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Kenneth Andre Ian Rodgers
Pittsburgh Pirates
Shortstop
Born: December 2, 1934, Nassau, Bahamas
Signed: Signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent before 1954 season
Major League Teams: New York Giants 1957; San Francisco Giants 1958-1960; Chicago Cubs 1961-1964; Pittsburgh Pirates 1965-1967
Died: December 13, 2004, Nassau, Bahamas (age 70)
Andre Rodgers was the first major leaguer born in the Bahamas, and he spent 11 seasons with the Giants, Cubs and Pirates. A talented cricket player, Rodgers taught himself the game of baseball and was signed by the Giants after trying out for the club in 1954. He played in parts of four seasons as a back-up infielder with the Giants before being traded to the Braves in October 1960 for Al Dark. He was dealt again before the 1961 season started, heading to the Cubs. In Chicago, Rodgers became the club's regular shortstop in 1962 with Ernie Banks (#510) moving over to first base. Rodgers appeared in 138 games in 1962, batting a career-high .278. He and second baseman Ken Hubbs provided steady defense up the middle for the second division Cubs, with Rodgers leading all shortstops in double plays turned in 1963 with 100. Rodgers' biggest power year came in 1964 when he hit 12 home runs and drove in 46 runs.
Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #529
This is the 45th 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 Rodgers card was $6 and was one of 49 commons and semi-stars 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 / Pirates Team Set
Rodgers is hatless and wearing a Cubs jersey here. The back of the card highlights Rodgers' league-leading performance in 1963 among all National League shortstops with putouts, assists, total chances and double plays. What's not mentioned is that Rodgers also led all shortstops, and all National League fielders for that matter, with 35 errors.
1965 Season
The Cubs traded Rodgers to the Pirates on December 9, 1964 for infielder Roberto Pena (#549) and cash. In 75 games with the Pirates, Rodgers batted .287 with a pair of home runs and 25 RBIs. He made 41 starts, seeing action at shortstop, third baseman and (briefly) first base.
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First Mainstream Card: 1957 Topps #377
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10): 1957, 1959-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #52
41 - Rodgers non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 6/21/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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