#183 Dave Nicholson - Chicago White Sox

David Lawrence Nicholson
Chicago White Sox
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  215
Born:  August 29, 1939, St. Louis, MO
Signed:  Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent, January 26, 1958
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1960, 1962; Chicago White Sox 1963-1965; Houston Astros 1966; Atlanta Braves 1967

When Dave Nicholson stepped to the plate, there was usually only one of two outcomes - a towering home run or a strikeout.  Nicholson had a career year in 1959 playing in the Orioles' minor league system, launching 35 home runs and collecting 115 RBIs while batting .292.  That earned him a promotion in 1960 but he struggled at the plate, batting just .186 with 55 strikeouts in 133 plate appearances.  After a brief return to the Orioles in 1962, Nicholson was dealt to the White Sox where he was the club's opening day left fielder in 1963 and 1964.  He hit 22 home runs in 1963, but led the league with 175 strikeouts.  Nicholson's most memorable moment came on May 6, 1964, when he hit a home run that completely left Comiskey Park.  The home run was estimated to have been hit 573 feet!

Dealt to Houston following the 1965 season, Nicholson was the Astros' opening day left fielder in 1966.  He last appeared in the majors with the Braves in 1967 and then spent two full seasons with the Braves and Royals Triple-A teams in 1968 and 1969.  For his big league career, Nicholson batted .212 over 538 games with 61 home runs and 179 RBIs.

Building the Set
June 19, 2021 from Moorestown Mall Baseball Card Show - Card #310
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 Nicholson card was around $1.60.

The Card / White Sox Team Set
Topps wisely highlights Nicholson's 35 home run season on the back of the card.  I feel like most of the White Sox cards I've added to our set so far have featured players wearing a non-White Sox jersey, so it's refreshing to see an actual White Sox uniform here.

1965 Season
With the arrival of Danny Cater (#253), Nicholson saw his playing time in the White Sox outfield significantly decrease.  He appeared in only 54 games, batting a career-worst .153 (13 for 85) with a pair of home runs and 12 RBIs.  Nicholson made only 21 starts and as mentioned above, he was traded to the Astros following the season.  On December 1st, Nicholson and Bill Heath were dealt to Houston in exchange for Raymond Cordeiro, Jack Lamabe (#88) and cash.

1961 Topps #182

1963 Topps #234

1964 Topps #31

1966 Topps #576

1969 Topps #298

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1961 Topps #182
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1961-1967, 1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1978 TCMA The 1960s I #99

37 - Nicholson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/19/21.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #182 Mike de la Hoz - Milwaukee Braves

Next Card:  #184 John Boozer - Philadelphia Phillies