#420 Larry Jackson - Chicago Cubs

Lawrence Curtis Jackson
Chicago Cubs
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  175
Born:  June 2, 1931, Nampa, ID
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1951 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1955-1962; Chicago Cubs 1963-1966; Philadelphia Phillies 1966-1968
Died:  August 28, 1990, Boise, ID (age 59)

One of the most underrated National League starting pitchers for 14 seasons, Larry Jackson won 14 or more games 10 times, leading the league in wins with 24 in 1964.  His 194 career wins are the most for any right-handed pitcher since 1900 who never played for a first place team and therefore never reached the postseason.  A reliable workhorse, Jackson made the All-Star team in 1957, 1958, 1960 and 1963.

He led the league in games started (38) and innings pitched (282) in 1960 and topped the league in 1966 with five shutouts.  He was also an outstanding fielder, as demonstrated by his perfect fielding percentages in 1957, 1964, 1965 and 1968.  Pitching for mostly bad teams, Jackson nevertheless compiled a lifetime record of 194-183 with a 3.40 ERA.  Drafted by the Expos in the 1968 expansion draft, Jackson chose to retire rather than report to Montreal.  He'd later serve four terms in the Idaho House of Representatives and ran for governor of the state in 1978.

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 #573

This is the 89th 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 Jackson 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 / Cubs Team Set
This is Jackson's second appearance in the set, as he's front and center on the 1964 Pitching Leaders card (#10) with Juan Marichal (#50) and Ray Sadecki (#230).  The back of the card highlights his 28 wins while pitching for  the Class C Fresno Cardinals in 1952.  As mentioned above, and on the back of this card by Topps, Jackson was also one of the best fielding pitchers of his era.

1965 Season
Coming off his career-year and 24-win season, Jackson was again a workhorse in the Cubs' starting pitching rotation, making 39 starts and pitching at least 250 innings for the fourth season in a row.  The Cubs were not a good team though, and his record of 14-21 reflected that.  Jackson had a 3.85 ERA, pitching 12 complete games and throwing four shutouts.

Phillies Career

The Phillies acquired Jackson and Bob Buhl (#264) from the Chicago Cubs on April 21, 1966 for three questionable prospects - John Herrnstein (#534), Adolfo Phillips and Fergie Jenkins, who would go on to enjoy a Hall of Fame career.  Jackson slid into the Phillies pitching rotation behind Jim Bunning (#20) and Chris Short, recording a 41-45 record over three seasons with a respectable 2.95 ERA.  He led the Phillies staff with a 2.77 ERA in 1968, but the team decided to leave the 37-year-old veteran unprotected in that offseason's expansion draft.  Selected by the Expos, Jackson held true to a promise he had made to retire unless he was playing for a west coast team.  As compensation for losing Jackson, the Phillies sent infielder Bobby Wine (#36) to the Expos, who became the team's first regular shortstop.

Jackson appears with the Phillies in the 1966, 1967 and 1968 Topps sets and he also received a few Phillies photo cards and oddball cards from that era.

1956 Topps #119

1959 Topps #399

1962 Topps #83

1964 Topps #444

1968 Topps #81

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1956 Topps #119
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13):  1956-1968
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1978 TCMA The 1960s I #286

73 - Jackson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 9/3/22.

Sources:  
1956 Topps Blog

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #419 Ruben Amaro - Philadelphia Phillies

Next Card:  #421 Twins Rookie Stars

#411 Roger Craig - Cincinnati Reds

Roger Lee Craig
Cincinnati Reds
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  190
Born:  February 17, 1930, Durham, NC
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1950 season
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1955-1957; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-1961; New York Mets 1962-1963; St. Louis Cardinals 1964; Cincinnati Reds 1965; Philadelphia Phillies 1966
As a Manager:  San Diego Padres 1978-1979; San Francisco Giants 1985-1992

A few decades before he was a successful manager for the Giants, Roger Craig pitched in parts of 12 seasons, experiencing the move of the Dodgers to the West Coast and suffering through the futility of the first fews years of the Mets' existence.  Craig went to six World Series (four as a player), winning rings with the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers, the 1959 Los Angeles Dodgers, the 1964 Cardinals and as a coach with the 1984 Tigers.  Spending equal time as a starter and a reliever, Craig went 74-98 in 368 career appearances and owned a 3.83 career ERA.  He lost 46 games over two seasons with the expansion Mets.

Following his playing days, Craig taught his signature pitch, the split-finger fastball, to several pitchers including Jack Morris, Mike Scott and Milt Wilcox.  He served as a pitching coach for the Padres (1969-1972), Astros (1974-1975), Padres again (1976-1977) and Tigers (1980-1984).  In 1985, he was named manager of the Giants and he led the 1989 Giants to their first World Series appearance in 27 years.  Craig's leadership and unique rallying cry, "Humm Baby" weren't enough to defeat the Athletics in the 1989 series interrupted by 10 days as a result of the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake.

My family visited San Francisco for the Phillies series in early August 2019, and the Giants celebrated the 30th anniversary of the 1989 team with a pre-game ceremony.  Craig, then 89, was on hand to celebrate with his former team and he took the field to a standing ovation with current Giants manager Bruce Bochy.

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 #570

This is the 86th 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 Craig 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 / Reds Team Set
It's hard to tell if Craig is wearing a Dodgers, Mets or Cardinals jersey here.  Topps used pictures of him in a Mets uniform for his 1963 and 1964 cards, and pinstripes are visible on his jersey there.  There doesn't appear to be any neck piping, and Craig looks older than the Dodgers photo last used for his 1962 Topps card.  I'll guess he's wearing a Cardinals jersey here.

The cartoon says Craig lost five 1-0 games in 1963, which is unfortunately accurate.  Craig was 5-22 in 1963 for the Mets, with the pitcher losing 1-0 games five times, and losing a 2-0 game to the Phillies as well.

1965 Season
On December 14, 1964, the Cardinals traded Craig with outfielder Charlie James (#141) to the Reds for pitcher Bob Purkey (#214).  This was to be Craig's last full season in the majors, and he'd make 40 relief appearances for the Reds, going 1-4 with a 3.64 ERA and three saves.

Phillies Career
On April 11, 1966, Craig was released by the Reds at the end of spring training, signing with the Phillies that very same day.  Craig made his first appearance for the Phillies on opening day against the Cardinals, coming on to relieve Chris Short in the 10th after Short had pitched 9 2/3 innings.  Craig pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings and was the recipient of the win when John Herrnstein (#534) singled home Dick Allen (#460) with the eventual winning run in the 12th.

Used solely as a reliever, Craig appeared in 14 games for the Phillies, going 2-1 with a 5.56 ERA.  The 36-year-old Craig was released by the club on July 23rd, ending his big league career.  Craig received a Phillies card in the 1966 Topps set, but the photo used is the exact same photo used for Craig's 1962 Topps card, when he was with the Mets.  Craig signed reprinted versions of his 1966 Topps card for inclusion in the 2015 Topps Heritage set.

1956 Topps #63

1963 Fleer #47

1966 Topps #543

1974 Topps #31

1989 Topps #744

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1956 Topps #63
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (19):  1956-1958, 1960-1966, 1974, 1979, 1986-1992
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2015 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-RC

158 - Craig non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/21/22.

Sources:  
1956 Topps Blog

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

Previous Card:  #410 Luis Aparicio - Baltimore Orioles

Next Card:  #412 Bob Bailey - Pittsburgh Pirates

#312 Joe Nuxhall - Cincinnati Reds

Joseph Henry Nuxhall
Cincinnati Reds
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  195
Born:  July 30, 1928, Hamilton, OH
Signed:  Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent before 1944 season
Major League Teams:  Cincinnati Reds 1944, 1952-1960; Kansas City Athletics 1961; Los Angeles Angels 1962; Cincinnati Reds 1962-1966
Died:  November 15, 2007, Fairfield, OH (age 79)

With a shortage of players due to World War II, Joe Nuxhall made his big league debut on June 10, 1944, pitching two-thirds of an inning for the Reds, a few months shy of his 16th birthday.  He's the youngest player ever to appear in the majors.  Nuxhall would pitch in the minor leagues for the next several years, making it back to the Reds in 1952.  He was an All-Star with the club in 1955 and 1956, winning a career-high 17 games in 1955 while leading the league with five shutouts.  Nicknamed "Ol' Lefthander," Nuxhall spent all but two seasons of his 16 years in the majors with the Reds.  He enjoyed a late career resurgence in 1963, going 15-8 with a 2.61 ERA in 35 appearances.  Nuxhall retired owning the record for most games pitched for the Reds with 484, and although he was passed later by Pedro Borbon, Scott Sullivan and Clay Carroll (#461), he still holds the mark for most games pitched by a left-handed pitcher in franchise history.  Nuxhall was 135-117 lifetime with a 3.90 ERA in 526 games pitched.  He struck out 1,372 overall and 1,289 with the Reds, which is currently third on their all-time list.

Nuxhall joined the Reds' broadcasting booth in 1967 and retired on October 3, 2004, 60 years following his pitching debut.  He was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1968, and he's the subject of one of eight statutes surrounding the Reds' current home, Great American Ball Park.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime - Fair Lawn, NJ) - Card #489
This is the fifth 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.  This Nuxhall card was a little over $4 and was one of 13 cards purchased from the dealer America's Pastime from Fair Lawn, New Jersey.

Depending on my ability to compose five posts a week on the cards acquired at this show, I should be completely caught up by mid-October.  So get used to seeing this passage on the blog!  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 / Reds Team Set
Nuxhall is sporting the gray short-sleeve windbreaker under the sleeveless vest look, and Topps used photos from this same session for his 1966 and 1967 flagship cards.  As a veteran, there's no room for a cartoon on the back of Nuxhall's card and there's an uncorrected error on the back stating he made his debut at 16 years old.  To be precise, he was 15 years and 316 days old when he debuted in 1944.

1965 Season
In his penultimate season, Nuxhall went 11-6 with a 3.45 ERA in 32 games, making 16 starts.  His 148 2/3 innings pitched were fourth most on the team behind Sammy Ellis (#507), Jim Maloney (#530) and Joey Jay (#174).  In his start on August 21st against the Phillies, Nuxhall pitched 10 innings, earning the win when the Reds scored a run in the top of the 11th.

1952 Topps #406

1956 Topps #218

1959 Topps #389

1963 Topps #194

1967 Topps #44

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #406
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13):  1952-1953, 1956-1961, 1963-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2001 SP Legendary Cuts Game Jersey #J-JN

84 - Nuxhall non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/3/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #311 Orlando Pena - Kansas City Athletics

Next Card:  #313 Jimmie Schaffer - Chicago White Sox

#485 Nellie Fox - Houston Astros

Jacob Nelson Fox
Houston Astros
Second Base-Coach

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  160
Born:  December 25, 1927, St. Thomas, PA
Signed:  Signed by the Philadelphia Athletics as an amateur free agent before the 1944 season
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Athletics 1947-1949; Chicago White Sox 1950-1963; Houston Colt .45s 1964; Houston Astros 1965
Died:  December 1, 1975, Baltimore, MD (age 47)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1997

Hall of Famer Nellie Fox was a perennial All-Star for the White Sox throughout the 1950s, leading the American League in hits in four different seasons.  He never struck out more than 18 times a season and his 42.7 at bats per strikeout is tops all-time in the modern era.  Fox was named to the All-Star team 11 years in a row between 1951 and 1961 and went back in 1963 too.  A fantastic fielder, Fox won three Gold Gloves for his work at second base in 1957, 1959 and 1960.  He was the A.L. MVP in 1959 when he hit .306 with 70 RBIs, helping the Go-Go White Sox reach the World Series for the first time since 1919.

Fox played 19 seasons in the majors, hitting .288 with 2,663 hits, which is currently 75th on the all-time list.  He's also high on the all-time list for singles (2,161 for 28th place), runs scored (1,279 for 138th place) and triples (112 for 121st place).  Fox served as a player-coach for the Astros in 1965 and then a full-time coach with the team in 1966 and 1967.  He also coached with the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers between 1968 and 1972.  Sadly, skin cancer claimed Fox in 1975 at the way too young age of 47.  One of the greatest second baseman of his era, Fox had his #2 retired by the White Sox in 1976 and he was elected by the Veterans Committee into the Hall of Fame in 1997.

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

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - 

Card #456

You'll be seeing this particular passage on my 1965 Topps blog for quite some time as we added a whopping 97 cards to our set during the December Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show.  If I'm ambitious and compose posts for five cards a week, I should be completely caught up by the end of May.  If I'm not as ambitious, I might still be going through this stack by the time we hit July.  Either way, I'll enjoy the process and I'm looking forward to taking my time.  I've posted a complete summary of this fantastic show over at The Phillies Room.

After securing Doug's Jim Thome autograph, I returned to Uncle Dick's and their neon green shirts, pulled up a chair, and settled in.  Over the course of 45 minutes or so, I found 79 cards needed for our set, including this Fox card which was a little less than $9 after the dealer discount.  I was surrounded by six or seven other seated collectors, all who looked similar to me, with a touch of gray, focused on their individual quests.  I wiped out Uncle Dick's two 1965 Topps commons binders, paid for my haul and then retreated to a table with Doug to update our checklist.

The Card / Astros Team Set
This is the second player-coach/future Hall of Famer card we've added to the set, with Warren Spahn (#205) being the first.  We still have the Yogi Berra (#470) card to go for the trifecta.  This is Fox's final Topps flagship appearance as a player, and he's wearing a Colt .45s jersey and hat with the logo colored over on his hat.  There's barely room for 18 years of statistics on the back of the card, and only his 21 games played in 1965 are missing.  The card is reprinted in the 2001 Topps Archives set.

1965 Season
In his final season before becoming a full-time coach, Fox batted an impressive .268 (11 for 41), while making six starts for the Astros - four at third base, one at second base and one at first base - with all starts coming in May, June or July.  His other appearances were as a pinch-hitter.  He played in his last major league game on July 25th against the Reds, pinch-hitting for Astros' pitcher Mike Cuellar (#337) in the eighth inning.  With the Astros trailing 1-0, Fox grounded into a bases loaded fielder's choice with the runner out at home.

1951 Bowman #232

1954 Bowman #6

1956 Topps #118

1959 Topps #30

1963 Topps #525

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #232
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1956-1965, 1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2018 Panini Diamond Kings #17

403 - Fox non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/23/22.

Sources:  
1956 Topps Blog

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #484 Ron Perranoski - Los Angeles Dodgers

Next Card:  #486 Angels Rookie Stars

#410 Luis Aparicio - Baltimore Orioles

Luis Ernesto Aparicio
Baltimore Orioles
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  160
Born:  April 29, 1934, Maracaibo, Venezuela
Signed:  Signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before 1954 season
Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1956-1962; Baltimore Orioles 1963-1967; Chicago White Sox 1968-1970; Boston Red Sox 1971-1973
Hall of Fame Induction:  1984

Known for his exceptional defense and base running skills, Luis Aparicio played for 18 seasons in the majors, primarily for the White Sox.  Ted Williams called him "the best shortstop he had ever seen."  Aparicio made his debut in 1956, winning the American League Rookie of the Year honors after batting .266 and leading the league with 21 stolen bases.  It was to be the first of nine straight years in which Aparicio led the league or tied for the league lead in stolen bases, and he eclipsed the 50 stolen base mark in four of those seasons.  Aparicio helped lead his "Go-Go" White Sox to the World Series in 1959, and he was American League MVP runner-up.  Dealt to the Orioles before the 1963 season, Aparicio's production declined slightly but his defensive skills didn't.  He reunited with the White Sox in 1968 and enjoyed a late career resurgence making three more All-Star teams in his late 30s with the White Sox and Red Sox.

Aparicio retired with 2,677 career hits, 506 stolen bases (currently 38th all-time) and a .262 lifetime average.  Upon his retirement, he was the all-time leader for hits, games played, assists and double plays by a shortstop, and his record nine Gold Gloves was matched by Omar Vizquel in 2001.  Derek Jeter broke his all-time hits record by a shortstop in 2009.  Aparicio was the first native Venezuelan inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984, and his #11 was retired by the White Sox that same year.

Building the Set

November 5, 2021 from Cooperstown, NY (Seventh Inning Stretch) - Card #378

Needing a quick vacation and wanting to take our sons to Cooperstown for the first time, we took advantage of the annual NJEA Teacher Convention in which public schools are closed for a few days in early November.  We loaded our car on Thursday morning with a loose plan of spending two days in Cooperstown and the surrounding area, shopping in the village, soaking in the Hall of Fame exhibits and eating a few good dinners.  The 4 1/2 hour drive to Otsego County was scenic and enjoyable.  Most of the day Friday was spent in the Hall of Fame and Saturday was dedicated largely to shopping in the many stores, mostly baseball related, located in the blocks surrounding the Hall.

On Friday, we luckily didn't bypass Seventh Inning Stretch, located adjacent to Doubleday Field, as we originally thought the store was closed.  We entered through their back door, and my eyes immediately turned to the staircase to my left leading to a second floor adorned with thousands of baseball cards for sale in glass cases on the walls, roughly in chronological order.  I found this Aparicio card behind one of the last glass cases, and $25 seemed like a reasonable price to me.  This was the first of nine cards we'd ultimately add to our 1965 Topps set from that weekend trip to Cooperstown.

The Card / Orioles Team Set
I didn't recognize the patch on Aparicio's shoulder, and after a quick Google search I discovered this was a patch the Orioles wore during their 1964 season to mark the Sesquicentennial of the Star-Spangled Banner, written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key as he witnessed the attack on Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor by the British.  This is the first Orioles card I've added to our set where the patch is visible.  On the back of the card, Aparicio's 1956 Rookie of the Year win is celebrated in cartoon form.

Aparicio is in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set, but he's not in the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set.

1965 Season
For the third season in a row, Aparicio was the Orioles' opening day and regular shortstop, providing an amazing defense from the left side of the infield along with third baseman Brooks Robinson (#150).  Aparicio's offensive production was down, as he batted just .225 in 144 games and he missed his first All-Star Game selection since 1957.  But his defensive abilities stayed steady as he led all American League shortstops with a .971 fielding percentage.

1956 Topps #292

1959 Topps #310

1962 Topps #325

1970 Topps #315

1974 Topps #61

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1956 Topps #292
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (19):  1956-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2021 Topps 206 (Wave 8)

1,003 - Aparicio non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/17/21.

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #409 Astros Rookie Stars

Next Card:  #411 Roger Craig - Cincinnati Reds

#56 Ron Kline - Washington Senators

Ronald Lee Kline
Washington Senators
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  205
Born:  March 9, 1932, Callery, PA
Signed:  Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent before 1950 season
Major League Teams:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1952, 1955-1959; St. Louis Cardinals 1960; Los Angeles Angels 1961; Detroit Tigers 1961-1962; Washington Senators 1963-1966; Minnesota Twins 1967; Pittsburgh Pirates 1968-1969; San Francisco Giants 1969; Boston Red Sox 1969; Atlanta Braves 1970
Died:  June 22, 2002, Callery, PA (age 70)

A veteran of 17 big league seasons and 736 career appearances, Ron Kline enjoyed a career as a dependable reliever for 10 different teams.  His longest stint with any one team came at the beginning of his career with the Pirates, his hometown team, where he pitched for eight seasons primarily as a starting pitcher.  Kline missed two seasons early in his career due to military service in 1953 and 1954.  Despite his record of 14-18, 1956 was probably his best season as he started 39 games and had an ERA of 3.38.  It wasn't tracked at the time, but his WAR for pitchers in 1956 (4.9) was fourth in the N.L. behind Johnny Antonelli, Bob Friend (#392) and Warren Spahn (#205).

As a reliever later in his career, Kline finished in the top ten in saves four times, topping the A.L. leaders list in 1965 with 29 saves for the Senators.  After retiring from baseball, Kline returned to his hometown of Callery, PA where he served as the town's mayor for several years.

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

Building the Set

December 25, 2020 from Marco Island, FL - Card #195
This is one of 32 cards (mostly commons) I received from Jenna and our sons on Christmas morning, as I was asked to do some surrogate shopping on their behalf and I gladly obliged.  Hunting specifically for first series cards, this is one of 11 cards I added from eBay seller njlionsfan from Clinton, New Jersey.  This Kline card was only $2.

The Card / Senators Team Set
Kline appeared on three Topps flagship cards during his tenure with the Senators and impressively all three photos used seem to come from different sessions.  Topps goes all the way back 14 years for the highlight to use on the back of the card, pointing out Kline's successful season for the 1951 Bartlesville Pirates in the Class D Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League.  Kline is in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set, but he's not in the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set.

1965 Season
Kline actually earned some MVP votes as one of the top relievers in the American League.  His 29 saves were five better than the two relievers tied for second with 24 - Stu Miller (#499) of the Orioles and Eddie Fisher (#328) of the White Sox.  Kline appeared in a career-high 74 games and was 7-6 with a 2.63 ERA over 99 1/3 innings pitched.  He actually didn't get all the save opportunities for the Senators, as Steve Ridzik (#211) recorded 8 saves in 1965 with Bennie Daniels (#129), Mike McCormick (#343) and Howie Koplitz recording one save each.

1953 Topps #175

1956 Topps #94

1959 Topps #265

1963 Topps #84

1969 Topps #243

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1953 Topps #175
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15):  1953, 1956-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1991 Topps Archives 1953 #175

Kline's last three Topps flagship baseball cards, from 1967, 1968 and 1969, feature almost identical (and hatless) photos with Kline looking in slightly different directions.

59 - Kline non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/4/21.

Sources:  
1956 Topps Blog

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Previous Card:  #55 Tony Conigliaro - Boston Red Sox

Next Card:  #57 St. Louis Cardinals Team Card