#451 Jim Owens - Houston Astros

James Philip Owens
Houston Astros
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  180
Born:  January 16, 1934, Gifford, PA
Signed:  Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent before 1951 season
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 1955-1956, 1958-1962; Cincinnati Reds 1963; Houston Colt .45s 1964; Houston Astros 1965-1967

Jim Owens found brief success as a Phillies starting pitcher in the late 1950s, and later remade himself as a top reliever for the Colt .45s/Astros in the early to mid 1960s.  He missed the entire 1957 season and all but one game of the 1958 season due to military service and then rebounded with his best season in the big leagues in 1959.  For the eighth place Phillies that season, Owens served as one of the team's top four starters with Robin Roberts (#15), Gene Conley and Don Cardwell (#502).  He won a career high 12 games, going 12-12 with a 3.21 ERA over 30 starts.  His strikeout total of 135 was just two behind Roberts' 137.

Later in Houston, Owens made at least 40 appearances in three straight seasons between 1964 and 1966.  He was the Astros' closer in 1965, leading the club in appearances with 50 and saves with 8.  In 286 career appearances, Owens went 42-68 with a 4.31 ERA and 21 saves.  He pitched until the end of June 1967 with the Astros and retired in July to become the Astros' new pitching coach.  He'd hold that position until 1972, working for managers Grady Hatton, Harry Walker (#438), and briefly Leo Durocher.

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

Building the Set

August 21, 2020 from Charleston, SC - Card #163
In my largest (by volume) purchase to date, I spent an enjoyable hour or so in mid-August browsing the eBay store of seller mantlerulz and clicking Add to Cart on 30 different cards.  We had previously added 29 cards to our set back in February from the Philly Show.  The 30 cards, all commons, cost me $52 total (before shipping and taxes) with the cards ranging in prices from $1 to $6.  I love this haul and I found the seller's store by accident when I was browsing eBay in an attempt to add a few more cheap cards from the set's first series.  With this purchase, we've now passed the quarter mark for completion of the set.  We still have a long way to go, and quite a few pricey cards to add, but any day I can add 30 commons in excellent shape and at very low prices is a great day.  This Owens card was $2.

The Card / Astros Team Set
Owens went on a hatless run with his Topps cards between 1963 and 1966, appearing without either a Colt .45s or Astros hat for four years in a row.  He was permitted to finally wear a hat again on his 1967 Topps card.  Flipping to the back, Owens' minor league statistics on his Baseball Reference page are incomplete, but I'm guessing he led the International League in strikeouts in 1954 and 1955.  With the Syracuse Chiefs those seasons, the Phillies' top farm team, he struck out 150 and 161 respectively.  

1965 Season
As noted above, Owens was the Astros' closer in 1965, leading the team in appearances and saves.  In 50 games, he went 6-5 with a 3.28 ERA and 8 saves.

Phillies Career
Owens appeared in 13 games for the 1955 and 1956 Phillies before missing almost two full seasons while serving in the military.  When he came back, and as described above, he found his most success.  Apparently, Owens was known on the party circuit and he along with fellow Phillies pitchers Turk Farrell (#80), Jack Meyer and Seth Morehead were known as the Dalton Gang at the time.  In parts of seven seasons with the Phillies, Owens went 24-46 with a 4.54 ERA.  On November 27, 1962, the Phillies traded him to the Reds for their long-time infielder Cookie Rojas (#474).

1955 Topps #202

1959 Topps #503

1964 Topps #241

1967 Topps #582

1973 Topps #624

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Topps #202
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12):  1955-1956, 1959-1967, 1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2016 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-JOW

44 - Owens non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/16/20.

Sources:  
1956 Topps Blog

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #450 Elston Howard - New York Yankees

Next Card:  #452 Gary Geiger -  Boston Red Sox

#433 John Bateman - Houston Astros

John Alvin Bateman
Houston Astros
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  210
Born:  July 21, 1940, Fort Sill, OK
Signed:  Signed by the Houston Colt .45s as an amateur free agent before 1962 season
Major League Teams:  Houston Colt .45s 1963-1964; Houston Astros 1965-1968; Montreal Expos 1969-1972; Philadelphia Phillies 1972
Died:  December 3, 1996, Sand Springs, OK (age 56)

John Bateman spent 10 seasons in the big leagues as a catcher for the expansion Colt .45s/Astros, the expansion Expos and the awful 1972 Phillies.  He caught the first no-hitters in both Houston and Montreal history - both against the Phillies.  He was behind the plate for Colts' pitcher Don Nottebart's (#469) no-hitter on May 17, 1963 and again for the Expos' Bill Stoneman's no-hitter on April 17, 1969.  Known for his exceptional pitch calling, Bateman was a career .230 hitter with 81 home runs and 375 RBIs.

Building the Set

1972 Phillies Photocards

August 21, 2020 from Charleston, SC - Card #162

In my largest (by volume) purchase to date, I spent an enjoyable hour or so in mid-August browsing the eBay store of seller mantlerulz and clicking Add to Cart on 30 different cards.  We had previously added 29 cards to our set back in February from the Philly Show.  The 30 cards, all commons, cost me $52 total (before shipping and taxes) with the cards ranging in prices from $1 to $6.  I love this haul and I found the seller's store by accident when I was browsing eBay in an attempt to add a few more cheap cards from the set's first series.  With this purchase, we've now passed the quarter mark for completion of the set.  We still have a long way to go, and quite a few pricey cards to add, but any day I can add 30 commons in excellent shape and at very low prices is a great day.  This Bateman card was $3, and for some reason pricier than the other commons I purchased.

The Card / Astros Team Set
If you didn't already know Bateman was a catcher, the backwards hat on this card would have clued you in.  And that's a barely visible Colt .45s wordmark across the front of Bateman's jersey.  It wasn't a huge year for Bateman at the plate, but his 10 home runs in 1963 nevertheless did lead Houston.  Howie Gross with 9 and Bob Aspromonte (#175) with 8 were right behind him for the team lead.  More impressive were his team-leading 6 triples in 1963, which bested the 5 triples hit by Aspromonte and Jim Wynn (#257).

Bateman's SABR biography goes into more detail about his try-out with the Colt .45s, noting he wrote to the team requesting a look and the expansion team obliged.  Liking what he saw, and believing Bateman to be two years younger than he actually was, Scout Red Murff encouraged the team to sign the young catcher.

1965 Season
Bateman slumped in 1964 and showed up to spring training in 1965 overweight.  An intense work-out regimen prepared him for the season and he immediately got off to a hot start.  He was hitting .400 when he took over everyday catching duties from Ron Brand (#212) on April 23rd.  But he soon cooled off again and was demoted to the Oklahoma City 89ers in June.  With the 89ers, Bateman played in 76 games, hitting .297 with 21 home runs and 66 RBIs, once again earning a promotion to the Astros in September.  For the season in Houston, he appeared in 45 games and batted .197 with 7 home runs.

Phillies Career

The Phillies acquired Bateman from the Expos on June 14, 1972 for Tim McCarver (#294).  Serving as the regular catcher for a Phillies team that would finish with a 59-97 record, Bateman established himself as a favorite of Phillies ace Steve Carlton (#477).  Carlton would go on to win 27 games and his first N.L. Cy Young Award in 1972, and with Bateman catching him he was 20-4 with a 1.60 ERA.  In 82 games with the Phillies, Bateman hit .222 with 3 home runs and 17 RBIs.  His tenure with the club lasted just the one season as rookie Bob Boone was deemed ready to take on the everyday catcher's job.  Despite protests from Carlton, Bateman was released on January 15, 1973, ending his big league career.

His lone Phillies baseball card can be found in the 1972 team-issued photo card set.

1963 Topps #386

1964 Topps #142

1967 Topps #231

1970 Topps #417

1972 Topps #5

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1963 Topps #386
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10):  1963-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1972 Topps #5

59 - Bateman non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/16/20.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Previous Card:  #432 Jim Grant - Minnesota Twins

Next Card:  #434 Dave Morehead - Boston Red Sox

#359 Ken Johnson - Houston Astros

Kenneth Travis Johnson
Houston Astros
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  210
Born:  June 16, 1933, West Palm Beach, FL
Signed:  Signed by the Philadelphia Athletics as an amateur free agent before 1952 season
Major League Teams:  Kansas City Athletics 1958-1961; Cincinnati Reds 1961; Houston Colt .45s 1962-1964; Houston Astros 1965; Milwaukee Braves 1965; Atlanta Braves 1966-1969; New York Yankees 1969; Chicago Cubs 1969; Montreal Expos 1970
Died:  November 21, 2015, Pineville, LA (age 82)

He appeared in 334 games over a 13-year Major League career with seven different clubs, but Ken Johnson is perhaps best remembered for being the losing pitcher while throwing a complete-game no-hitter.  On April 23, 1964, in Houston and pitching against the Reds, Johnson and Joe Nuxhall (#312) were locked in a scoreless pitching duel.  In the top of the ninth, Pete Rose (#207) reached second on an error committed by Johnson, advanced to third on a ground out and scored on another error committed by second baseman Nellie Fox (#485).  Nuxhall retired the Colts in the bottom of the ninth to win the game for the Reds and hand Johnson the loss, despite his no-hitter.

Johnson appeared in one game in the 1961 World Series for the Reds, pitching 2/3 of an inning against the Yankees and retiring both Elston Howard (#450) and Bill Skowron (#70).  Johnson's best seasons came with the Colt .45s/Astros and the Braves.  He won at least 10 games five seasons in a row between 1963 and 1967, hitting his career high in 1965 with 16 wins.  With the Braves, and relying on his knuckle ball, he paired with fellow knuckleballer Phil Niekro (#461) to stymie National League hitters in the late 1960s.  He retired in 1970 having spent 18 seasons pitching in professional baseball.  Johnson had a career record of 91-106 with a 3.46 ERA, 1,042 strikeouts and one famous no-hitter.

Building the Set
August 21, 2020 from Charleston, SC - Card #161
In my largest (by volume) purchase to date, I spent an enjoyable hour or so in mid-August browsing the eBay store of seller mantlerulz and clicking Add to Cart on 30 different cards.  We had previously added 29 cards to our set back in February from the Philly Show.  The 30 cards, all commons, cost me $52 total (before shipping and taxes) with the cards ranging in prices from $1 to $6.  I love this haul and I found the seller's store by accident when I was browsing eBay in an attempt to add a few more cheap cards from the set's first series.  With this purchase, we've now passed the quarter mark for completion of the set.  We still have a long way to go, and quite a few pricey cards to add, but any day I can add 30 commons in excellent shape and at very low prices is a great day.  This Johnson card was only $1.50.

The Card / Astros Team Set
It's strange to see a baseball card featuring a full profile photo, but I'm assuming this photo was selected to hide the ".45s" logo that would have been on Johnson's hat.  I'm also guessing this photo was taken at the same time as the one used for Johnson's 1964 Topps card.  The back of the card references the losing no-hitter effort and his "tricky" knuckleball.

Johnson grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida, which is where he presumably served as a ballpark usher, but I couldn't find anything more about when and where that had happened.

1965 Season
Johnson began the season as the Astros' number three starter behind Bob Bruce (#240) and Turk Farrell (#80).  He made eight starts, going 3-2 with a 4.18 ERA before being traded to the Braves on May 23rd with Jim Beauchamp (#409) for Lee Maye (#407).  With the Braves, in their last season in Milwaukee, Johnson appeared in 29 games, making 26 starts and going 13-8 with a 3.21 ERA.  He complemented a pitching rotation that had Tony Cloninger (#520) and his 24 wins along with Wade Blasingame (#44) at the top.

1960 Topps #135

1961 Topps #24

1964 Topps #158

1966 Topps #466

1969 Topps #238

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1960 Topps #135
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10):  1960-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1978 TCMA The 1960s I #232

45 - Johnson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/16/20.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Previous Card:  #358 Albie Pearson - Los Angeles Angels

Next Card:  #360 Orlando Cepeda - San Francisco Giants

#307 Barry Latman - Los Angeles Angels

Arnold Barry Latman
Los Angeles Angels
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  210
Born:  May 21, 1936, Los Angeles, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before 1955 season
Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1957-1959; Cleveland Indians 1960-1963; Los Angeles Angels 1964; California Angels 1965; Houston Astros 1966-1967
Died:  April 28, 2019, Richmond, TX (age 82)

Barry Latman found moderate success as a swingman between starting and relieving over his 11-year big league career.  He went to the All-Star Game with the Indians in 1961, the year he set his career high with 13 wins.  Latman earned a career record of 59-68 over 344 games with a 3.91 ERA.  He made 134 starts, throwing 28 complete games and 10 shutouts.  He struck out 829 over his career while walking 489.

Interestingly enough, Latman's SABR biography notes he was a penpal with Ty Cobb throughout the 1950s and Cobb at some point came to Los Angeles to watch Latman pitch in person.

Building the Set
August 21, 2020 from Charleston, SC - Card #160
In my largest (by volume) purchase to date, I spent an enjoyable hour or so in mid-August browsing the eBay store of seller mantlerulz and clicking Add to Cart on 30 different cards.  We had previously added 29 cards to our set back in February from the Philly Show.  The 30 cards, all commons, cost me $52 total (before shipping and taxes) with the cards ranging in prices from $1 to $6.  I love this haul and I found the seller's store by accident when I was browsing eBay in an attempt to add a few more cheap cards from the set's first series.  With this purchase, we've now passed the quarter mark for completion of the set.  We still have a long way to go, and quite a few pricey cards to add, but any day I can add 30 commons in excellent shape and at very low prices is a great day.  This Latman card was only $1.50.

For some context, a month has passed since I last composed one of these posts, writing about the Birdie Tebbets (#301) card in mid-September.  For a solid month, every time I sat down to my home computer at night, Latman's card would be staring up at me, wondering when he'd eventually get studied, scanned and finally placed into our 1965 Topps binder.  Mid-September through mid-October is a crazy busy time for me with my chosen profession and there was no time for writing about old baseball cards.  My wife Jenna is back to school, in front of her class with everyone masked up, while our boys are attending 5th and 8th grades virtually.  I'm their homeroom teacher and lunch lady as I try every day to make sure their Zoom meetings go off without a hitch all while trying to keep my head above water with work.  It's been a challenge.

Our dog Chewbacca has no idea why we all stopped going places beginning in mid-March as our new schedules are clearly interrupting his daily nap time.

The Card / Angels Team Set
That's an impressive amount of chew in Latman's cheek, and that would appear to be a regular occurrence as he's pictured with a bulged cheek on his 1964, 1966 and 1967 Topps cards as well.  The back of the card references the perfect game Latman threw for Fairfax High School in Los Angeles in 1954.  He was heavily scouted at the time, but opted to attend college at the University of Southern California.

1965 Season
Nagged by a sore arm, Latman appeared in only 18 games for the Angels, the first season he hadn't appeared in at least 30 games since 1958.  Used entirely as a reliever, Latman went 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA over 31 2/3 innings pitched.  He was sent down to the Seattle Angels in the Pacific Coast League in June, where he'd appear in 18 games, making 13 starts.  He went 7-6 with a 3.09 ERA for Seattle and when he returned to the majors in September Latman requested a trade.  The Angels accommodated his request, trading Latman to the Astros on December 15th for Ed Pacheco and cash.

1959 Topps #477

1961 Topps #560

1963 Topps #426

1964 Topps #227

1967 Topps #28

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1959 Topps #477
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9):  1959-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2016 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-BL

48 - Latman non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/16/20.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Previous Card:  #306 Bubba Phillips - Detroit Tigers

Next Card:  #308 Mets Rookie Stars

#301 Birdie Tebbets MG - Cleveland Indians

George Robert Tebbetts
Cleveland Indians
Manager

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  170
Born:  November 10, 1912, Burlington, VT
Signed:  Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent, June 1934
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1936-1942, 1946-1947; Boston Red Sox 1947-1950; Cleveland Indians 1951-1952
As a Manager:  Cincinnati Reds 1954-1958; Milwaukee Braves 1961-1962; Cleveland Indians 1963, 1964-1966
Died:  March 24, 1999, Manatee, FL (age 86)

As a catcher, Biride Tebbetts went to the All-Star Game four times - twice with the Tigers before World War II, and twice with the Red Sox after the War.  He missed three full seasons while serving in the military between 1943 and 1945, but he's still regarded as one of the best catchers of the 1940s.  In 1940 he enjoyed one of his strongest seasons, hitting .296 and leading the Tigers to the World Series.  Unfortunately, Tebbetts went 0 for 11 in the series as the Reds prevailed in seven games.  In 14 seasons between 1936 and 1952, Tebbetts played in 1,162 games, batting .270 with exactly 1,000 hits, 38 home runs and 469 RBIs.

Tebbetts began his big league managerial career with the Reds in 1954 and was named N.L. Manager of the Year in 1956 when he guided the Reds to a 91-63 record, just missing the World Series.  That was to be his most successful year as a manager and through the rest of his stint with the Reds, then moving to the Braves and finally finishing up with the Indians, a Tebbetts-led team never finished above fourth place.  He resigned as Indians manager in August 1966, with his big league managerial record at 748-705.  He'd later serve as a scout for the Mets, Yankees, Orioles and Marlins, staying involved in baseball until retiring in 1997.

Building the Set
August 21, 2020 from Charleston, SC - Card #159
In my largest (by volume) purchase to date, I spent an enjoyable hour or so in mid-August browsing the eBay store of seller mantlerulz and clicking Add to Cart on 30 different cards.  We had previously added 29 cards to our set back in February from the Philly Show.  The 30 cards, all commons, cost me $52 total (before shipping and taxes) with the cards ranging in prices from $1 to $6.  I love this haul and I found the seller's store by accident when I was browsing eBay in an attempt to add a few more cheap cards from the set's first series.  With this purchase, we've now passed the quarter mark for completion of the set.  We still have a long way to go, and quite a few pricey cards to add, but any day I can add 30 commons in excellent shape and at very low prices is a great day.  This Tebbetts card was only $2.

The Card / Indians Team Set
Tebbetts appeared on an Indians' manager card within the Topps set for each of the years he managed the club.  The back of this card covers all the highlights from Tebbetts' playing career, including the fact he was a popular player, but spelling his last name wrong with the big letters at the top.  And for some reason, Topps omits Tebbetts' 1941 All-Star Game appearance within the write-up.  I don't know why I notice things like this, but the Topps employee who wrote up the back of this card refers to the manager as Birdie, Mr. Tebbetts and finally Mr. Birdie Tebbetts for the final kicker.

1965 Season
This was to be the final full season of managing for Mr. Birdie Tebbetts, as he guided the Indians to a fifth place finish with a record of 87-75.  His top pitchers were Sam McDowell (#76) (17-11, 2.18 ERA) and Sonny Siebert (#96) (16-8, 2.43 ERA) while his top sluggers were first baseman Fred Whitfield (#283) (.293, 26 home runs and 90 RBIs) and Rocky Colavito (#380) (.287, 26 home runs, 108 RBIs.)

1951 Bowman #257

1952 Topps #282

1958 Topps #386

1962 Topps #588

1966 Topps #552

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #257
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1952, 1958, 1962-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2001 Fleer Boston Red Sox 100th Anniversary #3

51 - Tebbetts non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 9/16/20.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #300 Sandy Koufax - Los Angeles Dodgers

Next Card:  #302 Al Stanek - San Francisco Giants

#284 Nick Willhite - Washington Senators

Jon Nicholas Willhite
Washington Senators
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  190
Born:  January 27, 1941, Tulsa, OK
Signed:  Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent, September 21, 1959
Major League Teams:  Los Angeles Dodgers 1963-1964; Washington Senators 1965; Los Angeles Dodgers 1965-1966; California Angels 1967; New York Mets 1967
Died:  December 14, 2008, Alpine, UT (age 67)

Nick Willhite was a left-handed pitcher who spent parts of five seasons in the Major Leagues, contributing in a small way to the Dodgers reaching the World Series in both 1963 and 1965.  Willhite didn't pitch in either Series, but he did earn a World Series ring in 1963.  His lifelong battle with addiction derailed his professional baseball career and although he was once considered a rising star, Willhite appeared in only 58 games between 1963 and 1967 with the Dodgers, Senators, Angels and Mets.  He had a career record of 6-12 with a 4.55 ERA with 3 complete games.

Willhite later served as a pitching coach at Brigham Young University and briefly as a minor league pitching instructor in both the Brewers and Yankees organizations.  With the help of the Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.), Willhite was able to conquer his addiction in later life and would go on to become an addictions counselor himself.

Building the Set
August 21, 2020 from Charleston, SC - Card #158
In my largest (by volume) purchase to date, I spent an enjoyable hour or so in mid-August browsing the eBay store of seller mantlerulz and clicking Add to Cart on 30 different cards.  We had previously added 29 cards to our set back in February from the Philly Show.  The 30 cards, all commons, cost me $52 total (before shipping and taxes) with the cards ranging in prices from $1 to $6.  I love this haul and I found the seller's store by accident when I was browsing eBay in an attempt to add a few more cheap cards from the set's first series.  With this purchase, we've now passed the quarter mark for completion of the set.  We still have a long way to go, and quite a few pricey cards to add, but any day I can add 30 commons in excellent shape and at very low prices is a great day.  This Willhite card was $3, inexplicably one of the more expensive cards purchased in this lot.

The Card / Senators Team Set
Willhite appears on four Topps flagship baseball cards, with two Dodgers cards, this Senators card and an Angels card.  On every card he's wearing a Dodgers uniform.  The back of the card highlights the complete game shutout, the only shutout of his career, that he threw during his big league debut on June 16, 1963.  Facing the Cubs, Willhite allowed five hits and a walk while striking out six.  In the ninth, he retired Billy Williams (#220), Ron Santo (#110) and Ernie Banks (#510) in succession to preserve his gem.

1965 Season
The Dodgers sold Willhite to the Senators on October 15, 1964, on a conditional basis, as noted by his SABR biography.  In an arrangement that most likely wouldn't fly today, the Dodgers and Senators had a "pipeline" between the two teams facilitated by the fact that long-time Dodger Gil Hodges (#99) was now managing in Washington.  Willhite struggled with arm and back injuries throughout spring training and made only five relief appearances with the Senators before he was sold back to the Dodgers.

With the Dodgers, he appeared in 15 games, making 6 starts, and went 2-2 with a 5.36 ERA over 42 innings pitched.  He did not appear in the 1965 World Series.

1964 Topps #14

1966 Topps #171

1967 Topps #249

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1964 Topps #14
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4):  1964-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1967 Topps #249

14 - Willhite non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 9/15/20.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Previous Card:  #283 Fred Whitfield - Cleveland Indians

Next Card:  #285 Ron Hunt - New York Mets