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Maurice Wesley Parker
Los Angeles Dodgers
Outfield-First Base
Born: November 13, 1939, Evanston, IL
Signed: Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Major League Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers 1964-1972
Acknowledged as one of the best fielding first baseman of all-time, Wes Parker played nine seasons with the Dodgers, winning a World Series ring with the club in 1965. Parker won six consecutive Gold Glove awards between 1967 and 1972, and his .996 fielding percentage at first is currently 14th all-time. Parker's best season at the plate came in 1970 when he batted .319 while leading the league with 47 doubles. He drove in a career-high 111 runs, while only hitting 10 home runs. He surprisingly and abruptly announced his retirement from baseball following the 1972 season, at the age of 33. In 1,288 career major league games, Parker batted .267 with 1,110 hits, 194 doubles and 470 RBIs.
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| 1970 - Wes Parker on The Brady Bunch |
Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime - Fair Lawn, NJ) - Card #491
This is the seventh of 102 cards acquired for our set from the Baseball Card Sports Memorabilia Show, affectionately known as The Philly Show, held in the basement of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia in early March. We went nuts and left the show needing only 12 more cards to complete our 1965 Topps set, and I wrote about the show in detail over at The Phillies Room. This Parker card was a little over $4 and was one of 13 cards purchased from the dealer America's Pastime from Fair Lawn, New Jersey.
Depending on my ability to compose five posts a week on the cards acquired at this show, I should be completely caught up by mid-October. So get used to seeing this passage on the blog! It's entirely feasible we complete our 1965 Topps set by the end of 2022, although nine of the remaining 12 cards needed are fairly expensive.
The Card / Dodgers Team Set
That could be catcher Doug Camilli (#77) making a cameo appearance in the background, as Camilli wore #35 with the Dodgers through the 1964 season and I believe that's a #35 on the back of the player in the distance? Parker's rookie card can be found in the 1964 Topps set, where he shared a Rookie Stars card with John Werhas (#453). The cartoon on the back of the card highlights his signing with the Dodgers by then-scout Chuck Dressen (#538) who appears later in the set as manager of the Tigers.
1965 Season
Towards the end of the 1964 season, Parker took over regular first base duties from Ron Fairly (#196) and he'd keep the job as every day first baseman to start the 1965 season. Parker started 150 out of 162 games at first base, missing 12 games in June with Fairly starting in his place. For the season, he batted .238 with eight home runs and 51 RBIs as the Dodgers advanced to the World Series. Parker played every inning of all seven games in the World Series at first base, batting .304 (7 for 23) with a solo home run in Game 4 off Twins' pitcher Mudcat Grant (#432).
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First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #456
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10): 1964-1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2001 Fleer Greats of the Game #56
57 - Parker non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/3/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #343 Mike McCormick - Baltimore Orioles
Previous Card: #343 Mike McCormick - Baltimore Orioles
Next Card: #345 Floyd Robinson - Chicago White Sox
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