#561 Dodgers Rookie Stars - Daboll / Kekich / Lefebvre / Valle

Dennis Edward Daboll
Los Angeles Dodgers
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  190
Born:  November 5, 1946, Los Angeles, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1964 season
Died:  January 2, 1974, Grand Canyon, AZ (age 27)



James Kenneth Lefebvre
Los Angeles Dodgers
Second Base

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  180
Born:  January 7, 1942, Inglewood, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1962 season
Major League Teams:  Los Angeles Dodgers 1965-1972
As a Manager:  Seattle Mariners 1989-1991; Chicago Cubs 1992-1993; Milwaukee Brewers 1999

Michael Dennis Kekich
Los Angeles Dodgers
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  196
Born:  April 2, 1945, San Diego, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1964 season
Major League Teams:  Los Angeles Dodgers 1965, 1968; New York Yankees 1969-1973; Cleveland Indians 1973; Texas Rangers 1975; Seattle Mariners 1977

Hector Jose Valle
Los Angeles Dodgers
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  180
Born:  October 27, 1940, Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
Signed:  Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1960 season
Major League Teams:  Los Angeles Dodgers 1965

Dennis Daboll pitched for seven seasons in the Dodgers, Reds and Cardinals minor league systems, losing a year in 1968 while serving in the military.  He never made it to the majors.  Daboll's best minor league season came in 1970 when he went 11-6 with a 2.12 ERA in 45 games while pitching for two teams within the Cardinals' system.  Daboll last pitched in the minors in 1971, and tragically died as a result of a fall at the Grand Canyon.  The blog, "1978, The Year it all began" has a few posts on Daboll here and here.

Mike Kekich pitched in nine different seasons, primarily with the Yankees, and he's best known for swapping wives and kids with fellow Yankees pitcher Fritz Peterson.  Kekich was a 10-game winner for the Yankees in 1971 and 1972, throwing at least 170 innings in both seasons.  He hung on through the 1977 season as one of the more frequently used veteran relievers for the expansion Mariners.  Kekich also pitched in Japan and Mexico along the way.  In 235 career games, Kekich was 39-51 with a 4.59 ERA and 497 strikeouts.

Jim Lefebvre was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1965, and hit .400 (4 for 10) in the World Series as the Dodgers defeated the Twins in seven games.  Lefebvre's best season came in 1966 when he was the starting second baseman for the National League All-Star Team.  He hit .274 with 24 home runs and 74 RBIs that season - all career highs.  Lefebvre played for the Dodgers through the 1972 season and when the team released him, he began a successful four-season stint with the Lotte Orions in Japan.  In his eight major league seasons, he batted .251 with 74 home runs and 404 RBIs.  Lefebvre would later manage in the majors, guiding the Mariners, Cubs and Brewers to a 417-442 record over six seasons.

1966 Topps #314

Hector Valle appeared in nine games for the Dodgers in 1965, making his major league debut on June 6th against the Braves, starting behind the plate in the second game of a double header.  He'd make just two more starts in the majors, including the final regular season game of the season.  Valle continued to play in the minor league systems of the Dodgers, Mets, Tigers and Royals through the 1971 season, and he then played for several seasons in the Mexican League.  His last action as an active player came in 1981 when Valle was 40 years old and serving as the player-manager for the Dorados de Chihuahua.

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #474
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 less than $7 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 / Dodgers Team Set
For the set's seventh and final series, Topps must have realized it needed to squeeze a bunch more players onto its Rookie Stars cards but it was quickly running out of room within the checklist.  This is one of five cards in the high series featuring four players on one Rookie Stars card.  There are also six Rookie Stars cards featuring three players in the set's seventh and final series.

This is the first and last Topps baseball card for Daboll, and Valle would appear once more in the 1966 Topps set.

1965 Season - Daboll
Just 18 years old, Daboll had already moved on to the Reds organization after spending one season within the Dodgers organization.  With the Single-A Tampa Tarpons in the Florida State League, Daboll was 8-10 with a 4.86 ERA in 21 games, including 20 starts.

1965 Season - Kekich
Kekich appeared in five games for the Dodgers, making his major league debut with a start against the Phillies on June 9th.  He was hit hard in his first outing, giving up four runs on a pair of hits and five walks.  Tony Taylor (#296) hit a three-run home run off him in the third inning.  With the Dodgers, Kekich was 0-1 with a 9.58 ERA in 10 1/3 innings pitched.  He didn't pitch anywhere else in game action during the regular season, leading me to believe he was active with the Dodgers and just not used or he was working throughout the season at the team's spring training facility.

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Daboll
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #561
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #561

2 - Daboll non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/5/22.

Sources - Daboll:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Kekich
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #561
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1965, 1969-1974, 1976
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1990 Pacific Senior League #73

33 - Kekich non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/5/22.

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

1969 Topps #262

1971 Topps #703

1973 Topps #371

1974 Topps #199

1976 Topps #582

1965 Season - Lefebvre
Lefebvre made his big league debut on opening day 1965 as the Dodgers' regular second baseman.  With Maury Wills as his double play partner at shortstop, Lefebvre would start 154 games on his way to Rookie of the Year honors.  In 157 games overall, he batted .250 with 12 home runs and 69 RBIs.  He tied Lou Johnson for the team lead in home runs and was one short of Ron Fairly's (#196) team-leading 70 RBIs.  Lefebvre started at second in the first three games of the World Series, but missed the final four games with a heel injury.

In the Rookie of the Year voting, Lefebvre received 65% of the votes, with Joe Morgan (#16) and Frank Linzy (#589) finishing as runners up.

1965 Season - Valle
Valle appeared in 45 games for the Spokane Indians, batting just .159 (23 for 145) with three doubles.  He was one of only three catchers used by the Dodgers during their entire 1965 season, with Jeff Torborg (#527) serving as back-up to regular catcher John Roseboro (#405).

1966 Topps #57

1969 Topps #140

1972 Topps #369

1990 Topps #459

1992 Topps Traded #63T

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Lefebvre
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #561
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13):  1965-1972, 1989-1993
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2013 BBM Legendary Foreigners #9

82 - Lefebvre non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/5/22.

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

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Valle
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #561
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2):  1965-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1966 Topps #314

8 - Valle non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/5/22.

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

Previous Card:  #560 Boog Powell - Baltimore Orioles

Next Card:  #562 Billy Moran - Cleveland Indians

#557 Jose Santiago - Kansas City Athletics

Jose Rafael Santiago
Kansas City Athletics
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  185
Born:  August 15, 1940, Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico
Signed:  Signed by the Kansas City Athletics as an amateur free agent before 1959 season
Major League Teams:  Kansas City Athletics 1963-1965; Boston Red Sox 1966-1970

Jose "Palillo" Santiago was an American League pitcher who spent eight seasons with the Athletics and Red Sox.  Santiago made his debut as a September call-up in 1963, and then became a frequently used member of the Athletics pitching staff in 1964.  He was 0-6 that season for the 10th place club, with a 4.73 ERA in 34 appearances and 83 2/3 inning pitched.  That would represent the most action Santiago had in the majors until he was sold to the Red Sox following the 1965 season.  In Boston, Santiago enjoyed solid seasons in 1966 and 1967, winning 12 games each year and throwing a career high 172 innings in 1966.  He didn't fare well in the 1967 World Series, coming out as the losing pitcher in Games 1 and 4.  His Game 1 performance was solid though, as he allowed only two runs over his seven innings of work, but unfortunately his opponent for the Cardinals was Bob Gibson (#320).  The Cardinals won that first game 2-1, with the Red Sox sole run coming on a home run from Santiago.  The Cardinals would win the Series in seven games.

Santiago was named to the American League All-Star team in 1968, but he would not appear in the game. An elbow injury ultimately led to an early end to his career and he pitched in only 18 games for the Red Sox in 1969 and 1970.  In 163 big league games, Santiago was 34-29 with a 3.74 ERA and 404 strikeouts over 556 innings pitched.

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #473
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 Santiago 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 / Athletics Team Set
This is Santiago's rookie card and by the time this card was issued, Santiago's career with the Athletics was essentially over.  The back of the card mentions his option to the Triple-A Vancouver Mounties on May 6th, which is the latest date I've seen on the back of a 1965 Topps card so far.  It also appears as if our version of this card has been trimmed at some point.  I didn't notice until I scanned the card in and realized the dimensions were much smaller than the typical sizes I see after scanning cards.  I then held the card up against other cards from the set, and sure enough it's slightly smaller all the way around.

1965 Season
Santiago began the season with the Athletics, but appeared in only four games before his May demotion.  With the Athletics, he had no record and a 9.00 ERA in five innings pitched.  With the Mounties, he was 6-3 with a 2.19 ERA in 28 games and 119 innings pitched.  On October 15th, Santiago was sold to the Red Sox.

1966 Topps #203

1967 Topps #473

1968 Topps #123

1969 Topps #21

1970 Topps #708

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #557
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1965-1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1970 Topps #708

33 - Santiago non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/5/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #556 Red Schoendienst MG - St. Louis Cardinals

Next Card:  #558 Tommie Sisk - Pittsburgh Pirates

#553 Astros Rookie Stars - Dan Coombs / Jack McClure / Gene Ratliff

Daniel Bernard Coombs
Houston Astros
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  200
Born:  March 23, 1942, Lincoln, ME

Signed:  Signed by the Houston Colt .45s as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Major League Teams:  Houston Colt .45s 1963-1964; Houston Astros 1965-1969;
San Diego Padres 1970-1971

Jack Hoyle McClure
Houston Astros
Infield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  175
Born:  December 13, 1945, Asher, OK
Signed:  Signed by the Houston Colt .45s as an amateur free agent before 1964 season

Kelly Eugene Ratliff
Houston Astros
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'5"  Weight:  185
Born:  September 28, 1945, Macon, GA
Signed:  Signed by the Houston Colt .45s as an amateur free agent before 1964 season
Major League Teams:  Houston Astros 1965

Danny Coombs appeared in nine seasons with the Colt. 45s/Astros and Padres.  His first regular big league action came in 1965 when he appeared in 26 games for the Astros.  He'd bounce back and forth between the minors and majors the next two years, before sticking with the club for all of 1968 as the club's most frequently used lefty out of the bullpen.  Coombs was 4-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 40 games that season.  His career year came during his penultimate season of 1970 after the Padres had converted him to a starting pitcher.  Combs was 10-14 that season with a 3.30 ERA in 188 1/3 innings pitched.  In 144 career games, Combs had a 19-27 record with a 4.08 ERA and he accumulated 249 strikeouts over 393 innings pitched.

Infielder Jack McClure played three seasons in the Colt .45s/Astros system for their Single-A and Double-A teams.  He never played in the majors.  McClure appeared in 176 minor league games between 1964 and 1966, batting .252 with three home runs and 65 RBIs.

Gene Ratliff played four seasons professionally in the Colt .45s/Astros and Braves organizations between 1964 and 1967.  He seemingly had two stints with the Astros during the 1965 season, receiving four at-bats, all as a pinch-hitter, and striking out all four times.  He was dealt to the Braves following the 1966 season as part of a six-player trade and he retired after playing 34 games for the Braves' Single-A team in West Palm Beach in 1967.

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #472
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 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 / Astros Team Set
This is the first card in the set, and therefore the first ever Topps flagship card, to feature Astros players with the actual Astros logo on their hats.  For the set's seventh and final series, Topps must have realized it needed to squeeze a bunch more players onto its Rookie Stars cards but it was quickly running out of room within the checklist.  This is one of six cards in the high series featuring three players on one Rookie Stars card.  There are also five Rookie Stars cards featuring four players in the set's seventh and final series.

While Coombs would go on to appear on five more Topps flagship cards, this is the first and last appearance in a Topps set for McClure and Ratliff.

1965 Season - Coombs
Coombs was 0-2 with a 4.79 ERA in 47 innings pitched for the Astros, his first full season in the majors.  He made three starts throughout the season, accounting for his 0-2 record, and his ERA as a starter was an even 9.00.

1966 Topps #414

1967 Topps #464

1968 Topps #547

1969 Topps #389

1971 Topps #126

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Coombs
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #553
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1965-1969, 1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-DCO

21 - Coombs non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/5/22.

Sources - Coombs:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

1965 Season - McClure
McClure played for both the Single-A Durham Bulls in the Carolina League and the Double-A Amarillo Sonics in the Texas League.  In 100 games at both levels, he batted .267 with a pair of home runs and 42 RBIs.  He'd play just ten more games professionally in 1966 before retiring from baseball at the age of 20.

1965 Season - Ratliff
Ratliff's 1965 season puzzles me.  His four pinch-hit at-bats, with two appearances in May and another two in August, are his only statistics listed for the entire season.  What did he do the rest of the year?  He appeared in 37 games for the Rookie Level Colts in 1964, and then in 35 games for the Single-A Salisbury Astors in 1966.  But in 1965 he had just the four games, striking out in four pinch-hitting appearances.

For the record, the four pitchers striking out Ratliff were the Giants' Bobby Bolin (#341), and then Wade Blasingame (#44), Tony Cloninger (#520) and Billy O'Dell (#476) from the Braves.

Other Notable Baseball Cards - McClure
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #553
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #553

2 - McClure non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/5/22.

Sources - McClure:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Ratliff
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #553
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #553

2 - Ratliff non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/5/22.

Sources - Ratliff:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Previous Card:  #552 Julio Gotay - Los Angeles Angels

Next Card:  #554 Chico Ruiz - Cincinnati Reds

#552 Julio Gotay - Los Angeles Angels

Julio Enrique Gotay
Los Angeles Angels
Third Base-Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  180
Born:  June 9, 1939, Fajardo, Puerto Rico

Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1957 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1960-1962; Pittsburgh Pirates 1963-1964; Los Angeles Angels 1965; Houston Astros 1966-1969

Died:  July 4, 2008, Ponce, Puerto Rico (age 69)

Infielder Julio Gotay played in parts of ten seasons in the majors, appearing in a career-high 127 games in 1962 as the regular shortstop for the Cardinals.  He batted .255 that season while attaining career bests in just about every offensive category, including hits with 94 and RBIs with 27.  Gotay was dealt to the Pirates in November 1962 in the deal that sent All-Star Dick Groat (#275) to St. Louis.  Gotay played in just seven games for the Pirates between 1963 and 1964, spending the bulk of those seasons in the minor leagues.  After playing in the Angels' organization for a year and a half as a back-up infielder and pinch-hitter, Gotay moved on to the Astros, where he'd play in parts of four seasons.  He was an effective back-up for Joe Morgan (#16) and Denis Menke (#327), batting .264 overall with the Astros in 202 games.

Gotay played two more seasons in the minors, retiring following the 1971 campaign which he spent back in the Cardinals' organization.  In 389 major league games, Gotay batted .260 with 257 hits.  His nephew Ruben Gotay was an infielder with the Royals (2004-2005), Mets (2007) and Braves (2008).

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #471
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 Gotay 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.

With the addition of this Gotay card, we have a complete Angels team set (linked below) and that's the first complete team set we've finished within the set.

The Card / Angels Team Set
It's impressive Topps was able to secure a recent picture of Gotay, given he only played in four games with the Pirates in 1963 and three games with the club in 1964.  He's shown here wearing the sleeveless Pirates jersey from one of those seasons.  Gotay is the second card we've added with the 3B-SS position designation and John Kennedy (#119) was the first.  Topps is a little off with the comment on the back that Gotay "opened the campaign as the Angels' regular third-sacker," as Paul Schaal (#517) had secured that job.  Gotay started only five games at third base between April and his demotion (see below) in June.

1965 Season
On February 1st, the Pirates dealt Gotay to the Angels for outfielder Bob Perry.  Gotay played in 40 games for the Angels and 48 games for their top affiliate in the Pacific Coast League, the Seattle Angels.  He spent the first half of the season with the big league Angels, batting .247 with 20 starts at second base, third base and shortstop before a late June demotion to Seattle.  In Seattle, he batted .311, but didn't return to majors with the Angels.  He remained within the organization until his trade to Houston in June 1966.

1962 Topps #489

1963 Topps #122

1968 Topps #41

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1962 Topps #489
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4):  1962-1963, 1965, 1968
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1968 Topps #41

20 - Gotay non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/5/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #551 New York Mets Team Card

Next Card:  #553 Astros Rookie Stars

#544 Howie Reed - Los Angeles Dodgers

Howard Dean Reed
Los Angeles Dodgers
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  195
Born:  December 21, 1936, Dallas, TX
Signed:  Signed by the Kansas City Athletics as an amateur free agent, September 24, 1957
Major League Teams:  Kansas City Athletics 1958-1960; Los Angeles Dodgers 1964-1966; California Angels 1966; Houston Astros 1967; Montreal Expos 1969-1971
Died:  December 7, 1984, Corpus Christi, TX (age 47)

Originally signed in 1957 by the Athletics, pitcher Howie Reed appeared sparingly with the club over three different seasons and all told spent 6 1/2 seasons toiling in the minor leagues.  Dealt to the Dodgers in early 1961, the club wouldn't recall him until mid-way through the 1964 season.  He'd appear in 26 games for the Dodgers in 1964, making seven starts, and he'd serve as a key member of the pennant-winning team's pitching staff in 1965.  Reed was 7-5 that season with a 3.12 ERA in 38 appearances.  He pitched in two World Series games as the Dodgers defeated the Twins in seven games.

Reed would spend the next two seasons bouncing between the majors and minors within the Dodgers, Angels and Astros organizations.  After pitching all of 1968 for the Astros' top farm team in Oklahoma City, he was sold to the expansion Expos where he'd see the most big league action of his career over the next three seasons.  Reed appeared in 31 games in the Expos' inaugural season, making 15 starts and going 6-7 with a 4.84 ERA.  In 1970, he pitched in a career-high 57 games, second only to the 59 appearances made by team closer Claude Raymond (#48).  He'd spend all of 1971 back with the Expos, but then his final season in 1972 was with Montreal's Triple-A team in Peninsula.  Reed retired with a career record of 26-29 in 229 games pitched, a 3.72 ERA and 268 strikeouts.

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #470
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 Reed 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 / Dodgers Team Set
This is Reed's first Topps card, and his rookie card appeared way back in the 1960 Leaf set.  The back of the card includes statistics from Reed's lengthy minor league career, and highlights his league leading 19 wins in 1963 while pitching with the Spokane Indians.  I missed that blotch over the cartoon figure's baseball hat when picking out this card, and if I'd seen it I probably would have passed on this card.

1965 Season
As mentioned above, this was one of Reed's stronger seasons and he'd earn a World Series ring with the Dodgers.  Only Ron Perranoski (#484), the team's closer, and Bob Miller (#98) had more appearances out of the bullpen than Reed.  In the World Series, he pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in Game 1, but he got knocked around a little in Game 6 in his two innings of work.  The big blow was a sixth inning three-run home run surrendered to Twins pitcher Mudcat Grant (#432) that gave the Twins a 5-0 lead and ultimately forced a Game 7.

1960 Leaf #84

1966 Topps #387

1970 Topps #548

1971 Topps #398

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1960 Leaf #84
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4):  1965-1966, 1970-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1971 Topps #398

16 - Reed non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/5/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #543 Ed Connolly - Boston Red Sox

Next Card:  #545 Jesus Alou - San Francisco Giants