#385 Carl Yastrzemski - Boston Red Sox

Carl Michael Yastrzemski
Boston Red Sox
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  175
Born:  August 22, 1939, Southampton, NY
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent, November 29, 1958
Major League Teams:  Boston Red Sox 1961-1983
Hall of Fame Induction:  1989

For over two decades, Carl Yastrzemski was a mainstay at Fenway Park, as the team's regular left fielder, then first baseman and finally designated hitter.  One of the all-time Red Sox fan favorites, Yastrzemski made his first of 18 All-Star teams in 1963, while also being awarded his first of seven Gold Gloves.  That was also the season he won his first of three batting titles with a .321 average.  He'd produce consistently stellar seasons throughout the 1960s, culminating with his triple crown win in 1967 (.326 average, 44 home runs, 121 RBIs) en route to the league MVP award and an American League pennant for his Impossible Dream Red Sox.  Yastrzemski continued his superstar output throughout the 1970s, again helping to lead the Red Sox to the World Series in 1975.  On September 12, 1979, he became the first American League player with 3,000 career hits and 400 home runs.

He retired at the end of the 1983 season having appeared in 3,308 games, 2nd on the all-time list behind Pete Rose (#207).  His career at-bats (11,988), hits (3,419), doubles (646) and walks (1,845) are all currently in the top ten all-time.  Yastrzemski tallied 452 home runs and 1,844 RBIs, and along with Ted Williams, the player he replaced, is at the top of just about every offensive category on the Red Sox all-time lists.  His #8 was retired by the Red Sox in 1989, the same year he was inducted into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot.

Building the Set

September 15, 2022 from San Diego, CA (Kit Young Cards) - Card #593

This card was part of a larger stress-induced purchase from Kit Young Cards in mid-September.  The stress was all work related, and while some people choose to relieve stress through less productive means, I opted to purchase several vintage baseball cards.  The centerpiece of the haul was this Yaz card, which dropped the number of cards needed for our complete set down to five.  Joining Yaz were Diamond Stars cards of Joe Stripp and Lloyd Waner, along with a League Leaders card from the 1969 Topps set, which will be my focus after the last five cards needed from 1965 are tracked down.  

September 2022 was a blur.  I travelled for work the better part of two weeks, school started, the boys' fall sports schedules (cross country and baseball) were non-stop and there was little to no time to rest or to enjoy baseball card purchases.  Taking a mental health day in early October, I was happy to have the time to catch my breath and truly appreciate the new baseball cards that helped get me through that month.

The Card / Red Sox Team Set
I feel this is an iconic baseball card, and I love it's now in our collection.  Topps reprinted this card for its 2010 Topps Cards Your Mom Threw Out insert set.  Yastrzemski's name appears in white text on the front of the card, while every other Red Sox card in the set uses yellow for the player's name.  The back of the card mentions his two batting titles to date, in 1959 in the Carolina League and in 1963.  Yastrzemski's fielding skills often get overlooked, and he led all outfielders in assists in seven different seasons between 1962 and 1977.

1965 Season
The Red Sox would lose 100 games, but the all-star play of Yastrzemski gave fans reasons to hope.  In 133 games, Yastrzemski batted .312 with 20 home runs and 72 RBIs as the club's regular left fielder for the fifth straight season.  He hit for the cycle on May 14th, adding an extra home run for bonus points.  On September 25th, the Red Sox faced off against the Athletics and their starting pitcher, 58-year-old Satchel Paige.  Paige pitched three innings with Yastrzemski collecting the only hit, a double, against him.

1960 Topps #148

1963 Topps #115

1967 Topps #355

1975 Topps #280

1983 Topps #550

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1960 Topps #148
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (25):  1960-1984
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2022 Topps Pristine #149

2,870 - Yastrzemski non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/12/22.

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #384 Johnny Klippstein - Minnesota Twins

Next Card:  #386 Cubs Rookie Stars

#403 Boston Red Sox Team Card

Beginning in 1956 and going all the way through to 1981, with a one year absence in 1969, Topps included team cards in its flagship sets.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Sports Cards Plus - Cooper City, FL) - Card #567

This is the 83rd 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 Red Sox team 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 / Red Sox Team Set

The photo used for the Red Sox team card is from 1964, and was taken at some point prior to June 4th.  That's the date Lou Clinton (#229) was traded to the Angels for Lee Thomas (#111), and Clinton is featured in this photo in the front row next to Carl Yastrzemski (#385).  Manager Johnny Pesky would be relieved with only two games remaining in the 1964 season, replaced by third base coach Billy Herman (#251).  Topps would recycle the same team photo for its 1966 and 1967 sets, with no new Red Sox team card available until the 1970 Topps set.  (The Red Sox didn't get a team card in 1968, and team cards were completely omitted from the 1969 set.)

1963 Topps #202

1964 Topps #579

1966 Topps #259

1967 Topps #604

1965 Season

Herman fared worse than Pesky in his first full year as the Red Sox manager.  Only the Athletics, and their 103 loss season, kept the Red Sox, and their 100 loss season, out of the basement of the American League.  Left fielder Yastrzemski was the team's big star, leading the league in doubles (45), OBP (.395) and slugging percentage (.536) while batting .312 with 20 home runs and 72 RBIs.  Second baseman Felix Mantilla (#29) led the club with 92 RBIs, and right fielder Tony Conigliaro (#55) slugged 32 home runs.  On the mound, Earl Wilson (#42) started 36 games and went 13-14 with a 3.98 ERA.  Closer Dick Radatz (#295) was solid again, earning 22 saves.

Update Cards

For each team card featured, I'll be building a checklist of cards that could have been included in a 1965 Topps update set.  The Red Sox are very well represented in the 1965 Topps set, as they had 30 players suit up during the season and only four of those players were left out of the set.  I'd give cards to those four players and also include two more solo cards for key contributors who shared a Rookie Stars card with other players in the set.

• Rico Petrocelli (ss) - Petrocelli (#74) shared a card with Jerry Stephenson, but I'd give him a solo card in my update set.
• Jim Lonborg (rhp) - Same goes for Lonborg (#573) who had to share space with three other players.  Lonborg was the team's fourth starter throughout the season, making 31 starts overall.
• Jim Gosger (of) - Gosger appeared in 81 games, batting .256 and he'd appear in the 1966 Topps set.
• Tony Horton (1b) - Horton made it into 60 games and hit .294, and he never appeared in a Topps flagship set.  The closest he got to a widely available baseball card was his card in the 1971 Kellogg's set.
• Arnold Earley (lhp) - The most frequently used reliever behind Radatz, Earley made 57 appearances and there 74 1/3 innings.  He'd make one appearance in a Topps set in 1967.
• Bob Duliba (rhp) - Duliba relieved in 39 games with a respectable 3.78 ERA, and Topps would give him a card in the 1966 set.

Sources
Baseball Reference

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #402 Joe Amalfitano - Chicago Cubs

Next Card:  #404 Stan Williams - Cleveland Indians

#295 Dick Radatz - Boston Red Sox

Richard Raymond Radatz
Boston Red Sox
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'6"  Weight:  230
Born:  April 2, 1937, Detroit, MI
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent, June 1959
Major League Teams:  Boston Red Sox 1962-1966; Cleveland Indians 1966-1967; Chicago Cubs 1967; Detroit Tigers 1969; Montreal Expos 1969
Died:  March 16, 2005, Easton, MA (age 67)

Relief specialist Dick Radatz was one of the game's original and top closers in the early 1960s, earning spots on two All-Star teams and leading the league in saves in his rookie season of 1962 and again in 1964.  Radatz was arguably the game's top reliever during the first three years of his big league career.  He finished third in the 1962 Rookie of the Year voting, and was named the league's Fireman of the Year by The Sporting News.  Radatz was 9-6 with a 2.24 ERA with a league leading 62 appearances and 24 saves that season.  He saved 23 games in 1963, becoming the first pitcher ever with back-to-back 20-save seasons.  Radatz enjoyed a career-year in 1964, going 16-9 with a 2.29 ERA while leading the league with 67 appearances and 29 saves.  He struck out a career-best 181 over 157 innings pitched.  He recorded 10 strikeouts in his two All-Star Game appearances, with his victims including Willie Mays (#250), Willie McCovey (#176), Duke Snider and Henry Aaron (#170).

Radatz recorded his fourth and final season of at least 20 saves in 1965, and his output steadily declined thereafter.  He pitched four more seasons, bouncing around somewhat, before making a final 22 appearances with the Expos in 1969.  For his career, Radatz was 52-43 with a 3.13 ERA and 120 saves.  He recorded 745 strikeouts over 381 games and 693 2/3 innings pitched.  He was Boston's original all-time saves leader and his 104 saves while with the Red Sox are currently fourth on their all-time list.  Radatz was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1997.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Sports Cards Plus - Cooper City, FL) - Card #552

This is the 68th 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 commons, semi-stars and team cards needed for our set, including this Radatz card, with the average price per card working out to around $6.  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 / Red Sox Team Set
Radatz has the same serious expression on each of his Topps flagship cards issued throughout the 1960s.  The cartoon on the back celebrates his five strikeouts from the 1963 All-Star Game, but neglects to mention he repeated the feat at the 1964 All-Star Game.  Radatz also surrendered the game-winning, three-run home to Johnny Callison (#310) in the bottom of the ninth in that game, sending the National League to a 7-4 victory.  His 79 appearances in 1964 were second to the Athletics' John Wyatt (#590), who had 81.

1965 Season
Radatz was 9-11 with a 3.91 ERA and a team-leading 22 saves, which is impressive given the Red Sox lost 100 games.  He appeared in 63 games, striking out 121 over 124 1/3 innings pitched.

1962 Topps #591

1963 Topps #363

1966 Topps #475

1967 Topps #174

1969 Topps #663

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1962 Topps #591
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1962-1967, 1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2003 Fleer Tradition #69

51 - Radatz non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/9/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #294 Tim McCarver - St. Louis Cardinals

Next Card:  #296 Tony Taylor - Philadelphia Phillies

#543 Ed Connolly - Boston Red Sox

Edward Joseph Connolly
Boston Red Sox
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  190
Born:  December 3, 1939, Brooklyn, NY
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent, June 1961
Major League Teams:  Boston Red Sox 1964; Cleveland Indians 1967
Died:  July 1, 1998, New Canaan, CT (age 58)

Ed Connolly pitched in parts of two seasons in the majors with the Red Sox and Indians.  A lifelong Red Sox fan whose father, Ed Connolly Sr., caught with the team between 1929 and 1932, the younger Connolly made the club out of spring training in 1964.  He spent the entire season with Boston, appearing in 27 games and making 15 starts.  Connolly was 4-11 that season for the eighth place Red Sox, with a 4.91 ERA and 73 strikeouts over 80 2/3 innings pitched.  He pitched a complete game shutout against the Athletics on September 15, 1964, allowing just two hits while striking out 12.  Connolly spent the next two seasons in the minors before returning to the majors with the Indians in 1967.  He struggled with his control and was 2-1 with a 7.48 ERA in 15 games pitched.

Sold to the California Angels' top farm team following the 1967 season, he didn't make the club following spring training and Connolly retired from baseball.  In 42 big league games he was 6-12 with a 5.88 ERA, with 118 strikeouts to 98 walks in 130 innings pitched.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #531

This is the 47th 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 Connolly card was (surprisingly) $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 / Red Sox Team Set
This is Connolly's lone mainstream baseball card appearance, with his one other baseball card being a 1964 JD McCarthy postcard.  The cartoon on the back mentions Ed Sr., although Ed Jr. would have been a toddler while his father was still active in the majors.  The narrative on the back notes his promotion to the Red Sox following spring training in 1964 and his demotion down to Toronto (see below) early in the 1965 season.

1965 Season
Connolly won a job with the Red Sox coming out of spring training, but didn't appear in a game before being sent down to the International League on April 22nd.  With the Toronto Maple Leafs for the duration of the season, he appeared in 22 games, making 14 starts, and was 2-5 with a 4.31 ERA.

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #543
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #543

2 - Connolly non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/25/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #542 Lou Klimchock - Milwaukee Braves

Next Card:  #544 Howie Reed - Los Angeles Dodgers

#315 Frank Malzone - Boston Red Sox

Frank James Malzone
Boston Red Sox
Third Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  180
Born:  February 28, 1930, Bronx, NY
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent before 1947 season
Major League Teams:  Boston Red Sox 1955-1965; California Angels 1966
Died:  December 29, 2015, Needham, MA (age 85)

Frank Malzone manned the hot corner for the Red Sox for over a decade, and in total spent nearly six decades in various roles with the club.  Malzone first got the chance to play regularly in 1957, and he'd reward manager Pinky Higgins with the first of eight All-Star Game selections and by finishing second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting to the Yankees' Tony Kubek (#65).  Malzone also won the first of his three Gold Gloves that season and drove in a career-high 103 runs.  On the way to that first Gold Glove, he became the first player to lead the American League in every defensive category (games, putouts, assists, double plays turned, fielding percentage) as well as errors.  Dependable at the plate, Malzone hit .276 with the Red Sox over 11 seasons.  He left the club briefly following the 1965 season, finishing up his playing career with the Angels.

For his career, Malzone batted .274 with 1,486 hits, 133 home runs and 728 RBIs.  He re-joined the Red Sox as a scout in 1966 and he'd serve as a scout and instructor until the early 1990s when he joined the team's front office.  He was among the inaugural class of inductees into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1995.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #501

This is the 17th 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 Malzone card was $3 and was one of 49 commons 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 / Red Sox Team Set
Malzone appears to be posing during spring training as there's a few Red Sox teammates mulling about in the background.  His home run in the 1959 All-Star Game receives the cartoon highlight treatment.  This would have been one of the years there were two All-Star Games, and Malzone started at third base in the second game.  He played the entire game, going 1 for 4 with a solo home run coming off Don Drysdale (#260) in the second inning.

1965 Season
Malzone appeared in 106 games for a Red Sox team that would lose 100 times.  He made 85 starts at third base, and as the season progressed he steadily lost playing time to the younger Dalton Jones (#178).  Malzone batted .239 with just three home runs and 34 RBIs in his final season in Boston, and the club released him following the season.

1955 Bowman #302

1958 Topps #260

1959 Topps #558

1962 Topps #225

1966 Topps #152

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Bowman #302
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1956-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2015 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-FM

95 - Malzone non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/30/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #314 Sterling Slaughter - Chicago Cubs

Next Card:  #316 Cincinnati Reds Team Card

#588 Lenny Green - Boston Red Sox

Leonard Charles Green
Boston Red Sox
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  170
Born:  January 6, 1933, Detroit, MI
Signed:  Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent before 1955 season
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1957-1959; Washington Senators 1960; Minnesota Twins 1961-1964; Los Angeles Angels 1964; Baltimore Orioles 1964; Boston Red Sox 1965-1966; Detroit Tigers 1967-1968
Died:  January 6, 2019, Detroit, MI (age 86)

Lenny Green was a veteran of 12 major league seasons, crafting his best years in the early 1960s as the regular center fielder for the relocated Twins franchise.  Green came up with the Orioles and spent two-plus seasons as a back-up outfielder and pinch-hitter.  Dealt to the Senators in May 1959, he'd find a home for the next 5 1/2 seasons, playing exactly 700 games for the Senators/Twins.  He was the final Senators center fielder in their last game in Washington on October 2, 1960, before the franchise shifted to Minneapolis.  He was then the first center fielder in Twins history on April 11, 1961.  Green batted a career-high .294 in 1960, and set career best marks for home runs (14) and RBIs (63) in 1962.  After one more season with the Twins, Green was dealt to the Angels in June 1964, beginning a four and half year span in which he played for four different teams.  His last regular playing time came with the Red Sox in 1965 when he appeared 119 games, batting .276.

Green's last major league action came in 1968 with the Tigers and he was released by the club on July 6th of that season.  His SABR biography notes his time with the Twins, Orioles, Red Sox and Tigers all ended seemingly right before those teams found success and made World Series appearances.  Green earned a .267 career average with 788 hits, 47 home runs and 253 RBIs in his 1,136 big league games.

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #480
You'll be seeing this particular passage on my 1965 Topps blog for a little bit longer as we added a whopping 97 cards to our set during the December Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show.  I was fairly ambitious documenting these purchases and I was able to compose posts for five cards a week, meaning I'll be completely caught up by the end of May.  The ongoing MLB owner's lockout and the lack of any spring training games has given me a little more spare time than usual in February and March.  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 Green card which was a little less than $4 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 / Red Sox Team Set
That's a Twins jersey worn by Green, as neither of his other teams from 1964, the Angels and Orioles, had pinstripes.  There's only room for his complete run of professional stats on the back, and a cartoon highlight for his batting title from 1956 as a member of the South Atlantic League's Columbus Foxes.

1965 Season
Green was dealt from the Twins to the Angels in June 1964, sold to the Orioles in September 1964 and then sold again to the Red Sox in March 1965.  If not for his inclusion in the set's final series, he'd be pictured as a member of the Orioles on his card.  Green spent all of 1965 with the Red Sox, and was the club's opening day center fielder, hitting two home runs in his debut with the team.  In 119 games, he batted .276 with seven home runs and only 24 RBIs.

1958 Topps #471

1960 Topps #99

1962 Topps #84

1964 Topps #386

1966 Topps #502

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1958 Topps #471
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9):  1958-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1966 Topps #502

40 - Green non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/12/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #587 Joe Sparma - Detroit Tigers

Next Card:  #589 Giants Rookie Stars

#525 Eddie Bressoud - Boston Red Sox

Edward Francis Bressoud
Boston Red Sox
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  175
Born:  May 2, 1932, Los Angeles, CA
Signed:  Signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent before 1950 season
Major League Teams:  New York Giants 1956-1957; San Francisco Giants 1958-1961; Boston Red Sox 1962-1965; New York Mets 1966; St. Louis Cardinals 1967

The beginning of Eddie Bressoud's big league career was delayed by his two years serving in the  military in 1953 and 1954.  Making his debut in 1956, He was a back-up infielder for the New York Giants for two seasons and moved west with the team to San Francisco in 1958.  Bressoud was given the chance to play regularly beginning in 1959 and 1960, but his struggles at the plate led the Giants to leave him unprotected in the 1961 expansion draft.  Bressoud was the first pick in the draft by the Houston Colt .45s, with Houston dealing him a month later to the Red Sox for Don Buddin.  With the rebuilding Red Sox, Bressoud enjoyed his best years.  He attained a career high in RBIs in 1962 with 68 while batting .270, and hit a career-high 20 home runs in 1963.  Bressoud's best season came in 1964 when he batted .293 and was named to the American League All-Star team.

Bressoud slumped again in 1965, joined the Mets for a season in 1966 and finished his career with the Cardinals in 1967.  He was on the Cardinals' World Series roster as his team defeated his former team, the Red Sox, in seven games.  Bressoud was a late-inning defensive replacement in two games, but never came to bat.  He scouted and managed in the minor leagues for the Angels for a few seasons before retiring from baseball.  Bressoud batted .252 in 1,186 career games, collecting 925 hits, 94 home runs and 365 RBIs.

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #466
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 Bressoud card which was less than $4 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 / Red Sox Team Set
It seems as if the Red Sox cards in this set have more blue sky in the background than the cards from any other team, and this Bressoud card is no exception.  He's referred to as a "well-travelled veteran" on the back by Topps, but I wouldn't consider playing for two franchises over a nine-year span as "well-travelled."  The cartoon on the back highlights his team-leading 41 doubles in 1964, and Carl Yastrzemski (#385) finished second on the team with 29.  At 4.6, Bressoud had the highest WAR among position players on the eighth-place Red Sox in 1964.  He's Eddie on the front of this card, but the more formal Ed on the back.

1965 Season
In his final season in Boston, Bressoud and Rico Petrocelli (#74) traded starts at shortstop, with Petrocelli starting 93 games to Bressoud's 69.  Bressoud batted .226 overall with eight home runs and 25 RBIs.  On November 30th, with Petrocelli ready to assume everyday shortstop duties, Bressoud was dealt to the Mets for outfielder Joe Christopher (#495).

1958 Topps #263

1961 Topps #203

1963 Topps #188

1964 Topps #352

1967 Topps #121

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1958 Topps #263
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10):  1958-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2016 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-EB

46 - Bressoud non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/3/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #524 Dave Giusti - Houston Astros

Next Card:  #526 Athletics Rookie Stars