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William Charles Stafford
New York Yankees
Pitcher
Born: August 13, 1938, Catskill, NY
Signed: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1957 season
Major League Teams: New York Yankees 1960-1965; Kansas City Athletics 1966-1967
Died: September 19, 2001, Wayne, MI (age 63)
Bill Stafford pitched in parts of eight seasons in the majors and he was a key component on the Yankees teams that won the World Series in 1961 and 1962. Stafford won 14 games during the regular season in each of those two years, with only Whitey Ford (#330) and Ralph Terry (#406) starting more games than him for the Yankees. He finished second in the American League in ERA in 1961 with a 2.68 mark. Stafford pitched in four World Series games overall with the Yankees and was the Game 3 winning pitcher in 1962. In the highlight of his career, Stafford pitched a complete game against the Giants, allowing four hits and striking out five as the Yankees would ultimately win in seven games. He was hampered by injuries over the next few seasons and he moved to the bullpen in 1964 where he went 5-0 with a 2.67 ERA over 31 games pitched. Stafford spent his final two big league seasons with the Athletics, pitching more for their minor league teams than in Kansas City. He attempted comebacks over the next two years, but his baseball career ended when the expansion Pilots released him at the end of spring training in 1969.
Stafford's career record was 43-40 over 186 games, with a 3.53 ERA, 449 strikeouts and two well-earned World Series rings.
Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #389
You'll be seeing this particular passage on my 1965 Topps blog for quite some time as we added a whopping 97 cards to our set during the December Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show. If I'm ambitious and compose posts for five cards a week, I should be completely caught up by the end of May. If I'm not as ambitious, I might still be going through this stack by the time we hit July. Either way, I'll enjoy the process and I'm looking forward to taking my time. I've posted a complete summary of this fantastic show over at The Phillies Room.
The Card / Yankees Team Set
This is Stafford's final Topps card, and his years with the Athletics would be undocumented in the next few Topps sets. The back of the card celebrates his World Series heroics and his second place ERA from the 1961 season.
1965 Season
In his final season in New York, Stafford's shoulder injury limited him to only 22 games as he missed significant time in May and September, and the entire month of July. He was 3-8 with a 3.56 ERA over 111 1/3 innings pitched, including 15 starts, fifth most on the club.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1961 Topps #213
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5): 1961-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #281
39 - Stafford non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/12/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #389
You'll be seeing this particular passage on my 1965 Topps blog for quite some time as we added a whopping 97 cards to our set during the December Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show. If I'm ambitious and compose posts for five cards a week, I should be completely caught up by the end of May. If I'm not as ambitious, I might still be going through this stack by the time we hit July. Either way, I'll enjoy the process and I'm looking forward to taking my time. I've posted a complete summary of this fantastic show over at The Phillies Room.
Looking to kill some time while we were waiting for our number to be called for Doug's autograph from Jim Thome, I found a bargain bin of 1965 Topps cards at Uncle Dick's and I texted Doug that I'd be standing at the table where the dealers were wearing neon green shirts. This Stafford card was one of 15 from that first batch of purchases, totaling $40, and it was a little less than a $1 after the dealer discount. After getting the Thome autograph, and grabbing a slice of pizza from the "food court" upstairs, I'd settle in at Uncle Dick's for my second and biggest haul of the show.
The Card / Yankees Team Set
This is Stafford's final Topps card, and his years with the Athletics would be undocumented in the next few Topps sets. The back of the card celebrates his World Series heroics and his second place ERA from the 1961 season.
1965 Season
In his final season in New York, Stafford's shoulder injury limited him to only 22 games as he missed significant time in May and September, and the entire month of July. He was 3-8 with a 3.56 ERA over 111 1/3 innings pitched, including 15 starts, fifth most on the club.
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First Mainstream Card: 1961 Topps #213
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5): 1961-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #281
39 - Stafford non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/12/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #280 Dick Stuart - Philadelphia Phillies
Previous Card: #280 Dick Stuart - Philadelphia Phillies
Next Card: #282 Giants Rookie Stars
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