#383 Felipe Alou - Milwaukee Braves

Felipe Rojas Alou
Milwaukee Braves
First Base-Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  195
Born:  May 12, 1935, Bajos de Haina, Dominican Republic
Signed:  Signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent, November 14, 1955
Major League Teams:  San Francisco Giants 1958-1963; Milwaukee Braves 1964-1965; Atlanta Braves 1966-1969; Oakland Athletics 1970-1971; New York Yankees 1971-1973; Montreal Expos 1973; Milwaukee Brewers 1974
As a Manager:  Montreal Expos 1992-2001; San Francisco Giants 2003-2006

The oldest of the three Alou brothers, Felipe Alou enjoyed a 17-year big league career, playing primarily with the Giants and Braves, and then went on to be a successful manager for the Expos and Giants.  Alou came up with the Giants in 1958, and was named to his first of three All-Star Games in 1963.  On September 15, 1963, the three Alou brothers played in the Giants' outfield for the first time together with Felipe in center, Jesus (#545) in right and Matty (#318) in left.  The brothers' time together didn't last long, as Felipe Alou was traded to the Braves in December 1963 as part of a seven-player trade.  He'd enjoy his best seasons as a player on the Braves, making the 1966 and 1968 All-Star teams while leading the league in hits both those seasons (218 and 210, respectively.)  Alou also led the league with 122 runs scored in 1966, finished second for the batting title behind his brother Matty with a .327 average, and finished fifth in the year's MVP voting.  Alou spent the early 1970s as a reserve and pinch-hitter before retiring as a player following the 1974 season.

1982 Donruss #650

He joined the Expos' organization in 1976 as a minor league coach, and he'd stay with the franchise for 25 years.  Alou served as a coach for the team between 1979 and 1992 before taking over as their manager on May 22, 1992, replacing Tom Runnells.  He guided the Expos to their most successful stretch in their short franchise history, including a 74-40 record in the strike-shortened 1994 season, in which he was named National League Manager of the Year.  He'd later guide the Giants into the playoffs in 2003 when his team won 100 games.  As a player, Alou played in 2,082 games and collected 2,101 hits while batting .286 with 206 home runs and 852 RBIs.  As a manager, he oversaw 2,055 games and had a record of 1,033 and 1,021.  Alou is one of just three players in major league history to have 2,000 hits, 200 home runs and win 1,000 games a manager, along with Joe Torre (#200) and Frank Robinson (#120).

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Sports Cards Plus - Cooper City, FL) - Card #561

This is the 77th 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 Alou 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 / Braves Team Set
This is Alou's second Braves card in a Topps set, but the first to feature him actually wearing a Braves uniform.  His 1964 Topps card has him in a Giants uniform, and this was before Topps started the practice of blacking out cap logos or airbrushing in new logos.  The cartoon on the back makes the obligatory note of his two brothers who were still with the Giants at the time.

1965 Season
This was to be Alou's second season in Milwaukee, and while he appeared in 143 games he never had a regular position.  He started 132 games - 55 in left field, 47 at first base, 24 in center field and six in right field.  His frequent defensive moves didn't seem to effect his hitting as his .297 average was second on the team behind Henry Aaron (#170), who hit .318.  Alou hit 23 home runs and drove in 78 runs.

1959 Topps #102

1969 Topps #300

1974 Topps #485

1992 Topps Traded #3T

2006 Topps #289

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1959 Topps #102
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (23):  1959-1974, 1992-1993, 2001, 2003-2006
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2022 Topps x Aaron Judge #67

186 - Alou non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/14/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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