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Woodson George Held
Washington Senators
Infield-Outfield
Born: March 25, 1932, Sacramento, CA
Signed: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1951 season
Major League Teams: New York Yankees 1954, 1957; Kansas City Athletics 1957-1958; Cleveland Indians 1958-1964; Washington Senators 1965; Baltimore Orioles 1966-1967; California Angels 1967-1968; Chicago White Sox 1968-1969
Died: June 11, 2009, DuBois, WY (age 77)
Woodie Held, or Woody as he was known by Topps on most of his baseball cards, was a super utility player who appeared in 14 big league seasons, spending most of his career with the Indians. Held spent 6 1/2 seasons in the Yankees' minor league system before a blockbuster trade in June 1957 (including Billy Martin) sent him to the Athletics and made him that team's everyday centerfield. Held was on the move again in 1958, dealt to the Indians with Vic Power (#442) with Roger Maris (#155) heading to Kansas City. Held settled into the role of the Indians' regular shortstop, enjoying his best seasons between 1959 and 1961. He became the first Indians' shortstop to hit at least 20 home runs in a season, hitting a career-high 29 in 1959. His 85 home runs as a shortstop for the club was a record until broken by Jhonny Peralta in 2009.
After a brief stint with the Senators, Held moved on to the Orioles where he was a valuable utility player and pinch-hitter. He was on the team's World Series roster in 1966, earning a ring when the Orioles swept the Dodgers, but he didn't see any action in the four games. Held would play three more years in the majors with the Angels and White Sox before retiring. Over 1,390 games, Held collected 963 hits, batted .240 and had 179 home runs with 559 RBIs.
Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #421
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
Held is shown hatless and wearing an Indians sleeveless jersey the team first wore for its 1963 season. Topps points out his longevity on the back of the card, accurately referring to him as a "versatile veteran" who has been playing professionally since 1951.
1965 Season
On December 1, 1964, Held was traded by the Indians, with Bob Chance (#224), to the Senators for outfielder Chuck Hinton (#235). He'd be on the Senators' roster for the entire season, appearing in 122 games and making 46 starts in right field, 34 starts in center field, four starts at third base and a single start in left field. Held batted .247 for the eighth place Senators, with 16 home runs and 54 RBIs. Of the four outfielders used by the Senators throughout 1965, including Held, Don Lock (#445), Jim King (#38) and Frank Howard (#40), only Howard had a better season at the plate than Held. This was to be the last season Held appeared in at least 100 games, and he was dealt to the Orioles on October 12th for catcher John Orsino (#303).
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1958 Topps #202
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1958-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1979 TCMA The 1950s #174
74 - Held non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/17/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #421
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 Held 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
Held is shown hatless and wearing an Indians sleeveless jersey the team first wore for its 1963 season. Topps points out his longevity on the back of the card, accurately referring to him as a "versatile veteran" who has been playing professionally since 1951.
1965 Season
On December 1, 1964, Held was traded by the Indians, with Bob Chance (#224), to the Senators for outfielder Chuck Hinton (#235). He'd be on the Senators' roster for the entire season, appearing in 122 games and making 46 starts in right field, 34 starts in center field, four starts at third base and a single start in left field. Held batted .247 for the eighth place Senators, with 16 home runs and 54 RBIs. Of the four outfielders used by the Senators throughout 1965, including Held, Don Lock (#445), Jim King (#38) and Frank Howard (#40), only Howard had a better season at the plate than Held. This was to be the last season Held appeared in at least 100 games, and he was dealt to the Orioles on October 12th for catcher John Orsino (#303).
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First Mainstream Card: 1958 Topps #202
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1958-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1979 TCMA The 1950s #174
74 - Held non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/17/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
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