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Louis Clark Brock
St. Louis Cardinals
Outfield
Born: June 18, 1939, El Dorado, AR
Signed: Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent, August 22, 1960
Major League Teams: Chicago Cubs 1961-1964; St. Louis Cardinals 1964-1979
Died: September 6, 2020, St. Charles, MO (age 81)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1985
Now second on the all-time stolen base list behind Rickey Henderson, Lou Brock held the top spot by himself for over a dozen years when he broke Ty Cobb's long-standing record in 1977. He finished his career with 938 total stolen bases, having led the National League eight times in that category between 1966 and 1974 and having set the single season National League record with 118 steals in 1974. Brock was a six-time All-Star and led the league in runs scored in 1967 and 1971. He helped lead the Cardinals to the World Series in 1964, 1967 and 1968, hitting .391 over 21 World Series games and earning World Series rings in 1964 and 1967. Over 19 seasons, Brock was a constant threat on the base paths and he's recognized as not only one of the speediest but one of the most clutch players of his generation.
He retired after the 1979 season with a career .293 average and 3,023 hits over 2,616 games. His #20 was retired by the Cardinals on September 9, 1979 and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985, his first year of eligibility.
Building the Set
September 11, 2020 from Fremont, CA - Card #172
By all accounts, and caused by a multitude of different events, 2020 has been a rough year. The baseball world lost five iconic Hall of Famers in a span of about six weeks with the passing of Tom Seaver, Brock, Bob Gibson (#320), Whitey Ford (#330) and Joe Morgan (#16) between August 31st and October 11th. The next three cards we added to our 1965 Topps set were the cards of Brock, Gibson and Ford as I wanted to selfishly cross them off our list but also to spend some time learning more about each of their careers. (I've had a Morgan rookie card in my collection since around 1983, when he played with the Phillies as a member of the Wheeze Kids.)
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #387
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (21): 1962-1980, 1989, 2001
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2020 Topps Archives #173
1,481 - Brock non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/31/20.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Previous Card: #539 Herm Starrette - Baltimore Orioles
September 11, 2020 from Fremont, CA - Card #172
By all accounts, and caused by a multitude of different events, 2020 has been a rough year. The baseball world lost five iconic Hall of Famers in a span of about six weeks with the passing of Tom Seaver, Brock, Bob Gibson (#320), Whitey Ford (#330) and Joe Morgan (#16) between August 31st and October 11th. The next three cards we added to our 1965 Topps set were the cards of Brock, Gibson and Ford as I wanted to selfishly cross them off our list but also to spend some time learning more about each of their careers. (I've had a Morgan rookie card in my collection since around 1983, when he played with the Phillies as a member of the Wheeze Kids.)
Brock passed away on September 6th and I headed out to eBay to find a reasonably priced card for our set in excellent or better shape. I found the card shown here in the eBay store of xfiniteshopx, which ironically is the same seller our Al Kaline (#130) card came from when Kaline passed away in April. I paid what I thought was a reasonable price for the card, and it arrived on September 11th along with the Cubs team card (#91).
The Card / Cardinals Team Set
This is Brock's first appearance in a Topps flagship set showing him with the Cardinals. In one of the worst all-time trades in baseball history, the Cubs traded Brock, Jack Spring and Paul Toth to the Cardinals on June 15, 1964 for Ernie Broglio (#565), Doug Clemens and Bobby Shantz. The Cardinals needed a new left fielder as they hadn't found a suitable replacement since Stan Musial had retired following the 1963 season. The Cubs needed pitching and Broglio, an 18-game winner in 1963, was the key to the deal for them. Broglio would never win more than seven games and was out of baseball by 1966. Brock would go on to enjoy a Hall of Fame career and is revered as one of the greatest Cardinals players in that franchise's history.
The Card / Cardinals Team Set
This is Brock's first appearance in a Topps flagship set showing him with the Cardinals. In one of the worst all-time trades in baseball history, the Cubs traded Brock, Jack Spring and Paul Toth to the Cardinals on June 15, 1964 for Ernie Broglio (#565), Doug Clemens and Bobby Shantz. The Cardinals needed a new left fielder as they hadn't found a suitable replacement since Stan Musial had retired following the 1963 season. The Cubs needed pitching and Broglio, an 18-game winner in 1963, was the key to the deal for them. Broglio would never win more than seven games and was out of baseball by 1966. Brock would go on to enjoy a Hall of Fame career and is revered as one of the greatest Cardinals players in that franchise's history.
The back of the card also mentions a home run Brock hit at the Polo Grounds. His SABR biography goes into more detail on this blast, as it happened on June 17, 1962 against the Mets. Off Mets' pitcher Al Jackson (#381), and sailing over the head of center fielder Richie Ashburn, Brock became only the fourth player to hit a ball out of the Polo Grounds to center field. He joined notable power hitters Babe Ruth (1921), Luke Easter (1948) and Joe Adcock (1953) in accomplishing the feat.
This card was reprinted as part of the 2011 60 Years of Topps insert set.
1965 Season
In his first full season with the Cardinals, Brock settled in as the team's every day left fielder, joined in the outfield by Curt Flood (#415) in center and Mike Shannon (#43) in right. Brock appeared in 155 games, batting .288 with 16 home runs and 69 RBIs. He led the club in runs scored (107), doubles (35), triples (8) and stolen bases (63). Finishing in second place in stolen bases on the club was Flood with a distant 9.
1965 Season
In his first full season with the Cardinals, Brock settled in as the team's every day left fielder, joined in the outfield by Curt Flood (#415) in center and Mike Shannon (#43) in right. Brock appeared in 155 games, batting .288 with 16 home runs and 69 RBIs. He led the club in runs scored (107), doubles (35), triples (8) and stolen bases (63). Finishing in second place in stolen bases on the club was Flood with a distant 9.
He slumped in May after getting drilled by a Sandy Koufax (#300) fastball that broke his shoulder blade. In his previous at-bat, Brock had dropped a bunt in front of Koufax, stolen two bases and scored against the Dodgers ace. Koufax paid him back by plunking the speedy Brock in the shoulder in his next at-bat. Amazingly, Brock's injury caused him to miss only three games. He was moved to the lead-off spot in mid-July where he'd remain for most of the rest of his career.
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First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #387
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (21): 1962-1980, 1989, 2001
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2020 Topps Archives #173
1,481 - Brock non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/31/20.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Previous Card: #539 Herm Starrette - Baltimore Orioles
Next Card: #541 White Sox Rookie Stars
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