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Leonard Charles Green
Boston Red Sox
Outfield
Born: January 6, 1933, Detroit, MI
Signed: Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent before 1955 season
Major League Teams: Baltimore Orioles 1957-1959; Washington Senators 1960; Minnesota Twins 1961-1964; Los Angeles Angels 1964; Baltimore Orioles 1964; Boston Red Sox 1965-1966; Detroit Tigers 1967-1968
Died: January 6, 2019, Detroit, MI (age 86)
Lenny Green was a veteran of 12 major league seasons, crafting his best years in the early 1960s as the regular center fielder for the relocated Twins franchise. Green came up with the Orioles and spent two-plus seasons as a back-up outfielder and pinch-hitter. Dealt to the Senators in May 1959, he'd find a home for the next 5 1/2 seasons, playing exactly 700 games for the Senators/Twins. He was the final Senators center fielder in their last game in Washington on October 2, 1960, before the franchise shifted to Minneapolis. He was then the first center fielder in Twins history on April 11, 1961. Green batted a career-high .294 in 1960, and set career best marks for home runs (14) and RBIs (63) in 1962. After one more season with the Twins, Green was dealt to the Angels in June 1964, beginning a four and half year span in which he played for four different teams. His last regular playing time came with the Red Sox in 1965 when he appeared 119 games, batting .276.
Green's last major league action came in 1968 with the Tigers and he was released by the club on July 6th of that season. His SABR biography notes his time with the Twins, Orioles, Red Sox and Tigers all ended seemingly right before those teams found success and made World Series appearances. Green earned a .267 career average with 788 hits, 47 home runs and 253 RBIs in his 1,136 big league games.
Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #480
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 / Red Sox Team Set
That's a Twins jersey worn by Green, as neither of his other teams from 1964, the Angels and Orioles, had pinstripes. There's only room for his complete run of professional stats on the back, and a cartoon highlight for his batting title from 1956 as a member of the South Atlantic League's Columbus Foxes.
1965 Season
Green was dealt from the Twins to the Angels in June 1964, sold to the Orioles in September 1964 and then sold again to the Red Sox in March 1965. If not for his inclusion in the set's final series, he'd be pictured as a member of the Orioles on his card. Green spent all of 1965 with the Red Sox, and was the club's opening day center fielder, hitting two home runs in his debut with the team. In 119 games, he batted .276 with seven home runs and only 24 RBIs.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1958 Topps #471
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1958-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1966 Topps #502
40 - Green non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/12/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #480
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 Green 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 / Red Sox Team Set
That's a Twins jersey worn by Green, as neither of his other teams from 1964, the Angels and Orioles, had pinstripes. There's only room for his complete run of professional stats on the back, and a cartoon highlight for his batting title from 1956 as a member of the South Atlantic League's Columbus Foxes.
1965 Season
Green was dealt from the Twins to the Angels in June 1964, sold to the Orioles in September 1964 and then sold again to the Red Sox in March 1965. If not for his inclusion in the set's final series, he'd be pictured as a member of the Orioles on his card. Green spent all of 1965 with the Red Sox, and was the club's opening day center fielder, hitting two home runs in his debut with the team. In 119 games, he batted .276 with seven home runs and only 24 RBIs.
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First Mainstream Card: 1958 Topps #471
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1958-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1966 Topps #502
40 - Green non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/12/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Green played a good bit of time in 1967 and 1968, but was not on his team's roster early enough in those seasons for Topps to include him in those sets.
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