#426 Milwaukee Braves 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 #574

This is the 90th 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 Braves 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 / Braves Team Set

There's a few fairly odd things about this team card.  First, Topps decided to go with a black border for the card, despite all Braves cards in the set having a green border.  Second, the photo used by Topps would have been six years old at the time this card was coming out, and it would mark the sixth time the photo was used on a Braves team card.  That's pretty bad, and I can imagine how annoyed I would have been as a young Braves fan in 1965 finding that Topps had once again recycled an old team photo.  With the team moving to Atlanta in 1966, Topps finally used an updated photo in its 1966 Topps set.

This is the last Braves card needed to complete our Braves team set, and we're down to needing just two more team cards in the set, for the Indians and the Yankees.

1960 Topps #381

1961 Topps #463

1963 Topps #503

1966 Topps #326

1965 Season

This was to be the 13th and final season of the Braves playing in Milwaukee, as they'd relocate to Atlanta Stadium in Georgia for the 1966 season.  Manager Bobby Bragan (#346) guided the club to an 86-76 record as they finished in fifth place, 11 games behind the Dodgers.  Right fielder Henry Aaron (#170) continued to star for the team, batting .318 with 32 home runs and 89 RBIs, along with a league leading 40 doubles.  Third baseman Eddie Matthews (#500) led the team with 95 RBIs.  Six Braves players hit at least 20 home runs, led by Matthews, then Aaron and followed by Mack Jones (#241), Joe Torre (#200), Felipe Alou (#383) and Gene Oliver (#106).  Aaron and Torre both started for the National League in the All-Star Game.

Tony Cloninger (#520) was the staff ace, going 24-11 with a 3.29 ERA and 16 complete games in 38 starts.  Billy O'Dell (#476) was the Braves' top fireman, pitching to a 2.18 ERA in 62 appearances with 19 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.  I'm trying to come up with six potential cards for each team, and I couldn't quite get there with the Braves given how well-represented they are in the set.  They picked up a bunch of players throughout the season who appear in the set on other teams, but most of those players appeared in just a handful of games with Milwaukee.  I came up with five possibilities below.

• Sandy Alomar (ss) - Sandy Alomar shares a Rookie Stars card in the set (#82) with pitching prospect John Braun, and I'd give the young infielder his own dedicated card.
• Ken Johnson (rhp) - Ken Johnson (#359) has a card in the set with the Astros, and he'd appear in 29 games for the Braves, making 26 starts, following a trade in late May.
• Phil Niekro (rhp) - Future Hall of Famer Phil Niekro shares a Rookie Stars card (#461) with Clay Carroll in the set.
• Ron Reed (rhp) - The Braves signed Reed, then playing in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons, to a contract on June 17th.  He'd not appear with the team until 1966, but a 1965 Topps card would have been cool.
• Team Card - Why not update the team card while we're at it?  Topps could use a photo from earlier in the 1965 season or from 1964.

Sources
Baseball Reference

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #425 Wayne Causey - Kansas City Athletics

Next Card:  #427 Bob Saverine - Baltimore Orioles

#383 Felipe Alou - Milwaukee Braves

Felipe Rojas Alou
Milwaukee Braves
First Base-Outfield

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

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

1982 Donruss #650

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

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

This is the 77th of 102 cards acquired for our set from the Baseball Card Sports Memorabilia Show, affectionately known as The Philly Show, held in the basement of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia in early March.  We went nuts and left the show needing only 12 more cards to complete our 1965 Topps set, and I wrote about the show in detail over at The Phillies Room.  After our 51 card haul from Uncle Dick's, and with more card spending budget still in place, I set out to find another dealer with a binder of 1965 Topps cards with reasonable prices.  I had purchased cards from Sports Cards Plus before, finding the last few cards needed for our 1971 Topps set from this dealer back in December 2019.

Settling in, we found 37 cards needed for our set with an average price per card working out to around $6.  The lot, including this Alou card, consisted mostly of semi-stars and team cards.  After paying for this mini haul, we were officially 13 cards away from a complete set, with one more purchase coming to end the day.

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

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

1959 Topps #102

1969 Topps #300

1974 Topps #485

1992 Topps Traded #3T

2006 Topps #289

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

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

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #382 J.C. Martin - Chicago White Sox

Next Card:  #384 Johnny Klippstein - Minnesota Twins

#542 Lou Klimchock - Milwaukee Braves

Louis Stephen Klimchock
Milwaukee Braves
Infield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  180
Born:  October 15, 1939, Hostetter, PA
Signed:  Signed by the Kansas City Athletics as an amateur free agent before 1957 season
Major League Teams:  Kansas City Athletics 1958-1961; Milwaukee Braves 1962; Washington Senators 1963; Milwaukee Braves 1963-1965; New York Mets 1966; Cleveland Indians 1968-1970

Lou Klimchock played professionally for 15 seasons, with none of his 12 seasons in the majors spent without also some time in the minor leagues.  His best season came early when he batted .389 with 25 home runs and 112 RBIs for the Pocatello A's of the Class C Pioneer League in 1958.  He'd repeat that minor league success throughout his career, earning frequent call-ups to the majors.  Klimchock appeared in 86 games for the Athletics between 1958 and 1961, and 76 games for the Braves between 1962 and 1965, never matching the success he found in the minors, or receiving regular playing time.  He played in a career-high 90 games for the Indians in 1969, hitting .287 with six home runs and 26 RBIs as a back-up third and second baseman.

For his big league career, Klimchock appeared in 318 games, batting .232 with 13 home runs and 69 RBIs.  In the minors, he batted .292 with 1,481 hits, 150 home runs and 747 RBIs.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #530

This is the 46th 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 Klimchock card was $4 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 / Braves Team Set
This photo is from the 1963 season when Klimchock wore #16 with the Braves.  As he shuttled frequently between the minors and majors, he never quite earned a permanent number with the team, wearing #18 in 1962, #16 in 1963 and #11 with the club through the 1965 season.  This is also Klimchock's only Topps flagship baseball card showing him wearing a Braves uniform.  The write-up on the back of the card highlights his solid 1964 season playing for the Denver Bears, then the Braves' top farm club.  He batted .334 in 153 games for the Bears, leading the team with 112 RBIs.  He was second on the team in home runs with 19, behind Tommie Aaron (#567) who had hit 21.

1965 Season
Klimchock made the Braves opening day roster as a back-up infielder, but was used sparingly between April and mid-July.  In just 34 games, he batted .077 (3 for 39) with only two starts at first base in late April.  Sent down to the Atlanta Crackers in late July, Klimchock appeared in 29 games, batting .265 with a pair of home runs and 13 RBIs.  On September 25th, he and fellow infielder Ernie Bowman were sent to the Mets as the players to be named later in the August 5th trade in which the Braves had acquired outfielder Billy Cowan (#186).

1960 Topps #137

1962 Topps #259

1963 Topps #542

1966 Topps #589

1970 Topps #247

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1960 Topps #137
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1960-1963, 1965-1966, 1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2019 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-LK

22 - Klimchock 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:  #541 White Sox Rookie Stars

Next Card:  #543 Ed Connolly - Boston Red Sox

#487 Woody Woodward - Milwaukee Braves

William Frederick Woodward
Milwaukee Braves
Second Base-Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  180
Born:  September 23, 1942, Miami, FL
Signed:  Signed by the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent, June 15, 1963
Major League Teams:  Milwaukee Braves 1963-1965; Atlanta Braves 1966-1968; Cincinnati Reds 1968-1971

Woody Woodward appeared in nine big league seasons as a light-hitting middle infielder, and would later serve as the general manager for the Yankees, Phillies and Mariners.  Woodward became the regular shortstop for the Braves in 1965 and would move to second base in 1966 when Denis Menke (#327) returned from a knee injury.  He'd appear in a career-high 144 games in 1966 and come close to that total in 1967 with 136 games, again as the Braves' regular second baseman.  He led all National League second baseman in fielding percentage with a .982 mark in 1967.  Traded to the Reds in June 1968, Woodward would serve as a back-up infielder for the club through the 1971 season.  He started two games of the 1970 World Series for the Reds at shortstop, and appeared in four games overall, batting .200 (1 for 5).  The Orioles would defeat the Reds in five games.  For his career, Woodward batted .236 and his one career home run came on July 10, 1970 off the Braves' Ron Reed.

From the 1988 Phillies Media Guide

Woodward served as head baseball coach at Florida State University, his alma mater, between 1975 and 1978.  He worked in the front offices of the Reds and Yankees after that, and was named the Yankees general manager in October 1986.  He resigned after just a year at the position and was hired in the same capacity by the Phillies in October 1987.  Woodward's stint with the Phillies surprisingly ended after only six months.  He found his most success as the GM for the Mariners between 1988 and 1999, as his club made the playoffs twice.  Woodward oversaw the drafts resulting in the selection of Alex Rodriguez, Jason Varitek, Bret Boone and Raul Ibanez, and he acquired Randy Johnson from the Expos in 1989.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #517

This is the 33rd 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 Woodward card was a surprisingly pricey $8 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 / Braves Team Set
Woodward wore #14 with the Braves and his jersey number is peaking through on his back here.  This is his first solo card, as he shared a Rookie Stars card in the 1964 Topps set with pitcher Jack Smith.  The back of the card highlights his golf game, as well as his versatility in the infield.

1965 Season
Woodward began the season with the Triple-A Atlanta Crackers, and he'd appear in 37 games in his final action in the minor leagues.  He was batting .245 when Menke landed on the disabled list, and Woodward was recalled to the majors.  He batted just .208 over 112 games, making 92 starts at shortstop but was often lifted in favor of a pinch-hitter when needed.

Phillies Connection
Woodward was named Vice President, Player Personnel (essentially the general manager) on October 28, 1987, shortly after resigning his position with the Yankees.  In his very short tenure with the Phillies, he signed free agents Bob Dernier, David Palmer, Bill Dawley and Greg Harris.  He traded Michael Jackson and Glenn Wilson to the Mariners for Phil Bradley and Tim Fortugno on December 9, 1987.  His other big trade was to send Keith Hughes, Rick Schu and Jeff Stone to the Orioles on March 21, 1988, for Mike Young and Frank Bellino.  This passage from his SABR biography sums up his short Phillies tenure, with some telling quotes from Woodward himself:

“Here’s a team with one of the highest payrolls in the major leagues ($13.7 million), and they lose three in a row to a team (Pittsburgh) whose payroll is $6 million.  I’ve seen veteran players make inexcusable mistakes.  A veteran pitcher doesn’t cover first (base), balls go through the infield like water through a sieve.  In fact, the infield play stinks!” [Phillies owner Bill] Giles, after giving Woodward free rein, fired him in June 1988.

The fateful Pittsburgh series referenced by Woodward took place April 11th through the 13th, with the Phillies being shut out in the series finale by Pirates pitcher Brian Fisher.  Four errors were committed by the Phillies in the second game of the series by Bruce Ruffin, Milt Thompson, Steve Jeltz and Von Hayes.

 

1964 Topps #378

1967 Topps #546

1968 Topps #476

1970 Topps #296

1971 Topps #496

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1964 Topps #378
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1964-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-WW

36 - Woodward non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/22/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #486 Angels Rookie Stars

Next Card:  #488 Ted Wills - Cincinnati Reds

#327 Denis Menke - Milwaukee Braves

Denis John Menke
Milwaukee Braves
Shortstop-Second Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  185
Born:  July 21, 1940, Bancroft, IA
Signed:  Signed by the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent, May 27, 1958
Major League Teams:  Milwaukee Braves 1962-1965; Atlanta Braves 1966-1967; Houston Astros 1968-1971; Cincinnati Reds 1972-1973; Houston Astros 1974
Died:  December 1, 2020, Tarpon Springs, FL (age 80)

Denis Menke used his versatility in the infield to his benefit in 13 big league seasons.  Primarily a shortstop, Menke also spent a significant amount of time at third, second and first base.  His best season statistically came early in his career when he batted .283 with a career-high 20 home runs in 1964 as the every day shortstop for the Braves.  Menke would follow the Braves to Atlanta in 1966 and depart for Houston following the 1967 season.  He was named to the 1969 and 1970 National League All-Star teams while the regular shortstop for the Astros.  In November 1971, Menke was part of the eight-player blockbuster deal that sent him, along with Joe Morgan (#16), to the Reds.  Menke would see his only postseason action as a player with the Reds, as his team clinched the National League West pennant in 1972 and 1973.  He'd return to Houston for a final season in 1974 before retiring as a player with a .250 lifetime average, 1,270 hits, 101 home runs and 606 RBIs.

1992 Medford Phillies #14

Menke began his second career as a minor and major league coach in 1977.  At the big league level, he was the first base coach for the Blue Jays (1980-1981), the hitting and third base coach for the Astros (1983-1988), the hitting coach for the Phillies (1989-1996) and the bench coach for the Reds (1997-2000).

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #503

This is the 19th 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 Menke card was $2 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 / Braves Team Set
This is the third "SS-2B" position combo I've added to our set, along with Jim Davenport (#213) and Jim Stewart (#298).  The cartoon on the back highlights the five positions - second base, third base, shortstop, first base and left field - Menke played as a rookie in 1962.  The narrative below the cartoon highlights his improved 1964 statistics.  His 20 home runs were behind Henry Aaron (#170) who had 24, Eddie Mathews (#500) with 23 and Rico Carty (#305) with 22.  Joe Torre (#200) tied Menke for fourth place on the club with 20.

1965 Season
Menke missed significant playing time in 1965 due to injuries, including side effects from a violent home plate collision on May 13th against the Pirates in which he collided with catcher Jim Pagliaroni (#265).  He appeared in only 71 games, a career-low for him with the exception of his first and last seasons in the majors.  Menke made only 42 starts at shortstop with Woody Woodward (#487) getting most of the starts in his absence.  Menke batted .243 for the season with four home runs and 18 RBIs.

Phillies Career
Menke was named new Phillies manager Nick Leyva's hitting coach in November 1988, a month after Leyva had been hired by the club.  Menke would outlast Leyva, who was fired in April 1991 and replaced by Jim Fregosi (#210).  With Fregosi at the helm, the Phillies struggled mightily for a few seasons but then shockingly won the National League pennant in 1993.  The team would ultimately fall to Joe Carter and the Blue Jays in the 1993 World Series, but Menke was the hitting coach who oversaw a potent Phillies line-up with the likes of Darren Daulton, John Kruk, Lenny Dykstra and Dave Hollins.  Menke's tenure as Phillies' hitting coach came to an end when Fregosi was ultimately fired following the 1996 season.

1962 Topps #597

1964 Topps #53

1970 Topps #155

1973 Topps #52

1974 Topps #134

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1962 Topps #597
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13):  1962-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1978 TCMA The 1960s I #58

100 - Menke non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/1/22.

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #326 Dwight Siebler - Minnesota Twins

Next Card:  #328 Eddie Fisher - Chicago White Sox

#476 Billy O'Dell - Milwaukee Braves

William Oliver O'Dell
Milwaukee Braves
Pitcher

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  170
Born:  February 10, 1933, Whitmire, SC
Signed:  Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent, June 8, 1954
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1954, 1956-1959; San Francisco Giants 1961-1964; Milwaukee Braves 1965; Atlanta Braves 1966; Pittsburgh Pirates 1966-1967
Died:  September 12, 2018, Newberry, SC (age 85)

As a bonus baby signed by the Orioles in 1954, lefty pitcher Billy O'Dell never spent a day in the minor leagues during his 13-year professional career.  His best seasons came with the Orioles in 1958 and 1959, as he was an All-Star both years and went a combined 24-23 with a 2.95 ERA in 79 games, including 49 starts.  In 1958 he led the American League with a 2.686 strikeout to walk ratio.  O'Dell was traded to the Giants following the 1959 season, and he'd pitch in over 200 innings in three of five years with the team, including a career-high 280 2/3 innings pitched in 1962.  O'Dell, Jack Sanford (#228) and Juan Marichal (#50) helped lead the Giants to the National League pennant in 1962, with O'Dell going 19-14 with a 3.53 ERA in a team-leading 39 starts.  The Giants fell to the Yankees in the World Series in seven games, with O'Dell losing Game 1 to Whitey Ford (#330).

O'Dell would move to the bullpen full time during the 1964 season, and in 1965 with the Braves he appeared in 62 games while earning a career-high 19 saves.  He'd settle into a middle relief role over the final two seasons of his career with the Braves and Pirates.  In 479 career games, including 199 starts, O'Dell was 105-100 with a 3.29 ERA and 1,133 strikeouts over 1,817 innings pitched.

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #453

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 O'Dell 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 / Braves Team Set
O'Dell's flat top is on full display here, as he's shown hatless while wearing a Giants uniform.  He'd go hatless again in his final two Topps flagship set appearances in 1966 and 1967.  The cartoon highlight on the back of the card is fairly random, showcasing his 5-0 record against the Washington Senators in 1958.  He appeared in seven games that season against the Senators, saving the two games he didn't win.

1965 Season
The Braves acquired O'Dell on February 1st from the Giants for All-Star catcher Ed Bailey (#559).  As the team's closer, he had a team-leading 2.18 ERA over 111 1/3 innings pitched.  His 19 saves were fourth best in the National League, with the Cubs' Ted Abernathy (#332) leading the league with 31.  His 62 appearances were fifth best in the league with Abernathy again leading with 84.

1955 Topps #57

1959 Topps #250

1962 Topps #429

1964 Topps #18

1967 Topps #162

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Topps #57
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12):  1955, 1957-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2016 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-BO

55 - O'Dell non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/20/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #475 Clete Boyer - New York Yankees

Next Card:  #477 Cardinals Rookie Stars