#431 Cardinals Rookie Stars - Nelson Briles / Wayne Spiezio

Nelson Kelley Briles
St. Louis Cardinals
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  195
Born:  August 5, 1943, Dorris, CA
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1965-1970; Pittsburgh Pirates 1971-1973; Kansas City Royals 1974-1975; Texas Rangers 1976-1977; Baltimore Orioles 1977-1978
Died:  February 13, 2005, Orlando, FL (age 61)

Edward Wayne Spiezio
St. Louis Cardinals
Infield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  180
Born:  October 31, 1941, Joliet, IL
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1964-1968; San Diego Padres 1969-1972; Chicago White Sox 1972

Nelson Briles pitched in parts of 14 major league seasons, winning World Series rings with the Cardinals in 1967 and the Pirates in 1971.  Briles won at least 10 games in six different seasons, hitting his career high with 19 wins in the Year of the Pitcher, 1968.  He surpassed the 200 innings pitched plateau in four different seasons, again hitting his career high in 1968 with 243 2/3 innings pitched.  He appeared in five World Series games overall, going 2-1 with a 2.59 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings pitched.  He pitched a complete game shutout against the Orioles in Game 5 of the 1971 World Series, allowing only two Orioles hits.  Briles had a career record of 129-112 in 452 games and a 3.44 ERA.  Known for his control, he struck out 1,163 and walked only 547 in 2,111 2/3 innings pitched.  Following his playing days, Briles worked as a television broadcaster for the Pirates, Mariners and for the USA Network.

Ed Spiezio was a back-up infielder on the 1964 and 1967 World Champion Cardinals and later was the first third baseman in Padres franchise history.  Spiezio was used primarily as either a defensive replacement at third base or as a pinch-hitter during his five seasons with the Cardinals.  In one of the earliest trades in Padres history, he was acquired from the Cardinals with three other players on December 3, 1968 for pitcher Dave Giusti (#524).  He was the opening day third baseman for the Padres, collecting the team's first hit, home run and run when he connected on April 8, 1969, against Astros' pitcher Don Wilson in the fifth inning of the team's home opener.  Spiezio appeared in a career-high 121 games that season, batting .234 with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs.  For his career, Spiezio batted .238 with 39 home runs and 174 RBIs, collecting 367 hits.  His son, Scott Spiezio, played for 12 seasons in the majors with the Athletics, Angels, Mariners and Cardinals between 1996 and 2007.  Scott Spiezio won two World Series rings himself, with the Angels in 2002 and with the Cardinals in 2006.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #513

This is the 29th 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 Rookie Stars card was $10 and was one of 49 commons, or in this case a semi-star, 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 / Cardinals Team Set
This is the rookie card for both players.  Topps used Spiezio's first name on the front of the card, and his middle name, and the name he went by, on the back of the card.

1965 Season - Briles
As a result of the signing bonus he received in 1964, the Cardinals had to keep Briles on their roster for the entire 1965 season.  He pitched fairly well, appearing in 37 games and making two starts, earning a record of 3-3 with a 3.50 ERA over 82 1/3 innings pitched.  Briles also recorded four saves.

1965 Season - Spiezio
Spiezio made the Cardinals' opening day roster, appearing in 10 games and batting just .167 before an early May demotion to the minor leagues.  With the Triple-A Jacksonville Suns, he batted .221 in 116 games, playing 66 games at third base and 51 games in the outfield.

1966 Topps #243

1968 Topps #540

1972 Topps #605

1976 Topps #569

1979 Topps #262

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Briles
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #431
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15):  1965-1979
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Topps Heritage 1971 World Series Highlights #WSH-4

68 - Briles non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/14/22.

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

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Spiezio
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #431
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1965, 1967-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1972 Topps #504

30 - Spiezio non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/14/22.

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

1967 Topps #128

1968 Topps #349

1969 Topps #249

1970 Topps #718

1972 Topps #504

Previous Card:  #430 Gary Peters - Chicago White Sox

Next Card:  #432 Jim Grant - Minnesota Twins

#406 Ralph Terry - Cleveland Indians

Ralph Willard Terry
Cleveland Indians
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  195
Born:  January 9, 1936, Big Cabin, OK
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent, November 19, 1953
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1956-1957; Kansas City Athletics 1957-1959; New York Yankees 1959-1964; Cleveland Indians 1965; Kansas City Athletics 1966; New York Mets 1966-1967
Died:  March 16, 2022, Larned, KS (age 86)

Ralph Terry pitched for 12 seasons in the majors and he's best known for his successful run with the Yankees between 1960 and 1964 in which New York won two World Series titles.  After a few early years with the Yankees and Athletics, Terry hit his stride with the Yankees in 1960 after the team re-acquired him in a May 1959 trade with Kansas City.  Terry threw the pitch in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series that resulted in the Pirates' Bill Mazeroski's (#95) game-winning, walk-off home run.  He rebounded in 1961 with a 16-3 season as the Yankees defeated the Reds in five games in the 1961 World Series.  1962 was his career year as he went 23-12, leading the league in wins, games started (39) and innings pitched (298 2/3), while being selected to both All-Star Games.  Terry was named the MVP of the 1962 World Series, following the Yankees defeat of the Giants in seven games.  Starting Games 2, 5 and 7, Terry pitched a complete game in Game 5 and and a complete game shutout in Game 7, out dueling the Giants' Jack Sanford (#228).

He was a 17-game winner in 1963, leading the league again in games started (37) and complete games (18).  Dealt to the Indians in October 1964, Terry would pitch three more seasons in the majors with the Indians, Athletics (again) and Mets.  For his career, he was 107-99 in 338 games, pitching to a 3.62 ERA over 1,849 1/3 innings with exactly 1,000 strikeouts.  Terry became a professional golfer after retiring from baseball, winning the 1980 Midwest PGA Championship.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #512

This is the 28th 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 Terry card was $8 and was one of 49 commons, or in this case a semi-star, 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 / Indians Team Set
Terry is wearing a Yankees uniform here, and the hatless pose gives us a look at his fantastic head of hair.  I'd guess this photo was taken at the same time as the photo used for his 1964 Topps card.  The cartoon highlight on the back of the card explains to collectors why Terry is shown on the Indians, in case anyone had missed the news of his trade from the Yankees.

1965 Season
On October 21, 1964, Terry was named as the player to be named later in an earlier deal that had sent Pedro Ramos (#13) to the Indians a month earlier.  He got off to a hot start, and pitched a complete game shutout against Whitey Ford (#330) and his former club on May 5th.  Terry was 4-1 with a 1.60 ERA through his first six starts, but he'd cool off somewhat in the second half of the season.  He'd settle in as Cleveland's fourth starter behind Sam McDowell (#76), Luis Tiant (#145) and Sonny Siebert (#96), going 11-6 with a 3.69 ERA in 30 appearances, including 26 starts.  In 1966, following a contract dispute with the Indians, Terry was traded on April 6th to the Athletics for John O'Donoghue (#71) and cash.

1957 Topps #391

1962 Topps #48

1964 Topps #458

1966 Topps #109

1967 Topps #59

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1957 Topps #391
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1957-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2013 Panini Golden Age #69

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

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #405 John Roseboro - Los Angeles Dodgers

Next Card:  #407 Lee Maye - Milwaukee Braves

#397 Jerry Buchek - St. Louis Cardinals

Gerald Peter Buchek
St. Louis Cardinals
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  185
Born:  May 9, 1942, St. Louis, MO
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1959 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1961, 1963-1966; New York Mets 1967-1968
Died:  January 2, 2019, Springfield, MO (age 76)

Jerry Buchek was a steady back-up infielder for parts of seven seasons in the majors.  With the Cardinals in the mid-1960s, he occasionally spelled regular shortstop Dick Groat (#275) or second baseman Julian Javier (#447) and was often a late-inning defensive replacement.  Buchek entered four games of the 1964 World Series in the later innings and singled off Jim Bouton (#30) in his sole plate appearance in Game 6.  The Cardinals would defeat the Yankees in seven games.  Traded to the Mets right before the start of the 1967 season, Buchek finally got the chance to be an everyday player.  He was the opening day second baseman for the Mets, ultimately starting 92 games at second base, 14 games at third base and five games at shortstop.

Buchek last appeared in the majors in 1968, playing in 73 games for the Mets as he returned to a reserve role.  His final professional baseball season came in 1969 with the Eugene Emeralds, then the top farm team for the Phillies.  Buchek batted .246 for the Emeralds, moving over to third base to make room for second base prospect Denny Doyle and shortstop prospect Larry Bowa.  For his big league career, Buchek batted .220 over 421 games, collecting 259 hits, 22 home runs and 108 RBIs.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #511

This is the 27th 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 Buchek card was $4 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 / Cardinals Team Set
Buchek wore #11 during his best years with the Cardinals, and the number is peaking through on the front of his jersey here.  His American Legion and minor league exploits are highlighted on the back of the card, as there's only so much to be said about a steady defending back-up infielder.

1965 Season
Buchek spent the entire season with the reigning World Champions, appearing in 55 games and batting .247.  He made a total of 47 starts in the field, backing up Javier at second with 31 starts and Groat at shortstop with 16 starts.

Phillies Connection
The Mets had dealt Buchek back to the Cardinals organization in December 1968, and on April 3, 1969, the Cardinals traded him with Jim Hutto to the Phillies for Bill White (#190).  White would play his final season with the Cardinals as a pinch-hitter and back-up first baseman, while Hutto would appear in 57 games for the Phillies in 1970, batting .185 overall.  Buchek never received a promotion to Philadelphia.  In 127 games for the Emeralds, he batted .246 with 13 home runs and 63 RBIs.  His home run tally led the team, and he was second on the club in RBIs behind Bill Schlesinger's (#573) 67.  Following the season, the Phillies refused to grant Buchek his release so that he could sign with the Braves, and rather than spend another season in the minors, Buchek retired.

1962 Topps #439

1964 Topps #314

1966 Topps #454

1967 Topps #574

1968 Topps #277

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1962 Topps #439
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1962, 1964-1968
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2017 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-JBU

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

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #396 Frank Bertaina - Baltimore Orioles

Next Card:  #398 Reds Rookie Stars

#396 Frank Bertaina - Baltimore Orioles

Frank Louis Bertaina
Baltimore Orioles
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  177
Born:  April 14, 1944, San Francisco, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent before 1961 season
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1964-1967; Washington Senators 1967-1969; Baltimore Orioles 1969; St. Louis Cardinals 1970
Died:  March 3, 2010, Santa Rosa, CA (age 65)

Once considered a top pitching prospect for the Orioles, Frank Bertaina appeared in only 99 major league games over seven different seasons.  He flashed signs of brilliance at times with the Orioles, but was never able to fully repeat the success he found with their top farm team in Rochester.  He earned a World Series ring with the club in 1966, although he did not pitch in the postseason.  Traded to the Senators with Mike Epstein for Pete Richert (#252) in May 1967, Bertaina would appear in a career-high 27 games for Washington in 1968.  He'd pitch for two more seasons, briefly returning to Baltimore, before calling it a career.

Bertaina was 19-29 with a 3.84 ERA for his career, striking out 280 batters over 413 innings pitched.  Due to the success he had with the International League's Rochester Red Wings, he was inducted into that club's Hall of Fame.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #510

This is the 26th 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 Bertaina card was $4 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 / Orioles Team Set
This is Bertaina's rookie card and he'd regress to appearing on a Rookie Stars card with two other Orioles prospects (Gene Brabender and Dave Johnson - #473) in the 1966 Topps set.  According to Baseball Reference, Bertaina wore both uniform numbers 18 and 39 during the 1964 season, but it looks to me as if the uniform number on his back here starts with a 5.  As mentioned on the back of the card, Bertaina was inserted into the Orioles pitching rotation in the middle of a tense pennant race.  He made his big league debut on August 1st, pitching seven strong innings against the Athletics and in his second start on August 22nd he lasted only into the third inning.  The start referenced here is his third start, on September 12th, again against the Athletics.  Bertaina threw a one-hit shutout, striking out seven to keep the Orioles in first place with a 1 1/2 game lead over the White Sox and a two game lead over the Yankees.

1965 Season
Manager Hank Bauer (#323) didn't provide Bertaina with a lot of work in 1965, as the back of this Topps card had promised.  Bertaina was a September call-up, appearing in only two games and pitching a total of six innings.  He spent the season prior to September pitching for the Rochester Red Wings, where he was 13-9 with a 3.88 ERA in 27 games, including 25 starts.  He tied with Bill Short for the team-lead in wins, and Bertaina led the team in innings pitched (181), strikeouts (188) and complete games (12).

1966 Topps #579

1968 Topps #131

1969 Topps #554

1970 Topps #638

1971 Topps #422

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #396
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1965-1966, 1968-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1981 TCMA The 1960s II #446

27 - Bertaina non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/7/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #395 Jim Hart - San Francisco Giants

Next Card:  #397 Jerry Buchek - St. Louis Cardinals

#381 Al Jackson - New York Mets

Alvin Neill Jackson
New York Mets
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  169
Born:  December 26, 1935, Waco, TX
Signed:  Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent before 1955 season
Major League Teams:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1959, 1961; New York Mets 1962-1965; St. Louis Cardinals 1966-1967; New York Mets 1968-1969; Cincinnati Reds 1969
Died:  August 19, 2019, Port St. Lucie, FL (age 83)

Pitcher Al Jackson appeared in 11 games for the Pirates in 1959 and 1961, but he'd get his first regular taste of the big leagues with the expansion Mets in 1962.  Taken as the 22nd pick in the 1961 expansion draft, Jackson was the third starting pitcher for the Mets to start their inaugural 1962 season behind Roger Craig (#411) and Sherman Jones.  He'd lose 20 games, but had a respectable 4.40 ERA in 36 appearances, including 33 starts.  Jackson would be a mainstay in those early Mets pitching rotations, starting at least 31 games in each of the franchise's first four seasons.  His best season statistically came after leaving the Mets, when he went 13-15 for the Cardinals in 1966, pitching to a 2.51 ERA in 36 appearances.  He'd return to the Mets for the 1968 season and was briefly a member of the Amazing 1969 team before being sold to the Reds that June.  

Jackson retired following the 1969 season with a career record of 67-99, a 3.98 ERA and 738 strikeouts in 303 appearances.  His 43 wins with the Mets briefly sat atop the team's all-time leaders list until surpassed by Tom Seaver.  He coached at the minor and major league level until the early 2000s, working in the majors with the Red Sox (1977-1979), Orioles (1989-1991) and Mets (1999-2000).  Jackson was inducted posthumously into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 2021.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #509

This is the 25th 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 Jackson card was $4 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 / Mets Team Set
The one-hitter referenced in the cartoon on the back came on June 22, 1962 against the Colt .45s.  Other than a first inning hit from Joey Amalfitano (#402), Houston was held hitless by Jackson for the rest of the game.  Topps acknowledges in its write-up that Jackson was a very good pitcher on a very bad team, receiving little to no run support from the expansion club.

1965 Season
In their fourth consecutive season of losing well over 100 games, Al Jackson went 8-20 with a 4.34 ERA for the Mets, and only Jack Fisher (#93), with 36, made more starts than Jackson's 31.  On July 21st, Jackson took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Pirates, but Willie Stargell (#377) singled to left with one out to end the bid.  On October 20th, Jackson along with Charley Smith (#22) were traded to the Cardinals for former National League MVP Ken Boyer (#100).

1962 Topps #464

1963 Topps #111

1967 Topps #195

1968 Topps #503

1970 Topps #443

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1962 Topps #464
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9):  1962-1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2008 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-AJ

47 - Jackson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/7/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #380 Rocky Colavito - Cleveland Indians

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

#378 Chuck Estrada - Baltimore Orioles

Charles Leonard Estrada
Baltimore Orioles
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  185
Born:  February 15, 1938, San Luis Obispo, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent before 1957 season
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1960-1964; Chicago Cubs 1966; New York Mets 1967

Chuck Estrada's first season in the majors was also by far his best, as the pitcher was named to both 1960 American League All-Star teams, won 18 games and finished as runner-up in the Rookie of the Year voting.  Estrada appeared in 36 games overall, making 25 starts, and going 18-11 with a 3.58 ERA for an Orioles team that finished in second place in the league.  He was named The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year for the American League for his efforts.  Estrada won 15 games in 1961, but never recaptured his freshman season success.  He lost 17 games in 1962 and elbow problems derailed the rest of his career after that.  Estrada would pitch in only 43 big league games between 1963 and 1967 as he constantly dealt with injuries and bounced back and forth between the majors and minors.  

In his seven-year big league career, Estrada was 50-44 with a 4.07 ERA and 535 strikeouts in 146 games pitched.  He'd coach at the big league level with the Rangers (1973), Padres (1978-1981) and Indians (1983).  Estrada would retire from the game in the mid-1990s after working as a pitching coach in the Athletics and Rockies organizations.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #508

This is the 24th 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 Estrada card was $4 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 / Orioles Team Set
By the time this card was released, Estrada, who had shot to fame in 1960 as a 22-year-old rookie, had already pitched his last game for the Orioles.  The first sentence on the back of the card sums up Estrada's status at this point in his career, "When he's healthy, Chuck is one of the top pitchers in the A.L."

1965 Season
Estrada was one of the team's final cuts in spring training and he spent the entire season with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.  As one of their more frequently used pitchers, he was 7-14 with a 4.45 ERA, appearing in 30 games and making 26 starts.  He pitched five complete games and struck out 108 in 166 innings pitched.  Estrada wouldn't pitch for the Orioles again, spending 1966 within the Angels and Cubs organizations.

1960 Topps #126

1961 Topps #395

1962 Topps #560

1964 Topps #263

1967 Topps #537

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1960 Topps #126
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1960-1965, 1967, 1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Fleer ProCards #3220

65 - Estrada non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/7/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #377 Willie Stargell - Pittsburgh Pirates

Next Card:  #379 San Francisco Giants Team Card