#214 Bob Purkey - St. Louis Cardinals

Robert Thomas Purkey
St. Louis Cardinals
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  175
Born:  July 14, 1929, Pittsburgh, PA
Signed:  Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1954-1957; Cincinnati Reds 1958-1964; St. Louis Cardinals 1965; Pittsburgh Pirates 1966
Died:  March 16, 2008, Allegheny County, PA (age 78)

Knuckleballer Bob Purkey bookended his 13-year big league career pitching for his hometown Pirates, and in between was a five-time All-Star with the Reds.  Purkey had been mainly a reliever for the Pirates, but the Reds inserted him into their starting rotation and he had several stellar years.  He won 17 games in 1958 and 1960 and he started the second All-Star Game for the National League in 1961, giving up a home run to Rocky Colavito (#380) in his two innings of work.  In that year's World Series, Purkey started Game 3 against the Yankees, pitching a complete game, but he gave up a game-winning home run to Roger Maris (#155) in the ninth.  The Yankees would win the Series in five games.  Purkey's career year came in 1962 when he went 23-5 with a 2.81 ERA, with his .821 winning percentage leading the league.  He finished eighth in that year's MVP voting.

Purkey finished his big league career with a 129-115 record over 386 games pitched, to go along with a 3.79 ERA and 793 strikeouts.  He was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1974.

Building the Set
June 5, 2021 from Tomball, TX - Card #299
To celebrate the unofficial beginning of summer, I took advantage of a 15% Memorial Day Weekend sale hosted by one of my favorite dealers, The Battersbox, from Tomball, Texas.  With the second series now complete, I spent an enjoyable hour or so over the long (and rainy) holiday weekend picking 20 commons from the third series to add to our set and I'll feature those cards in the next 20 posts.  The package of cards arrived on June 5th and in total, the lot cost me a little more than $63.  This Purkey card cost a little less than $3 after applying the discount.

I think Purkey is smiling here as he's honored to be the card that got us officially to the half-way point of completing this set.

The Card / Cardinals Team Set
Purkey is wearing a Reds jersey in this photo, and with the collar of his warm-up jacket sticking out the top of his jersey, I'd say the photo is from the same session that Topps used for his 1964 card.  On the back, his three All-Star Game pitching appearances are highlighted, as is his 19-win season in 1948 as a member of the Class D Greenville Pirates.

1965 Season
On December 14, 1964, the Reds traded Purkey to the Cardinals for pitcher Roger Craig (#411) and outfielder Charlie James (#141).  Purkey would spend only one season in St. Louis, and it wasn't a memorable one.  In 32 games (17 starts) he went 10-9 with a 5.79 ERA over 124 1/3 innings pitched, with most of his troubles attributed to an ailing right arm.

1954 Topps #202

1958 Topps #311

1961 Topps #9

1962 Topps #120

1966 Topps #551

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1956 Topps #63
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12):  1954-1955, 1957-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Topps Archives 1954 #202

81 - Purkey non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/23/21.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #213 Jim Davenport - San Francisco Giants

Next Card:  #215 Pete Ward - Chicago White Sox

#204 Russ Snyder - Baltimore Orioles

Russell Henry Snyder
Baltimore Orioles
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  190
Born:  June 22, 1934, Oak, NE
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1953 season
Major League Teams:  Kansas City Athletics 1959-1960; Baltimore Orioles 1961-1967; Chicago White Sox 1968; Cleveland Indians 1968-1969; Milwaukee Brewers 1970

Russ Snyder spent his best major league seasons with the Orioles and in 1966 helped the club to its first World Championship.  Originally drafted by the Yankees, Snyder was dealt to the Athletics before the 1959 season and then to the Orioles following the 1960 season.  Snyder had finished third in the 1959 A.L. Rookie of the Year voting behind Bob Allison (#180) and Jim Perry (#351).  Snyder settled in as a regular with the Orioles, serving as their opening day right fielder in 1961.  He'd split time in left field with Boog Powell (#560) beginning in 1962 and his .305 batting average led the club.  Snyder got off to a hot start in 1966, leading the league in batting with a .347 average at the All-Star break.  A steady fielder, Snyder made a diving catch on September 22, 1966 to clinch the pennant for the Orioles and he saved two runs with a diving catch in Game 1 of the World Series against the Dodgers.  He was dealt to the White Sox with Luis Aparicio (#410) on November 29, 1967 as the Orioles were in need of pitching help.

In his final season, Snyder was the opening day center fielder in the first game in Brewers franchise history, batting second.  He had a mediocre year for the Brewers and was released during spring training in 1971.  Snyder played in 1,365 career games and collected 984 hits to go along with his .271 average.

Building the Set
June 5, 2021 from Tomball, TX - Card #298
To celebrate the unofficial beginning of summer, I took advantage of a 15% Memorial Day Weekend sale hosted by one of my favorite dealers, The Battersbox, from Tomball, Texas.  With the second series now complete, I spent an enjoyable hour or so over the long (and rainy) holiday weekend picking 20 commons from the third series to add to our set and I'll feature those cards in the next 20 posts.  The package of cards arrived on June 5th and in total, the lot cost me a little more than $63.  This Snyder card cost a little over $2 after applying the discount.

The Card / Orioles Team Set
The photos used for Snyder's 1965 and 1966 Topps cards were taken at the same time, with the Florida palm trees beyond the outfield wall of the Orioles' spring training home.  I looked up the game highlighted by the cartoon on the back of the card.  On April 29, 1962 against his former team, the Athletics, Snyder pinch-hit for Orioles' pitcher Wes Stock (#117) to lead off the top of the seventh.  The Orioles trailed 3-2 when Snyder hit a pinch-hit solo home run off Dan Pfister to tie the score.  His team would bat around and in his second at-bat, still technically as a pinch-hitter, Snyder delivered an RBI single to put the Orioles up 8-3.

1965 Season
Snyder had a tough time cracking the Orioles' starting line-up with outfielders Powell, Paul Blair (#473) and Curt Blefary (#49) ahead of him on the team's depth chart.  He played in 132 games, making 74 starts, with his starts almost evenly split among all three outfield positions.  He was used as a pinch-hitter in 31 games.  Snyder hit a solid .270 with 11 doubles, one home run and 29 RBIs.

1960 Topps #81

1962 Topps #64

1966 Topps #562

1970 Topps #347

1971 Topps #653

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1960 Topps #81
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12):  1960-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1978 TCMA The 1960s I #136

61 - Snyder non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/23/21.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #203 Dallas Green - Philadelphia Phillies

Next Card:  #205 Warren Spahn - New York Mets

#202 Leo Burke - Chicago Cubs

Leo Patrick Burke
Chicago Cubs
Infield-Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  185
Born:  May 6, 1934, Hagerstown, MD
Signed:  Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent before 1957 season
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1958-1959; Los Angeles Angels 1961-1962; St. Louis Cardinals 1963; Chicago Cubs 1963-1965

Leo Burke appeared in parts of seven big league seasons playing every position except pitcher.  Burke was the first pick of the Washington Senators in the minor league phase of the 1960 premium expansion draft and less than a month later he was sold to the other expansion team, the Angels.  Burke was on the inaugural opening day roster for the Angels, but appeared in only six games with the club in 1961.  The bulk of his big league playing time came in 1963 and 1964 with the Cardinals and Cubs.  Burke appeared in a career high 59 games for the Cubs in 1964, making starts at right field (11), second base (2), first base and third base (1 each).  He last appeared in the majors with the Cubs in May 1965 and finished his last season of professional baseball with the Triple-A Salt Lake City Bees.  In 165 major league games, Burke batted .239 with nine home runs and 45 RBIs.

June 10, 2021 - Future tennis stars on the court

Building the Set
June 5, 2021 from Tomball, TX - Card #297
To celebrate the unofficial beginning of summer, I took advantage of a 15% Memorial Day Weekend sale hosted by one of my favorite dealers, The Battersbox, from Tomball, Texas.  With the second series now complete, I spent an enjoyable hour or so over the long (and rainy) holiday weekend picking 20 commons from the third series to add to our set and I'll feature those cards in the next 20 posts.  The package of cards arrived on June 5th and in total, the lot cost me a little more than $63.  This Burke card cost around $1.50 after applying the discount.

Our youngest son Ben continued with his tennis lessons throughout the summer, and he attended his first tennis camp which he also really enjoyed.  I took this picture of Ben volleying on the court while his two cousins looked on, before their tennis lessons.

The Card / Cubs Team Set
This is Burke's third and final appearance in a Topps flagship set, and he signed reprints of the card for the 2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs set.  The back of the card celebrates Burke's home run and RBI titles while playing for the Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers (the Angels' top farm team) in 1962.  The narrative ends by noting his trade to the Cubs from the Cardinals for reliever Barney Schultz (#28).  Schultz would play a key role in helping the Cardinals advance to and eventually win the 1964 World Series.

1965 Season
Burke appeared in 12 games for the Cubs, batting .200, before his demotion to Salt Lake City.  With the Bees, he batted .214 over 60 games and Burke didn't return to baseball for the 1966 season.

1963 Topps #249

1964 Topps #557

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1963 Topps #249
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (3):  1963-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-LB

9 - Burke non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/23/21.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Previous Card:  #201 Twins Rookie Stars

Next Card:  #203 Dallas Green - Philadelphia Phillies

#201 Twins Rookie Stars - Sandy Valdespino / Cesar Tovar

Hilario Valdespino
Minnesota Twins
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'8"  Weight:  170
Born:  January 24, 1939, San Jose de las Lajas, Cuba
Signed:  Signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent before 1957 season
Major League Teams:  Minnesota Twins 1965-1967; Atlanta Braves 1968; Houston Astros 1969; Seattle Pilots 1969; Milwaukee Brewers 1970; Kansas City Royals 1971

Cesar Leonardo Tovar
Minnesota Twins
Infield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  155
Born:  July 3, 1940, Caracas, Venezuela
Signed:  Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent before 1959 season
Major League Teams:  Minnesota Twins 1965-1972; Philadelphia Phillies 1973; Texas Rangers 1974-1975; Oakland Athletics 1975-1976; New York Yankees 1976
Died:  July 14, 1994, Caracas, Venezuela (age 54)

Sandy Valdespino was the fourth outfielder on the 1965 Twins team that won the A.L. pennant but lost the World Series to the Dodgers in seven games.  Valdespino appeared in five World Series games, batting .273 (3 for 11) in what would be the pinnacle of his big league career.  He had gotten his shot with the Twins after winning the Triple-A batting title in 1964 with a .337 average as a member of the Atlanta Crackers.  Following his time with the Twins, he'd bounce around among four different franchises over the next six seasons, always serving as a back-up outfielder or occasional pinch-hitter.  Valdespino would play in the Mexican League through 1974, but his major league career ended after 18 games with the Royals in 1971.  In 382 career games, Valdespino batted .230 with seven home runs and 67 RBIs.

The versatile Cesar Tovar played for 12 season in the major leagues and an impressive 26 seasons in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, second only to Vic Davalillo (#128) in terms of longevity in that league.  (Davaillio played 30 seasons.)  Primarily an infielder, Tovar was known for his ability to play any position and on September 22, 1968 he became the second player in the majors, after Bert Campaneris (#266), to play all nine positions in a game.  Tovar led the league in doubles (36) and triples (13) in 1970, and he led the league in hits with 204 in 1971.  He finished in the top ten in the league for stolen bases in six different seasons.  In 1,488 career games, Tovar collected 1,546 hits while batting .278 with 226 stole bases.

Building the Set
June 5, 2021 from Tomball, TX - Card #296
To celebrate the unofficial beginning of summer, I took advantage of a 15% Memorial Day Weekend sale hosted by one of my favorite dealers, The Battersbox, from Tomball, Texas.  With the second series now complete, I spent an enjoyable hour or so over the long (and rainy) holiday weekend picking 20 commons from the third series to add to our set and I'll feature those cards in the next 20 posts.  The package of cards arrived on June 5th and in total, the lot cost me a little more than $63.  At around $5.75 after the discount, this Twins Rookie Stars card was one of the pricier cards in the lot.

The Card / Twins Team Set
Both players didn't make their major league debuts until April 12, 1965, which means Topps most likely issued this card with no guarantee either player would actually play for the Twins.  Tovar is wearing a Reds uniform in his photo.

1965 Season - Valdespino
Valdespino played in a career-high 108 games, batting .261 with 22 RBIs, and he made 47 starts in either left or right field whenever regulars Bob Allison (#180) or Tony Oliva (#340) needed days off.  As mentioned above, he played in five games for the Twins in the World Series, starting Games 1 and 3 in left field.

1965 Season - Tovar
Tovar was traded to the Twins on December 4, 1964 from the Reds for pitcher Gerry Arrigo (#39).  He made the club's opening day roster and appeared in nine games before a demotion to the minors in mid-May.  Tovar would come back up to the Twins as a September call-up.  With the Twins, he appeared in 18 games and batted an even .200 (5 for 25) with a double and two stolen bases.  With the Triple-A Denver Bears, he batted .328 with 31 doubles, seven home runs and 57 RBIS to go along with a team-leading 28 stolen bases.

Phillies Career - Tovar
On November 30, 1972, the Twins traded Tovar to the Phillies for Joe Lis, Ken Reynolds and Ken Sanders and he'd spend the 1973 season platooning with top prospect Mike Schmidt at third base.  In 97 games for the Phillies, Tovar made 39 starts at third base, 20 starts at second base, 16 starts in right field and two starts a piece in left field and center field.  He hit .268 during his lone Phillies season with 18 doubles, a home run, 21 RBIs and six stolen bases.  Tovar missed most of July recovering from a knee injury.

On December 7, 1973, and with the Phillies now invested in Schmidt as their future third baseman, Tovar was sold to the Rangers.

1966 Topps #56

1968 Topps #304

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Valdespino
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #201
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (3):  1965-1966, 1968
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1981 TCMA The 1960s II #329

27 - Valdespino non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/23/21.

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

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Tovar
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #201
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13):  1965-1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1978 TCMA the 1960s I #174

71 - Tovar non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/23/21.

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

1967 Topps #317

1972 Topps #275

1974 Topps #538

1975 Topps #178

1977 Topps #408

Previous Card:  #200 Joe Torre - Milwaukee Braves

Next Card:  #202 Leo Burke - Chicago Cubs

#199 Bob Heffner - Boston Red Sox

Robert Frederic Heffner
Boston Red Sox
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  200
Born:  September 13, 1938, Allentown, PA
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent, June 12, 1957
Major League Teams:  Boston Red Sox 1963-1965; Cleveland Indians 1966; California Angels 1968

Bob Heffner appeared in 114 games in his big league career, with nearly half those games pitched during his career year of 1964.  Heffner appeared in 55 games that season for an 8th place Red Sox club, and was their second best reliever behind regular closer Dick Radatz (#295).  Radatz led the team with 29 saves with Heffner collecting five saves over 158 2/3 innings pitched - an inning more than Radatz.  Over five seasons in the majors, Heffner was 11-21 with a 4.51 ERA.  He found more success in the minors, winning at least 15 games twice and pitching to a 88-61 record with a 3.19 ERA over an 11-year minor league career.

Building the Set
June 5, 2021 from Tomball, TX - Card #295
To celebrate the unofficial beginning of summer, I took advantage of a 15% Memorial Day Weekend sale hosted by one of my favorite dealers, The Battersbox, from Tomball, Texas.  With the second series now complete, I spent an enjoyable hour or so over the long (and rainy) holiday weekend picking 20 commons from the third series to add to our set and I'll feature those cards in the next 20 posts.  The package of cards arrived on June 5th and in total, the lot cost me a little more than $63.  This Heffner card cost around $1.50 after applying the discount.

The Card / Red Sox Team Set
This is one of three Topps flagship cards to feature Heffner, with his rookie card appearing in the 1964 Topps set.  The note about the Reds needs a little clarification.  Heffner was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox in 1957.  He was left unprotected in 1962 for the annual rule 5 draft and was selected by the Reds on November 26, 1962.  A little over four months later, in March 1963, the Reds returned Heffner to the Red Sox and he never pitched a game in the Reds' system.

1965 Season
Heffner made the club's opening day roster, but struggled with the Red Sox throughout April and May.  He was demoted to the Triple-A Toronto Maple Leafs, where he'd pitch throughout June, making 11 appearances.  Heffner went 2-4 with a 2.67 ERA for the Maple Leafs, earning a return to the majors in July.  He was injured that month and struggled the rest of his season.  In 27 games with the Red Sox, including one start, he was 0-2 with a 7.16 ERA over 49 innings pitched.  He was left unprotected following the season, and the Indians selected him in the annual rule 5 draft on November 29th.

1964 Topps #79

1966 Topps #432

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1964 Topps #79
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (3):  1964-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1966 Topps #432

11 - Heffner non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/23/21.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Previous Card:  #198 Smoky Burgess - Chicago White Sox

Next Card:  #200 Joe Torre - Milwaukee Braves

#198 Smoky Burgess - Chicago White Sox

Forrest Harrill Burgess
Chicago White Sox
Catcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'8"  Weight:  185
Born:  February 6, 1927, Caroleen, NC
Signed:  Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent before 1944 season
Major League Teams:  Chicago Cubs 1949, 1951; Philadelphia Phillies 1952-1955; Cincinnati Reds 1955-1958; Pittsburgh Pirates 1959-1964; Chicago White Sox 1964-1967
Died:  September 15, 1991, Asheville, NC (age 64)

Smoky Burgess played for 18 seasons in the majors as a catcher and later as one of the game's top pinch-hitters.  A nine-time All-Star, Burgess was a fine defensive catcher, leading the league in fielding percentage at the position in 1953, 1960 and 1961.  He enjoyed productive seasons early in his career with the Phillies, making his first All-Star team in 1954 and hitting a lofty .368 for the season.  That mark would have given him the National League batting title, but he didn't have enough at-bats to qualify.  Burgess is perhaps best remembered for his time in Pittsburgh and as the primary backstop for the Pirates team that won the World Series in 1960.  He batted .333 in that World Series and the season before, on May 26, 1959, Burgess was behind the plate when Pirates pitcher Harvey Haddix (#67) took a perfect game into the 13th inning.  Later in his career as a prolific pinch-hitter, Burgess set the record for most pinch-hits in the game's history with 145.  His mark was ultimately broken in 1979 by Manny Mota (#463), and Lenny Harris holds the record today with 212.

1953 Bowman Color #28

Burgess played in 1,691 games, batting .295 while accumulating 1,318 hits, 230 doubles, 126 home runs and 673 RBIs.  He was a long-time scout and minor league batting instructor for the Braves following his playing days.  Burgess was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1975.

Building the Set
June 5, 2021 from Tomball, TX - Card #294
To celebrate the unofficial beginning of summer, I took advantage of a 15% Memorial Day Weekend sale hosted by one of my favorite dealers, The Battersbox, from Tomball, Texas.  With the second series now complete, I spent an enjoyable hour or so over the long (and rainy) holiday weekend picking 20 commons from the third series to add to our set and I'll feature those cards in the next 20 posts.  The package of cards arrived on June 5th and in total, the lot cost me a little more than $63.  This Burgess card was a little less than $3 after applying the discount.

The Card / White Sox Team Set
Burgess is clearly wearing a Pirates jersey here which means the oldest he can be in this photo is 37, his age in 1964.  I mean no disrespect to Burgess, but man he looks a lot older than 37 on this card!  And his nickname always threw me off too, as for years I could have sworn it was Smokey with an "e" and not Smoky.  According to the dictionary, Smoky is the correct spelling for "filled with or smelling of smoke,"  while Smokey is only appropriate when referring to the nickname for an officer of the law.  And now you know.

1965 Season
Now 38 years old, Burgess appeared in 80 games for the White Sox, making only three starts behind the plate and appearing as a pinch-hitter 77 times.  He hit .286 (22 for 77) with a pair of home runs and 24 RBIs.  Burgess would impressively go on to play two more full seasons with the White Sox before retiring.

Phillies Career
The Phillies acquired Burgess from the Reds with Howie Fox and Connie Ryan on December 10, 1951 for Andy Seminick, Niles Jordan, Eddie Pellagrini and Dick Sisler (#158).  The trade marked the beginning of the end of the Whiz Kids era with Seminick and Sisler heading to Cincinnati.  Burgess was the team's opening day catcher in 1952 and 1953, but was steadily losing playing time to Stan Lopata in what had started as a platoon.  With Lopata ultimately replacing Burgess as the regular behind the plate, Burgess was sent back to the Reds on April 30, 1955, with Seminick ironically coming back to the Phillies.  Stan Palys and Steve Ridzik went to the Reds with Burgess, with Glen Gorbous and Jim Greengrass coming to Philly with Seminick.

Burgess was an All-Star for the Phillies in 1954 and in three-plus seasons with the club he batted .316 over 327 games with 15 home runs and 139 RBIs.

1951 Bowman #317

1952 Topps #357

1957 Topps #228

1960 Topps #393

1967 Topps #506

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #317
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14):  1952-1953, 1956-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2007 SP Legendary Cuts #97

110 - Burgess non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/23/21.

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #197 Diego Segui - Kansas City Athletics

Next Card:  #199 Bob Heffner - Boston Red Sox