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James Thomas Northrup
Detroit Tigers
Outfield
Born: November 24, 1939, Breckenridge, MI
Signed: Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent before 1960 season
Major League Teams: Detroit Tigers 1964-1974; Montreal Expos 1974; Baltimore Orioles 1974-1975
Died: June 8, 2011, Grand Blanc, MI (age 71)
Raymond Francis Oyler
Detroit Tigers
Shortstop
Born: August 4, 1937, Indianapolis, IN
Signed: Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent before 1960 season
Major League Teams: Detroit Tigers 1965-1968; Seattle Pilots 1969; California Angels 1970
Died: January 26, 1981, Redmond, WA (age 43)
Slugger Jim Northrup played over a decade with the Tigers, hitting at least 10 home runs in eight different seasons and playing as the regular right fielder on the 1968 World Championship team. He shifted to center field for the World Series, as Tigers' manager Mayo Smith moved regular center fielder Mickey Stanley to shortstop to replace the light-hitting Ray Oyler. Northrup led that Tigers squad in hits (153) and RBIs (90) and had a game-winning two-run triple off the Cardinals' Bob Gibson (#320) in the decisive Game 7 of the Series. He hit four grand slams during the regular season and another in Game 6 of the World Series. Northrup was dealt to the Expos in August 1974 and he'd play the last two seasons of his career with the Expos and Orioles. Northrup collected 1,254 hits in the majors while batting .267 with 153 home runs and 610 RBIs.
The light hitting Oyler holds the distinction of having the lowest career batting average (.175) of any position player with at least 1,000 at-bats in modern baseball history. He hit a career "high" .207 in 1967 and as mentioned above he lost his starting shortstop job during the 1968 World Series. Oyler appeared in four World Series games as a late inning defensive replacement at shortstop, and delivered a sacrifice bunt in his sole plate appearance. Following the World Series, Oyler was left unprotected in the 1968 expansion draft and was the third overall pick by the Pilots. He was the opening day shortstop for the Pilots, starting 93 games in their only year of existence. Oyler was dealt to the Athletics following the 1969 season, and while he'd go to spring training with the club, he never played for them as he was sold to the Angels on April 17, 1970. He'd play in 24 games with the Angels before his big league career came to an end.
Building the Set
June 5, 2021 from Tomball, TX - Card #305
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. The package of cards arrived on June 5th and in total, the lot cost me a little more than $63. Surprisingly, this was the most expensive card in the lot, costing a little over $10.
The Card / Tigers Team Set
This is the rookie card for both players and as mentioned above both would go on to be a part of the Tigers' 1968 World Championship team. The card would have been issued shortly after Oyler's big league debut with the Tigers on April 18, 1965. Given his reputation as all glove, no bat, it's amazing that Oyler hit 19 home runs in 1964 for the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs. Finally, it looks as if the Tigers' logo on Northrup's hat has been painted on? Perhaps he's wearing a Chiefs hat here, and instead of just blacking out that logo, Topps opted to have an artist add the Old English D.
1965 Season - Northrup
Northrup was the opening day left fielder for the Tigers but he'd soon lose playing time to Willie Horton (#206) who got the bulk of the starts in left for the season. Northrup spent most of the season as a back-up to Horton or Al Kaline (#130). In 80 games, he batted .205 with just two home runs and 58 RBIs. Northrup would finally get regular playing time in 1966 and he'd be a mainstay in the Tigers line-up for the next eight-plus seasons.
Northrup was the opening day left fielder for the Tigers but he'd soon lose playing time to Willie Horton (#206) who got the bulk of the starts in left for the season. Northrup spent most of the season as a back-up to Horton or Al Kaline (#130). In 80 games, he batted .205 with just two home runs and 58 RBIs. Northrup would finally get regular playing time in 1966 and he'd be a mainstay in the Tigers line-up for the next eight-plus seasons.
1965 Season - Oyler
Oyler made the Tigers' opening day roster and stuck around all season, eventually taking over the shortstop position full time from Dick McAuliffe (#53). In 82 games, Oyler batted .186 with five home runs and 13 RBIs.
Oyler made the Tigers' opening day roster and stuck around all season, eventually taking over the shortstop position full time from Dick McAuliffe (#53). In 82 games, Oyler batted .186 with five home runs and 13 RBIs.
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Other Notable Baseball Cards - Northrup
First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #259
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1965-1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2004 Upper Deck Legends Timeless Teams #75
84 - Northrup non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/16/21.
Sources - Northrup:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Other Notable Baseball Cards - Oyler
First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #259
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6): 1965-1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1983 Galasso 1969 Seattle Pilots #29
33 - Oyler non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/16/21.
Sources - Oyler:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
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Next Card: #260 Don Drysdale - Los Angeles Dodgers
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