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Albert Lee Stange
Cleveland Indians
Pitcher
Born: October 27, 1936, Chicago, IL
Signed: Signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent before 1957 season
Major League Teams: Minnesota Twins 1961-1964; Cleveland Indians 1964-1966; Boston Red Sox 1966-1970; Chicago White Sox 1970
Died: September 21, 2018, Riverview, FL (age 81)
Primarily a relief pitcher throughout his 10-year big league career, Lee Stange's best season came during the Impossible Dream pennant chase for the 1967 Red Sox. Stange began his career within the Senators/Twins organization and he made his major league debut during the third game of the Twins' existence in 1961. Starting 20 games in 1963, and appearing in 32 games overall, Stange was a 12-game winner. He was dealt to the Indians in June 1964, with 1965 being his only full season in Cleveland. On June 2, 1966, Stange was traded with Don McMahon (#317) to the Red Sox for Dick Radatz (#295) and he'd join the Boston pitching staff as a swing man. Stange and Gary Bell (#424) each started 24 games for the Red Sox in 1967, second only to Jim Lonborg's (#573) 39 starts. Stange was 8-10 with a 2.77 ERA in 35 games, throwing 181 2/3 innings, again second on the staff to Lonborg. Improbably reaching the World Series, Stange pitched two innings in Game 3, allowing an unearned run. The Cardinals would defeat the Red Sox in seven games.
Stange would pitch for three more seasons with the Red Sox and White Sox, retiring following the 1970 campaign. In 359 games, Stange was 62-61 with a 3.56 ERA and 718 strikeouts over 1,216 innings pitched. He'd serve as the major league pitching coach for the Red Sox (1972-1974, 1981-1984), Twins (1975) and Athletics (1977-1979). Stange remained in the Red Sox system through the early 1990s as a minor league pitching coach.
Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #444
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 / Indians Team Set
It's nice to see Topps was able to get a photo of Stange in an Indians uniform, given he wasn't acquired by Cleveland until June 15, 1964. His football scholarship from Drake University is celebrated in cartoon form. Indians teammate Jack Kralick (#535) gets mentioned, and Stange and Kralick had been teammates on the Twins between 1961 and 1963.
1965 Season
Stange was used mostly as a reliever in his only full season in Cleveland. He appeared in 41 games overall, making 12 starts, and was 8-4 with a 3.34 ERA in 132 innings pitched.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #321
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1962-1971, 1973-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1993 Fleer ProCards #1615
55 - Stange non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/12/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #444
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 Stange 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
It's nice to see Topps was able to get a photo of Stange in an Indians uniform, given he wasn't acquired by Cleveland until June 15, 1964. His football scholarship from Drake University is celebrated in cartoon form. Indians teammate Jack Kralick (#535) gets mentioned, and Stange and Kralick had been teammates on the Twins between 1961 and 1963.
1965 Season
Stange was used mostly as a reliever in his only full season in Cleveland. He appeared in 41 games overall, making 12 starts, and was 8-4 with a 3.34 ERA in 132 innings pitched.
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First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #321
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1962-1971, 1973-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1993 Fleer ProCards #1615
55 - Stange non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/12/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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