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Leon Lamar Wagner
Cleveland Indians
Outfield
Born: May 13, 1934, Chattanooga, TN
Signed: Signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent before 1954 season
Major League Teams: San Francisco Giants 1958-1959; St. Louis Cardinals 1960; Los Angeles Angels 1961-1963; Cleveland Indians 1964-1968; Chicago White Sox 1968; San Francisco Giants 1969
Died: January 3, 2004, Los Angeles, CA (age 69)
As one of the first All-Stars in Angels franchise history, left fielder Leon "Daddy Wags" Wagner went 3 for 4, including a two-run home run in the second 1962 All-Star Game, becoming the first American League player to win All-Star Game MVP honors. Wagner was named to three All-Star Games overall. He peaked with the Angels in the early 1960s, hitting 37 home runs and driving in 107 runs in 1962 while finishing fourth overall in the league's MVP voting. Wagner hit at least 20 home runs in six consecutive seasons between 1961 and 1966, and drove in over 100 runs twice. He was reportedly upset at leaving the Angels, dealt to the Indians in December 1963. Wagner enjoyed a few decent seasons in Cleveland and finished his career as a respected pinch-hitter with the Indians, White Sox and (briefly) the Giants.
He batted .272 in 1,352 games, collecting 1,202 hits, 150 doubles, 211 home runs and 669 RBIs. Wagner briefly tried acting after his baseball career ended, earning roles in the 1974 film A Woman Under the Influence and in the 1976 film The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings. He fell on hard times later in life, struggling with drug addiction and still apparently resenting his trade from Los Angeles.
Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Sports Cards Plus - Cooper City, FL) - Card #560
The Card / Indians Team Set
Wagner is showing the Topps photographer the "I'm about to nonchalantly catch a pop-up and it's a beautiful day pose." Collectors would have already seen this exact photo on his 1964 Topps Giants card. The cartoon on the back celebrates his successful All-Star Game appearances.
1965 Season
In his second season with the Indians, Wagner was once again the team's regular left fielder, playing in 144 games and batting .294 (a career high) with 28 home runs and 79 RBIs. The home run tally led the team, with first baseman Fred Whitfield (#283) and center fielder Vic Davalillo (#128) connecting for 26 each.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1959 Topps #257
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1959-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2005 Upper Deck Classics #35
94 - Wagner non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/13/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Sports Cards Plus - Cooper City, FL) - Card #560
This is the 76th 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 cards needed for our set with an average price per card working out to around $6. The lot, including this Wagner card, consisted mostly of semi-stars and team cards. 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 / Indians Team Set
Wagner is showing the Topps photographer the "I'm about to nonchalantly catch a pop-up and it's a beautiful day pose." Collectors would have already seen this exact photo on his 1964 Topps Giants card. The cartoon on the back celebrates his successful All-Star Game appearances.
1965 Season
In his second season with the Indians, Wagner was once again the team's regular left fielder, playing in 144 games and batting .294 (a career high) with 28 home runs and 79 RBIs. The home run tally led the team, with first baseman Fred Whitfield (#283) and center fielder Vic Davalillo (#128) connecting for 26 each.
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First Mainstream Card: 1959 Topps #257
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1959-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2005 Upper Deck Classics #35
94 - Wagner non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/13/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #366 Dan Schneider - Milwaukee Braves
Previous Card: #366 Dan Schneider - Milwaukee Braves
Next Card: #368 White Sox Rookie Stars
Funny the things that stick in one's memory - it must have been around the summer of '68 that I saw him give a network pre-game interview. He had opened a clothing store, I believe in Cleveland. The slogan he had come up with?
ReplyDelete“By your rags at Daddy Wags'"!
Perfect - that's great!
ReplyDelete