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Lawrence Donald Locke
Los Angeles Angels
Pitcher
Born: March 3, 1934, Rowes Run, PA
Signed: Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1953 season
Major League Teams: Cleveland Indians 1959-1961; St. Louis Cardinals 1962; Philadelphia Phillies 1962-1964; Cincinnati Reds 1965; California Angels 1967-1968
Died: June 4, 2020, Dunbar, PA (age 86)Major League Teams: Cleveland Indians 1959-1961; St. Louis Cardinals 1962; Philadelphia Phillies 1962-1964; Cincinnati Reds 1965; California Angels 1967-1968
Born Lawrence Donald, but given the nickname Bobby, Bobby Locke played in parts of nine major league seasons, seeing the most action of his career with the Indians in the early 1960s. Locke's best season came in 1960 when he appeared in 32 games for Cleveland and was 3-5 with a 3.37 ERA over 123 innings pitched. He set personal career highs in just about every pitching category and along with Johnny Klippsten (#384) and Dick Stigman (#548) was one of the top relievers that year for the Indians. Locke was dealt to the Cubs following the 1961 season, beginning a journey that would see him pitch with six different organizations throughout the rest of the decade.
He'd appear in a total of 43 big league games between 1962 and 1967 with the Cardinals, Phillies, Reds and Angels. Locke would last appear in the majors with the Angels in 1968, appearing in 29 games and going 2-3 with a 6.44 ERA. He'd pitch in the minors in the Yankees system in 1969 before retiring. In 165 career appearances, Locke was 16-15 with a 4.02 ERA in 416 2/3 innings pitched.
Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #415
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 Locke 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 / Angels Team Set
Locke appeared on five Topps flagship cards between 1960 and 1968, and there's a really good chance the photos used for all five were taken at the same session at some point during Locke's rookie season of 1959. His 1960, 1961 and 1965 cards all feature the same or a very similar pitching pose, while his 1962 and 1968 cards use the exact same hatless photo. He wore #29 during his time in Cleveland between 1959 and 1961. The back of the card mentions his success in the minor leagues and his recent stint with the Phillies.
1965 Season
On October 15, 1964, the Phillies sold Locke to the Angels. He'd start the season with the Angels' Triple-A team in Seattle, appearing in 27 games and compiling a 12-5 record with a 3.21 ERA in 16 starts and 140 innings pitched. His success in the minors wasn't rewarded by the Angels, as he never pitched for the club. However, on June 28th, he was dealt to the Reds for Jim Coates. Locke made it into 11 games for the Reds, all in relief, and had a 0-1 record with a 5.71 ERA over 17 1/3 innings pitched.
Phillies Career
Locke spent almost all of three seasons in the Phillies' system, pitching mostly for their Triple-A team in Arkansas. He was dealt by the Cardinals to the Phillies on April 28, 1962 for Don Ferrarese. Locke missed most of the 1962 season with a leg injury but he did make it into five games for the Phillies. He recovered in 1963, appearing in 21 games for the Arkansas Travelers and nine games for the Phillies. In 1964, he made 48 appearances for the Travelers, and was a September call-up. He arrived just in time to witness the team's historic collapse, pitching in eight games, none of which the Phillies won. Locke's totals with the club included a record of 1-0, a 4.53 ERA over 22 games pitched and 27 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings. Despite pitching in three different years with them, he never appeared on a Phillies baseball card.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1960 Topps #44
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5): 1960-1962, 1965, 1968
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2017 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-BLO
19 - Locke non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/8/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #415
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 / Angels Team Set
Locke appeared on five Topps flagship cards between 1960 and 1968, and there's a really good chance the photos used for all five were taken at the same session at some point during Locke's rookie season of 1959. His 1960, 1961 and 1965 cards all feature the same or a very similar pitching pose, while his 1962 and 1968 cards use the exact same hatless photo. He wore #29 during his time in Cleveland between 1959 and 1961. The back of the card mentions his success in the minor leagues and his recent stint with the Phillies.
1965 Season
On October 15, 1964, the Phillies sold Locke to the Angels. He'd start the season with the Angels' Triple-A team in Seattle, appearing in 27 games and compiling a 12-5 record with a 3.21 ERA in 16 starts and 140 innings pitched. His success in the minors wasn't rewarded by the Angels, as he never pitched for the club. However, on June 28th, he was dealt to the Reds for Jim Coates. Locke made it into 11 games for the Reds, all in relief, and had a 0-1 record with a 5.71 ERA over 17 1/3 innings pitched.
Locke spent almost all of three seasons in the Phillies' system, pitching mostly for their Triple-A team in Arkansas. He was dealt by the Cardinals to the Phillies on April 28, 1962 for Don Ferrarese. Locke missed most of the 1962 season with a leg injury but he did make it into five games for the Phillies. He recovered in 1963, appearing in 21 games for the Arkansas Travelers and nine games for the Phillies. In 1964, he made 48 appearances for the Travelers, and was a September call-up. He arrived just in time to witness the team's historic collapse, pitching in eight games, none of which the Phillies won. Locke's totals with the club included a record of 1-0, a 4.53 ERA over 22 games pitched and 27 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings. Despite pitching in three different years with them, he never appeared on a Phillies baseball card.
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First Mainstream Card: 1960 Topps #44
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5): 1960-1962, 1965, 1968
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2017 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-BLO
19 - Locke non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/8/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #323 Hank Bauer MG - Baltimore Orioles
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