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Donald Ralph Wert
Detroit Tigers
Third Base
Born: July 29, 1938, Strasburg, PA
Signed: Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent before 1958 season
Major League Teams: Detroit Tigers 1963-1970; Washington Senators 1971
The light-hitting but solid-fielding Don Wert spent nine years in the majors, with seven of those years as the dependable and everyday third baseman for the Tigers. Popular during his time with the Tigers, Wert's best season came in 1965 when he appeared in all 162 games and batted .261 with 12 home runs and 53 RBIs. Wert led all American League third baseman with a .976 fielding percentage, marking the only year during the decade of the 1960s in which someone other than Brooks Robinson (#150) led the league in that category. The Detroit beat writers named Wert "Tiger of the Year," and he finished tenth in the league in MVP voting. On June 24, 1968, Wert was beaned in the head by Indians pitcher Hal Kurtz and he spent two nights in the hospital after being carried off the field. He was never the same hitter again. Due to his popularity, Wert was selected to the 1968 All-Star Game and he doubled off the Mets' Tom Seaver in the eighth inning.
It was Wert's ninth inning, game-winning hit on September 17th that clinched the American League pennant for the Tigers, sending them to the World Series for the first time since 1945. Wert struggled in the Series, but the Tigers prevailed over the Cardinals in seven games. Wert and Denny McLain (#236) were traded to the Senators following the 1970 season, and Wert appeared in 20 games for the Senators in 1971, batting just .050 (2 for 40) before his release on June 24th. For his career, he batted .242 with 77 home runs and 365 RBIs, and he's currently in the top 100 all-time among third baseman for assists and double plays turned.
Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #408
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 / Tigers Team Set
On the back, Topps didn't have a lot to go with so they opted to highlight Wert's minor league accolades from 1960 and 1961. As I'm slowly building the set, and as I compare cards from each team, I'm noticing the emergence of patterns with some of the photos taken. A lot of the Tigers cards have what appear to be a grandstand and other buildings in the background, which I'm assuming is from their spring training home. Of the cards I have so far, the buildings are noticeable on Wert's card, along with the cards for Norm Cash (#153), Willie Horton (#206), McLain and Phil Regan (#191).
1965 Season
As this was his career year, I've already highlighted the key numbers from Wert's 1965 season above. He started all but one game at third base, with Jake Wood (#547) getting the sole other start on August 31st. Wert's most regular teammates in the infield included Cash at first base, Jerry Lumpe (#353) at second base, with Dick McAuliffe (#53) starting the season at shortstop, but Ray Oyler (#259) finishing the season at the position.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #299
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1962, 1964-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #163
49 - Wert non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/2/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #408
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.
After securing Doug's Jim Thome autograph, I returned to Uncle Dick's and their neon green shirts, pulled up a chair, and settled in. Over the course of 45 minutes or so, I found 79 cards needed for our set, including this Wert card which was a little less than $2 after the dealer discount. I was surrounded by six or seven other seated collectors, all who looked similar to me, with a touch of gray, focused on their individual quests. I wiped out Uncle Dick's two 1965 Topps commons binders, paid for my haul and then retreated to a table with Doug to update our checklist.
The Card / Tigers Team Set
On the back, Topps didn't have a lot to go with so they opted to highlight Wert's minor league accolades from 1960 and 1961. As I'm slowly building the set, and as I compare cards from each team, I'm noticing the emergence of patterns with some of the photos taken. A lot of the Tigers cards have what appear to be a grandstand and other buildings in the background, which I'm assuming is from their spring training home. Of the cards I have so far, the buildings are noticeable on Wert's card, along with the cards for Norm Cash (#153), Willie Horton (#206), McLain and Phil Regan (#191).
1965 Season
As this was his career year, I've already highlighted the key numbers from Wert's 1965 season above. He started all but one game at third base, with Jake Wood (#547) getting the sole other start on August 31st. Wert's most regular teammates in the infield included Cash at first base, Jerry Lumpe (#353) at second base, with Dick McAuliffe (#53) starting the season at shortstop, but Ray Oyler (#259) finishing the season at the position.
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First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #299
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1962, 1964-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #163
49 - Wert non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/2/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
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