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Robert Thomas Purkey
St. Louis Cardinals
Pitcher
Born: July 14, 1929, Pittsburgh, PA
Signed: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates 1954-1957; Cincinnati Reds 1958-1964; St. Louis Cardinals 1965; Pittsburgh Pirates 1966
Died: March 16, 2008, Allegheny County, PA (age 78)
Knuckleballer Bob Purkey bookended his 13-year big league career pitching for his hometown Pirates, and in between was a five-time All-Star with the Reds. Purkey had been mainly a reliever for the Pirates, but the Reds inserted him into their starting rotation and he had several stellar years. He won 17 games in 1958 and 1960 and he started the second All-Star Game for the National League in 1961, giving up a home run to Rocky Colavito (#380) in his two innings of work. In that year's World Series, Purkey started Game 3 against the Yankees, pitching a complete game, but he gave up a game-winning home run to Roger Maris (#155) in the ninth. The Yankees would win the Series in five games. Purkey's career year came in 1962 when he went 23-5 with a 2.81 ERA, with his .821 winning percentage leading the league. He finished eighth in that year's MVP voting.
Purkey finished his big league career with a 129-115 record over 386 games pitched, to go along with a 3.79 ERA and 793 strikeouts. He was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1974.
Building the Set
June 5, 2021 from Tomball, TX - Card #299
To celebrate the unofficial beginning of summer, I took advantage of a 15% Memorial Day Weekend sale hosted by one of my favorite dealers, The Battersbox, from Tomball, Texas. With the second series now complete, I spent an enjoyable hour or so over the long (and rainy) holiday weekend picking 20 commons from the third series to add to our set and I'll feature those cards in the next 20 posts. The package of cards arrived on June 5th and in total, the lot cost me a little more than $63. This Purkey card cost a little less than $3 after applying the discount.
Building the Set
June 5, 2021 from Tomball, TX - Card #299
To celebrate the unofficial beginning of summer, I took advantage of a 15% Memorial Day Weekend sale hosted by one of my favorite dealers, The Battersbox, from Tomball, Texas. With the second series now complete, I spent an enjoyable hour or so over the long (and rainy) holiday weekend picking 20 commons from the third series to add to our set and I'll feature those cards in the next 20 posts. The package of cards arrived on June 5th and in total, the lot cost me a little more than $63. This Purkey card cost a little less than $3 after applying the discount.
I think Purkey is smiling here as he's honored to be the card that got us officially to the half-way point of completing this set.
The Card / Cardinals Team Set
Purkey is wearing a Reds jersey in this photo, and with the collar of his warm-up jacket sticking out the top of his jersey, I'd say the photo is from the same session that Topps used for his 1964 card. On the back, his three All-Star Game pitching appearances are highlighted, as is his 19-win season in 1948 as a member of the Class D Greenville Pirates.
1965 Season
On December 14, 1964, the Reds traded Purkey to the Cardinals for pitcher Roger Craig (#411) and outfielder Charlie James (#141). Purkey would spend only one season in St. Louis, and it wasn't a memorable one. In 32 games (17 starts) he went 10-9 with a 5.79 ERA over 124 1/3 innings pitched, with most of his troubles attributed to an ailing right arm.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1956 Topps #63
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1954-1955, 1957-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Topps Archives 1954 #202
81 - Purkey non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/23/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
The Card / Cardinals Team Set
Purkey is wearing a Reds jersey in this photo, and with the collar of his warm-up jacket sticking out the top of his jersey, I'd say the photo is from the same session that Topps used for his 1964 card. On the back, his three All-Star Game pitching appearances are highlighted, as is his 19-win season in 1948 as a member of the Class D Greenville Pirates.
1965 Season
On December 14, 1964, the Reds traded Purkey to the Cardinals for pitcher Roger Craig (#411) and outfielder Charlie James (#141). Purkey would spend only one season in St. Louis, and it wasn't a memorable one. In 32 games (17 starts) he went 10-9 with a 5.79 ERA over 124 1/3 innings pitched, with most of his troubles attributed to an ailing right arm.
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First Mainstream Card: 1956 Topps #63
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1954-1955, 1957-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Topps Archives 1954 #202
81 - Purkey non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/23/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
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Next Card: #215 Pete Ward - Chicago White Sox
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