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Evan Tracy Stallard
St. Louis Cardinals
Pitcher
Born: August 31, 1937, Coeburn, VA
Signed: Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent before 1956 season
Major League Teams: Boston Red Sox 1960-1962; New York Mets 1963-1964; St. Louis Cardinals 1965-1966
Died: December 6, 2017, Kingsport, TN (age 80)
Tracy Stallard pitched in 183 games over seven seasons in the majors, but he's best remembered for giving up Roger Maris' (#155) 61st home run on October 1, 1961. Stallard appeared in a career-high 43 games in 1961, making 14 starts and finishing with a 2-7 record. He'd spend almost all of 1962 in the minors before an offseason trade sent him to the Mets. With the expansion Mets in their second season, Stallard powered through 39 appearances, ultimately going 6-17 for a team that would lose 111 games overall. The next season wasn't much better as Stallard accounted for 20 of the Mets' 109 total losses, but he did own a respectable 3.79 ERA. He was also the losing pitcher in Jim Bunning's (#20) perfect game, thrown on Father's Day in 1964. Dealt to the Cardinals that December, Stallard enjoyed the best season of his career (see below) but the success was short-lived as he'd appear in only 20 games in 1966. He attempted several comebacks, pitching in the Cardinals, Cubs and Royals systems in 1967 and 1969, and pitching for three seasons in Mexico between 1971 and 1973.
For his career, Stallard was 30-57 with a 4.17 ERA over 764 2/3 innings pitched. He allowed 92 career home runs, but none nearly as famous as the shot surrendered to Maris.
Building the Set
The Card / Cardinals Team Set
Stallard is wearing a Mets jersey in this photo and the back of the card notes his offseason trade from New York to St. Louis. I'm not sure if the cartoon used here is meant to represent Stallard digging out of the basement given his departure from the Mets, or if he's buried in snow.
1965 Season
On December 7, 1964, the Mets traded Stallard and Elio Chacon to the Cardinals for Johnny Lewis (#277) and Gordie Richardson. The Cardinals were coming off their World Series victory, and Stallard earned a spot in their pitching rotation with only Bob Gibson (#320), Curt Simmons (#373) and Ray Sadecki (#230) starting more games. Stallard made 40 appearances, including 26 starts, and went 11-8 with a 3.38 ERA, which was second on the club behind Gibson.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1961 Topps #81
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6): 1961-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2015 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-TS
25 - Stallard non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/5/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
November 6, 2021 from Cooperstown, NY (Willis Monie Books) - Card #386
Needing a quick vacation and wanting to take our sons to Cooperstown for the first time, we took advantage of the annual NJEA Teacher Convention in which public schools are closed for a few days in early November. We loaded our car on Thursday morning with a loose plan of spending two days in Cooperstown and the surrounding area, shopping in the village, soaking in the Hall of Fame exhibits and eating a few good dinners. The 4 1/2 hour drive to Otsego County was scenic and enjoyable. Most of the day Friday was spent in the Hall of Fame and Saturday was dedicated largely to shopping in the many stores, mostly baseball related, located in the blocks surrounding the Hall.
Having spent Saturday morning in the Hall and then having lunch again at Doubleday Cafe, we walked down Main Street one more time to see if there were any stores we had missed. There was an old book store towards the end of Main Street and with some time to kill, I decided to have a look around. Willis Monie Books has to be seen to be believed. Thousands upon thousands of books dating back a few centuries to recent releases are haphazardly (but lovingly) stacked and piled and balanced among the multiple rows, aisles and nooks of this store. In the foyer, outside the front door, I found an out of service rotating display case with old baseball cards in it and on top of that case were more stacks of books and a few 800-count boxes of loosely organized cards from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. I probably spent well over a half hour pouring through the boxes, coming away with nine cards total from 1959, 1965 and 1969 and spending a grand total of $20. This Stallard card was one of five cards added to our 1965 set, and it set me back $2.
The Card / Cardinals Team Set
Stallard is wearing a Mets jersey in this photo and the back of the card notes his offseason trade from New York to St. Louis. I'm not sure if the cartoon used here is meant to represent Stallard digging out of the basement given his departure from the Mets, or if he's buried in snow.
1965 Season
On December 7, 1964, the Mets traded Stallard and Elio Chacon to the Cardinals for Johnny Lewis (#277) and Gordie Richardson. The Cardinals were coming off their World Series victory, and Stallard earned a spot in their pitching rotation with only Bob Gibson (#320), Curt Simmons (#373) and Ray Sadecki (#230) starting more games. Stallard made 40 appearances, including 26 starts, and went 11-8 with a 3.38 ERA, which was second on the club behind Gibson.
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First Mainstream Card: 1961 Topps #81
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6): 1961-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2015 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-TS
25 - Stallard non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/5/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
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Next Card: #492 Gene Freese - Pittsburgh Pirates
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