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Joseph Blase Sparma
Detroit Tigers
Pitcher
Born: February 4, 1942, Massillon, OH
Signed: Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Major League Teams: Detroit Tigers 1964-1969; Montreal Expos 1970
Died: May 14, 1986, Columbus, OH (age 44)
As the quarterback for the 1961 and 1962 Ohio State University football teams, Joe Sparma helped lead the Buckeyes to a Big Ten College championship. Later as a pitcher, mostly with the Tigers, Sparma was a solid starting pitcher who often clashed with his manager, Mayo Smith. Sparma won at least 10 games in three different seasons, including a career best 16 in 1967. He was 16-9 that year with a 3.76 ERA, also setting career highs in innings pitched (217 2/3) and strikeouts (153). In 1968, Sparma lost his spot in the Tigers' starting rotation after making non-flattering public remarks about Smith. Benched for several weeks, he returned to the rotation on September 17, 1968, and pitched a complete game victory against the Yankees to clinch Detroit's first American League pennant since 1945. He pitched only a third of an inning in the 1968 World Series, in which the Tigers downed the Cardinals in seven games.
Sparma pitched one more season in Detroit and was traded to the Expos in December 1969 for Jerry Robertson. Struggling with control, he appeared in his final nine games with the Expos, and finished out the 1970 season with their Triple-A affiliate. Sparma earned a career record of 52-52 over 183 games pitched, with a 3.94 ERA.
Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #479
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 / Tigers Team Set
Sparma's rookie card can be found in the 1964 Topps set, as he shared a card with Willie Horton (#206). The back of this card highlights the 21 scoreless inning streak turned in by Sparma in 1964, as well as his two complete game shutouts.
1965 Season
This was Sparma's first full season in the majors, and he went 13-8 with a 3.18 ERA in 30 games, including 28 starts. In Bill Freehan's (#390) autobiography, the former Tigers catcher tells the story of how Sparma came off the mound and shook Mickey Mantle's (#350) hand prior to Mantle's first at-bat on "Mickey Mantle Day" at Yankee Stadium. Sparma told Mantle how much he admired him, and then struck the slugger out. As Freehan tells it, Mantle was upset the Tigers hadn't gone with a "soft-tossing left-hander" on his day. This had to have been on May 31st, as that's the only time Sparma struck out Mantle in Yankee Stadium, and he did it twice in that game, but not in Mantle's first at-bat.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #512
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1964-1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1970 Topps #243
33 - Sparma non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/11/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #479
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 Sparma 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 / Tigers Team Set
Sparma's rookie card can be found in the 1964 Topps set, as he shared a card with Willie Horton (#206). The back of this card highlights the 21 scoreless inning streak turned in by Sparma in 1964, as well as his two complete game shutouts.
1965 Season
This was Sparma's first full season in the majors, and he went 13-8 with a 3.18 ERA in 30 games, including 28 starts. In Bill Freehan's (#390) autobiography, the former Tigers catcher tells the story of how Sparma came off the mound and shook Mickey Mantle's (#350) hand prior to Mantle's first at-bat on "Mickey Mantle Day" at Yankee Stadium. Sparma told Mantle how much he admired him, and then struck the slugger out. As Freehan tells it, Mantle was upset the Tigers hadn't gone with a "soft-tossing left-hander" on his day. This had to have been on May 31st, as that's the only time Sparma struck out Mantle in Yankee Stadium, and he did it twice in that game, but not in Mantle's first at-bat.
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First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #512
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1964-1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1970 Topps #243
33 - Sparma non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/11/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
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Next Card: #588 Lenny Green - Boston Red Sox
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