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James Wayne Causey
Kansas City Athletics
Shortstop
Born: December 26, 1936, Ruston, LA
Signed: Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent, June 4, 1955
Major League Teams: Baltimore Orioles 1955-1957; Kansas City Athletics 1961-1966; Chicago White Sox 1966-1968; California Angels 1968; Atlanta Braves 1968
As a bonus baby signing by the Orioles in 1955, Wayne Causey spent the first 2 1/2 seasons on the team's big league roster, playing sparingly. He appeared in 135 games overall for the Orioles, seeing the most action in his first season as an 18-year-old, when he made 41 starts for the team at third base. With Brooks Robinson (#150) coming up, Causey's time with the Orioles ultimately came to an end and he'd next play in the majors with the Athletics in 1961. With the Athletics, he enjoyed his best seasons in 1963 and 1964 as the team's regular shortstop, earning MVP votes in both seasons. He batted a career-high .281 in 1964 and led the league with 265 times on base, but struggled somewhat defensively, finishing third in the American League with 25 errors.
Causey retired following the 1968 season after serving as a back-up infielder and pinch-hitter for the White Sox, Angels and Braves. In 1,105 career games, he collected 819 hits, batting .252 with 35 home runs and 285 RBIs.
Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #439
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
The photo used is the exact same used for Causey's 1963 and 1964 Topps cards, and it was taken at some point during the 1963 season as that's the first season the Athletics wore the kelly green and gold road uniforms. The #2 is visible on Causey's uniform, and there are two Athletics players lounging in the dugout behind him. Zooming in, it looks as if the uniform numbers visible are #11 and #1, and in 1963 those numbers belonged to Jerry Lumpe (#353) and Sammy Esposito or Dick Howser (#92), respectively. The cartoon on the back of the card references Causey's bonus baby status. His team-leading .281 average in 1964 is also highlighted, and Rocky Colavito (#380) had finished second on the Athletics with a .274 average.
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #439
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 Causey 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 / Athletics Team Set
The photo used is the exact same used for Causey's 1963 and 1964 Topps cards, and it was taken at some point during the 1963 season as that's the first season the Athletics wore the kelly green and gold road uniforms. The #2 is visible on Causey's uniform, and there are two Athletics players lounging in the dugout behind him. Zooming in, it looks as if the uniform numbers visible are #11 and #1, and in 1963 those numbers belonged to Jerry Lumpe (#353) and Sammy Esposito or Dick Howser (#92), respectively. The cartoon on the back of the card references Causey's bonus baby status. His team-leading .281 average in 1964 is also highlighted, and Rocky Colavito (#380) had finished second on the Athletics with a .274 average.
This card must have been on the top of the pack as there's wax residue on the card's front. Causey, at card #21, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of three Athletics in the set. He's also in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set.
1965 Season
Causey spent the entire season as a back-up infielder, spelling Dick Green (#168) at second base, Ed Charles (#35) at third base and Bert Campaneris (#266) at shortstop. Overall, he was in the starting line-up 132 times, making 59 starts at shortstop, 40 starts at second base and 33 starts at third base. In 144 games, his second highest single season total, Causey batted .261 with three home runs and 34 RBIs.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #496
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1962-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #8
40 - Causey non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/11/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
1965 Season
Causey spent the entire season as a back-up infielder, spelling Dick Green (#168) at second base, Ed Charles (#35) at third base and Bert Campaneris (#266) at shortstop. Overall, he was in the starting line-up 132 times, making 59 starts at shortstop, 40 starts at second base and 33 starts at third base. In 144 games, his second highest single season total, Causey batted .261 with three home runs and 34 RBIs.
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First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #496
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1962-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #8
40 - Causey non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/11/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #424 Gary Bell - Cleveland Indians
Previous Card: #424 Gary Bell - Cleveland Indians
Next Card: #426 Milwaukee Braves Team Card
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