1965 Topps: #497 Giants Rookie Stars - Ken Henderson / Jack Hiatt

Monday, July 18, 2022

#497 Giants Rookie Stars - Ken Henderson / Jack Hiatt

Kenneth Joseph Henderson
San Francisco Giants
Outfield

Bats:  Both Throws:  Right Height: 6'2" Weight:  180
Born:  June 15, 1946, Carroll, IA
Signed:  Signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent, June 20, 1964
Major League Teams: San Francisco Giants 1965-1972; Chicago White Sox 1973-1975; Atlanta Braves 1976; Texas Rangers 1977; New York Mets 1978; Cincinnati Reds 1978-1979; Chicago Cubs 1979-1980

Jack E. Hiatt
San Francisco Giants
Catcher

Bats:  Right Throws:  Right Height: 6'2" Weight:  190
Born:  July 27, 1942, Bakersfield, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Los Angeles Angels as an amateur free agent, March 7, 1961
Major League Teams: Los Angeles Angels 1964; San Francisco Giants 1965-1969; Montreal Expos 1970; Chicago Cubs 1970; Houston Astros 1971-1972; California Angels 1972

Ken Henderson played in 16 seasons in the majors, finding his most success with the Giants and White Sox in the early 1970s. Henderson got the chance to play on an everyday basis with the Giants in 1969, serving as their regular left fielder. He'd help his team advance to the NLCS in 1971, but the Giants were defeated by the Pirates in four games. Dealt to the White Sox following the 1972 season, Henderson's career year came in 1974. As the regular center fielder for the White Sox, he appeared in all 162 games, batting .292 with career highs in both home runs (20) and RBIs (95). Henderson's last steady job came with the Braves in 1976 as their regular right fielder. In 1,444 big league games, Henderson batted .257, collecting 1,168 hits, 122 home runs and 576 RBIs.

Jack Hiatt was a back-up catcher in the majors for parts of nine seasons, playing the bulk of his career with the Giants. Originally drafted by the Angels, he was traded to the Giants on November 21, 1964 for Jose Cardenal (#374). His best season came in 1968 when he appeared in a career-high 90 games and batted .232 with 34 RBIs, while splitting time behind the plate with Dick Dietz. In 1969, Hiatt hit a career-high seven home runs again while filling in for Dietz. Hiatt's last action in the majors came in 1972, but he'd play three more seasons in the minors with the Padres and Cubs organizations. He began his minor league managerial career with the GCL Cubs in 1975, and he'd spend time managing in the Angels, Astros and Giants organizations. Hiatt served as the Giants director of player development between 1991 and 2007.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #519

This is the 35th 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. Having wandered aimlessly among the dealer tables looking for binders with vintage commons, I decided to check to see if Uncle Dick's had refreshed their inventory following the December show, during which I had wiped out both their 1965 Topps binders. Much to my pleasant surprise, they had. This Rookie Stars card was $8 and was one of 49 commons purchased in my triumphant return to Uncle Dick's and his replenished neon green binders.

Depending on my ability to compose five posts a week on the cards acquired at this show, I should be completely caught up on this blog by mid-October. 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 / Giants Team Set
That's not a printing error on the left side of the card, as Henderson's photo is actually just blurry. His photo on his first solo card in the 1966 Topps set is much clearer. The back of the card mentions Henderson's bonus baby status.

Hiatt would appear on another Rookie Stars card in 1966, this time with Dick Estelle (#282), before earning his first solo card in the 1967 Topps set.

1965 Season - Henderson
As a bonus baby, the Giants were required to keep Henderson on their major league roster all season. A few months shy of his 19th birthday, he made his big league debut on April 23rd, pinch-running for catcher Ed Bailey (#559). Henderson would appear in 63 games, batting .192 with seven RBIs. He made only 13 starts in center or right field, with all starts coming in the second half of the season.

1965 Season - Hiatt
With the exception of a month-long assignment to the minors in August, Hiatt spent the entire 1965 season with the Giants. He appeared 40 games for the Giants, batting .284 with a home run and seven RBIs. He made ten starts behind the plate and five starts at first base, giving regular Willie McCovey (#176) a rare day off. In his month with the Triple-A Tacoma Giants, Hiatt appeared in 33 games and batted .284.

1966 Topps #39

1971 Topps #155

1975 Topps #59

1978 Topps #612

1980 Topps #523

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Henderson
First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #497
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15): 1965-1968, 1970-1980
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1980 Topps #523

55 - Henderson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/22/22.

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

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Hiatt
First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #497
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1965-1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1988 ProCards #2101

33 - Hiatt non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/22/22.

Sources - Hiatt:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia