#517 Angels Rookie Stars - Paul Schaal / Jack Warner

Paul Schaal
Los Angeles Angels
Third Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  165
Born:  March 3, 1943, Pittsburgh, PA

Signed:  Signed by the Los Angeles Angels as an amateur free agent before 1962 season
Major League Teams:  Los Angeles Angels 1964-1965; California Angels 1965-1968; Kansas City Royals 1969-1974; California Angels 1974

Died:  September 1, 2017, Waikoloa, HI (age 74)

John Joseph Warner
Los Angeles Angels
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  180
Born:  August 1, 1943, Monrovia, CA

Signed:  Signed by the Los Angeles Angels as an amateur free agent before 1962 season
Major League Teams:  California Angels 1966

Paul Schaal was a solid fielding, light hitting third baseman who was one of the first standout players for the expansion Royals.  Schaal was the Angels' regular third baseman in 1965 and 1966, but his troubles at the plate forced him into a platoon with Aurelio Rodriguez towards the late 1960s.  Left unprotected for the 1968 expansion draft, Schaal was the 27th pick by the Royals and he'd serve as a back-up infielder for the club in their inaugural season, most frequently filling in for regular third baseman Joe Foy.  Schaal earned the starting job in 1971 and enjoyed a career year, batting .274 with 11 home runs and 63 RBIs.  He'd play a few more seasons with the Royals, but the arrival of a young George Brett led to his trade back to the Angels in 1974.  In 1,128 career games, Schaal batted .244 with 57 home runs and 323 RBIs.

1966 Topps #553

Jackie Warner had a meteoric rise over the first few weeks of the 1966 season with the Angels and a swift fall a few weeks later.  The club's opening day right fielder in 1966, he batted .346 with five home runs and 13 RBIs over the first 15 games of the season.  He then went 0 for 29 over the next 16 games, while also suffering a ligament injury in his hand from a check swing.  Warner was sent back to the minor leagues in late July with his average down to .213, and he'd not return to the majors.  He played through the 1971 season in the Mets, Royals, Athletics and Astros systems and also spent time in Mexico before retiring.

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #464
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 over $7 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 / Angels Team Set
This is the rookie card for both Schaal and Warner, and Warner would appear on another Rookie Stars card in the 1966 Topps set along with the Braves' Pat Garrett.  The prediction on the back was correct for Schaal, as he'd win the Angels' third base job.  Warner spent the season in the minors and his appearance here is due to his fantastic season with the Single-A Tri-City Angels in 1964.  Warner batted .279 with 37 home runs and 106 RBIs with his home run total leading the league.

Warner is the second Jack Warner to appear in the set, with Cubs pitcher Jack Warner appearing on a Rookie Stars card (#354) earlier.

1965 Season - Schaal
Schaal was the Angels' opening day third baseman and he'd appear in 155 games overall.  He won the job out of spring training while competing with eight other potential third baseman, according to his SABR biography.  Schaal batted just .224 with nine home runs and 45 RBIs.  He was third among all American League third baseman in assists (321) behind the Yankees' Clete Boyer (#475) and the Tigers' Don Wert (#271).

There must not have been much rookie competition at third base during 1965, as Schaal was named to the Topps All-Star Rookie team for his efforts and the gold trophy is prominent on his 1966 Topps card.

1965 Season - Warner
Warner appeared in only 55 games between Double-A and Triple-A, batting .218 with seven home runs and 29 RBIs.  The Los Angeles Times article linked below mentions Warner had all but made the Angels opening day roster, but a pulled hamstring in late March landed him in the minor leagues.  The injury along with a double hernia operation later in the season severely limited his playing time.

1966 Topps #376

1967 Topps #58

1971 Topps #487

1973 Topps #416

1974 Topps #514

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Schaal
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #517
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10):  1965-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1974 Topps #514

41 - Schaal non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/2/22.

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

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Warner
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #517
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2):  1965-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1966 Topps #553

6 - Warner non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/2/22.

Sources - Warner:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Los Angeles Times

Previous Card:  #516 Al Weis - Chicago White Sox

Next Card:  #518 Ken Rowe - Baltimore Orioles