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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
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #403
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.
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #403
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 Angels team card was the last of 15 from that first batch of purchases, totaling $40, and it was a little less than $2 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.
I found the source photo for this team card, but unfortunately it didn't include a listing of the players, coaches and club personnel featured. The same photo was used by Topps for the Angels' 1966 team card. This was the final season the relatively new franchise played its home games in Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine. In 1966, the team would move to Anaheim Stadium and to mark the change in geography, the team name was changed abruptly by owner Gene Autry from Los Angeles Angeles to California Angels on September 2, 1965. They're the only team in modern major league history to undergo a in-season name change, although I'm assuming most people still referred to them as the Los Angeles Angels at least until the start of the 1966 season.
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1965 Season
The Angels finished with a 75-87 record, placing them in seventh place in the American League. It was a step backwards from their 1964 progress, in which they finished over .500 with a 82-80 record. Manager Bill Rigney (#66) would stay at the helm until the 1969 season, and the Angels would finally reach the postseason in 1979. Shortstop Jim Fregosi (#210) was the team MVP in 1965, batting .277 and hitting 15 home runs with 64 RBIs. He would have had the team's triple crown title if not for right fielder Albie Pearson (#358) batting .278. The team's pitching was its strongest asset, with Dean Chance (#140) winning 15 games and striking out 164. Fred Newman (#101) and Marcelino Lopez (#537) were both 14-game winners. Closer Bob Lee (#46) saved 23 games for the team.
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 this was an easy exercise for the Angels. Angels players appear on five different Rookie Stars cards throughout the set, and four of the six update cards below are to give those players their own solo cards.
- Joe Adcock - Veteran Joe Adcock was the team's most used first baseman, and he'd last appear as a player in a Topps set in 1963.
- Paul Schaal - Third baseman Paul Schaal is the first of four players I'd give solo cards, and Schaal appeared on a Rookie Stars card (#517) late in the set.
- Jose Cardenal - Regular center fielder Jose Cardenal shared a Rookie Stars card with Dick Simpson (#374) in the set.
- Marcelino Lopez - Marcelino Lopez started 32 games and shared a card (#537) with the next pitcher on the list.
- Rudy May - Rudy May appeared in 30 games, making 19 starts.
- Ed Sukla - Finally, reliever Ed Sukla appeared in 25 games and his only appearance in a Topps set came on a 1966 Rookie Stars card.
Baseball Reference
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #292 Larry Yellen - Houston Astros
Next Card: #294 Tim McCarver - St. Louis Cardinals
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