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William Oliver O'Dell
Milwaukee Braves
Pitcher
Born: February 10, 1933, Whitmire, SC
Signed: Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent, June 8, 1954
Major League Teams: Baltimore Orioles 1954, 1956-1959; San Francisco Giants 1961-1964; Milwaukee Braves 1965; Atlanta Braves 1966; Pittsburgh Pirates 1966-1967
Died: September 12, 2018, Newberry, SC (age 85)
As a bonus baby signed by the Orioles in 1954, lefty pitcher Billy O'Dell never spent a day in the minor leagues during his 13-year professional career. His best seasons came with the Orioles in 1958 and 1959, as he was an All-Star both years and went a combined 24-23 with a 2.95 ERA in 79 games, including 49 starts. In 1958 he led the American League with a 2.686 strikeout to walk ratio. O'Dell was traded to the Giants following the 1959 season, and he'd pitch in over 200 innings in three of five years with the team, including a career-high 280 2/3 innings pitched in 1962. O'Dell, Jack Sanford (#228) and Juan Marichal (#50) helped lead the Giants to the National League pennant in 1962, with O'Dell going 19-14 with a 3.53 ERA in a team-leading 39 starts. The Giants fell to the Yankees in the World Series in seven games, with O'Dell losing Game 1 to Whitey Ford (#330).
O'Dell would move to the bullpen full time during the 1964 season, and in 1965 with the Braves he appeared in 62 games while earning a career-high 19 saves. He'd settle into a middle relief role over the final two seasons of his career with the Braves and Pirates. In 479 career games, including 199 starts, O'Dell was 105-100 with a 3.29 ERA and 1,133 strikeouts over 1,817 innings pitched.
Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #453
The Card / Braves Team Set
O'Dell's flat top is on full display here, as he's shown hatless while wearing a Giants uniform. He'd go hatless again in his final two Topps flagship set appearances in 1966 and 1967. The cartoon highlight on the back of the card is fairly random, showcasing his 5-0 record against the Washington Senators in 1958. He appeared in seven games that season against the Senators, saving the two games he didn't win.
1965 Season
The Braves acquired O'Dell on February 1st from the Giants for All-Star catcher Ed Bailey (#559). As the team's closer, he had a team-leading 2.18 ERA over 111 1/3 innings pitched. His 19 saves were fourth best in the National League, with the Cubs' Ted Abernathy (#332) leading the league with 31. His 62 appearances were fifth best in the league with Abernathy again leading with 84.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1955 Topps #57
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1955, 1957-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2016 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-BO
55 - O'Dell non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/20/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #453
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 O'Dell 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 / Braves Team Set
O'Dell's flat top is on full display here, as he's shown hatless while wearing a Giants uniform. He'd go hatless again in his final two Topps flagship set appearances in 1966 and 1967. The cartoon highlight on the back of the card is fairly random, showcasing his 5-0 record against the Washington Senators in 1958. He appeared in seven games that season against the Senators, saving the two games he didn't win.
1965 Season
The Braves acquired O'Dell on February 1st from the Giants for All-Star catcher Ed Bailey (#559). As the team's closer, he had a team-leading 2.18 ERA over 111 1/3 innings pitched. His 19 saves were fourth best in the National League, with the Cubs' Ted Abernathy (#332) leading the league with 31. His 62 appearances were fifth best in the league with Abernathy again leading with 84.
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First Mainstream Card: 1955 Topps #57
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1955, 1957-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2016 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-BO
55 - O'Dell non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/20/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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