#377 Willie Stargell - Pittsburgh Pirates

Wilver Dornel Stargell
Pittsburgh Pirates
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  188
Born:  March 6, 1940, Earlsboro, OH
Signed:  Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent, August 7, 1958
Major League Teams:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1962-1982
Died:  April 9, 2001, Wilmington, NC (age 61)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1988

Willie Stargell spent his entire 21-year career with the Pirates, and was one of the most feared power hitters of his generation.  As the club's regular left fielder throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, Stargell made his first of seven All-Star teams in 1964.  In 1971, he helped lead the Pirates to a World Championship title over the Orioles, batting .295 during the season with a league leading 48 home runs and 125 RBIs.  He'd continue to slug home runs throughout the 1970s, with his tally of 296 home runs leading all players during the decade.  His blasts were often moonshots, and he holds the distinction of hitting the longest home run in Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium history.  In 1973, he crossed the 100-RBI plateau for the fifth and final time, leading the league with 119 RBIs, and also leading the league in home runs (44), doubles (23) and slugging percentage (.646).

Moving to first base in the mid-1970s, he emerged as a veteran team leader, earning his affectionate nickname of "Pops."  In 1979, he again won the N.L. MVP, to go along with NLCS MVP and World Series MVP honors as his Pirates again defeated the Orioles in the World Series.  He retired following the 1982 season with a career average of .282, 2,232 hits, 475 home runs and 1,540 RBIs.  The Pirates had retired his #8 a month before his final game, and Stargell was a first ballot Hall of Famer in 1988.

Stargell briefly served as the first base coach for the Braves (1986-1988) following his retirement, and he'd also later work in the Pirates front office.  Two days before he passed away, the Pirates unveiled a statute of Stargell at their new PNC Park.

Building the Set

August 4, 2022 from Fremont, CA - Card #591

I got an itch for some vintage baseball cards in late July, as I hadn't added any new cards to our 1965 Topps set since May or my Diamond Stars set since June.  Taking advantage of some discounts offered at The Battersbox online store, I settled on a relatively pricey Ernie Lombardi card along with the card of former Phillies manager Steve O'Neill.  Also arriving in early August was this Stargell card, purchased from eBay seller gmw422 from Fremont, California.  Adding this Stargell card gets us down to needing only seven cards before our set is completed and I thought the card was a bargain at $27.

These cards arrived during the Phillies' Alumni Weekend, one of the best weekends of the year for Phillies fans.  I wrote about Doug's success in adding autographs from several returning alumni over at this post at The Phillies Room.  Following the game of August 5th, the Phillies were 58-48 and in third place in the division, nine games behind the Mets.  Writing this post nearly three months later on October 28th, I'm killing time getting ready for World Series Game 1 in Houston, with the Phillies facing off against the Astros.  This whole postseason experience has been surreal to me, with the Phillies now just four wins away from clinching the franchise's third championship title.  Hard to believe, Harry.

The Card / Pirates Team Set
This is Stargell's third appearance in a Topps flagship set and his second solo card, as his 1963 Topps appearance came on a multi-player, floating heads Rookie Stars card.  The back of the card highlights his high school basketball career, as well as his 1964 break-out season.

1965 Season
Stargell was the Pirates' regular left fielder, with Bill Virdon (#69) in center and Roberto Clemente (#160) in right.  He made his second All-Star team and drove in over 100 runs (107) for the first time in his career.  Stargell started in left field for the National League All-Stars, hitting a two-run second inning home run off Mudcat Grant (#432).  In 144 games overall, he batted .272 with 27 home runs, leading the Pirates.

1963 Topps #553

1971 Topps #230

1975 Topps #100

1979 Topps #55

1982 Topps #715

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1963 Topps #553
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (20):  1963-1982
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2022 Topps Pristine #163

1,287 - Stargell non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/28/22.

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #376 Jim Landis - Kansas City Athletics

Next Card:  #378 Chuck Estrada - Baltimore Orioles

#266 Bert Campaneris - Kansas City Athletics

Dagoberto Campaneris
Kansas City Athletics
Shortstop-Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  160
Born:  March 9, 1942, Pueblo Nuevo, Cuba
Signed:  Signed by the Kansas City Athletics as an amateur free agent, April 25, 1961
Major League Teams:  Kansas City Athletics 1964-1967; Oakland Athletics 1968-1976; Texas Rangers 1977-1979; California Angels 1979-1981; New York Yankees 1983

A speedy and steady fielding shortstop for most of his 19-year major league career, Bert Campaneris was a six-time All-Star and a three-time World Champion as a member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty of the early 1970s.  He first came to fame in 1965 when he became the first player to play all nine positions during a game in a publicity stunt staged by A's owner Charlie Finley.  Campaneris led the league with 51 steals in 1965, his first of four consecutive years leading the American League in that category.  He'd lead in six seasons overall with his 62 steals in 1968 his career best.  That 1968 season, the Athletics first in Oakland, was also his finest year in the majors as he batted .276 while leading the league with 177 hits.  Campaneris would play in his first of three consecutive postseasons in 1972, but earned a suspension when he threw his bat at Tigers' pitcher Lerrin LaGrow in Game 2 of the ALCS.  He batted .263 in his three World Series appearances, as the Athletics won in 1972, 1973 and 1974.  Campaneris was the starting shortstop for the American League All-Star teams in 1973, 1974 and 1975.

He signed as a free agent with the Rangers following the 1976 season, and Campaneris spent the final years of his big league career as a back-up infielder and pinch-hitter, leading the league in sacrifice bunts twice.  The veteran retired following one last stint in the majors with the Yankees, replacing an injured Willie Randolph in 1983.  He batted .259 in 2,328 games, collecting 2,249 hits and 649 stolen bases, currently 14th all-time.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Richie's Sports Cards - Manalapan, NJ) - Card #586

This is the last 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.  

With 101 new cards secure in my red backpack, I wanted to return to a dealer's table where I had seen this Campaneris rookie card displayed in a glass-covered case earlier in the morning.  I asked to see the card, offered what I thought was a fair price, the dealer counteroffered and I accepted.  With that, the day was done and we had 102 new cards for our 1965 Topps set that would take me until mid-October to appreciate, compose posts for and put away, and we were 12 cards away from a complete set.

Since that early March day, we've added seven more cards, so the official need list as of this writing is down to a measly five - three of which I'd consider to be fairly expensive.  I'll get through the seven cards added between April and September in the next few weeks, and then there could be a lull in posting as I save up enough allowance money for the final five.

The Card / Athletics Team Set
Topps lists his position as "SS-OF" on this card, but Campaneris is the shortstop on the Topps 1964 All-Star Rookie team, joining his nine teammates as displayed below.  The back of the card mentions the two home runs he hit in his big league debut.  Called up by the Athletics in late July, he debuted on July 23rd against the Twins, batting second and playing shortstop.  Campaneris hit a first inning home run off Jim Kaat (#62), singled in the third, grounded out in the fifth, and homered again off Kaat in the seventh.  The first inning home run came on the very first pitch he saw, and he's one of five players to hit two home runs in their major league debuts.  Trevor Story last did it in 2016.

This card has been reprinted several times, appearing in the 2001 Topps Archives, 2003 Topps Shoebox Collection and 2005 Topps Rookie Cup Reprints sets.  It's the final card we needed to complete the Athletics team set.

#290

#18

#523

#224

#118

#460

#266

#305

#55

#340

1965 Season
Campaneris was the opening day shortstop, moving to left field for quite a few starts until early June, with Wayne Causey (#425) seeing shortstop duty.  Campaneris would ultimately start 103 games at shortstop, 37 games in left field and one game in center field.  In 144 games overall, he batted .270 with a league-leading 12 triples and 51 stolen bases.

On their way to a 103 loss season, Finley advertised in advance that Campaneris would be playing all nine positions in the September 8th game against the Angels.  Campaneris started at shortstop, moving progressively to second base, third base, left field, center field, right field, pitcher and finally, catcher.  He pitched the eighth inning in a close 2-1 game with the Angels leading.  Campaneris gave up an RBI-single to Joe Adcock, but struck out Bobby Knoop (#26) to end the inning.  Moving behind the plate for the ninth, Campaneris had to leave the game following a home plate collision with Ed Kirkpatrick (#393).

1966 Topps #175

1969 Topps #495

1975 Topps #170

1979 Topps #620

1984 Topps #139

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #266
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (20):  1965-1984
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2016 Topps Archives Fan Favorite Autographs #FFA-BC

231 - Campaneris non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/10/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #265 Jim Pagliaroni - Pittsburgh Pirates

Next Card:  #267 Washington Senators Team Card

#412 Bob Bailey - Pittsburgh Pirates

Robert Sherwood Bailey
Pittsburgh Pirates
Third Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  180
Born:  October 13, 1942, Long Beach, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent before 1961 season
Major League Teams:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1962-1966; Los Angeles Dodgers 1967-1968; Montreal Expos 1969-1975; Cincinnati Reds 1976-1977; Boston Red Sox 1977-1978
Died:  January 9, 2018, Las Vegas, NV (age 75)

Bob Bailey played in parts of 17 seasons in the majors, first as the regular third baseman for the Pirates and Expos and later as an outfielder and pinch-hitter for the Reds and Red Sox.  Bailey earned the starting third baseman's job with the Pirates in 1963 and while he struggled that first full season, he came back to bat .281 in 1964.  He'd have four consecutive seasons with at least 11 home runs between 1963 and 1966, but he wouldn't put up his biggest power numbers until after being sold to the Expos from the Dodgers in late 1968.  Bailey was the first first baseman in Montreal Expos franchise history, and his best seasons came in the early 1970s with the club.  He batted a career high .287 in 1970 while hitting 28 home runs (also a career high) and 84 RBIs.  He'd lead all National League third baseman in 1971 with a .960 fielding percentage and Bailey would bat .273 with 26 home runs and 86 RBIs in 1973.  Later helping the Reds reach the World Series in 1976, Bailey didn't appear in the postseason, but he was the recipient of a ring after the Reds swept the Yankees in four games.

Bailey would play a few more seasons as a back-up outfielder, pinch-hitter and designated hitter before retiring.  In 1,931 games, Bailey collected 1,564 hits, batting .257 with 189 home runs and 773 RBIs.  He'd briefly manage in the minor leagues following his playing days.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Sports Cards Plus - Cooper City, FL) - Card #571

This is the 87th 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 Bailey 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 / Pirates Team Set
This is already Bailey's third appearance in a Topps flagship set, and those appear to be mountains in the background?  There are a few other Pirates cards in the set that use photos from presumably the same spring training location, and looking through some of those now maybe that is a mountain range in the background?  Or maybe it's just trees and clouds.  See for yourself here with the Pirates team set, and check out the cards for Steve Blass (#232) and Bob Veale (#195).

1965 Season
Bailey played in 159 games for the Pirates, the most of his career.  At just 22 years old, and as the team's everyday third baseman, he made 133 starts at third and another 24 starts in left field.  On opening day, Bailey hit a walk-off, game-winning home run off Juan Marichal (#50) in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Pirates a 1-0 win over the Giants.  For the season, he batted .256 with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs.

1963 Topps #228

1970 Topps #293

1975 Topps #365

1977 Topps #221

1979 Topps #549

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1963 Topps #228
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (17):  1963-1979
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1981 TCMA The 1960s II #310

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

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #411 Roger Craig - Cincinnati Reds

Next Card:  #413 Hal Reniff - New York Yankees

#431 Cardinals Rookie Stars - Nelson Briles / Wayne Spiezio

Nelson Kelley Briles
St. Louis Cardinals
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  195
Born:  August 5, 1943, Dorris, CA
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1965-1970; Pittsburgh Pirates 1971-1973; Kansas City Royals 1974-1975; Texas Rangers 1976-1977; Baltimore Orioles 1977-1978
Died:  February 13, 2005, Orlando, FL (age 61)

Edward Wayne Spiezio
St. Louis Cardinals
Infield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  180
Born:  October 31, 1941, Joliet, IL
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1964-1968; San Diego Padres 1969-1972; Chicago White Sox 1972

Nelson Briles pitched in parts of 14 major league seasons, winning World Series rings with the Cardinals in 1967 and the Pirates in 1971.  Briles won at least 10 games in six different seasons, hitting his career high with 19 wins in the Year of the Pitcher, 1968.  He surpassed the 200 innings pitched plateau in four different seasons, again hitting his career high in 1968 with 243 2/3 innings pitched.  He appeared in five World Series games overall, going 2-1 with a 2.59 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings pitched.  He pitched a complete game shutout against the Orioles in Game 5 of the 1971 World Series, allowing only two Orioles hits.  Briles had a career record of 129-112 in 452 games and a 3.44 ERA.  Known for his control, he struck out 1,163 and walked only 547 in 2,111 2/3 innings pitched.  Following his playing days, Briles worked as a television broadcaster for the Pirates, Mariners and for the USA Network.

Ed Spiezio was a back-up infielder on the 1964 and 1967 World Champion Cardinals and later was the first third baseman in Padres franchise history.  Spiezio was used primarily as either a defensive replacement at third base or as a pinch-hitter during his five seasons with the Cardinals.  In one of the earliest trades in Padres history, he was acquired from the Cardinals with three other players on December 3, 1968 for pitcher Dave Giusti (#524).  He was the opening day third baseman for the Padres, collecting the team's first hit, home run and run when he connected on April 8, 1969, against Astros' pitcher Don Wilson in the fifth inning of the team's home opener.  Spiezio appeared in a career-high 121 games that season, batting .234 with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs.  For his career, Spiezio batted .238 with 39 home runs and 174 RBIs, collecting 367 hits.  His son, Scott Spiezio, played for 12 seasons in the majors with the Athletics, Angels, Mariners and Cardinals between 1996 and 2007.  Scott Spiezio won two World Series rings himself, with the Angels in 2002 and with the Cardinals in 2006.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #513

This is the 29th 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 Rookie Stars card was $10 and was one of 49 commons, or in this case a semi-star, 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 / Cardinals Team Set
This is the rookie card for both players.  Topps used Spiezio's first name on the front of the card, and his middle name, and the name he went by, on the back of the card.

1965 Season - Briles
As a result of the signing bonus he received in 1964, the Cardinals had to keep Briles on their roster for the entire 1965 season.  He pitched fairly well, appearing in 37 games and making two starts, earning a record of 3-3 with a 3.50 ERA over 82 1/3 innings pitched.  Briles also recorded four saves.

1965 Season - Spiezio
Spiezio made the Cardinals' opening day roster, appearing in 10 games and batting just .167 before an early May demotion to the minor leagues.  With the Triple-A Jacksonville Suns, he batted .221 in 116 games, playing 66 games at third base and 51 games in the outfield.

1966 Topps #243

1968 Topps #540

1972 Topps #605

1976 Topps #569

1979 Topps #262

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Briles
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #431
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15):  1965-1979
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Topps Heritage 1971 World Series Highlights #WSH-4

68 - Briles non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/14/22.

Sources - Briles:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Spiezio
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #431
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1965, 1967-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1972 Topps #504

30 - Spiezio non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/14/22.

Sources - Spiezio:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

1967 Topps #128

1968 Topps #349

1969 Topps #249

1970 Topps #718

1972 Topps #504

Previous Card:  #430 Gary Peters - Chicago White Sox

Next Card:  #432 Jim Grant - Minnesota Twins