#379 San Francisco Giants Team Card

Beginning in 1956 and going all the way through to 1981, with a one year absence in 1969, Topps included team cards in its flagship sets.

Building the Set

October 12, 2021 from Valley Cottage, NY - Card #377

This Giants team card along with three other cards needed for our set were bonus additions to a large purchase I made from OLDBBCards Vintage Sports Cards from Valley Cottage, New York on my birthday.  The bubble envelope containing the cards arrived a little over a week later.  I'm also slowly collecting the 1934-36 Diamond Stars set, and I took advantage of the seller's 20% off sale being offered in their eBay store to add the Earl Averill card, the most expensive card I've purchased for that set to date.  Before checking out, I browsed the seller's other cards for sale and found four reasonably priced cards needed for our 1965 Topps set.  This team card was $5.60 after applying the discount.

I spent a relatively low-key birthday watching our oldest son Doug help his team win a travel baseball game in the morning, receiving the Pete Rose (#207) card for our set, and then walking over to my sister's house for a cook-out with family that afternoon.  It was a wonderful day!

 

The Card / Giants Team Set

Topps uses a black border for this card while every other Giants card in the set uses a purple border.  This team photo is actually from 1964.  In 1992, what appears to be a team-issued stadium giveaway postcard set was created, featuring Giants team photos from 1958 to 1992.  I've included the postcard for 1964 above, and the the back of the postcard has a handy reference guide, listing everyone included in the photo.  Duke Snider makes his final appearance in a Topps flagship set as he's in the back row, sixth from the right.  Don Larsen (#389), however, is not in the photo, meaning the picture could have been taken after May 20th, when Larsen was sold to the Colt .45s.  Strangely enough, Topps went back to an older photo of the team for the Giants' team card in the 1966 set.

1963 Topps #417

1964 Topps #257

1966 Topps #19

1967 Topps #516

1965 Season

In his first season leading the team, manager Herman Franks (#32) guided the Giants to a second place finish, just two games behind the Dodgers with a 95-67 record.  The Giants missing the playoffs could be attributable to the nine-game suspension received by pitching ace Juan Marichal (#50) for striking Dodgers' catcher John Roseboro (#405) with his bat on August 22nd.  While batting, Marichal believed Roseboro was coming too close to him when throwing the ball back to the pitcher and an argument ensued.  Roseboro removed his catching helmet and Marichal struck him in the head with his bat.  Marichal's resulting suspension cost him two starts, and perhaps cost the Giants the pennant.  Roseboro and Marichal would reconcile in later years.

Marichal was the team's top starting pitcher with 22 wins and a 2.13 ERA, and closer Frank Linzy (#589) was their top reliever with 20 saves.  Willie Mays (#250) had an incredible season on the way to winning his second league MVP award.  He batted .317, led the league in slugging, on-base percentage and home runs (a career high 52) while driving in 112 runs.  Willie McCovey (#176 - 39 home runs, 92 RBIs) and Jim Ray Hart (#395 - 23 home runs, 96 RBIs) also had impressive seasons.

Update Cards

For each team card featured, I'll be building a checklist of cards that could have been included in a 1965 Topps update set.  I'm trying to come up with six potential cards for each team, and for the Giants, this exercise was easy given how active they were during the season with transactions.

• Dick Schofield - The team's regular shortstop has a card in the set with the Pirates (#218), but he played in 101 games for the Giants after his acquisition on May 22nd.
• Len Gabrielson - Regular left fielder Gabrielson is in the set with the Cubs (#14), but the Giants acquired him on May 29th.
• Warren Spahn - The future Hall of Famer was in his last lap around the National League.  He was released by the Mets on July 17th and signed by the Giants a few days later, eventually appearing in 19 games.  He has a "pitcher-coach" card with the Mets earlier in the set (#205).
• Frank Linzy - The team's closer shares a Rookie Stars card with infielder Bob Schroder (#589), but I'd give him a solo card.
• Masanori Murakami - Same thing goes for Murakami, the first Japanese-born player in the majors, who shared a Rookie Stars card with Dick Estelle (#282).
• Bill Henry - Finally, reliever Henry is in the set with the Reds (#456) but he made 35 appearances with the Giants after a May 4th trade.

Sources
Baseball Reference

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #378 Chuck Estrada - Baltimore Orioles

Next Card:  #380 Rocky Colavito - Cleveland Indians

#409 Astros Rookie Stars - Jim Beauchamp / Larry Dierker

James Edward Beauchamp
Houston Astros
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  190
Born:  August 21, 1939, Vinita, OK
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1958 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1963; Houston Colt .45s 1964; Houston Astros 1965; Milwaukee Braves 1965; Atlanta Braves 1967; Cincinnati Reds 1968-1969; Houston Astros 1970; St. Louis Cardinals 1970-1971; New York Mets 1972-1973
Died:  December 25, 2007, Union City, GA (age 68)

Lawrence Edward Dierker
Houston Astros
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  215
Born:  September 22, 1946, Hollywood, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Houston Colt .45s as an amateur free agent before 1964 season
Major League Teams:  Houston Colt .45s 1964; Houston Astros 1965-1976; St. Louis Cardinals 1977
As a Manager:  Houston Astros 1997-2001

Jim Beauchamp's best year in baseball came in 1963 when he hit .337 with 31 home runs and 105 RBIs for the Tulsa Oilers, winning Texas League MVP honors.  He'd go on to appear in parts of 10 major league seasons as an outfielder, first baseman and pinch-hitter, with two separate stints with both the Cardinals and Astros.  He appeared in a career high 77 games for the Cardinals in 1971 and wrapped up his playing career with two seasons for the Mets.  His final games as a player came during the 1973 World Series, when he went 0 for 4 as a pinch-hitter, as the Mets lost to the Athletics in seven games.  Beauchamp managed in the minors between 1975 and 1990, and joined the Braves' major league coaching staff in 1991.  He served as the bench coach for manager Bobby Cox between 1991 and 1998, winning a World Series ring with the Braves in 1995.  Upon his passing, the Braves wore a memorial patch with his nickname "Beach" during their 2008 season.

With the exception of a brief stint at the end of his pitching career with the Cardinals, Larry Dierker has been a part of the Houston organization since the club drafted him at the age of 17.  He made his big league debut on his 18th birthday and would pitch with the Astros for the next 12 seasons.  Dierker was a two-time All-Star (1969, 1971) and a 20-game winner in 1969.  That was his career year, as he set personal bests for wins, starts (37), complete games (20), innings pitched (305 1/3) and strikeouts (232).  In his final full season, Dierker pitched a no-hitter on July 9, 1976 against the Expos.  He moved to the Astros broadcast booth between 1979 and 1996, and was named the team's manager in 1997.  Dierker won Manager of the Year honors in 1998 when he guided the Astros to 102 wins and their second division title in as many years.  He'd take the Astros to the NLDS four times between 1997 and 2001, but they never won a series.  The Astros retired his #49 in 2002, and he was inducted into the Houston Astros Hall of Fame in 2019.

Building the Set

October 12, 2021 from Valley Cottage, NY - Card #376

This Astros Rookie Stars card along with three other cards needed for our set were bonus additions to a large purchase I made from OLDBBCards Vintage Sports Cards from Valley Cottage, New York on my birthday.  The bubble envelope containing the cards arrived a little over a week later.  I'm also slowly collecting the 1934-36 Diamond Stars set, and I took advantage of the seller's 20% off sale being offered in their eBay store to add the Earl Averill card, the most expensive card I've purchased for that set to date.  Before checking out, I browsed the seller's other cards for sale and found four reasonably priced cards needed for our 1965 Topps set.  The Beauchamp/Dierker card was $8 after applying the discount.

I spent a relatively low-key birthday watching our oldest son Doug help his team win a travel baseball game in the morning, receiving the Pete Rose (#207) card for our set, and then walking over to my sister's house for a cook-out with family that afternoon.  It was a wonderful day!

The Card / Astros Team Set
Beauchamp would appear on three Rookie Stars cards, first in 1964 with Mike White (#31), then on this card, and finally in 1966 with Dick Kelley.  The back of the card appropriately comments on Beauchamp's success in 1963 in the Texas League.  This is Dierker's rookie card, and Topps has blacked out the .45s logo that would have been on his hat.

1965 Season - Beauchamp
Beauchamp made the Astros' opening day roster and was their opening day right fielder.  He started off hot, but slumped by mid-May when his average was down to .189.  On May 23rd, the Astros traded Beauchamp and Ken Johnson (#359) to the Braves for Lee Maye (#407).  Beauchamp would spend the bulk of the season playing for the Triple-A Atlanta Crackers, where he'd hit .259 in 88 games.  He earned a September call-up and appeared in four games with the Braves, going 0 for 3 with a sacrifice fly, all as a pinch-hitter

1965 Season - Dierker
Dierker made 26 appearances for the Astros, including 19 starts.  He went 7-8 with a 3.50 ERA over 146 2/3 innings pitched with 109 strikeouts.  Dierker was the club's most frequently used fourth starter behind Bob Bruce (#240), Turk Farrell (#80) and Don Nottebart (#469).

1964 Topps #492

1967 Topps #307

1971 Topps #322

1972 Topps #594

1974 Topps #424

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Beauchamp
First Mainstream Card:  1964 Topps #492
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9):  1964-1967, 1969, 1971-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1990 CMC #283

66 - Beauchamp non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/3/21.

Sources - Beauchamp:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Dierker
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #409
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (16):  1965-1978, 2001-2002
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2002 Topps Chrome #286

94 - Dierker non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/3/21.

Sources - Dierker:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

1966 Topps #228

1969 Topps #411

1976 Topps #75

1978 Topps #195

2002 Topps #286

Previous Card:  #408 Larry Sherry - Detroit Tigers

Next Card:  #410 Luis Aparicio - Baltimore Orioles

#387 Johnny Podres - Los Angeles Dodgers

John Joseph Podres
Los Angeles Dodgers
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  170
Born:  September 30, 1932, Witherbee, NY
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1951 season
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1953-1955, 1957; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-1966; Detroit Tigers 1966-1967; San Diego Padres 1969
Died:  January 13, 2008, Glens Falls, NY (age 75)

Johnny Podres forever joined the ranks of Dodger greats when the lefty won 1955 World Series MVP honors for his two fantastic starts against the Yankees in the Fall Classic.  Podres started Game 3, pitching a complete game in the Dodgers' win, and then started the decisive Game 7, pitching a complete game shutout to give the team their first and only World Series title while in Brooklyn.  Podres settled in as a reliable starter for Brooklyn and then Los Angeles, winning at least 12 games over the next seven seasons and making four All-Star teams.  He led the league with six shutouts in 1957 while winning the ERA title with a 2.66 mark.  Podres attained a career-high 18 wins in 1961, and he'd win two more World Series rings with the Dodgers in 1959 and 1963.  He retired as a player following a half-season with the expansion Padres in 1969.  Podres was 148-116 over 440 career games, pitching 77 complete games and 24 shutouts.  He struck out 1,435 over his 15-year big league career, currently 249th on the all-time leader's list.  Podres' 136 career wins with the Dodgers currently ranks 10th all-time for the franchise.

1996 Phillies Photo Cards #46

Podres served as a long-time pitching coach in the majors, working for the Padres (1973), Red Sox (1980), Twins (1981-1985) and Phillies (1991-1996).

Building the Set

October 12, 2021 from Valley Cottage, NY - Card #375

This Podres card along with three other cards needed for our set were bonus additions to a large purchase I made from OLDBBCards Vintage Sports Cards from Valley Cottage, New York on my birthday.  The bubble envelope containing the cards arrived a little over a week later.  I'm also slowly collecting the 1934-36 Diamond Stars set, and I took advantage of the seller's 20% off sale being offered in their eBay store to add the Earl Averill card, the most expensive card I've purchased for that set to date.  Before checking out, I browsed the seller's other cards for sale and found four reasonably priced cards needed for our 1965 Topps set.  Podres was a little over $10 after applying the discount.

I spent a relatively low-key birthday watching our oldest son Doug help his team win a travel baseball game in the morning, receiving the Pete Rose (#207) card for our set, and then walking over to my sister's house for a cook-out with family that afternoon.  It was a wonderful day!

The Card / Dodgers Team Set
The back of the card references Podres' four World Series wins - two in 1955, one in 1959 and a final win in 1963.

1965 Season
Podres underwent elbow surgery in 1964 and appeared in only two games.  After strengthening his repaired arm in the offseason in the Arizona Fall League, Podres rejoined the Dodgers and appeared in 27 games throughout the season, making 22 starts as the team's most regularly used fourth starter behind Sandy Koufax (#300), Don Drysdale (#260) and Claude Osteen (#570).  The former World Series star didn't appear in any games during the 1965 World Series, in which the Dodgers defeated the Twins in seven games.

Phillies Career
Podres was hired as the Phillies pitching coach on October 31, 1990, after spending the prior five seasons as a minor league coach with the Dodgers.  He joined manager Nick Leyva's coaching staff as the replacement for Darold Knowles (#577), who had departed after two seasons at the post.  Podres stuck around following Leyva's dismissal 13 games into the 1991 season, and he was a key member of new manager Jim Fregosi's (#210) coaching staff throughout the early 1990s.  Podres is credited with helping Curt Schilling, Tommy Greene, Ben Rivera, and other young Phillies pitchers find early success in their careers.  He went to his final World Series with the club in 1993, with the Phillies falling in six games to Joe Carter and the Blue Jays.  Podres left the team during the 1996 season to deal with health issues and was replaced on an interim basis by Jim Wright.  Following the 1996 season, and in connection with the hiring of new manager Terry Francona, Podres was replaced by Galen Cisco (#364) as the team's full-time pitching coach.

1953 Topps #263

1955 Topps #25

1959 Topps #495

1963 Topps #150

1969 Topps #659

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1953 Topps #263
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (17):  1953-1967, 1969, 1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2015 Topps Stepping Up #SU-4

367 - Podres non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/3/21.

Sources:  
1956 Topps Blog

1991 Phillies Media Guide

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #386 Cubs Rookie Stars

Next Card:  #388 John Blanchard - New York Yankees

#500 Ed Mathews - Milwaukee Braves

Edwin Lee Mathews
Milwaukee Braves
Third Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  190
Born:  October 13, 1931, Texarkana, TX
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Braves as an amateur free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams:  Boston Braves 1952; Milwaukee Braves 1953-1965; Atlanta Braves 1966; Houston Astros 1967; Detroit Tigers 1967-1968
As a Manager:  Atlanta Braves 1972-1974
Hall of Fame Induction:  1978
Died:  February 18, 2001, La Jolla, CA (age 69)

Eddie Mathews is widely acknowledged as the best National League third baseman of his era, having made nine All-Star teams, winning a World Series ring with the Braves in 1957 and accumulating 512 career home runs.  He led the league in 1953 and 1959 in home runs, finishing as the runner-up for the National League MVP award in both those seasons.  Mathews drove in 100 or more runs in five different seasons and hit 30 or more home runs in nine straight seasons between 1953 and 1961.  He had his final 30-home run season for the Braves in 1965.

A long-time member of the Braves franchise, he's the only player to play with the club during each of their three city stops in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta.  A well-known and star player in his third big league season, Mathews appeared on the cover of the very first issue of Sports Illustrated in 1954.  Later in his career, Mathews won a second World Series ring as a member of the Tigers in 1968.  He accumulated 2,315 career hits and a .271 career average, and when he retired he ranked sixth on the all-time home run leaders list, and first in games played at third (2,181), assists at third (4,322) and chances at third (6,371).

Following his retirement, Mathews had his #41 retired by the Braves in 1969.  He coached for the Braves in 1971 and managed the team between 1972 and 1974, compiling a managerial record of 149-161.  He was the team's manager when Hank Aaron (#170) hit his record-breaking 715th home run to pass Babe Ruth on the all-time list, but he was fired shortly thereafter.  Mathews was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1978, his fifth time appearing on the ballot.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.

Building the Set

October 12, 2021 from Valley Cottage, NY - Card #374

This Mathews card along with three other cards needed for our set were bonus additions to a large purchase I made from OLDBBCards Vintage Sports Cards from Valley Cottage, New York on my birthday.  The bubble envelope containing the cards arrived a little over a week later.  I'm also slowly collecting the 1934-36 Diamond Stars set, and I took advantage of the seller's 20% off sale being offered in their eBay store to add the Earl Averill card, the most expensive card I've purchased for that set to date.  Before checking out, I browsed the seller's other cards for sale and found four reasonably priced cards needed for our 1965 Topps set.  Mathews was priced at an extremely reasonable $20 after applying the discount, and upon closer inspection now this card might be a good candidate for a potential upgrade down the line.

I spent a relatively low-key birthday watching our oldest son Doug help his team win a travel baseball game in the morning, receiving the Pete Rose (#207) card for our set, and then walking over to my sister's house for a cook-out with family that afternoon.  It was a wonderful day!

The Card / Braves Team Set
I'm fairly certain this is the first card in the set I've encountered where the player's first name is different on the front and back of the card.  He's Ed on the front and the less formal Eddie on the back.  The cartoon on the back highlights Mathews' status as the third active home run leader with 445 total through 1964.  Mickey Mantle (#350) was atop the list with 454 and Willie Mays (#250) was second with 453.  Mathews, at card #26, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of four Braves in the set.

1965 Season
In the Braves' final season in Milwaukee, Mathews put together another solid year, and it would be his final year of star-quality production.  He started 146 games at third base, with either Miguel de la Hoz or Denis Menke (#327) getting the rare start at third when Mathews would take a day off.  He led the team with 95 RBIs and was tied with Aaron for the team lead in home runs with 32.  On August 20th, Mathews hit his 28th home run of the season and the 773rd overall for the Mathews-Aaron duo, placing them atop the all-time teammate leaderboard, passing the 772 hit by Ruth and Lou Gehrig.  Mathews and Aaron would ultimately hit a combined 863 home runs as teammates through the 1966 season.

1952 Topps #407

1954 Topps #30

1959 Topps #450

1968 Topps #58

1974 Topps #634

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #407
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (19):  1952-1968, 1973-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2021 Topps Living Set #379

1,079 - Mathews non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/3/21.

Sources:  
1956 Topps Blog

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #499 Stu Miller - Baltimore Orioles

Next Card:  #501 Indians Rookie Stars

#569 Gino Cimoli - Los Angeles Angels

Gino Nicholas Cimoli
Los Angeles Angels
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  180
Born:  December 18, 1929, San Francisco, CA

Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1956-1957; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958; St. Louis Cardinals 1959; Pittsburgh Pirates 1960-1961; Milwaukee Braves 1961; Kansas City Athletics 1962-1964; Baltimore Orioles 1964; Los Angeles Angels 1965

Died:  February 12, 2011, Roseville, CA (age 81)

Gino Cimoli was an All-Star with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1957 and he'd go on to be one of the unlikely heroes of the 1960 Pirates team that defeated the Yankees in the World Series in seven games.  He bounced around often during his 10-year big league career, spending time with seven different teams.  Cimoli enjoyed his finest seasons in the late 1950s with the Dodgers and Cardinals, batting a career-high .293 during his 1957 All-Star season and driving in a career high 72 runs with the Cardinals in 1959.  On April 15, 1958, he made history as the lead-off batter for the Dodgers in the first baseball game to be played on the West Coast, in Seals Stadium in San Francisco.  Cimoli was a back-up outfielder on the 1960 Pirates team, but was pressed into duty during the World Series when left fielder Bob Skinner (#591) injured his thumb.  As a pinch-hitter in Game 7, he started a key five-run eighth inning rally, leading off with a single off Yankees' pitcher Bobby Shantz and ultimately scoring the first run of the inning.  The Yankees battled back in the top of the ninth, but Bill Mazeroski (#95) hit his historic walk-off home run to win the game and the series.

Cimoli next settled in as the regular right fielder for the Athletics in 1962 and 1963, leading the league in triples in 1962 with 15.  He batted. 265 over his major league career, with 808 hits, 44 home runs and 321 RBIs.

Building the Set
September 29, 2021 from Los Angeles, CA - Card #372
With everyone back in school, the Phillies' playoff hopes growing dimmer, my workload picking up at my chosen profession and a dwindling pile of purchased 1965 Topps cards to compose posts for, I decided I was in need of a nice stack of commons (and some semi-stars) for our set.  Over the course of an enjoyable evening, mostly while sitting in my car in a parking lot next to where Doug's baseball team was practicing, I bid on about 45 cards up for auction from Greg Morris Cards, located in Los Angeles.  When the dust settled and I checked my phone the next morning, I had won 19 cards, ranging in price from $1.75 to $11 and averaging around $4 per card.  This Cimoli card was mine with a winning bid of $3.25.  Doug's free time is spent practicing baseball, Ben has found he thoroughly enjoys his school's cross country team, and I have a stack of 1965 Topps cards to study and write about whenever I need a break from adulting.  All is well.

The Card / Angels Team Set
Granted, I still need roughly 200 cards to complete our set, but I'm calling it now that Cimoli wins best pompadour in the 1965 Topps set, no doubt about it.  I'm guessing Cimoli is wearing an Orioles jersey here as he appeared in 38 games for the team in 1964 and the Orioles road jerseys had dark stitching circling the neck, similar to what Cimoli is wearing.  The only other option is this is an old picture of Cimoli and he's wearing a road Dodgers uniform.  On the back, Topps acknowledges this could very well be the end for Cimoli's career, noting he had been released by the Angels on May 9th.

1965 Season
Cimoli was released by the Orioles at some point in early 1965, signing with the Angels on April 10th.  He made it into only four games with the Angels, going 0 for 5 with a pair of strikeouts before the team released him for the second time.  Cimoli landed with the Spokane Indians in the Pacific Coast League, which was being managed at the time by his former teammate Duke Snider.  He played in 33 games, batting .235, before calling it a career.

1957 Topps #319

1959 Topps #418

1961 Topps #165

1962 Topps #402

1964 Topps #26

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1957 Topps #319
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9):  1957-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2002 Topps Super Teams #48

55 - Cimoli non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/2/21.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #568 Ron Taylor - St. Louis Cardinals

Next Card:  #570 Claude Osteen - Los Angeles Dodgers