retire with 3,007 career hits.

Kaline helped lead the Tigers to a World Series title in 1968 and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980.

Upon his passing, Tigers chairman and CEO Christopher Ilitch summed up Kaline's character by saying, "Anyone who knew Al Kaline would describe his gentle soul and passion for baseball as an unbelievably powerful combination, making him one of the most respected players in Major League Baseball history."

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.

Building the Set
April 9, 2020 from Fremont, CA - Card #91
Having convinced myself I wouldn't be buying any new cards for our 1965 Topps set for a while, I broke my self-imposed embargo when I learned of Kaline's passing on April 6th.  This was at the start of our fourth week of stay at home social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.  Buying baseball cards during all of this seemed selfish somehow but it still felt good to browse eBay for this specific card.  I wanted a Buy It Now option, as I didn't feel like waiting or having to vie against other bidders.  Seller xinfiniteshopx had a great looking card for sale, the price was right at $25, and I clicked Buy It Now without hesitation.

And I may buy more cards as we continue to wait out this virus.  Everything I read about Kaline in the days after he passed away at some point commented on how happy he made people whenever he was around.  He played before my time and I honestly wasn't that aware of his impact on the game and everyone around him.  But like the man himself had done for so many people throughout his life, this baseball card brought some joy to me in early April during a strange and stressful time.

The Card
Kaline was a perennial All-Star when this card was issued, having been named to the A.L. All-Star team every year since 1955 and about to head to the mid-summer classic again.  Those columns of statistics on the back are a sight to behold and he'd go on to play in ten more seasons.  Kaline, at card #13, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of three Tigers in the set.  He's also in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set.

Tigers Team Set

1965 Season
Kaline suffered a left foot injury in 1964, and the injury lingered into the following season.  He appeared in 125 games for the Tigers in 1965, hitting .281 with 18 home runs and 72 RBIs.  Splitting time between center and right field, he earned his eighth Gold Glove.  When Kaline wasn't in right field, Jim Northrup (#259) received most of the starts there for the Tigers with Willie Horton (#206) playing in left.  Detroit finished in fourth place in the American League with both Bob Swift and Chuck Dressen (#538) managing the club.

1954 Topps #201

1959 Topps #360

1968 Topps #240

1971 Topps #180

1975 Topps #4

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1954 Topps #201
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (22):  1954-1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Topps 1985 Topps 35th Anniversary #85-42

1,854 - Kaline non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/9/20.

Sources:  
1956 Topps Blog
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
ESPN
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.

Previous Card:  #129 Bennie Daniels - Washington Senators

Next Card:  #131 Johnny Keane MG - New York Yankees

#157 Zoilo Versalles - Minnesota Twins

Zolio Casanova Versalles
Minnesota Twins
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  146
Born:  December 18, 1939, La Habana, Cuba
Signed:  Signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent before 1958 season
Major League Teams:  Washington Senators 1959-1960; Minnesota Twins 1961-1967; Los Angeles Dodgers 1968; Cleveland Indians 1969; Washington Senators 1969; Atlanta Braves 1971
Died:  June 9, 1995, Bloomington, MN (age 55)

A two-time All-Star, a two-time Gold Glove winner and the improbable 1965 A.L. MVP, Zoilo Versalles has been described as the catalyst for the 1965 Twins team, leading them to their first World Championship.  During that career year, he led the league in runs scored (126), doubles (45) and triples (12) while hitting 19 home runs and driving in a career-high 77.  He also had a .273 batting average which almost topped his career high of .280 from the 1961 season.  He received 19 out of the 20 first place votes for A.L. MVP, with his teammate Tony Oliva (#340) receiving the other first plate vote.  Some of the credit for his successful season has been attributed to Twins' third base coach Billy Martin.  The Twins lost to the Dodgers in the World Series in seven games, with Versalles hitting .286 with a home run and four RBIs.

Following that magical 1965 season, Versalles began a steady decline.  Over the next five seasons, he'd hit .217 in 588 games, spending time with the Twins, Dodgers, Indians, expansion Senators and finally the Braves.  Despite his prior Gold Gloves, he led the league in errors three times - 1965, 1966 and 1967.  Towards the end of his career, he spent a season playing in the Mexican League in 1970 and another season in Japan with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in 1972.  In 1,400 big league games, Versalles hit .242 with 95 home runs and 471 RBIs.  He was posthumously elected to the Twins Hall of Fame in 2006.

1982 Topps KMart #7

Building the Set
March 27, 2020 from Cincinnati, OH - Card #90
This is one of seven cards I purchased from Dean's Cards in Cincinnati (via eBay) during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and in the midst of the first few weeks of the worldwide quarantine.  (That's a sentence I can't believe I actually just wrote.)

After purchasing four commons for reasons I've explained in the posts for Cal Koonce (#34), Nate Oliver (#59), Gary Kolb (#287) and Nelson Mathews (#87), I decided I had some money left over in my eBay purchasing budget and started hunting for a few semi-star cards.  This Versalles card was my big ticket purchase at $16.50 and I added it along with the cards of Walt Alston (#217) and Elston Howard (#450).

Doug was more excited with the two boxes of 2020 Topps Gypsy Queen I bought on an impulse than he was with these cards when they arrived, but he was still glad to add a few cards to our growing set.  I'm assuming these will be the last cards I purchase for our 1965 set for a little while.

The Card
I've been fascinated with this particular baseball card since I first saw it reprinted in the 1982 Topps KMart 44-card boxed set.  Of all the former MVPs included in that awesome little set, Versalles was the one player I had never heard of and who seemed the least likely to have been a former MVP.  I loved that KMart set.  I had those cards in my collection way before the 1975 Topps MVP subset cards, so this was my first real introduction as to what each years' Topps cards looked like.  I was also convinced the set would one day be worth a fortune since it included cards of so many all-time greats.

Reading his SABR biography, I realize I've pronounced Versalles' first name wrong for almost 40 years.  It's not three syllables as I had thought (ZO-ee-lo) but two syllables (ZOY-lo).  Versalles, at card #33, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of four Twins in the set.

Twins Team Set

1965 Season
I've recapped the highlights of Versalles' MVP season above.  In July 1966, Versalles suffered a back injury resulting from a hematoma (blood leakage and swelling) in his lower back.  He'd never quite recover and suffered from back pain the rest of his life.

1961 Topps #21

1963 Topps #349

1966 Topps #400

1968 Topps #315

1970 Topps #365

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1961 Topps #21
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1961-1970, 1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2006 SP Legendary Cuts #98

83 - Versalles non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/7/20.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
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.

Previous Card:  #156 Bob Sadowski - Milwaukee Braves

Next Card:  #158 Dick Sisler MG - Cincinnati Reds

#450 Elston Howard - New York Yankees

Elston Gene Howard
New York Yankees
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  196
Born:  February 23, 1929, St. Louis, MO
Acquired:  Purchased by the Yankees from the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League, July 19, 1950
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1955-1967; Boston Red Sox 1967-1968
Died:  December 14, 1980, New York, NY (age 51)

The first African American to play for the Yankees, Elston Howard was an American League All-Star nine years in a row between 1957 and 1965.  He helped the Yankees to four World Series titles in 1956, 1958, 1961 and 1962.  He enjoyed a career year in 1963, hitting .287 with 28 home runs (a career high) and 85 RBIs and winning A.L. MVP honors over Al Kaline (#130) and teammate Whitey Ford (#330).  He was a two-time Gold Glove winner and his fielding percentage of .993 is currently 46th all-time among catchers.

Bridging the catching gap between Yogi Berra (#470) in the 1950s and Thurman Munson in the 1970s, Howard appeared in 1,605 career games with all but 113 of those coming with the Yankees.  He batted .274 over 14 big league seasons, with 167 home runs and 762 RBIs.  Howard served as the Yankees first base coach between 1969 and 1979, and he added two more World Series rings to his collection in 1977 and 1978.  He passed away in December 1980 from a rare heart condition.

The Yankees wore black armbands during their 1981 season to honor their former catcher and coach, and his #32 was retired by the team in 1984.

Building the Set
March 27, 2020 from Cincinnati, OH - Card #89
This is one of seven cards I purchased from Dean's Cards in Cincinnati (via eBay) during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and in the midst of the first few weeks of the worldwide quarantine.  (That's a sentence I can't believe I actually just wrote.)

After purchasing four commons for reasons I've explained in the posts for Cal Koonce (#34), Nate Oliver (#59), Gary Kolb (#287) and Nelson Mathews (#87), I decided I had some money left over in my eBay purchasing budget and started hunting for a few semi-star cards.  This Howard card cost me $10 and I added it along with the cards of Walt Alston (#217) and Zoilo Versalles (#157).

Doug was more excited with the two boxes of 2020 Topps Gypsy Queen I bought on an impulse than he was with these cards when they arrived, but he was still glad to add a few cards to our growing set.  I'm assuming these will be the last cards I purchase for our 1965 set for a little while.

The Card
This is the third and final card in the 1965 Topps set to feature the Yankees All-Star catcher, with the others being the A.L. Batting Leaders card (#1) and the World Series Game 1 card (#132) showing Howard watching Mike Shannon's (#43) home run in the 1964 World Series.

On the back of the card, reference is made to Howard's home run in Game 1 of the 1955 World Series.  Howard was the starting left fielder for the Yankees in that game.  With the Dodgers up 2-0 in the bottom of the second, Howard homered off Don Newcombe with Joe Collins on base to tie the game.  The Yankees would go on to win Game 1, 6-5, but the Dodgers would win the series in seven games.  Howard is in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set, but he's not in the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set.

Yankees Team Set

1965 Season
1965 was Howard's final year as an All-Star and production was starting to decline for the 36-year-old.  In 110 games, Howard hit .233 with 9 home runs and 45 RBIs.  He started behind the plate on opening day for the Yankees and then missed all of May following elbow surgery.  In total, he'd start 93 games at catcher, 3 games at first base and a game in left field.  Doc Edwards (#239) got the bulk of playing time at catcher for the Yankees while Howard was out, starting 32 games.

1955 Bowman #68

1959 Topps #395

1962 Topps #400

1968 Topps #167

1975 Topps #201

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Bowman #68
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15):  1956-1968, 1973, 1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2016 Diamond Kings #27

344 - Howard non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/6/20.

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.

Previous Card:  #449 Mets Rookie Stars

Next Card:  #451 Jim Owens - Houston Astros