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William Nelson Moran
Cleveland Indians
Second Base
Born: November 27, 1933, Montgomery, AL
Signed: Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1952 season
Major League Teams: Cleveland Indians 1958-1959; Los Angeles Angels 1961-1964; Cleveland Indians 1964-1965
Billy Moran played in parts of seven seasons with the Indians and Angels, enjoying a career year in 1962 and earning MVP votes that season. Moran was a surprise star with the Angels in their second year of existence, and he was the league's starting second baseman in both All-Star Games in 1962, beating out the eventual league MVP runner-up, Bobby Richardson (#115), for the honors. Moran played in 160 games that season, attaining his career high triple crown numbers with a .282 average, 17 home runs and 74 RBIs. He came back down to earth in 1963, hitting .275 over 153 games, while leading all American League second baseman in putouts and assists, but also errors with 22. He'd lose his job in 1964 to Bobby Knoop (#26), and the Angels dealt him back to his original club, the Indians, as part of a three-team trade in June 1964. Moran appeared in 91 games for the Indians in 1964 and 1965 before retiring. In 634 games, Moran batted .263 with 545 hits, 28 home runs and 202 RBIs.
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 Moran 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 / Indians Team Set
This is Moran's sixth and final appearance in a Topps flagship set, and the card was reprinted for Moran to sign in 2014. The back of the card features a cartoon version of Moran wearing a star bra, representing his two All-Star Game appearances in 1962. Topps chooses the wording, "Breaking into the professional wars," to describe Moran's entrance into professional baseball, and I've never heard it phrased that way before.
1965 Season
Moran appeared in 22 games for the Indians throughout the season, earning only 24 at-bats. He hit .125 (3 for 24) to wrap up his big league career. He also played in 26 games for the Triple-A Portland Beavers, his first trip down to the minors since 1961. With the Beavers, Moran hit .298 with five home runs and 15 RBIs.
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First Mainstream Card: 1958 Topps #388
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6): 1958-1959, 1962-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-BM
22 - Moran non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/2/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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