#331 Dodgers Rookie Stars - Al Ferrara / John Purdin

Alfred John Ferrara
Los Angeles Dodgers
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right Height:  6'1"  Weight:  200
Born:  December 22, 1939, Brooklyn, NY
Signed:  Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1959 season
Major League Teams:  Los Angeles Dodgers 1963, 1965-1968; San Diego Padres 1969-1971; Cincinnati Reds 1971

John Nolan Purdin
Los Angeles Dodgers
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  185
Born:  July 16, 1942, Lynx, OH
Signed:  Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1964 season
Major League Teams:  Los Angeles Dodgers 1964-1965, 1968-1969
Died:  March 28, 2010, Charleston, SC (age 67)

Ferrara as Atlas in Batman, 1968

Al Ferrara is a colorful character who was an accomplished pianist as a teenager, had cameos in episodes of Gilligan's Island and Batman, and also happened to play parts of eight seasons in the major leagues.  He was a member of the 1963 and 1965 Dodgers teams that won World Series titles, although he didn't appear in any of those postseason games.  Ferrara's best season came in 1967 when he appeared in 122 games for the Dodgers and batted .277 with 16 home runs and 50 RBIs.  Selected by the Padres in the expansion draft, he appeared in 138 games in both the 1969 and 1970 seasons as a back-up outfielder and pinch-hitter.  After a brief stint with the Reds in 1971 almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter, Ferrara retired from baseball.  In 574 career games, he batted .259 with 51 home runs and 198 RBIs.

John Purdin had an eventful 1964, as he was signed by the Dodgers, pitched a seven-inning perfect game for the Class A Salisbury Dodgers over the summer and made his big league debut in Dodger Stadium in September.  Purdin dazzled for the Dodgers that September, including a two-hit complete game shutout against the Cubs in his first big league start.  He'd struggle in 11 games for the Dodgers in 1965, and he wouldn't return to the club until 1968.  That was to be his career year, as Purdin appeared in 35 games and was one of the club's better relievers with a 3.07 ERA over 55 2/3 innings pitched.  He'd last appear in the majors in 1969, pitching in a final nine games for the Dodgers.  Purdin would spend time in the Angels, White Sox and Padres organizations, retiring following the 1972 season.  In 58 major league games, Purdin was 6-4 with a 3.90 ERA over 110 2/3 innings pitched.

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #419
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 Rookie Stars card which was a little less than $3 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 / Dodgers Team Set
This is Ferrara's second appearance on a Rookie Stars card, as he appeared in the 1964 Topps set on a card with Jeff Torborg.  He'd earn his first solo card in the 1966 Topps set.  The photo of Purdin looks as if it's been touched up somehow and perhaps it was a black and white photo colorized by Topps?  This is Purdin's rookie card.

1965 Season - Ferrara
Ferrara was with the Dodgers until mid-June and then returned as a September call-up.  In 41 games with the Dodgers, he batted .210, making 18 starts in right field and a pair of starts in left field.  He spent the summer months after his demotion with the Spokane Indians in the Pacific Coast League, where he batted .307 in 63 games as one of the club's regular outfielders.

1965 Season - Purdin
Purdin had a few different stints with the Dodgers, appearing in 11 games and going 2-1 with a 6.75 ERA.  I'm assuming most of his season was lost to injury as his only other statistics from 1965 are with the Dodgers' team in the Arizona Instructional League.

1964 Topps #337

1966 Topps #487

1967 Topps #557

1969 Topps #452

1971 Topps #214

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Ferrara
First Mainstream Card:  1964 Topps #337
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1964-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-AF

44 - Ferrara non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/10/22.

Sources - Ferrara:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Purdin
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #331
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4):  1965, 1968-1969, 1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1971 Topps #748

17 - Purdin non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/10/22.

Sources - Purdin:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

1968 Topps #336

1969 Topps #161

1971 Topps #748

Previous Card:  #330 Whitey Ford - New York Yankees

Next Card:  #332 Ted Abernathy - Cleveland Indians