#515 Vern Law - Pittsburgh Pirates

Vernon Sanders Law
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  195
Born:  March 12, 1930, Meridian, ID
Signed:  Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1950-1951, 1954-1967

Vern Law spent his entire 16-year big league career with the Pirates and his dominating season in 1960 led to a World Series ring and the National League Cy Young Award.  Law made his debut in 1950 and pitched for two seasons as a swingman for the Pirates before missing two entire years while serving in the military.  He earned a spot back in the Pirates' starting pitching rotation in 1954.  Law won at least 10 games in nine different seasons and his 18-9 record in 1959 was a precursor to his career year in 1960.  He was 20-9 with a 3.08 ERA and a league leading 18 complete games that season, throwing 271 2/3 innings as the Pirates won the National League pennant for the first time since 1927.  Law was the winning pitcher in Games 1 and 4 against the Yankees, and started the decisive Game 7 before being relieved in the sixth inning with the Pirates holding a 4-1 lead.  The Yankees would battle back, but Bill Mazeroski (#95) hit his walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Pirates the Series.  Law had also started and won the second All-Star Game in 1960, pitching two scoreless innings.

While he never again enjoyed the success he found in 1960, Law continued to be a key member of the Pirates' pitching staff, winning 17 games in 1965 and earning National League Comeback Player of the Year honors.  He retired following the 1967 season with a career record of 162-147, a 3.77 ERA and 1,092 strikeouts over 2,672 innings pitched - 4th on the Pirates' all-time franchise leaderboard.  Following his playing days, Law served as the Pirates pitching coach in 1968 and 1969.  He'd go on to coach at the collegiate level, in the minor leagues and for three seasons in Japan for the Seibu Lions.  His son, Vance Law, was an All-Star in 1988 and played 11 years in the majors for the Pirates (1980-1981), White Sox (1982-1984), Expos (1985-1987), Cubs (1988-1989) and Athletics (1991).

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #463
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 Law card which was a little less than $9 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.

In the middle of all of this, Doug won one of the day's door prizes, which turned out to be an Eagles Super Bowl canvas print.  He was thrilled to win, but slightly disappointed the prize wasn't baseball related as neither of us are big football fans.

The Card / Pirates Team Set
Holy crazy large letters on the back, Batman!  The write-up on the back of the card mentions his 12-13 record in 1964 was good enough for second place in the Comeback Player of the Year voting.  Given he won the award in 1965, I'd question how someone can earn votes for the award two years in a row.

1965 Season
As mentioned a few times above, Law was the National League Comeback Player of the Year on the strength of his 17-9 record and 2.15 ERA over 29 games, including 28 starts.  He threw 13 complete games, and his ERA was third in the league behind Sandy Koufax (#300) and Juan Marichal (#50).

1951 Bowman #203

1954 Topps #235

1961 Topps #400

1966 Topps #15

1985 Topps #137

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #203
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15):  1952, 1954, 1956-1967, 1985
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-VL

116 - Law non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/1/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #514 Joe Azcue - Cleveland Indians

Next Card:  #516 Al Weis - Chicago White Sox

#514 Joe Azcue - Cleveland Indians

Jose Joaquin Azcue
Cleveland Indians
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  190
Born:  August 18, 1939, Cienfuegos, Cuba
Signed:  Signed by the Cincinnati Redlegs as an amateur free agent before 1956 season
Major League Teams:  Cincinnati Reds 1960; Kansas City Athletics 1962-1963; Cleveland Indians 1963-1969; Boston Red Sox 1969; California Angels 1970, 1972; Milwaukee Brewers 1972

Known for his strong throwing arm and the fantastic nickname, "The Immortal Azcue," Joe Azcue played in 11 big league seasons, most successfully with the Indians.  After 4 1/2 seasons in the minors, Azcue debuted with the Reds in 1960, appearing in 14 games towards the end of that season.  He wouldn't stay for a prolonged period of time in the majors until 1963 when he appeared in 94 games for the Indians, reaching career highs in both home runs (14) and RBIs (46).  Azcue and John Romano (#17) shared catching duties in 1963 and 1964, with Azcue finally getting a chance to regularly play following Romano's trade to the White Sox before the 1965 season.  Azcue would enjoy the strongest stretch of his career between 1966 and 1968 with the Indians, and he was named to the 1968 All-Star team, catching Denny McLain (#236) and teammate Sam McDowell (#76) over three innings of work.

He'd bounce around for a few years between 1969 and 1972, spending time with the Red Sox, Angels and Brewers and missing all of the 1971 season due to a contract dispute.  He played one final year professionally in 1973 as a player-coach for the Indians' Double-A affiliate in San Antonio.  For his career, Azcue batted .252 with 50 home runs and 304 RBIs.  As one of the top defensive catchers of his era, his caught stealing percentage of 45.2% is currently 96th all-time and his overall fielding percentage of .992 is 56th all-time.

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - 

Card #462

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 Azcue 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 / Indians Team Set
I'm assuming Azcue is holding his own bats here, as he wore #6 with the Indians between 1963 and 1969 and that number (upside down) is clearly visible on the knob of the bottom bat.  He's swinging one of the bats on his 1966 Topps card, white jacket still underneath his sleeveless Indians' jersey.  The back of the card refers to the Indians now relying on Azcue as their regular catcher after the trade of Romano and Azcue's surprising power numbers in 1963.

1965 Season
With Romano gone, Azcue was the team's opening day and regular catcher, with either Cam Carreon (#578) or Duke Sims most frequently backing him up.  Azcue appeared in 111 games, batting .230 with a pair of home runs and 35 RBIs.

1962 Topps #417

1963 Topps #501

1966 Topps #452

1968 Topps #443

1971 Topps #657

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1962 Topps #417
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10):  1962-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1978 TCMA The 1960s I #36

49 - Azcue non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/26/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #513 New York Yankees Team Card

Next Card:  #515 Vern Law - Pittsburgh Pirates

#512 Cap Peterson - San Francisco Giants

Charles Andrew Peterson
San Francisco Giants
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  195
Born:  August 15, 1942, Tacoma, WA
Signed:  Signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent before 1960 season
Major League Teams:  San Francisco Giants 1962-1966; Washington Senators 1967-1968; Cleveland Indians 1969
Died:  Mat 16, 1980, Tacoma, WA (age 37)

With a nickname derived from his full name's initials, Cap Peterson played in parts of eight major league seasons, getting the most regular playing time in the late 1960s with the Senators.  He peaked in the minors, enjoying a career year in 1962 with the Double-A El Paso Sun Kings, when he batted .335 with 29 home runs and 130 RBIs.  That fantastic season earned him a September call-up and he appeared in his first four games with the Giants late in the 1962 season, with the team on its way to winning the National League pennant.  Peterson would play sparingly with the Giants over the next few seasons before coming up to stay in 1965.  He was used mostly as a pinch-hitter.

In December 1966 he was dealt to the Senators for the pitcher who would win the 1967 National League Cy Young Award - Mike McCormick (#343).  Peterson saw regular playing time with the Senators over two seasons, and was their opening day right fielder in 1967.  He appeared in a career-high 122 games that season, batting .240 with eight home runs and 46 RBIs.  He also led all American League right fielders with six errors.  Peterson would stick around through the 1972 season, playing in the Indians and Twins organizations.  In 536 games, he earned a lifetime batting average of .230 with 19 home runs and 122 RBIs.

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - 

Card #461

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 Peterson 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 / Giants Team Set
Peterson's rookie card can be found in the 1964 Topps set, where he shared a National League Rookie Stars card with the Cardinals' Phil Gagliano (#503).  The back of the card highlights his start as an infielder, and he made good use of his versatililty during his playing days, appearing at every position except pitcher, catcher and center field.

1965 Season
This was Peterson's first full season in the majors, and he'd appear in 63 games for the Giants, batting .248 with three home runs and 15 RBIs.  He made only 23 starts all season, with 20 starts in left field and three starts in right field.

1964 Topps #568

1966 Topps #349

1967 Topps #387

1968 Topps #188

1969 Topps #571

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1964 Topps #568
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1964-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #571

20 - Peterson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/26/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #511 Ron Locke - New York Mets

Next Card:  #513 New York Yankees Team Card

#509 Red Sox Rookie Stars - Bob Guindon / Gerry Vezendy

Robert Joseph Guindon
Boston Red Sox
First Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  185
Born:  September 4, 1943, Brookline, MA
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent, June 9, 1961
Major League Teams:  Boston Red Sox 1964

Gerald Michael Vezendy
Boston Red Sox
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  190
Born:  December 13, 1942, Berwick, PA
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent before 1964 season

I can't summarize Bobby Guindon's baseball career any better than Bill Nowlin did in the first sentence of Guindon's SABR biography, so I'm going to take the rare cut and paste route here:  "Bobby Guindon’s major-league career spanned nine days in 1964, but he worked hard for six more years hoping for another shot, even converting from a first baseman/outfielder to a pitcher after a horrific encounter with a snow blower permanently hampered his ability to grip a baseball bat."  Guindon appeared in five games for the Red Sox, going 1 for 8 (.125) with his sole big league hit a double off the Tigers' Joe Sparma (#587) in Guindon's final big league game on September 27, 1964.  The snow blower incident happened several years later, prior to the 1967 season, resulting in Guindon trying to reinvent himself as a pitcher.  He retired from baseball following the 1970 season during which he spent the year with the Cardinals' top affiliate.

Jerry Vezendy pitched in parts of three minor league seasons within the Red Sox and Cardinals organizations, never making it to the majors.  In 62 minor league games, including 50 starts, he was 18-24 with a 4.24 ERA and 341 strikeouts over 316 innings pitched.

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - 

Card #460

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 $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 / Red Sox Team Set
This is the first and last mainstream baseball card for both Guindon and Vezendy.  The back of the card indicates both had been optioned to Triple-A Toronto in April 1965, but only Guindon spent any time with the Maple Leafs (see below).  The Rookie of the Year honors were bestowed upon Guidon in 1962 for his career year playing for the Olean Red Sox.

1965 Season - Guindon
Guindon bounced around in 1965, starting the season with Toronto Maple Leafs, then the Red Sox Triple-A team.  In early May, he was sent to the Seattle Angels, the Angels top affiliate, where he continued to struggle with the bat.  Guindon was sent back to Toronto on June 13th, where he finished out the season.  In 114 total games, he batted .206 with nine home runs and 38 RBIs.

1965 Season - Vezendy
Like Guindon, Vezendy began the season in the minor leagues, but with the Double-A Pittsfield Red Sox.  He was 0-3 there with a 5.32 ERA in eight games.  Vezendy was acquired by the Cardinals at some point mid-season and he'd spend the rest of the year with their Single-A affiliate in Raleigh.  He'd go 6-6 with a 4.03 ERA in 15 games with the Raleigh Cardinals.

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Guindon
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #509
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #509

4 - Guindon non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/26/22.

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

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Vezendy
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #509
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #509

2 - Vezendy non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/26/22.

Sources - Vezendy:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Previous Card:  #508 7th Series Checklist 507-598

Next Card:  #510 Ernie Banks - Chicago Cubs

#496 Joe Cunningham - Washington Senators

Joseph Robert Cunningham
Washington Senators
First Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  180
Born:  August 27, 1931, Paterson, NJ
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1954, 1956-1961; Chicago White Sox 1962-1964; Washington Senators 1964-1966
Died:  March 25, 2021, Chesterfield, MO (age 89)

Joe Cunningham appeared in 12 big league seasons, making his debut with the Cardinals in 1954 and then spending over two decades working within the Cardinals organization following his retirement as a player.  The beginning of Cunningham's baseball career was delayed while he spent two years serving in the military during the Korean War.  After a few short stints with the Cardinals, he came up to stay in 1957 and was frequently used off the bench by the club.  Given the chance to play regularly in right field in 1959, Cunningham enjoyed a career year, as he was named to both All-Star teams, led the league with a .453 on-base percentage and was runner-up to Henry Aaron (#170) for the batting title with a .345 mark.

The Cardinals traded him to the White Sox following the 1961 season for future Hall of Famer Minnie Minoso.  Cunningham moved back to first base and enjoyed a solid season in 1962, batting .295 with 70 RBIs and earning American League MVP votes following the season.  He'd suffer a broken collarbone on June 3, 1963, after falling awkwardly following a collision with Angels' first baseman Charlie Dees.  Cunningham would play three more seasons with the White Sox and Senators before retiring.  He rejoined the Cardinals organization in 1968 and he'd stay with the club until the early 1990s as a minor league manager, front office executive and as a coach on the 1982 team that won the World Series.  Cunningham owned a lifetime .291 average with 980 hits in 1,141 games played.

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - 

Card #459

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 Cunningham 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 / Senators Team Set
The back of the card mentions his impressive career batting average, and his runner-up status in the 1959 batting title race.  Cunningham, at card #63, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of two Senators in the set. 

1965 Season
Cunningham joined the Senators in July 1964, traded to the team in the deal that sent Bill Skowron (#70) to the White Sox.  He appeared in 95 games with the Senators in 1965, making 43 starts at first base as the back-up first to Bob Chance (#224) and later to Dick Nen (#466).  Cunningham made 36 pinch-hitting appearances, batting .185 (5 for 27) in that role with one home run.  The pinch-hit home run came on August 14th in the 11th inning off Orioles' pitcher Don Larsen (#389), ultimately winning the game for the Senators.  In 95 total games, Cunningham batted .229 with three home runs and 20 RBIs.

1955 Topps #37

1959 Topps #285

1961 Topps #520

1964 Topps #340

1966 Topps #531

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Topps #37
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1955, 1957-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2012 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-JC

68 - Cunningham non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/26/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #495 Joe Christopher - New York Mets

Next Card:  #497 Giants Rookie Stars

#495 Joe Christopher - New York Mets

Joseph O'Neal Christopher
New York Mets
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  175
Born:  December 13, 1935, Frederiksted, U.S. Virgin Islands
Signed:  Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent before 1955 season
Major League Teams:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1959-1961; New York Mets 1962-1965; Boston Red Sox 1966

The Pirates recalled Joe Christopher in May 1959, when Roberto Clemente (#160) went down with an elbow injury, and he made his big league debut during Harvey Haddix's (#67) near 13-inning perfect game on May 26, 1959.  With the Pirates, Christopher served as a back-up outfielder to Clemente, Bill Virdon (#69) and Bob Skinner (#591), and scored a pair of runs in 1960 World Series as a pinch-hitter and pinch-runner.  The Pirates defeated the Yankees in seven games on Bill Mazeroski's (#95) walk-off, Game 7 home run.  Left unprotected in the expansion draft, Christopher was the tenth pick overall and the fifth pick by the Mets in 1961.  He'd get his chance for every day playing time in 1964, serving as the Mets' regular right fielder and enjoying a career year.  Christopher batted .300 that season with 16 home runs and 76 RBIs, one of the few bright spots for a Mets team that would lose 109 games.

He'd move to left field for the Mets in 1965, and then appear in his final major league action with the Red Sox in 1966.  Christopher would play for six different organizations in 1966 and 1967, making several different minor league stops.  He'd continue to play in Puerto Rico and Mexico through the 1972 season before finally retiring as a player.  In 638 big league games, Christopher batted .260 with 29 home runs and 173 RBIs.

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - 

Card #458

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 Christopher 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 / Mets Team Set
There's an excellent chance the photos used for each of Christopher's Topps cards between 1963 and 1966 were all taken at the same session.  The back of the card highlights his successful minor league career, and unfortunately the prediction of "several more years as a major league regular" was a bit off.  Christopher, at card #52, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of four Mets in the set.  He's also in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set.

Christopher is the second player we've added to the set born in the U.S. Virgin Islands, with the first being Al McBean (#25).

1965 Season
Christopher moved to left field and was the Mets' opening day starter at that position.  He'd lose playing time to Ron Swoboda (#533) as the season progressed, but he finished the year as the team's regular right fielder again.  He appeared in 148 games overall, making 62 starts in left field and 48 starts in right field, batting .249 for the season with five home runs and 40 RBIs.

Phillies Connection
Christopher's last baseball action stateside came with the Double-A Reading Phillies in 1968.  As one of the few veterans on the club, he batted . 258 in 102 games with seven home runs and 43 RBIs.  Christopher was one of three most frequently used outfielders by the Reading team, along with fellow veteran Howie Bedell and Steven Kolinsky.

1961 Topps #82

1963 Topps #217

1964 Topps #546

1966 Topps #343

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1961 Topps #82
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1961, 1963-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2015 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-JC

27 - Christopher non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/25/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #494 Jay Ritchie - Boston Red Sox

Next Card:  #496 Joe Cunningham - Washington Senators

#490 Earl Battey - Minnesota Twins

Earl Jesse Battey
Minnesota Twins
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  205
Born:  January 5, 1935, Los Angeles, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before 1953 season
Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1955-1959; Washington Senators 1960; Minnesota Twins 1961-1967
Died:  November 13, 2003, Ocala, FL (age 68)

Earl Battey spent his first five seasons in the majors as a back-up catcher and occasional pinch-hitter for the White Sox before a trade to the Senators in April 1960 gave him the chance to start on a regular basis.  With the Senators in 1960, he won his first of three Gold Gloves while finishing eighth in the American League MVP voting.  When the Senators relocated to Minnesota for the 1961 season, Battey was the opening day catcher for the Twins and he'd begin the best stretch of his career.  Battey was a five-time All-Star between 1962 and 1966, starting each of his first four All-Star Game appearances.  In 1963, he batted .285 while setting career highs in both home runs with 26 and RBIs with 84.  He'd help guide the Twins to the American League pennant in 1965, solidifying an already potent line-up that also consisted of Zoilo Versalles (#157), Tony Oliva (#340) and Harmon Killebrew (#400).

Battey retired following the 1967 season with 969 career hits over 1,141 games.  He batted .270 with 104 home runs and 449 RBIs, and his 831 games behind the plate for the Twins rank highest in franchise history.  He was named to the Twins' 40th anniversary team in 2000, and posthumously inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2004.

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - 

Card #457

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 Battey 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 / Twins Team Set
The cartoon highlight on the back of the card celebrates his three Gold Glove wins, won between 1960 and 1962.  Reference is also made to the "Little League head protector" Battey wore while batting.  He was one of the first major leaguers to wear an earflap on his batting helmet due to twice being hit in the face and suffering broken cheekbones in 1961.  Battey, at card #70, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of four Twins in the set.

1965 Season
Battey appeared in 131 games, batting .297 with six home runs and 60 RBIs.  He led all American League players in votes for the All-Star Game, and he started the game behind the plate in his home ballpark, Metropolitan Stadium.  He went 0 for 2 in the game against Juan Marichal (#50) and Jim Maloney (#530).  For the season, he led all American League catchers in runners caught stealing (26) and caught stealing percentage (48.1%).  Battey started all seven games in the World Series for the Twins, but struggled at the plate going 3 for 25 (.120) against the Dodgers.

1957 Topps #401

1960 Topps #328

1962 Topps #371

1964 Topps #90

1967 Topps #15

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1957 Topps #401
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1957-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2006 SP Legendary Cuts #7

96 - Battey non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/25/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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