#290 Wally Bunker - Baltimore Orioles

Wallace Edward Bunker
Baltimore Orioles
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  197
Born:  January 25, 1945, Seattle, WA
Signed:  Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1963-1968; Kansas City Royals 1969-1971

Wally Bunker made his debut as an 18-year-old in 1963 and a year later he'd be a 19-game winner and Topps All-Star Rookie.  Bunker's career year in 1964 saw him compile a 19-5 record with a 2.69 ERA, 12 complete games and a shutout.  He finished as runner-up in the Rookie of the Year voting behind the Twins' Tony Oliva (#340).  Bunker's arm betrayed him following that year and frequent injuries meant he never repeated the success of his rookie season.  In 1966 he went 10-6 with a 4.29 ERA for the pennant-winning Orioles, and recaptured some of his rookie glory with a complete game shutout against the Dodgers in Game 3 of the World Series.  Baltimore would sweep Los Angeles in four games.

He pitched sparingly over the next few seasons, and was left unprotected by the Orioles in the 1968 expansion draft.  Bunker was chosen as the 25th pick overall by the Royals, and he was the franchise's first ever starting pitcher on opening day 1969.  Bunker led that inaugural Royals club with 31 games started, going 12-11 with a 3.23 ERA in 222 2/3 innings pitched.  Limited to just 21 more starts in 1970 and 1971, his arm injuries finally proved to be too difficult to overcome and Bunker retired in 1971 at the age of 26.  He was 60-52 lifetime in 206 games, with a 3.51 ERA, 34 complete games, five shutouts and 569 strikeouts.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Sports Cards Plus - Cooper City, FL) - Card #551

This is the 67th 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.  After our 51 card haul from Uncle Dick's, and with more card spending budget still in place, I set out to find another dealer with a binder of 1965 Topps cards with reasonable prices.  I had purchased cards from Sports Cards Plus before, finding the last few cards needed for our 1971 Topps set from this dealer back in December 2019.

Settling in, we found 37 commons, semi-stars and team cards needed for our set, including this Bunker card, with the average price per card working out to around $6 a piece.  After paying for this mini haul, we were officially 13 cards away from a complete set, with one more purchase coming to end the day.

The Card / Orioles Team Set
Bunker's rookie card can be found in the 1964 Topps set, on a Rookie Stars card shared with Sam Bowens (#188).  This is his first solo card, and the Topps 1964 All-Star Rookie trophy is displayed prominently.  In a nice touch, the trophy is shown sticking out his back pocket in the cartoon on the back of the card.  Bunker also appeared earlier in the set on the American League pitching leaders card (#9) given his 19 wins in 1964.  The back of the card credits Orioles' manager Hank Bauer (#323) with giving Bunker a spot in the team's starting pitching rotation.  But his SABR biography notes the club was essentially forced to keep him on the roster, or risk losing him via waivers due to the day's bonus baby rules.

1965 Season
Bunker began the season in the Orioles' pitching rotation behind Steve Barber (#113), Milt Pappas (#270) and Robin Roberts (#15).  He made 34 appearances, including 27 starts, and was 10-8 with a 3.38 ERA in 189 innings pitched.  His SABR biography notes he pitched through pain the entire season, alternating successful runs on the mound with periods where he seemingly couldn't get anyone out.

1964 Topps #201

1966 Topps #499

1968 Topps #489

1969 Topps #137

1971 Topps #528

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1964 Topps #201
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1964-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1981 TCMA The 1960s II #408

56 - Bunker non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/6/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #289 Gordy Coleman - Cincinnati Reds

Next Card:  #291 Jerry Lynch - Pittsburgh Pirates

#275 Dick Groat - St. Louis Cardinals

Richard Morrow Groat
St. Louis Cardinals
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  180
Born:  November 4, 1930, Wilkinsburg, PA
Signed:  Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent, June 16, 1952
Major League Teams:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1952, 1955-1962; St. Louis Cardinals 1963-1965; Philadelphia Phillies 1966-1967; San Francisco Giants 1967

Dick Groat was an eight-time All-Star and the National League MVP in 1960, enjoying an extended period of success in the early 1960s.  Groat made his debut with the Pirates in 1952, spending no time in the minor leagues.  He missed two seasons while serving in the military and he also briefly played in the NBA in 1953 for the Fort Wayne Pistons.  In his MVP season, Groat won the batting title with a .325 average, collecting 186 hits with 26 doubles, while leading his Pirates team to the 1960 World Series.  He didn't find much success in the postseason, but he won rings with the Pirates in 1960 and later with the Cardinals in 1964.  Statistically, his 1963 season was better than his MVP year, as he batted .319 with a career-high 201 hits and 73 RBIs, while leading the league with 43 doubles.  Groat finished second in MVP voting that season behind Sandy Koufax (#300).  Dealt to the Phillies following the 1965 season, Groat would appear in two more seasons with the Phillies and Giants before retiring.

Groat collected 2,138 hits over his 14-year big league career, finishing with a .286 average.  He's not been inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame (yet), but Groat was elected to the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007 for his All-American career at Duke University.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Sports Cards Plus - Cooper City, FL) - Card #550

This is the 66th 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.  After our 51 card haul from Uncle Dick's, and with more card spending budget still in place, I set out to find another dealer with a binder of 1965 Topps cards with reasonable prices.  I had purchased cards from Sports Cards Plus before, finding the last few cards needed for our 1971 Topps set from this dealer back in December 2019.

Settling in, we found 37 commons, semi-stars and team cards needed for our set, including this Groat card, with the average price per card working out to around $6 a piece.  After paying for this mini haul, we were officially 13 cards away from a complete set, with one more purchase coming to end the day.

The Card / Cardinals Team Set
When collecting this set, I found several semi-stars from the lower series releases more difficult to find than others.  This Groat card certainly fits that description, as it was one of the final common or semi-star cards needed to complete the set's fourth series.  The back of this card highlights his MVP honors from the 1960 season.

1965 Season
In his final season with the Cardinals, Groat was the club's opening day shortstop and he'd make 144 starts at the position throughout the season.  His average fell to .254 and he collected 149 hits overall with 52 RBIs.

Phillies Career
Groat was traded to the Phillies from the Cardinals on October 27, 1965 with catcher Bob Uecker (#519) and first baseman Bill White (#190) for pitcher Art Mahaffey (#446), outfielder Alex Johnson (#352) and catcher Pat Corrales (#107). The starting shortstop for the Phillies in 1966, Groat appeared in 155 games and hit a respectable .260 with 53 RBIs.  On May 18, 1966, Groat collected his 2,000th career hit off former teammate Bob Gibson (#320).

Groat appears on a few oddball issues with the Phillies (1966 Sports Service Phillies, 1967 Dexter Press Phillies, 1992 Action Packed ASG) but his only mainstream Phillies baseball card can be found within the 1967 Topps set.  That card is reprinted within the 2001 Topps Archives set.

Groat's 1967 season would be the last of his 14-year career.  Limited to only 10 games with the Phillies due to an ankle infection, he was sold to the Giants on June 22nd.  He appeared in 34 games for the Giants, hitting .171 and retiring following the season.

1952 Topps #369

1957 Topps #12

1960 Topps #258

1964 Topps #40

1967 Topps #205

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #369
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (17):  1952-1967, 1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2013 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-DG

197 - Groat non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/6/22.

Sources:  
1956 Topps Blog

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #274 Lum Harris MG - Houston Astros

Next Card:  #276 Hoyt Wilhelm - Chicago White Sox

#249 Dave McNally - Baltimore Orioles

David Arthur McNally
Baltimore Orioles
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  185
Born:  October 31, 1942, Billings, MT
Signed:  Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent, September 9, 1960
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1962-1974; Montreal Expos 1975
Died:  December 1, 2002, Billings, MT (age 60)

Dave McNally was an All-Star left-handed pitcher, who pitched 13 seasons with the Orioles and helped his club win World Championships in 1966 and 1970.  McNally had a somewhat slow rise to the top, going 48-38 with a 3.57 ERA in 153 games between 1962 and 1967.  He started two of the four games won by the Orioles in the 1966 World Series in their sweep of the Dodgers, pitching a complete game shutout in the decisive Game 4.  He secured his first 20-win season in 1968, going 22-10 with a 1.95 ERA.  McNally followed that up with two more 20-win seasons in 1969 and 1970, earning trips to his first two (of three) All-Star Games.  1970 was to be his career year as he tied teammate Mike Cuellar (#337) with 24 wins.  He was 24-9 with a 3.22 ERA, finishing second in the Cy Young voting behind the Twins' Jim Perry (#351).  In the 1970 postseason, McNally threw two complete game victories in Game 4 of the ALCS against the Twins and in Game 3 of the World Series against the Reds.

Dealt to the Expos in the Ken Singleton deal in December 1974, McNally appeared in 12 games for the club before abruptly retiring following his final big league start on June 8, 1975.  In 424 games, McNally was 184-119 with a 3.24 ERA, 120 complete games and 33 shutouts.  He was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 1978, as the Hall's third ever inductee behind Brooks Robinson (#150) and Frank Robinson (#120).  McNally also earned a place on the Orioles All-Century team in 1999.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Sports Cards Plus - Cooper City, FL) - Card #549

This is the 65th 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.  After our 51 card haul from Uncle Dick's, and with more card spending budget still in place, I set out to find another dealer with a binder of 1965 Topps cards with reasonable prices.  I had purchased cards from Sports Cards Plus before, finding the last few cards needed for our 1971 Topps set from this dealer back in December 2019.

Settling in, we found 37 commons, semi-stars and team cards needed for our set, including this McNally card, with the average price per card working out to around $6 a piece.  After paying for this mini haul, we were officially 13 cards away from a complete set, with one more purchase coming to end the day.

This was the last card needed for our set's third series, including cards #177 to #264.

The Card / Orioles Team Set
This is already McNally's third appearance in a Topps flagship set, and his rookie card can be found in the 1963 Topps set on a floating heads Rookie Stars card.  The back of the card highlights his high school basketball skills and his best pitch, a "sharp breaking curve ball."  McNally's big league debut came on September 26, 1962, and it would be his only appearance for the Orioles that season.  He limited the Athletics to just two hits and three walks in his complete game shutout, striking our four.  McNally hit a total of nine home runs during his career, and was a lifetime .133 batter (97 for 731) with 23 doubles and 43 RBIs.

1965 Season
McNally hadn't yet quite put it all together, and he was 11-6 with a 2.85 ERA for the Orioles in 35 appearances, including 29 starts.  He just missed crossing the 200 innings pitched plateau, throwing 198 2/3 innings.  He was the third best starter for the club behind Milt Pappas (#270) and Steve Barber (#113).

1963 Topps #562

1966 Topps #193

1970 Topps #20

1972 Topps #223

1975 Topps #26

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1963 Topps #562
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13):  1963-1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2005 Upper Deck Classics #24

140 - McNally non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/6/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #248 Gus Triandos - Philadelphia Phillies

Next Card:  #250 Willie Mays - San Francisco Giants

#550 Mel Stottlemyre - New York Yankees

Melvin Leon Stottlemyre
New York Yankees
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  178
Born:  November 13, 1941, Hazleton, MO
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1961 season
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1964-1974
Died:  January 13, 2019, Seattle, WA (age 77)

As a 22-year-old rookie in 1964, Mel Stottlemyre went 9-3 with a 2.06 ERA over the final few months of the season, helping the Yankees win their fifth consecutive pennant.  In his only World Series action as a player, Stottlemyre started Games 2, 5 and 7, throwing a complete game victory in Game 2, but losing the decisive Game 7 to the Cardinals' Bob Gibson (#320).  He was a 20-game winner in 1965, 1968 and 1969, leading the league in complete games with 18 in 1965 and 24 in 1969.  Stottlemyre was a five-time All-Star, starting the 1969 game against the Cardinals' Steve Carlton (#477).  He retired as a player following the 1974 season having pitched in 360 games, and compiling a 164-139 record with a 2.97 ERA, 152 complete games and 40 shutouts.  He struck out 1,257 batters over 2,661 1/3 innings pitched.

Stottlemyre would next begin a long career as a minor and major league pitching coach, coaching at the big league level with the Mets (1984-1993), Astros (1994-1995), Yankees (1996-2005) and Mariners (2008).  He won a World Series ring with the Mets (1986) and four with the Yankees (1996, 1998-2000) while serving under manager Joe Torre (#200).  His sons Mel, Jr. and Todd also pitched in the majors.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #548

This is the 64th 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.

I found 49 commons and semi-stars we needed for our set in the two neon green binders of 1965 Topps cards at Uncle Dick's.  Having reached the end of the binders, I asked if there were any star cards from the set available for my perusal, and of course there were.  I found this Stottlemyre card along with the Harmon Killebrew (#400) card in a modest stack of star cards, and I offered a bundled price for the two, less than the original combined price, and the dealer accepted.  Having once again wiped out Uncle Dick's stock of needed 1965 Topps cards, we wandered the show room floor a little longer before I settled in for the next bulk purchase of commons.  With the addition of this card, we were just 50 cards away from a complete 1965 Topps set.

The Card / Yankees Team Set
Collectors first got a glimpse of Stottlemyre in series two as part of the World Series subset, as his performance in Game 2 (#133) earned him a card.  This is his official rookie card, with Topps making it just under the wire by getting him into the set's seventh series.  On the back, his fantastic 1964 season is recapped in cartoon form and with the write-up above his statistics.

1965 Season
This was Stottlemyre's best season overall, and I'm sure Topps was anxious to get his rookie card in their flagship set.  Starting the season in the Yankees' starting pitching rotation, he emerged as the team's ace, going 20-9 with a 2.63 ERA in 37 starts.  He threw 18 complete games, tops in the league, including four shutouts.  He also led the league with 291 innings pitched.  Known also as a decent hitter, Stottlemyre hit an inside the park grand slam on July 20th at Yankee Stadium off Red Sox pitcher Bill Monbouquette (#142).

1966 Topps #350

1968 Topps #120

1969 Topps #470

1972 Topps #325

1975 Topps #183

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #133
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1965-1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2014 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-MS

158 - Stottlemyre non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/1/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #549 Cubs Rookie Stars

Next Card:  #551 New York Mets Team Card

#400 Harmon Killebrew - Minnesota Twins

Harmon Clayton Killebrew
Minnesota Twins
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  195
Born:  June 29, 1936, Payette, ID
Signed:  Signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent, June 19, 1954
Major League Teams:  Washington Senators 1954-1960; Minnesota Twins 1961-1974; Kansas City Royals 1975
Died:  May 17, 2011, Scottsdale, AZ (age 74)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1984

Harmon Killebrew was one of the most prolific sluggers of his era, and upon his retirement he was fourth on the major league all-time home run list and second to Babe Ruth in the American League.  Killebrew led the league six times in home runs and three times in RBIs.  He was a 13-time All-Star and received MVP votes in 11 different seasons.  He helped lead the Twins to the their first pennant in 1965, and while he hit .286 in the World Series, the Dodgers prevailed in seven games.  In 1967, he hit the longest home run ever recorded at Minnesota's Metropolitan Stadium at 520 feet.  Killebrew attained career highs in home runs (49) and RBIs (140) in 1969 and won the league's MVP honors that season.  He wrapped up his 22-year big league career with a final season with the Royals, serving as the team's designated hitter.  When the Royals visited Minnesota in early May 1975, the Twins held a pre-game ceremony to retire Killebrew's #3.  He was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in 1984, and was in the inaugural class of the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2000.  In 2,435 games, Killebrew accumulated 2,086 hits while batting .256.  He hit 573 career home runs to go along with 1,584 RBIs.

After retiring as a player, Killebrew served as a broadcaster for the Twins, Athletics and Angels between 1976 and 1988.  He also briefly served as a hitting instructor with the Athletics.  Nicknamed "Killer" on the field, by all accounts Killebrew was one of the kindest and most well-respected men to ever play the game.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #547

This is the 63rd 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.

I found 49 commons and semi-stars we needed for our set in the two neon green binders of 1965 Topps cards at Uncle Dick's.  Having reached the end of the binders, I asked if there were any star cards from the set available for my perusal, and of course there were.  I found this Killebrew card along with the Mel Stottlemyre (#550) in a modest stack of star cards, and I offered a bundled price for the two, less than the original combined price, and the dealer accepted.  Having once again wiped out Uncle Dick's stock of needed 1965 Topps cards, we wandered the show room floor a little longer before I settled in for the next bulk purchase of commons.

The Card / Twins Team Set
This is Killebrew's third appearance in the set, as he appeared on the A.L. home run (#3) and RBI league leaders (#5) cards back in series one.  The cartoon on the back celebrates his third straight home run title in 1964.  I've seen this card in magazines, books and at baseball card shows over the past 40 years and it's been one of those iconic baseball cards in my mind that perfectly represents the era.  I was surprised to find the card has only ever been reprinted once, as part of the 2015 Topps Cardboard Icons 5 x 7 series that reprinted all of Killebrew's Topps flagship cards.

1965 Season
Ranked by Baseball Reference WAR, this was Killebrew's seventh best season, but his numbers were still impressive.  He was the opening day first baseman for the Twins and voted as the starting first baseman for the American League All-Stars, making his seventh All-Star Game appearance.  Killebrew homered in the game off Jim Maloney (#530) in front of his hometown crowd at Metropolitan Stadium.

He was batting .278 with 22 home runs and 70 RBIs when he suffered a gruesome arm injury on August 2nd.  In a game agains the Orioles, Russ Snyder (#204) bunted down the third base line and ran into Killebrew's outstretched right arm as he crossed first base.  Killebrew had dislocated his elbow and he missed seven weeks of crucial playing time.  Still, the Twins stayed in the race and Killebrew returned to the line-up on September 21st.  He played in 113 games overall, batting .269 during the regular season with 25 home runs and 75 RBIs.  Despite the injury, he still finished 15th in the league's MVP voting.  Killebrew was one of the Twins' top hitters in the World Series, collecting six hits including a Game 4 home run.

1955 Topps #124

1962 Topps #70

1966 Topps #120

1969 Topps #375

1975 Topps #640

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Topps #124
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (20):  1955-1956, 1958-1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2022 Topps Opening Day Bomb Squad #BS-2

1,858 - Killebrew non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/1/22.

Sources:  
1956 Topps Blog

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #399 Ray Herbert - Philadelphia Phillies

Next Card:  #401 Carl Willey - New York Mets

#593 Tigers Rookie Stars - Jackie Moore / John Sullivan

Jackie Spencer Moore
Detroit Tigers
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  180
Born:  February 19, 1939, Jay, FL
Signed:  Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent before the 1957 season
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1965
As a Manager:  Oakland Athletics 1984-1986

John Peter Sullivan
Detroit Tigers
Catcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  195
Born:  January 3, 1941, Somerville, NJ
Signed:  Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent before the 1959 season
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1963-1965; New York Mets 1967; Philadelphia Phillies 1968

Jackie Moore played professionally for 11 seasons, but only saw big league action in 1965 with the Tigers, appearing in 21 games.  With Bill Freehan (#390) as the regular starting catcher, Moore and fellow back-up John Sullivan didn't see much action.  Moore batted .094 (5 for 53) in his limited stint with the Tigers, making 16 starts behind the plate.  Following his last year as a player in 1967, Moore began a lengthy second career as a minor and major league coach and manager.  His major league coaching tenure spanned 32 seasons with the Brewers (1970-1972), Rangers (1973-1976, 1980, 1993-1994, 2009-2013), Blue Jays (1977-1979), Athletics (1981-1984), Expos (1987-1989), Reds (1990-1992), Rockies (1996-1997) and Astros (2008).  In between all of that, and his four different stints as a Rangers coach, Moore managed the A's for 353 games between 1984 and 1986, compiling a record of 163-190.  As manager of the Double-A Round Rock Express, Moore won league or division titles every season between 2000 and 2004.

From the 1969 Phillies Yearbook

Sullivan appeared in 39 games for the Tigers between 1963 and 1965, seeing limited playing time as a back-up catcher, similar to Moore, and pinch-hitter.  After spending all of the 1966 season in the minors, he was left unprotected by the Tigers and selected by the Mets in the November 1966 rule 5 draft.  Sullivan appeared in a career-high 65 games with the Mets in 1967, backing up Jerry Grote (#504), and making 29 starts behind the plate.  He'd bat .218 with five doubles.  Dealt to the Phillies before the 1968 season, he'd play his final 12 major league games with Philadelphia.  Sullivan managed in the Royals' system between 1973 and 1978, compiling an impressive 725-434 record over six seasons.  He'd join the big league coaching staff of the Royals in 1979.  Sullivan would also coach with the Braves (1980-1981) and Blue Jays (1982-1993), and he caught Joe Carter's game-winning home run ball in the bullpen during Game 6 of the 1993 World Series.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #546

This is the 62nd 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 Tigers Rookie Stars card was $8 and was the last of 49 commons and semi-stars purchased in my triumphant return to Uncle Dick's and his replenished neon green binders.  Having reached the end of the binders, I asked if there were any star cards from the set available for my perusal, and of course there were.  I'd buy two major cards needed for our set to go along with the 49 commons and semi-stars and those two cards will be featured in the next posts.

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 / Tigers Team Set
This is the rookie card for both Moore and Sullivan, and it's unusual to see a multi-player rookie card from the same team with two catchers.  Moore was still with the club when this card was created, but as noted on the back Sullivan had been optioned down on May 11, 1965.

1965 Season - Moore
In his major league debut on April 18th, Moore started and caught 12 innings of a game ultimately won by the Tigers, 4-1, over the Angels in 13 innings.  His single helped spur the rally in the top of the 13th to give the Tigers the win.  He'd appear sparingly throughout the rest of the season, getting the most playing time in June when he appeared in 13 games, but batted just .108 (4 for 37).  Demoted briefly to the Syracuse Chiefs in the International League during the season, he appeared in 17 games and batted .180.

1965 Season - Sullivan
Sullivan was the Tigers' opening day catcher, and he'd make 25 more starts behind the plate as the primary back-up to Freehan following a brief demotion between May and June.  He batted .267 with a pair of home runs and 11 RBIs.  Sullivan played 29 games in Syracuse, batting .169 (13 for 77).

Phillies Career - Sullivan
The Mets sent Sullivan and Johnny Lewis (#277) to the Phillies on February 19, 1968 for a player to be named later, who turned out to be utility player Billy Sorrell.  With the Phillies, Sullivan began the season with their Triple-A team in 
San Diego, and he'd bat .246 overall for the Padres in 83 games.  He was recalled in mid-July for catching depth, playing behind Clay Dalrymple (#372) and Mike Ryan (#573).  Sullivan made it into just 12 games with the Phillies, batting .222 (4 for 18) and making three starts behind the plate.

On April 12, 1969, the Phillies traded him with Anthony Giresi to the Orioles for catcher Vic Roznovsky (#334), ending his short time with the club.  He's not on any Phillies baseball cards, but he received an entire page in the team's 1969 Yearbook.

1973 Topps #549

1974 Topps #379

1977 Topps #113

1985 Topps #38

1986 Topps #591

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Moore
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #593
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1965, 1973-1974, 1977, 1984-1986
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1986 Topps #591

36 - Moore non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/1/22.

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

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Sullivan
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #593
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (3):  1965-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2016 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-JSU

10 - Sullivan non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/1/22.

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

1966 Topps #597

1967 Topps #568

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