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William Robert Allison
Minnesota Twins
Outfield-First Base
Born: July 11, 1934, Raytown, MO
Signed: Signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent, January 24, 1955
Major League Teams: Washington Senators 1958-1960; Minnesota Twins 1961-1970
Died: April 9, 1995, Rio Verde, AZ (age 60)
Bob Allison was a two-sport star at the University of Kansas before signing with the Senators and beginning his long tenure with the Senators/Twins franchise. He made his first All-Star team in 1959 and won A.L. Rookie of the Year honors after hitting .261 with 30 home runs and 85 RBIs. He'd have his most successful seasons after his team moved to Minnesota, as he drove in at least 100 runs in both 1961 and 1962 and was named to two more All-Star teams in 1963 and 1964. He was a regular for the Senators/Twins throughout most of the 1960s, playing steady outfield defense and displaying a strong throwing arm. He led the league in runs scored with 99 in 1963, and he finished in the top ten for on-base percentage in four different seasons. Allison retired following the 1970 season with a career batting average of .255, 1,281 hits, 256 home runs and 796 RBIs. He was posthumouly inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2003.
June 19, 2021 from Moorestown Mall Baseball Card Show - Card #309
Following our youngest son Ben's flawless performance of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy at his piano recital, our family headed to the Moorestown Mall in New Jersey to browse a real live baseball card show. Traditionally, I only venture into malls for baseball card shows and I can't honestly remember the last time, pre-pandemic, I had stepped foot into a mall. The show was small, hosted by S&B Sports Promotions, with about a dozen tables and not much vintage to offer, but it was a sight for sore eyes. It took us only about 15 minutes to scout the whole place out and I was lucky enough to find a friendly dealer with 1960s and 1970s Topps cards in great shape, in order and (best of all) reasonably priced. I took my time going through his 1965 Topps commons, settling on 29 cards we needed and adding a card from the star pile to give us 30 new cards total. I spent an even $100 (after a generous dealer discount) and this Allison card was about $3.25.
The Card / Twins Team Set
Allison moved around quite a bit during his career, and was a regular in center and right fields before moving to first base for the 1964 season. Topps hedged its bets with the position designation on his card, going with the safe "Outfield-1B" combo. Allison's rookie of the year honors gets the cartoon highlight. His three home run game came on May 17, 1963 and he connected off three different Indians pitchers - Mudcat Grant (#432), Jerry Walker and Ron Nischwitz. Allison, at card #38, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of four Twins in the set. He's also in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set.
1965 Season
Allison's SABR biography notes he was once referred to as the "unknown outfielder," as he quietly and consistently went about his job while annually being overshadowed by the likes of Harmon Killebrew (#400) and Tony Oliva (#340). He moved to left field in 1965 to accommodate younger teammates, and he appeared in 135 games while batting .233 with 23 home runs and 78 RBIs. His production dropped off somewhat after he was hit by a pitch in early July, suffering a broken wrist. Allison often platooned with left-handed hitter Sandy Valdespino (#201), and he was a key factor in the Twins winning their first A.L. pennant. Allison struggled in the World Series against the Dodgers, batting just .125, but he made a memorable diving catch in Game 2 to preserve the Twins' lead and ultimately give them a win. Allison struck out nine times in the Series, with his final strikeout coming against Sandy Koufax (#300) in the ninth inning of Game 7, ending the Series and giving the title to the Dodgers.
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First Mainstream Card: 1959 Topps #116
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1959-1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2008 Topps Heritage Then & Now High Numbers #TN5
115 - Allison non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/19/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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