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Kenneth Lee McMullen
Washington Senators
Third Base
Born: June 1, 1942, Oxnard, CA
Signed: Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1960 season
Major League Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers 1962-1964; Washington Senators 1965-1970; California Angels 1970-1972; Los Angeles Dodgers 1973-1975; Oakland Athletics 1976; Milwaukee Brewers 1977
Ken McMullen struggled early in his career at the plate and with the glove, but improved enough in both areas to spend parts of 16 seasons in the majors. McMullen was the opening day third baseman for the Dodgers in 1963, but a batting (and fielding) slump saw him back in the minors early that season. Traded to the Senators in a seven-player trade in December 1964, McMullen was again given the chance to start and was the regular third baseman for Gil Hodges' (#99) (and later Ted Williams') team between 1965 and 1969. The late 1960s were the most productive for him and his career year came in 1969 when he batted .272 with 19 home runs and 87 RBIs. McMullen had also worked on his fielding and turned himself into one of the better third baseman in the league.
He'd spend three full seasons with the Angels, traded to the club in April 1970. Following the 1972 season, he was on the move again, this time back to the Dodgers, in the trade that sent Frank Robinson (#120) to the Angels. McMullen would see his only postseason action with the Dodgers in 1974, appearing as a pinch-hitter in the NLCS against the Pirates. He'd settle into a pinch-hitter/designated hitter role over the final seasons of his career with the Dodgers, Athletics and Brewers. In 1,583 career games, McMullen batted .248 with 156 home runs and 606 RBIs. His .961 fielding percentage at third base is currently 66th all-time.
Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #414
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 / Senators Team Set
McMullen is shown hatless, wearing a Dodgers jersey. Interestingly enough, the write-up on the back of the card refers to McMullen as a brilliant fielder. While he'd improve dramatically defensively as his career progressed, 1965 was going to be one of his toughest in the field (see below).
1965 Season
On December 4, 1964, the Dodgers dealt McMullen, Frank Howard (#40), Phil Ortega (#152) and Pete Richert (#252), along with player to be named later Dick Nen (#466), to the Senators for John Kennedy (#119) and Claude Osteen (#570). McMullen made 134 starts at third base, appearing in 150 games overall. He batted .263 with 18 home runs and 54 RBIs, with his home run and RBIs totals second on the team behind Howard who had 21 and 84 respectively. McMullen struggled mightily defensively, leading the league with 22 errors.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #537
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15): 1963-1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1981 TCMA The 1960s II #338
60 - McMullen non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/8/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #414
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 McMullen 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 / Senators Team Set
McMullen is shown hatless, wearing a Dodgers jersey. Interestingly enough, the write-up on the back of the card refers to McMullen as a brilliant fielder. While he'd improve dramatically defensively as his career progressed, 1965 was going to be one of his toughest in the field (see below).
1965 Season
On December 4, 1964, the Dodgers dealt McMullen, Frank Howard (#40), Phil Ortega (#152) and Pete Richert (#252), along with player to be named later Dick Nen (#466), to the Senators for John Kennedy (#119) and Claude Osteen (#570). McMullen made 134 starts at third base, appearing in 150 games overall. He batted .263 with 18 home runs and 54 RBIs, with his home run and RBIs totals second on the team behind Howard who had 21 and 84 respectively. McMullen struggled mightily defensively, leading the league with 22 errors.
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First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #537
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15): 1963-1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1981 TCMA The 1960s II #338
60 - McMullen non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/8/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #318 Matty Alou - San Francisco Giants
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Next Card: #320 Bob Gibson - St. Louis Cardinals
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