#380 Rocky Colavito - Cleveland Indians

Rocco Domenico Colavito
Cleveland Indians
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  190
Born:  August 10, 1933, New York, NY
Signed:  Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1951 season
Major League Teams:  Cleveland Indians 1955-1959; Detroit Tigers 1960-1963; Kansas City Athletics 1964; Cleveland Indians 1965-1967; Chicago White Sox 1967; Los Angeles Dodgers 1968; New York Yankees 1968

One of the most prolific power hitters of the late 1950s and early 1960s, slugger Rocky Colavito played for 14 seasons in the majors, accumulating 374 career home runs.  He made his debut with the Indians late in the 1955 season, and was the runner-up for Rookie of the Year in 1956, his first of 11 straight seasons with at least 20 home runs.  Colavito led the league with a .620 slugging percentage in 1958 and drove in 113 runs, the first year out of six total in which he'd eclipse the century mark for RBIs.  In 1959, he was named to the first of nine All-Star teams and led the league with 42 home runs.  On June 10, 1959, Colavito connected for four consecutive home runs against the Orioles, joining Lou Gehrig as the second player in American League history with four home runs in a game.

1964 Topps Giants #9

Surprisingly dealt to the Tigers right before the start of the 1960 season for batting champion Harvey Kuenn (#103), the fan favorite left Cleveland and continued his impressive slugging in Detroit.  With the Tigers in 1961, he hit .290 with career highs in both home runs (45) and RBIs (140).  He'd return to Cleveland for the 1965 season in an eight-player, three-team trade, leading the league in RBIs with 108.  Always an above-average defender, in 1965 he would become the first American League outfielder to play a complete season with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.  Colavito spent the final two years of his playing career as a bench player and pinch-hitter for the Indians, White Sox, Dodgers and Yankees.  He tallied 1,730 hits while batting .266 and driving in 1,159.  He'd later coach for the Indians (1973, 1976-1978) and Royals (1982-1983) and was one of four ejected during the 1983 pine tar game between the Royals and Yankees.  Joining Colavito with ejections in that game were George Brett, Royals' manager Dick Howser (#92) and Yankees' pitcher Gaylord Perry (#193).

Building the Set

May 3, 2022 from Wenonah, NJ (Gar Miller Cards) - Card #589

Growing up in South Jersey, I'd look forward to the Ocean City Baseball Card show every summer, saving my precious birthday or gas mowing money so that I could spend it all during one glorious afternoon inside the Ocean City Music Pier among dozens of tables of vintage baseball cards.  When my wife Jenna texted me that there was a baseball card show coming up in Ocean City on April 30th, I admittedly got giddy.  We needed 11 cards to complete our 1965 Topps set, I had plans to begin collecting a 1969 Topps set, and I figured I'd add a Diamond Stars card or two to that growing set.  We loaded the family in the car, trekked down to Ocean City, and I stepped inside the Music Pier for the first time in over 20 years.

The memories came flooding back, but none of the former baseball card dealers from my youth did.  There were maybe 15 tables scattered on the lower portion of the Music Pier floor and I immediately scanned mostly shiny slabbed cards, bobble heads, signed jerseys, and nary a vintage baseball card in sight.  It was a little depressing.  Determined to come away with something, anything for my collection, I scoured a "3 for $20" box and came away with a few cards for Doug's collection, namely Alec Bohm relic cards, and six cards from sets I'm not even collecting yet.

All of this is meant as a prelude to how this Colavito card ended up in my collection.  My budgeted show money burning a hole in my pocket, I navigated over to Gar Miller Cards' online store when we got home and held my own virtual baseball card show.  I added four cards to our Diamond Cards set, crossed off three more cards for our 1965 Topps set and threw in a few cool cards to add to the 1969 Topps pile I've started.

The Card / Indians Team Set
Topps blacked out the Athletics' logo on Colavito's hat, recycling a photo first used for the 1964 Topps Giants set.  The back of the card highlights his four home runs in a game performance from 1959, as well as his re-acquisition by the Indians.

I've now written about the massive eight-player trade that brought Colavito back to Cleveland for the 1965 season in eight posts, and I wanted to show all the players together in one mini gallery below.  As the set progressed into the third series, Topps started updating the players' team designations, beginning with the Tommy John (#208) card.

#17 - Indians to White Sox

#166 - Indians to White Sox

#208 - Indians to White Sox

#578 - White Sox to Indians

#89 - White Sox to Athletics

#376 - White Sox to Athletics

#58 - White Sox to Athletics

#380 - Athletics to Indians

1965 Season
Playing again for the Indians for the first time since 1959, Colavito started all 162 of the team's games in right field.  He batted .287 with 26 home runs and a team-leading 108 RBIs, as the Indians finished in fifth place.  He led the league in RBIs and walks (93), and was the starting right fielder for the American League All-Stars.  On September 6th, Colavito collected his 1,000th career RBI in the second game of a double header against the Senators.

1957 Topps #212

1959 Topps #420

1961 Topps #330

1966 Topps #150

1968 Topps #99

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1957 Topps #212
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13):  1957-1968, 1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2014 Panini Golden Age #81

243 - Colavito non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/18/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #379 San Francisco Giants Team Card

Next Card:  #381 Al Jackson - New York Mets

#481 Cleveland Indians 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 #584

This is the 100th 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 Indians team card, consisted mostly of semi-stars and team cards.  This is one of four team cards acquired at the show.  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

This team photo was taken at some point after June 15, 1964, as that's the date the Indians traded Mudcat Grant (#432) to the Twins for George Banks (#348) and Lee Stange (#448).  Stange is seated in the front row, all the way to the right.  Topps would recycle this photo for the 1966 and 1967 Indians team cards.  Hall of Famer Early Wynn, an Indians coach between 1964 and 1966, would also move to the Twins for the 1967 through 1969 seasons.  Wynn is seated in the front row, right next to manager Birdie Tebbetts (#301).

I've mentioned this before, that it's strange to me Topps continued to use an Indians logo first introduced by the team in 1949, to celebrate their 1948 World Series victory, and that hadn't been used as an alternate logo since 1955.  The crowned Indian had been phased out by the club ten years prior to the issuance of the 1965 Topps set, yet that's the logo appearing on all 1965 Topps Indians cards.

1963 Topps #451

1964 Topps #172

1966 Topps #303

1967 Topps #544

1965 Season

The Indians were involved in a blockbuster eight-player, three-team trade in January, re-acquiring slugger Rocky Colavito (#380) from the Athletics.  Colavito was one of the team's top sluggers, leading the way with 108 RBIs and 26 home runs while batting .287.  Left fielder Leon Wagner (#367) led the club with 28 home runs while center fielder Vic Davalillo (#128) was their top hitter with a .301 average.  The starting pitching rotation consisted of Sam McDowell (#76), Luis Tiant (#145), Sonny Siebert (#96) and Ralph Terry (#406) for most of the season with McDowell winning 17 games and leading the league with a 2.18 ERA.  Gary Bell (#424) assumed the closer's role, securing 16 saves in 60 relief appearances.

It was to be manager Tebbetts' last full season at the helm, and the Indians would finish with a 87-75 record - fifth place in the American League.

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.  I'm trying to come up with six potential cards for each team, and got to that total for the Indians only with a re-do card for slugger Colavito. 

• Pedro Gonzalez (2b) - Pedro Gonzalez (#97) became the team's regular second baseman after a trade in early May with the Yankees.
• Duke Sims (c) - The primary back-up to regular carthcer Joe Azcue, Roof appeared in 48 games.
• Phil Roof (c) - Phil Roof (#537) was acquired from the Angels in mid-June, and he's in the set on an Angels Rookie Stars card.
• Al Luplow (of) - Back-up outfielder Al Luplow appeared in 53 games for Cleveland.  He's in the 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966 and 1967 Topps sets, but was omitted from the 1965 set.
• Floyd Weaver (rhp) - Reliever Floyd Weaver is on an Indians Rookie Stars card (#546) but I'd give him a solo card in my update set.
• Rocky Colavito (of) - He's already in the set, and already featured with the Indians, but his original card  shows him in an Athletics' uniform wearing a hat with a blacked out logo.  I'd update his card to show him actually wearing an Indians uniform.

Sources
Baseball Reference

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #480 Joel Horlen - Chicago White Sox

Next Card:  #482 Bob Priddy - San Francisco Giants

#404 Stan Williams - Cleveland Indians

Stanley Wilson Williams
Cleveland Indians
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'5"  Weight:  230
Born:  September 14, 1936, Enfield, NH
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1954 season
Major League Teams:  Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-1962; New York Yankees 1963-1964; Cleveland Indians 1965, 1967-1969; Minnesota Twins 1970-1971; St. Louis Cardinals 1971; Boston Red Sox 1972
Died:  February 20, 2021, Laughlin, NV (age 84)

The original "Big Hurt," Stan Williams pitched in parts of 14 big league seasons, finding the most success early in his career with the Dodgers.  Williams played a key role in the Dodgers reaching and winning the 1959 World Series, pitching three shutout innings in the decisive game against the Braves in that season's best of three playoffs to determine the National League pennant winner.  He'd be named to both All-Star teams in 1960, in his first of three seasons winning at least 14 games.  Williams was 15-12 in 1961, pitching in a career-high 235 1/3 innings and striking out a career-high 205 batters.  In his final games with the Dodgers in 1962, he struggled in the playoff series against the Giants, blowing saves in two of the games, with the Giants advancing to the World Series.

Traded to the Yankees following that season for Bill Skowron (#70), arm injuries would slow him down, and he was sold to the Indians before the 1965 season.  Williams would find success as a reliever with the Indians and later the Twins, saving 12 games in 1969 and 15 games in 1970.  He'd pitch in his final big league games in 1972, moving on to a long career as a pitching coach.  Williams served as the pitching coach for the Red Sox (1975-1976), White Sox (1977-1978), Yankees (1980-1982, 1987-1988), Reds (1984, 1990-1991) and Mariners (1998-1999), working on manager Lou Piniella's staff on multiple occasions.  He'd later scout for the Rays and Nationals, before retiring from baseball in 2010.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Sports Cards Plus - Cooper City, FL) - Card #568

This is the 84th 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 Williams 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
I'm fairly certain Topps didn't fool any young collectors here that Williams isn't wearing a blank Indians hat and jersey, with several Yankees teammates standing around in the background.  Maybe if they had cropped the photo a little more and used a darker shade to block out the Yankees logo on the hat it could have worked better.  But I'll give Topps credit for the effort, and the cartoon on the back notes Williams was sold to the Indians that March.  

And I thought the "DOWNS" on the glove could be Al Downing (#598)?  Williams would have been teammates with him on the Yankees between 1963 and 1964, but Downing was a lefty while Williams was a righty.  Minor league pitcher Gil Downs was a righty, and could have been in Yankees' spring training camp in 1964.  Downs spent five seasons in the minor leagues, pitching for various Yankees farm teams between 1964 and 1966.  And while Downs never had a baseball card appearance, it appears his glove did.

1965 Season
Williams was sold to the Indians on March 30th, and he'd appear in only three games for the club early in the year.  Most of his season was spent with the Triple-A Seattle Angels, his first action in the minor leagues since 1958.  With the Angels, Williams appeared in 34 games, making 14 starts, and was 6-6 with a 3.29 ERA in 134 innings pitched.

1959 Topps #53

1963 Topps #42

1964 Topps #505

1971 Topps #638

1972 Topps #9

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1959 Topps #53
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12):  1959-1965, 1968-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1972 Topps #9

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

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #403 Boston Red Sox Team Card

Next Card:  #405 John Roseboro - Los Angeles Dodgers

#367 Leon Wagner - Cleveland Indians

Leon Lamar Wagner
Cleveland Indians
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  195
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

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.

1959 Topps #257

1962 Topps #491

1963 Topps #335

1966 Topps #65

1969 Topps #187

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #366 Dan Schneider - Milwaukee Braves

Next Card:  #368 White Sox Rookie Stars

#332 Ted Abernathy - Cleveland Indians

Theodore Wade Abernathy
Cleveland Indians
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  215
Born:  March 6, 1933, Stanley, NC
Signed:  Signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent before 1952 season
Major League Teams:  Washington Senators 1955-1957, 1960; Cleveland Indians 1963-1964; Chicago Cubs 1965-1966; Atlanta Braves 1966; Cincinnati Reds 1967-1968; Chicago Cubs 1969-1970; St. Louis Cardinals 1970; Kansas City Royals 1970-1972
Died:  December 16, 2014, Gastonia, NC (age 71)

Ted Abernathy was a durable reliever who spent 14 years in the majors, topping the league in relief appearances three times and leading the league in saves twice.  Abernathy developed an effective submarine pitching motion following right shoulder surgery in 1959.  After pitching sporadically with the Senators in the late 1950s and 1960, Abernathy began a string of ten consecutive seasons between 1963 and 1972 in which he'd relieve in at least 40 games.  He developed into one of the game's top closers, making 84 appearances in 1965 with the Cubs and saving a league leading 31 games.  Abernathy enjoyed a career year in 1967 with the Reds, pitching to a 1.27 ERA in 70 games and 106 1/3 innings pitched while leading the league with 28 saves.  He'd finish his career as one of the first closers in Royals' franchise history, appearing in his final major league games in 1972.

Abernathy owned a lifetime record of 63-69 in 681 games pitched, with a 3.46 ERA and 149 saves.  His saves total is still within the top one hundred of all-time as of this writing.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Sports Cards Plus - Cooper City, FL) - Card #557

This is the 73rd 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.  This lot, including this Abernathy 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
Abernathy wore #36 during his two seasons pitching for the Indians.  His Topps flagship set appearances skip around a bit, as he first appeared in a Topps set in 1957, came back in 1959 and 1960, and then had a three-year absence until 1964.  The back of the card highlights his minor league success and mentions his side-arm style of pitching.

1965 Season
On April 11th, the day before opening day, Abernathy was sold by the Indians to the Cubs and he'd immediately be inserted onto the Cubs' roster as their closer.  Abernathy had a fantastic season for the eighth place club, with he and Lindy McDaniel (#244) combining to make 155 appearances.  Abernathy was 4-6 with a 2.57 ERA in 84 games, recording 31 saves to lead the league.  He won The Sporting News Fireman of the Year honors following the season.

1957 Topps #293

1964 Topps #64

1968 Topps #264

1969 Topps #483

1973 Topps #22

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1957 Topps #293
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13):  1957, 1959-1960, 1964-1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1973 Topps #22

49 - Abernathy non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/11/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #331 Dodgers Rookie Stars

Next Card:  #333 Tommie Reynolds - Kansas City Athletics