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Calvin Lee Koonce
Chicago Cubs
Pitcher
Born: November 18, 1940, Fayetteville, NC
Signed: Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent, May 31, 1961
Major League Teams: Chicago Cubs 1962-1967; New York Mets 1967-1970; Boston Red Sox 1970-1971
Died: October 28, 1993, Winston-Salem, NC (age 52)
Originally a starting pitcher, Cal Koonce developed into a reliable reliever for the Cubs, Mets and Red Sox over a 10-year big league career. Koonce won a career-high 10 games with the Cubs during his rookie season of 1962 and recorded a career-high 11 saves with the Mets in 1968. He never quite replicated the success he had in his rookie season when he went 10-10 with a 3.97 ERA in 30 starts (35 games overall). He was a member of the 1969 World Champion Mets, although he did not appear in the postseason.
Koonce had a lifetime record of 47-49 with a 3.78 ERA over 334 games. Following his playing days, Koonce was the head baseball coach at Campbell University (1980-1986) and a scout for the Texas Rangers. He passed away in 1993 after a four-year battle with lymphoma.
March 27, 2020 from Cincinnati, OH - Card #84
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.) While sorting cards and organizing my collection one Saturday in mid-March, I came across several buybacks I had from the 1965 Topps set that had been box toppers from boxes of 2014 Topps Heritage we had purchased six years earlier. Topps had added a gold stamp to each of the buybacks, celebrating the 50th anniversary of their 1965 set.
While debating whether or not I should add these buybacks to my set, and going back and forth on that decision, I finally decided the whole "dilemma" would be moot if I just purchased new versions of the old cards. Koonce was one of the three cards I purchased to replace the buybacks and the new card cost me $2.45 (plus combined shipping).
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
Koonce's rookie card appeared in the 1963 Topps set and he'd be left out of the 1964 Topps set. He wore #34 during his time with both the Cubs and the Mets. Nolan Ryan had worn #34 with the Mets when he came up with the club as a rookie in 1966, but he switched to #30 presumably so that the newly acquired veteran Koonce would have his familiar number. Ryan would get his #34 back with the Astros and Rangers.
Flipping to the back of the card, the one-hit shutout referenced came on July 13, 1962. Don Blasingame (#21) ruined Koonce's no-hitter with a single to center in the fourth. Koonce also walked a batter in the game. His 2.03 ERA in 1964 should be discounted a little as he only appeared in six games.
Cubs Team Set
1965 Season
Koonce went 7-9 for the Cubs, appearing in 38 games and making 23 starts. He threw 3 complete games with one shutout and had an ERA of 3.69. He was a regular in the starting pitching rotation that also consisted of Larry Jackson (#420), Dick Ellsworth (#165) and Bob Buhl (#264). Using their experimental College of Coaches, rotating different coaches into the manager's position, the Cubs finished in 8th place in the N.L. with a 72-90 record.
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First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #31
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1963, 1965-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1971 Topps #254
32 - Koonce non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/4/20.
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: #33 Jackie Brandt - Baltimore Orioles
Next Card: #35 Ed Charles - Kansas City Athletics
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