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Delmar Wesley Crandall
San Francisco Giants
Catcher
Born: March 5, 1930, Ontario, CA
Signed: Signed by the Boston Braves as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams: Boston Braves 1949-1950; Milwaukee Braves 1953-1963; San Francisco Giants 1964; Pittsburgh Pirates 1965; Cleveland Indians 1966
As a Manager: Milwaukee Brewers 1972-1975; Seattle Mariners 1983-1984
An often overlooked but important member of the Braves' line-up throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Del Crandall was an 11-time All-Star, a 4-time Gold Glove winner and he won a World Series ring with the Braves in 1957. Crandall's work behind the plate was impressive. He led the league in runners caught stealing five times and had the league's top fielding percentage for a catcher four times. His receiving aided the careers of Hall of Famer Warren Spahn (#205) along with Lew Burdette (#64) and Bob Buhl (#264). He hit at least 15 home runs or more every season between 1953 and 1960 and drove in over 50 runs in six of those seasons.
Following the 1963 season, and with Joe Torre (#200) waiting in the wings to take his place, Crandall was part of a seven-player deal that sent him to the Giants. He finished his career as a back-up catcher with the Giants, Pirates and Indians between 1964 and 1966. Crandall caught three no-hitters and batted .254 over 1,573 games. He later managed the Brewers (1972-1975) and Mariners (1983-1984) compiling a managerial record of 364-469 with none of his teams finishing above fifth place. He also spent time as both a broadcaster with the White Sox and Brewers and as a minor league manager for various organizations.
Building the Set
November 19, 2020 from Brunswick, OH - Card #179
I hit a lull with our 1965 Topps set additions in the September, October and November timeframe as the postseason ended and we faced another long winter without baseball. This late fall/early winter would be different of course as we were still dealing with the pandemic and unable to gather inside without being safely masked up and without social distancing measures in place. Our family continued to find happiness in small things, catching up on television shows together (The Mandalorian, Amazing Race), watching movies and planning for things we'd do in 2021 once things started to approach some sense of normalcy. Like most of the country, we were glued to our TV in early November as the election results slowly arrived and like most of the country we celebrated the outcome with a sense of genuine relief and hope. It felt good to be able to hope again.
The Card / Giants Team Set
This is the only Topps flagship card issued for Crandall during his playing career to not feature him wearing a Braves uniform. And it looks as if he's busted up one of his finger nails pretty good! Given his veteran status, there's no room on the back for a cartoon and Topps provides a short write-up on his trade from the Braves, his All-Star Game appearances and his World Series appearances in 1957 and 1958.
1965 Season
On February 11, 1965, the Giants traded Crandall to the Pirates for Bob Burda and Bob Priddy (#482). Priddy appears later in the set on a Giants card, but clearly wearing a Pirates sleeveless jersey. With the Pirates, Crandall appeared in 60 games while backing up regular catcher Jim Pagliaroni (#265). Crandall hit just .214 with a pair of home runs and 10 RBIs and he was released by the Pirates on November 30th, signing with the Indians, his final club, on the same day.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1950 Bowman #56
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (18): 1952-1954, 1956-1966, 1973-1975, 1984
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2011 Topps Lineage Autographs #RA-DC
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| November 24, 2020 - Last day of in-person school (The experiment lasted 3 days.) |
November 19, 2020 from Brunswick, OH - Card #179
I hit a lull with our 1965 Topps set additions in the September, October and November timeframe as the postseason ended and we faced another long winter without baseball. This late fall/early winter would be different of course as we were still dealing with the pandemic and unable to gather inside without being safely masked up and without social distancing measures in place. Our family continued to find happiness in small things, catching up on television shows together (The Mandalorian, Amazing Race), watching movies and planning for things we'd do in 2021 once things started to approach some sense of normalcy. Like most of the country, we were glued to our TV in early November as the election results slowly arrived and like most of the country we celebrated the outcome with a sense of genuine relief and hope. It felt good to be able to hope again.
In mid-November, straddled with a case of general ploppiness, my wife Jenna suggested I look for some new baseball cards to help raise my spirits. I gladly obliged and decided to try to knock a few more cards off our first series checklist. I had set a goal for myself to try to complete the first series by the end of 2020, and while I won't accomplish the goal I did come relatively close. As of this writing, we need 22 of the 88 cards from the set's first series and I'd like to pick up the pace a little once the calendar turns to 2021.
This is one of five cards from the first series purchased from Robbies Cards via eBay and this Crandall card cost $2.75. It's strange to me that the card for a former perennial All-Star like Crandall cost less than some of the other cards purchased in this lot. The Dick McAuliffe (#53) card was $5.50 and the George Thomas (#83) card was $3. Our remaining additions to the set for the year would arrive in the form of Christmas presents.
The Card / Giants Team Set
This is the only Topps flagship card issued for Crandall during his playing career to not feature him wearing a Braves uniform. And it looks as if he's busted up one of his finger nails pretty good! Given his veteran status, there's no room on the back for a cartoon and Topps provides a short write-up on his trade from the Braves, his All-Star Game appearances and his World Series appearances in 1957 and 1958.
1965 Season
On February 11, 1965, the Giants traded Crandall to the Pirates for Bob Burda and Bob Priddy (#482). Priddy appears later in the set on a Giants card, but clearly wearing a Pirates sleeveless jersey. With the Pirates, Crandall appeared in 60 games while backing up regular catcher Jim Pagliaroni (#265). Crandall hit just .214 with a pair of home runs and 10 RBIs and he was released by the Pirates on November 30th, signing with the Indians, his final club, on the same day.
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First Mainstream Card: 1950 Bowman #56
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (18): 1952-1954, 1956-1966, 1973-1975, 1984
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2011 Topps Lineage Autographs #RA-DC
131 - Crandall non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/25/20.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Previous Card: #67 Harvey Haddix - Baltimore Orioles
Next Card: #69 Bill Virdon - Pittsburgh Pirates
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