 |
 |
Joseph Clifton Martin
Chicago White Sox
Catcher
Born: December 13, 1936, Axton, VA
Signed: Signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before 1956 season
Major League Teams: Chicago White Sox 1959-1967; New York Mets 1968-1969; Chicago Cubs 1970-1972
J.C. Martin began his career as a third baseman and first baseman, until White Sox manager Al Lopez (#414) convinced him to return to the minor leagues and learn how to catch. As the regular catcher for the White Sox in 1963 and 1964, Martin struggled at the plate, batting .205 and .197 respectively, and behind the plate on defense. He led the American League in passed balls in 1964 with 24 and a record-setting 33 in 1965, due in part to having to catch knuckle-ballers Hoyt Wilhelm (#276) and Eddie Fisher (#328). Martin improved both his offense and defense over the next few seasons, and was dealt to the Mets following the 1967 season. With the Mets, Martin, along with Duffy Dyer, was one of two back-up catchers to regular Jerry Grote (#504). In 1969, the Amazing Mets shocked the baseball world by winning the National League pennant and advancing to the World Series.
 |
| 1970 Topps #308 |
Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #430
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 Martin card which was a little less than $4 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 / White Sox Team Set
That's Martin's uniform number 12 peaking through on his right shoulder. The back of the card makes reference to his start as a first baseman and includes his full minor and major league statistics.
1965 Season
After spending the 1964 season as the primary catcher for the White Sox, and struggling in the role, Martin returned to a back-up role in 1965 for John Romano (#17). Martin appeared in 119 games, making 41 starts behind the plate and three starts at first base. He improved dramatically at the plate, batting .261 with a pair of home runs and 21 RBIs. His struggles continued defensively, as his 33 passed balls stood as a single-season record for catchers until broken in 1987 by Rangers' catcher Geno Petralli who had 35.
|
|
|
|
|
First Mainstream Card: 1960 Leaf #92
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15): 1960-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2001 Upper Deck Legends of NY Game Bat #LMB-JM
69 - Martin non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/28/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #381 Al Jackson - New York Mets
Previous Card: #381 Al Jackson - New York Mets
Next Card: #383 Felipe Alou - Milwaukee Braves
No comments:
Post a Comment