#432 Jim Grant - Minnesota Twins

James Timothy Grant
Minnesota Twins
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  186
Born:  August 13, 1935, Lacoochee, FL
Signed:  Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1954 season
Major League Teams:  Cleveland Indians 1958-1964; Minnesota Twins 1964-1967; Los Angeles Dodgers 1968; Montreal Expos 1969; St. Louis Cardinals 1969; Oakland Athletics 1970; Pittsburgh Pirates 1970-1971; Oakland Athletics 1971
Died:  June 11, 2021, Los Angeles, CA (age 85)

Given the nickname Mudcat during his minor league days with the Indians, Jim Grant would at first shrug off the moniker but then come to embrace it as he put together a solid 14-year major league career.  Grant won at least 10 games in four different seasons with the Indians, earning a spot on the American League All-Star team in 1963.  He got off to a slow start in 1964, and was dealt to the Twins that June where he'd pitch impressively the rest of the season, going 11-9 with a 2.82 ERA.  That success would carry over to 1965, Grant's career year.  Going 21-7 with a 3.30 ERA and a league-leading six shutouts, Grant would help pitch the Twins to their first World Series appearance.  He was a bright spot for the Twins in the World Series (see below) although his team fell to the Dodgers in seven games.

Grant was dealt to the Dodgers following the 1967 season, beginning a four-year odyssey that would see him pitch with five different teams.  Grant was the first starting pitcher in Montreal Expos franchise history on April 8, 1969.  He'd move to the bullpen full time in 1970, and was one of the game's best relievers that season with the Athletics.  In 72 relief appearance for Oakland, Grant had a 1.82 ERA and recorded 24 saves.  In 571 career games, Grant was 145-119 with a 3.63 ERA, 54 saves and 1,267 strikeouts.  Following his playing days, he served as a broadcaster for the Athletics and Indians and in 2007 he published a highly-acclaimed book, The Black Aces, Baseball's Only African-American Twenty-Game Winners.  Grant featured his own successful 1965 campaign in the book, which includes chapters paying tribute to Vida Blue, Bob Gibson (#320), Ferguson Jenkins and Don Newcombe, among many others.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Sports Cards Plus - Cooper City, FL) - Card #577

This is the 93rd 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 Grant 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 / Twins Team Set
Acquired from the Indians in the middle of the 1964 season, Topps didn't yet have a photo of Grant wearing a Twins uniform.  And while Topps was able to update Grant's team pennant to reflect he was now a member of the Twins, they didn't update the color of the surrounding border.  Grant's card still has the blue used for Indians cards and not the purple found on Twins cards.  He appeared in 14 Topps flagship sets, with Topps only using his Mudcat nickname on the front of his 1959 card.  With the addition of this card, our Twins team set is complete.

1965 Season
Grant was a member of a solid starting pitching rotation for the Twins that included Jim Kaat (#62) and Jim Perry (#351).  The leader of the staff, Grant led the team in wins, innings pitched (270 1/3) and complete games (14).  He was named to the All-Star team, pitching two innings and allowing two runs while striking out three.  In the World Series, Grant started Games 1, 4 and 6, pitching complete game victories in Games 1 and 6, and going 2-1 overall with a 2.74 ERA over 23 innings.  He hit a three-run home run in Game 6, leading the Twins to a 5-1 victory and forcing a Game 7.  Following the season, Grant finished sixth in the MVP voting and was named The Sporting News American League Pitcher of the Year. 

1958 Topps #394

1959 Topps #186

1966 Topps #40

1971 Topps #509

1972 Topps #111

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1958 Topps #394
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14):  1958-1969, 1971-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2004 Upper Deck Legends Timeless Teams #8

94 - Grant non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/1/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #431 Cardinals Rookie Stars

Next Card:  #433 John Bateman - Houston Astros

#400 Harmon Killebrew - Minnesota Twins

Harmon Clayton Killebrew
Minnesota Twins
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  195
Born:  June 29, 1936, Payette, ID
Signed:  Signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent, June 19, 1954
Major League Teams:  Washington Senators 1954-1960; Minnesota Twins 1961-1974; Kansas City Royals 1975
Died:  May 17, 2011, Scottsdale, AZ (age 74)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1984

Harmon Killebrew was one of the most prolific sluggers of his era, and upon his retirement he was fourth on the major league all-time home run list and second to Babe Ruth in the American League.  Killebrew led the league six times in home runs and three times in RBIs.  He was a 13-time All-Star and received MVP votes in 11 different seasons.  He helped lead the Twins to the their first pennant in 1965, and while he hit .286 in the World Series, the Dodgers prevailed in seven games.  In 1967, he hit the longest home run ever recorded at Minnesota's Metropolitan Stadium at 520 feet.  Killebrew attained career highs in home runs (49) and RBIs (140) in 1969 and won the league's MVP honors that season.  He wrapped up his 22-year big league career with a final season with the Royals, serving as the team's designated hitter.  When the Royals visited Minnesota in early May 1975, the Twins held a pre-game ceremony to retire Killebrew's #3.  He was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in 1984, and was in the inaugural class of the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2000.  In 2,435 games, Killebrew accumulated 2,086 hits while batting .256.  He hit 573 career home runs to go along with 1,584 RBIs.

After retiring as a player, Killebrew served as a broadcaster for the Twins, Athletics and Angels between 1976 and 1988.  He also briefly served as a hitting instructor with the Athletics.  Nicknamed "Killer" on the field, by all accounts Killebrew was one of the kindest and most well-respected men to ever play the game.

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

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #547

This is the 63rd 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.

I found 49 commons and semi-stars we needed for our set in the two neon green binders of 1965 Topps cards at Uncle Dick's.  Having reached the end of the binders, I asked if there were any star cards from the set available for my perusal, and of course there were.  I found this Killebrew card along with the Mel Stottlemyre (#550) in a modest stack of star cards, and I offered a bundled price for the two, less than the original combined price, and the dealer accepted.  Having once again wiped out Uncle Dick's stock of needed 1965 Topps cards, we wandered the show room floor a little longer before I settled in for the next bulk purchase of commons.

The Card / Twins Team Set
This is Killebrew's third appearance in the set, as he appeared on the A.L. home run (#3) and RBI league leaders (#5) cards back in series one.  The cartoon on the back celebrates his third straight home run title in 1964.  I've seen this card in magazines, books and at baseball card shows over the past 40 years and it's been one of those iconic baseball cards in my mind that perfectly represents the era.  I was surprised to find the card has only ever been reprinted once, as part of the 2015 Topps Cardboard Icons 5 x 7 series that reprinted all of Killebrew's Topps flagship cards.

1965 Season
Ranked by Baseball Reference WAR, this was Killebrew's seventh best season, but his numbers were still impressive.  He was the opening day first baseman for the Twins and voted as the starting first baseman for the American League All-Stars, making his seventh All-Star Game appearance.  Killebrew homered in the game off Jim Maloney (#530) in front of his hometown crowd at Metropolitan Stadium.

He was batting .278 with 22 home runs and 70 RBIs when he suffered a gruesome arm injury on August 2nd.  In a game agains the Orioles, Russ Snyder (#204) bunted down the third base line and ran into Killebrew's outstretched right arm as he crossed first base.  Killebrew had dislocated his elbow and he missed seven weeks of crucial playing time.  Still, the Twins stayed in the race and Killebrew returned to the line-up on September 21st.  He played in 113 games overall, batting .269 during the regular season with 25 home runs and 75 RBIs.  Despite the injury, he still finished 15th in the league's MVP voting.  Killebrew was one of the Twins' top hitters in the World Series, collecting six hits including a Game 4 home run.

1955 Topps #124

1962 Topps #70

1966 Topps #120

1969 Topps #375

1975 Topps #640

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Topps #124
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (20):  1955-1956, 1958-1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2022 Topps Opening Day Bomb Squad #BS-2

1,858 - Killebrew non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/1/22.

Sources:  
1956 Topps Blog

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #399 Ray Herbert - Philadelphia Phillies

Next Card:  #401 Carl Willey - New York Mets

#580 Jimmie Hall - Minnesota Twins

Jimmie Randolph Hall
Minnesota Twins
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  175
Born:  March 7, 1938, Mount Holly, NC
Signed:  Signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent, June 21, 1956
Major League Teams:  Minnesota Twins 1963-1966; California Angels 1967-1968; Cleveland Indians 1968-1969; New York Yankees 1969; Chicago Cubs 1969-1970; Atlanta Braves 1970

Jimmie Hall played in parts of eight major league seasons, finding his most success early as the starting center fielder and two-time All-Star for the Twins.  Given the chance to start in center field in 1963 when regular Lenny Green (#588) was injured, Hall enjoyed a career year, batting .260 with 33 home runs and 80 RBIs, finishing third in the league's Rookie of the Year voting.  He'd follow that with another big season in 1964, batting .282 with 25 home runs and 75 RBIs and going to his first All-Star Game.  In the Twins' pennant-winning season of 1965, Hall went to his second All-Star Game and finished the season batting .285 with 25 doubles, 20 home runs and 86 RBIs.  He struggled in the World Series, batting just .143 (1 for 7) as the Twins fell to the Dodgers in seven games.

His production fell off steadily following that season.  After three fantastic seasons, Hall was relegated to a platoon and back-up role beginning in 1966, and he'd fill that role for five more seasons in the majors with the Angels, Indians, Yankees, Cubs and Braves.  Hall played in 963 major league games, collecting 724 hits, 100 doubles, 121 home runs, 391 RBIs and batting .254.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #541

This is the 57th 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 Hall card was $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 / Twins Team Set
The cartoon on the back highlights Hall's All-Star Game appearance in 1964, and he'd go back to the Mid-Summer Classic in 1965.  Also referenced is Hall's record breaking 33 home runs in 1963, which broke the rookie record held by Ted Williams.  The record has since been broken by Mark McGwire, who hit 49 in 1987, Aaron Judge, who hit 52 in 2017 and Pete Alonso, who hit 53 in 2019.

1965 Season
Hall was the Twins' opening day center fielder, and he'd start 129 games overall at that position.  He had another productive year at the plate, earning a career-high average of .285 and reaching at least 20 doubles and 20 home runs for the third season in a row.  Hall was named to his second All-Star team, walking and scoring a run in the fifth inning when Dick McAuliffe (#53) homered.  He made only two starts in the World Series, as he struggled against left-handed pitching and the Dodgers had Sandy Koufax (#300) and Claude Osteen (#570) on their staff.  Joe Nossek (#597) got the starts in center instead of Hall when either Koufax or Osteen was on the mound, with Nossek batting just .200 (4 for 20) in the Series.

1964 Topps #73

1966 Topps #190

1968 Topps #121

1969 Topps #61

1970 Topps #649

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1964 Topps #73
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1964-1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1970 Topps #649

37 - Hall non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/30/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #579 Dick Smith - Los Angeles Dodgers

Next Card:  #581 N.L. Rookie Stars

#529 Jerry Fosnow - Minnesota Twins

Gerald Eugene Fosnow
Minnesota Twins
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  195
Born:  September 21, 1940, Deshler, OH
Signed:  Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1959 season
Major League Teams:  Minnesota Twins 1964-1965

Jerry Fosnow originally signed with the Indians and was unceremoniously released by the club after pitching three seasons in their minor league system.  He signed with the Twins in 1962, vowing to make the majors and prove the Indians wrong.  Fosnow spent all of 1962 and 1963 in the Twins' minor league system, but earned a promotion in late June 1964.  He appeared in seven games out of the Twins' bullpen, allowing 13 runs in 10 2/3 innings for a 10.97 ERA.  He fared better in 1965, making the club out of spring training and earning the win in the 1965 season opener against the Yankees after pitching two innings of scoreless relief.  Fosnow appeared in 29 games for the Twins, all in relief, and was sent back down to the minor leagues in July.  Suffering from an apparent arm injury, he'd struggle the rest of the season with the Twins' top farm team in Denver, and he wouldn't be recalled by the club for the stretch run.  Having won the American League pennant, the Twins would go on to lose the 1965 World Series to the Dodgers in seven games.

Fosnow pitched in the minor league systems of the Twins and Dodgers through the 1967 season.  In 36 total big league games, he was 3-4 with a 5.65 ERA over 57 1/3 innings pitched.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #527

This is the 43rd 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 Fosnow card was a surprising $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 / Twins Team Set
This is it for Fosnow - his first and last mainstream baseball card.  He signed reprints of this card for inclusion in the 2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs insert set.  The cartoon on the back highlights a no-hitter he threw while a member of the Selma Cloverleafs in the Class D Alabama-Florida League in 1959.

1965 Season
Dealing with an arm injury, Fosnow appeared in 29 games for the Twins before his demotion in July.  He was 3-3 with a 4.44 ERA over 46 2/3 innings pitched.  In his last major league game on July 16th, he allowed three runs on two hits and three walks as the Twins were blown out by the Athletics, 10-2.

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #529
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-JF

3 - Fosnow non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 6/20/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #528 George Altman - Chicago Cubs

Next Card:  #530 Jim Maloney - Cincinnati Reds

#299 Jerry Zimmerman - Minnesota Twins

Gerald Robert Zimmerman
Minnesota Twins
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  185
Born:  September 21, 1934, Omaha, NE
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent before 1952 season
Major League Teams:  Cincinnati Reds 1961; Minnesota Twins 1962-1968
Died:  September 9, 1998, Neskowin, OR (age 63)

Jerry Zimmerman spent eight seasons in the majors, with seven of those seasons in Minnesota as the primary back-up to catcher Earl Battey (#490) in the early to mid-1960s.  Zimmerman never played an inning in the field anywhere other than catcher throughout his big league career.  He began his career with the Reds, and was their primary catcher during their pennant-winning season of 1961.  Dealt to the Twins in January 1962 for outfielder Dan Dobbek, Zimmerman settled in as Battey's back-up.  He'd appear in 83 games during the 1965 season, in which the Twins won the American League pennant.  Serving as a player-bullpen coach to begin the 1967 season, Zimmerman was forced into service that season when Battey missed time due to injuries and lengthy slumps.  Zimmerman appeared in a career-high 104 games in 1967, but batted just .167 with 12 RBIs.  He'd retire as a player following the 1968 season to begin his career as a full-time coach.  Zimmerman had a career average of .204 with three home runs and 72 RBIs in 483 games.

In 1969, he became the first bullpen coach in Expos' history, serving in that role until 1975.  He followed manager Gene Mauch (#489) back to Minnesota in 1976, working as a Twins coach through the 1980 season.  On August 25, 1978, during a strike by the umpires, Zimmerman served as the third base umpire in a game between the Twins and Blue Jays.  Following his coaching career, he scouted for the Yankees and Orioles during the 1980s.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime - Fair Lawn, NJ) - Card #488
This is the fourth of 102 cards acquired for our set from the Baseball Card Sports Memorabilia Show, affectionately known as The Philly Show, held in the basement of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia in early March.  We went nuts and left the show needing only 12 more cards to complete our 1965 Topps set, and I wrote about the show in detail over at The Phillies Room.  This Zimmerman card was a little over $4 and was one of 13 cards purchased from the dealer America's Pastime from Fair Lawn, New Jersey.

Depending on my ability to compose five posts a week on the cards acquired at this show, I should be completely caught up by mid-October.  So get used to seeing this passage on the blog!  It's entirely feasible we complete our 1965 Topps set by the end of 2022, although nine of the remaining 12 cards needed are fairly expensive.

The Card / Twins Team Set
I'm a big fan of a posed photo of a catcher showing him with his hat backwards.  On June 6, 1952, the 17-year-old Zimmerman was originally signed by the Red Sox, earning a reported $80,000 signing bonus, hence the cartoon money bag on the back of the card.  His role as back-up to Battey is mentioned in the write-up below the cartoon.

1965 Season
Zimmerman appeared in 83 games for the Twins, batting .214 and making 44 starts behind the plate.  He was the team's opening day catcher.  Zimmerman appeared twice in the 1965 World Series, as a late-inning defensive replacement for Battey.  In his lone plate appearance, he grounded into a double play to end Game 3.

1959 Topps #146

1962 Topps #222

1964 Topps #369

1968 Topps #181

1974 Topps #531

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1959 Topps #146
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10):  1959, 1962-1968, 1973-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2005 Donruss Minnesota Twins 1965 American League Champions #22

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

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #298 Jim Stewart - Chicago Cubs

Next Card:  #300 Sandy Koufax - Los Angeles Dodgers

#490 Earl Battey - Minnesota Twins

Earl Jesse Battey
Minnesota Twins
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  205
Born:  January 5, 1935, Los Angeles, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before 1953 season
Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1955-1959; Washington Senators 1960; Minnesota Twins 1961-1967
Died:  November 13, 2003, Ocala, FL (age 68)

Earl Battey spent his first five seasons in the majors as a back-up catcher and occasional pinch-hitter for the White Sox before a trade to the Senators in April 1960 gave him the chance to start on a regular basis.  With the Senators in 1960, he won his first of three Gold Gloves while finishing eighth in the American League MVP voting.  When the Senators relocated to Minnesota for the 1961 season, Battey was the opening day catcher for the Twins and he'd begin the best stretch of his career.  Battey was a five-time All-Star between 1962 and 1966, starting each of his first four All-Star Game appearances.  In 1963, he batted .285 while setting career highs in both home runs with 26 and RBIs with 84.  He'd help guide the Twins to the American League pennant in 1965, solidifying an already potent line-up that also consisted of Zoilo Versalles (#157), Tony Oliva (#340) and Harmon Killebrew (#400).

Battey retired following the 1967 season with 969 career hits over 1,141 games.  He batted .270 with 104 home runs and 449 RBIs, and his 831 games behind the plate for the Twins rank highest in franchise history.  He was named to the Twins' 40th anniversary team in 2000, and posthumously inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2004.

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

Card #457

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 Battey 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 / Twins Team Set
The cartoon highlight on the back of the card celebrates his three Gold Glove wins, won between 1960 and 1962.  Reference is also made to the "Little League head protector" Battey wore while batting.  He was one of the first major leaguers to wear an earflap on his batting helmet due to twice being hit in the face and suffering broken cheekbones in 1961.  Battey, at card #70, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of four Twins in the set.

1965 Season
Battey appeared in 131 games, batting .297 with six home runs and 60 RBIs.  He led all American League players in votes for the All-Star Game, and he started the game behind the plate in his home ballpark, Metropolitan Stadium.  He went 0 for 2 in the game against Juan Marichal (#50) and Jim Maloney (#530).  For the season, he led all American League catchers in runners caught stealing (26) and caught stealing percentage (48.1%).  Battey started all seven games in the World Series for the Twins, but struggled at the plate going 3 for 25 (.120) against the Dodgers.

1957 Topps #401

1960 Topps #328

1962 Topps #371

1964 Topps #90

1967 Topps #15

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1957 Topps #401
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1957-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2006 SP Legendary Cuts #7

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

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #489 Gene Mauch MG - Philadelphia Phillies

Next Card:  #491 Tracy Stallard - St. Louis Cardinals

#421 Twins Rookie Stars - Gary Dotter / Jay Ward

Gary Richard Dotter
Minnesota Twins
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  180
Born:  August 7, 1942, St. Louis, MO
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1960 season
Major League Teams:  Minnesota Twins 1961, 1963-1964

John Francis Ward
Minnesota Twins
Third Base-Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  185
Born:  September 9, 1938, Brookfield, MO
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1956 season
Major League Teams:  Minnesota Twins 1963-1964; Cincinnati Reds 1970
Died:  February 24, 2012, Kalispell, MT (age 73)

Gary Dotter was a September call-up by the Twins in three different seasons, appearing in relief in a pair of games in 1961 and 1963, and three games in 1964.  He was hit hard in his major league debut on September 10, 1961, allowing six runs on six hits over four innings of work, and he didn't allow another earned run in the majors until his final appearance on October 2, 1964.  In seven total big league games, Dotter had no record and a 5.11 ERA in 12 1/3 innings pitched.  He'd pitch in the minor league system of the Astros between 1965 and 1967 before retiring from baseball.

1964 Topps #116

Jay Ward played seven seasons in the minor leagues in the Yankees, Athletics and Dodgers organization before getting his shot at the majors with the Twins in 1963.  He appeared in nine games that May and June, but batted only .067 (1 for 15) and was sent back down to the minors.  Ward was a September call-up by the Twins in 1964, appearing in 12 games and making nine starts at second base.  That was to be his last big league action for five full seasons, and between 1965 and 1969 he played in the Twins and Indians organizations and spent the 1966 season in Japan.  Ward would appear in six games for the Reds in 1970, going hitless in three at-bats.  In total, he had a .163 average with eight hits in 27 games.  He'd serve as a long-time minor league coach within the Twins, Phillies, Reds and Expos organizations between 1972 and 1989.  Ward would also serve on the major league coaching staffs of the Yankees (1987) and Expos (1991-1992).

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #436
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 Rookie Stars card which was a little under $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 / Twins Team Set
This is Dotter's first and last mainstream baseball card, and the back of the card references that he missed most of 1964 while in military service.  Dotter's only baseball action in 1964 was the three games he pitched for the Twins as a September call-up.  Ward previously appeared on a Rookie Stars card in the 1964 Topps set with future Hall of Famer Tony Oliva (#340).  But like Dotter, this is Ward's final appearance in a Topps set.

1965 Season - Dotter
Dotter appeared in 26 games for the Triple-A Oklahoma City 89ers in the Pacific Coast League, then the top farm team of the Astros.  He made 20 starts and was 11-4 with a 3.39 ERA in 130 innings pitched.  The 89ers had a decent pitching rotation, comprised of Chris Zachary, Bucky Brandon, Jimmy Ward and Dotter.

1965 Season - Ward
Ward appeared in 134 games for the Denver Bears playing third base (75 games), second base (32 games) or in the outfield (28 games).  He batted .283 with 15 home runs and 75 RBIs, but never got the call-up to the eventual American League champions.

Phillies Connection - Ward
Ward managed the Low-A Bend Phillies in 1983, guiding them to a 32-37 record.  He was promoted to the Single-A Spartanburg Suns in 1984, and that team had a 70-70 record.  Future major leaguers on that Suns team included pitcher Michael Jackson and first baseman Ricky Jordan.  He left the Phillies organization following the 1984 season to manage the Reds' farm team in Cedar Rapids.

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Dotter
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #421
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #421

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

Sources - Dotter:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Ward
First Mainstream Card:  1964 Topps #116
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2):  1964-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #421

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

Sources - Ward:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #420 Larry Jackson - Chicago Cubs

Next Card:  #422 Aubrey Gatewood - Los Angeles Angels