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Lewis Bernard Krausse
Kansas City Athletics
Pitcher
Born: April 25, 1943, Media, PA
Signed: Signed by the Kansas City Athletics as an amateur free agent, June 8, 1961
Major League Teams: Kansas City Athletics 1961, 1964-1967; Oakland Athletics 1968-1969; Milwaukee Brewers 1970-1971; Boston Red Sox 1972; St. Louis Cardinals 1973; Atlanta Braves 1974
Died: February 16, 2021, Holt, MO (age 77)
Lew Krausse was a high school pitching phenom whose arm troubles and occasional wildness contributed to a delayed start to his 12-year major league career. Krausse made eight starts with the Athletics in 1961, but then pitched most of the next four seasons in the minor leagues while he battled arm injuries and control issues. He came up to stay in 1966. Krausse won a career-high 14 games that season as the seventh place Athletics' most effective starting pitcher. Moved to the bullpen in 1967, Krausse had a severe falling out with Athletics' owner Charlie Finley, who suspended him for insubordination. When manager Alvin Dark and first baseman Ken Harrelson (#479) came to Krausse's defense, Finley fired Dark and released Harrelson. In 1968, Krausse was the team's starting pitcher for their first ever opening day in Oakland. He'd repeat the feat in 1970 as the first ever starting pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers.
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| 1964 Topps #212 |
Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #401
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 / Athletics Team Set
That's not Krausse on the card, but rather Athletics' pitching prospect Pete Lovrich, who appeared in 20 games for the team in 1963. Lovrich has his own cards in the 1963 and 1964 Topps sets.
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #401
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 Krausse card was one of 15 from that first batch of purchases, totaling $40, and it was a little less than $3 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.
The Card / Athletics Team Set
That's not Krausse on the card, but rather Athletics' pitching prospect Pete Lovrich, who appeared in 20 games for the team in 1963. Lovrich has his own cards in the 1963 and 1964 Topps sets.
The cropping of this photo also bugs me, and I wish Topps had moved the image of Lovrich over to the left about half an inch. And it's a little surprising Topps would even give Krausse a card in the set, given he appeared in 12 games back in 1961 and only five games in 1964. The cartoon on the back celebrates the 16 complete games Krausse threw in 1964 while a member of the Dallas Rangers. It seems the complete games were out of necessity as the Rangers went 53-104 that season with Krausse compiling a record of 7-19 with a 3.94 ERA.
The back also mentions his bonus received upon signing, and his father's role in bringing him to the Athletics' franchise.
1965 Season
Krausse pitched in seven games for the Athletics, making five starts, and going 2-4 with a 5.04 ERA. Most of his season was spent with the Vancouver Mounties, where he was 12-7 with a 3.22 ERA in 23 starts.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #104
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1963-1973, 1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2019 Topps Heritage Inaugural Brew Crew Autographs #IBC-LK
48 - Krausse non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/29/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
1965 Season
Krausse pitched in seven games for the Athletics, making five starts, and going 2-4 with a 5.04 ERA. Most of his season was spent with the Vancouver Mounties, where he was 12-7 with a 3.22 ERA in 23 starts.
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First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #104
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1963-1973, 1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2019 Topps Heritage Inaugural Brew Crew Autographs #IBC-LK
48 - Krausse non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/29/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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