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Roy Edward Sievers
Washington Senators
First Base
Born: November 18, 1926, St. Louis, MO
Signed: Signed by the St. Louis Brown as an amateur free agent, October 14, 1944
Major League Teams: St. Louis Browns 1949-1953; Washington Senators 1954-1959; Chicago White Sox 1960-1961; Philadelphia Phillies 1962-1964; Washington Senators 1964-1965
Died: April 3, 2017, Spanish Lake, MO (age 90)
A prolific American League slugger, usually overshadowed by the likes of Mickey Mantle (#350) and Ted Williams, Roy Sievers was the Rookie of the Year in 1949 and a four-time All-Star. Over his 17-year big league career, he slugged 318 home runs and tallied 1,147 RBIs with a lifetime .267 batting average. Playing for the basement dwelling Senators, his offensive feats weren't as publicized as those of his counterparts in New York and Boston, but Topps did see fit to give him a Baseball Thrills card in its 1959 set to highlight his accomplishments.
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| 1959 Topps #465 |
With Gil Hodges (#99) gaining induction into the Hall of Fame in 2022, Sievers is the last remaining early member of the 300 home run club not in the Hall of Fame. Sievers also holds the distinction of playing for both Washington expansion teams, finding the most success with the franchise that would ultimately become the Twins in 1961 and then finishing his career with the franchise that would move to Texas and become the Rangers in 1972.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.
Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #476
You'll be seeing this particular passage on my 1965 Topps blog for a little bit longer as we added a whopping 97 cards to our set during the December Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show. I was fairly ambitious documenting these purchases and I was able to compose posts for five cards a week, meaning I'll be completely caught up by the end of May. The ongoing MLB owner's lockout and the lack of any spring training games has given me a little more spare time than usual in February and March. I've posted a complete summary of this fantastic show over at The Phillies Room.
The Card / Senators Team Set
This is Sievers' 15th and final appearance in a Topps flagship set, and the back of the card contains his entire major league output, save for his final 12 games in 1965. Topps reprinted the card in 2014 for Sievers to sign as part of the Topps Heritage Real One Autographs insert set.
1965 Season
Sievers made seven starts at first base and had five pinch-hitting appearances, batting .190 (4 for 21) and playing in his final game on May 9th. The team released him on May 15th and after unsuccessful tryouts with the White Sox and Cardinals, Sievers retired and ended his 17-year big league career.
Phillies Career
On November 28, 1961, the White Sox traded Sievers to the Phillies for John Buzhardt (#458) and Charley Smith (#22). Having moved to first base for good in 1959 due to lingering shoulder issues, the Phillies picked up Sievers to take over that position from fading prospect Pancho Herrera.
Sievers provided a veteran presence in an otherwise young clubhouse, as the 35-year-old Sievers was the only regular on the 1962 Phillies club older than 27. Along with Don Demeter (#429), Tony Gonzalez (#72) and Johnny Callison (#310), that 1962 team boasted the first quartet of players in franchise history to each hit at least 20 home runs.
Sievers' production fell in 1963 due a fractured rib suffered in spring training when he was hit by a Jim Maloney (#530) fastball. He hit only 19 home runs that season, with his biggest blast being his 300th career home run on June 19th. That home run, off Mets' reliever Roger Craig (#411), was a walk-off two-run shot to give the Phillies a 2-1 victory. Struggling at the start of the 1964 season, Sievers was sold to the expansion Senators (the second version) where he was used primarily as a pinch-hitter for the remainder of the season.
In his 2 1/2 years with the Phillies, Sievers hit .244 over 331 games, hitting 44 home runs and driving in 178 runs. He had a number of Phillies baseball card appearances between 1962 and 1964, most notably appearing with the team in the 1962, 1963 and 1964 Topps flagship sets.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1950 Bowman #16
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15): 1951-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-RS
123 - Sievers non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/6/22.
Sources:
1956 Topps Blog
Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #476
You'll be seeing this particular passage on my 1965 Topps blog for a little bit longer as we added a whopping 97 cards to our set during the December Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show. I was fairly ambitious documenting these purchases and I was able to compose posts for five cards a week, meaning I'll be completely caught up by the end of May. The ongoing MLB owner's lockout and the lack of any spring training games has given me a little more spare time than usual in February and March. 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 Sievers card which was a little more than $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.
This card completed our Senators team set, with the Senators now joining the Angels as the first two team sets completed.
The Card / Senators Team Set
This is Sievers' 15th and final appearance in a Topps flagship set, and the back of the card contains his entire major league output, save for his final 12 games in 1965. Topps reprinted the card in 2014 for Sievers to sign as part of the Topps Heritage Real One Autographs insert set.
1965 Season
Sievers made seven starts at first base and had five pinch-hitting appearances, batting .190 (4 for 21) and playing in his final game on May 9th. The team released him on May 15th and after unsuccessful tryouts with the White Sox and Cardinals, Sievers retired and ended his 17-year big league career.
On November 28, 1961, the White Sox traded Sievers to the Phillies for John Buzhardt (#458) and Charley Smith (#22). Having moved to first base for good in 1959 due to lingering shoulder issues, the Phillies picked up Sievers to take over that position from fading prospect Pancho Herrera.
Sievers provided a veteran presence in an otherwise young clubhouse, as the 35-year-old Sievers was the only regular on the 1962 Phillies club older than 27. Along with Don Demeter (#429), Tony Gonzalez (#72) and Johnny Callison (#310), that 1962 team boasted the first quartet of players in franchise history to each hit at least 20 home runs.
Sievers' production fell in 1963 due a fractured rib suffered in spring training when he was hit by a Jim Maloney (#530) fastball. He hit only 19 home runs that season, with his biggest blast being his 300th career home run on June 19th. That home run, off Mets' reliever Roger Craig (#411), was a walk-off two-run shot to give the Phillies a 2-1 victory. Struggling at the start of the 1964 season, Sievers was sold to the expansion Senators (the second version) where he was used primarily as a pinch-hitter for the remainder of the season.
In his 2 1/2 years with the Phillies, Sievers hit .244 over 331 games, hitting 44 home runs and driving in 178 runs. He had a number of Phillies baseball card appearances between 1962 and 1964, most notably appearing with the team in the 1962, 1963 and 1964 Topps flagship sets.
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First Mainstream Card: 1950 Bowman #16
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15): 1951-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-RS
123 - Sievers non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/6/22.
Sources:
1956 Topps Blog
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