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Kenneth Leo Retzer
Minnesota Twins
Catcher
Born: April 30, 1934, Wood River, IL
Signed: Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1954 season
Major League Teams: Washington Senators 1961-1964
Died: May 17, 2020, Sun City, AZ (age 86)
Ken Retzer spent four years in the majors with the Senators and was their primary catcher in 1962 and 1963. He enjoyed a career year in 1962, appearing in 109 games and batting .285 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs while serving in a catching platoon with the right-handed hitting Bob Schmidt (#582). Retzer saw regular playing time again in 1963, appearing in 95 games, but again sharing catching duties, this time with Don Leppert and Hobie Landrith. One of the biggest thrills of his career came on opening day in 1963, when Retzer caught the ceremonial first pitch thrown by President John F. Kennedy. He'd make the Senators opening day roster in 1964, but was optioned down to the Triple-A Toronto Maple Leafs in mid-May, not returning to the majors until rosters expanded in September. Retzer then began a three-year journey that saw him spend time playing for minor league teams in the Twins, Astros, Orioles and Indians organizations, but he'd not make it back to the majors. In 237 big league games, Retzer batted .264 with 14 home runs and 72 RBIs.
Building the Set
June 19, 2021 from Moorestown Mall Baseball Card Show - Card #329
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 Retzer card cost a little over $2.
The Card / Twins Team Set
This is Retzer's final appearance in a Topps flagship set, and he's wearing a Senators uniform in the photo. The back of the card prematurely predicted that he'd spend the seasons as the Twins' back-up to regular catcher Earl Battey (#490). With Retzer spending the entire season in the minors (see below), Jerry Zimmerman (#299) served as Battey's back-up. Topps reprinted this card for Retzer to sign as part of their 2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs insert set. I imagine Retzer may have felt a little strange signing the cards as he never played for the Twins.
1965 Season
On October 15, 1964, in a deal involving two back-up catchers, the Senators dealt Retzer to the Twins for Joe McCabe (#181). Retzer seemed destined to land a roster spot with the Twins, but the club went with the younger John Sevcik (#597) to open the season as Battey's back-up. He played 108 games for the Triple-A Denver Bears, batting .270 with five home runs and 39 RBIs. Prior to the start of the 1966 season, Retzer was on the move again, traded to the Astros for outfielder Walt Bond (#109).
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First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #594
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4): 1962-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-KR
16 - Retzer non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 9/6/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #277 Johnny Lewis - New York Mets
Previous Card: #277 Johnny Lewis - New York Mets
Next Card: #279 Dick Tracewski - Los Angeles Dodgers
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