 |
 |
Dennis John Bennett
Boston Red Sox
Pitcher
Born: October 5, 1939, Oakland, CA
Signed: Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent, May 7, 1958
Major League Teams: Philadelphia Phillies 1962-1964; Boston Red Sox 1965-1967; New York Mets 1967; California Angels 1968
Died: March 24, 2012, Klamath Falls, OR (age 72)
Dennis Bennett was a promising young left-handed pitcher in the Phillies organization before a serious car accident in January 1963 injured his shoulder and left him with arm problems for the rest of his career. Bennett was one of the Phillies' most used starting pitchers between 1962 and 1964, and he pitched relatively well down the stretch run in 1964 in a season the Phillies heartbreakingly choked and lost the National League pennant over the final weekend of the season. Bennett was dealt to the Red Sox on November 29, 1964 for first baseman Dick Stuart (#280), and his arm injury would continue to plague him while in Boston. He played his last big league game with the Angels in 1968, but he'd hang on through the 1973 season pitching in the minor league systems of the Angels and Padres.
 |
| 1950-1969 Phillies Photo Cards |
Building the Set
December 25, 2020 from Belvedere, IL - Card #204
This is one of 32 cards (mostly commons) I received from Jenna and our sons on Christmas morning, as I was asked to do some surrogate shopping on their behalf and I gladly obliged. I generally went hunting for first series cards, but this is one of several later series cards that snuck into my eBay cart. This Bennett card was only $1 and it's one of 11 cards I added from eBay seller mavmil from Belvedere, Illinois.
This is one of 32 cards (mostly commons) I received from Jenna and our sons on Christmas morning, as I was asked to do some surrogate shopping on their behalf and I gladly obliged. I generally went hunting for first series cards, but this is one of several later series cards that snuck into my eBay cart. This Bennett card was only $1 and it's one of 11 cards I added from eBay seller mavmil from Belvedere, Illinois.
The Card / Red Sox Team Set
Bennett most likely hadn't yet thrown a pitch for the Red Sox when collectors were finding this card in series two packs, and he's shown here hatless while wearing a Phillies uniform. His younger brother Dave is referenced on the back. Despite only his one-game appearance, Dave appeared on two Rookie Stars cards in Topps sets - in 1964 with Rick Wise (#322) and in this 1965 set with Morrie Steevens (#521). The older Bennett was coming off a season in which he won a career high 12 games, which included two shutouts as mentioned on the back of this card.
1965 Season
Bennett began the season on the disabled list and made his season and Red Sox debut on May 4th. He had a decent season for a very bad club, going 5-7 with a 4.38 ERA over 34 games and 18 starts. His SABR biography veers away from his performance on the field in 1965 and discusses Bennett's proclivity for carrying guns with him. There's a story that Bennett once shot out the lights in his hotel room rather than getting up out of bed and turning off the switch. He finally had shoulder surgery following the 1965 season, but he never quite bounced back.
Wearing #23, Bennett appeared in 95 games over three seasons with the Phillies, going 30-28. On a team that boasted both Jim Bunning (#20) and Chris Short, Bennett was the Phillies' opening day starter in 1964. He went 12-14 for that doomed Phillies club, starting 32 games which was the second most on the club behind Bunning's 39. His SABR biography notes Bennett believed the Phillies would have won the pennant in 1964 had he stayed healthy and not been bothered with shoulder woes. Following the season, the Phillies and Red Sox swapped two players who had apparently worn out their welcome in their respective cities. The free-spirited (and injured) Bennett was shipped to Boston for the controversial Stuart.
|
|
|
|
First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #56
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5): 1963-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #93
19 - Bennett non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/16/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #146 Ron Hansen - Chicago White Sox
Next Card: #148 Willie Kirkland - Washington Senators
No comments:
Post a Comment