#511 Ron Locke - New York Mets

Ronald Thomas Locke
New York Mets
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  168
Born:  April 4, 1942, Wakefield, RI
Signed:  Signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Major League Teams:  New York Mets 1964

Ron Locked pitched professionally for eight seasons, appearing in 25 games for the Mets in 1964 in his lone stint in the majors.  He made three starts to go along with 22 relief appearances, going 1-2 overall with a 3.48 ERA in 41 1/3 innings pitched.  Locke's longest big league outing came on August 2, 1964 against the Colt .45s, when he pitched seven innings giving up a pair of runs on five hits to earn his first and only big league win.  He pitched in the minor league systems of the Mets, Phillies, Reds and Braves through the 1970 season before retiring from baseball.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #524

This is the 40th 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 Locke card was $4 and was one of 49 commons purchased in my triumphant return to Uncle Dick's and his replenished neon green binders.

1964 Topps #556

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 / Mets Team Set
Locke's rookie card appears as a high number in the 1964 Topps set, and he shares a Rookie Stars card with fellow Mets pitching prospect Steve Dillon.  This is Locke's first and last solo mainstream baseball card, and the 1964 New York World's Fair patch is front and center on his sleeve.  The cartoon on the back of the card shows Locke in his offseason shipyard activity, which has to be a first on a Topps baseball card.  His minor league success and his lone win against Houston in 1964 are also highlighted.

1965 Season
Despite having some success in the majors in 1964, Locke spent all of 1965 in the minor leagues.  Between Double-A Williamsport and Triple-A Buffalo, he was 10-9 with a 3.07 ERA in 26 games, including 24 starts.  Locke threw six complete games with Williamsport, including two shutouts.

Phillies Connection
His Baseball Reference statistics show Locke as having pitched nine games for the Macon Peaches in 1966, then the Phillies Double-A affiliate in the Southern League, managed by former catcher Andy Seminick.  Locke was 6-3 with a 2.25 ERA for the Peaches and he'd find his way back to the Mets organization for the 1967 season.

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1964 Topps #556
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2):  1964-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #511

4 - Locke non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/29/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #510 Ernie Banks - Chicago Cubs

Next Card:  #512 Cap Peterson - San Francisco Giants