"Mom Always Liked YOU Best!"

Here's a guy who's airbrushed in a Phillies uniform but never played an official game for the team:

Card #454 -- Tom Haller, Philadelphia Phillies

Tom Haller spent 1972 in Detroit, where he served as the catcher on July 14, in the same game where his older brother Bill was the home plate umpire. That's one of those situations where insulting the other guy's mother after a bad call is counterproductive.

Haller -- a former Fighting Illini quarterback -- came up to the Giants in 1961, where he and Ed Bailey platooned behind the plate. The next year, the two helped the team to a World Series that went right to the ninth inning of the seventh game, but they were on the losing end to the Yankees. The platoon continued through 1963, when Bailey was traded and Haller became the undisputed starter. He took the spot behind the plate for four seasons, directing several 20-game winners and a Cy Young award winner (Mike McCormack, 1967). However, the Giants always seemed to come up in second place behind either the Dodgers or Cardinals, so he was made expendable and traded to the Dodgers after the '67 season was over.

The trade was the first made between the Dodgers and Giants since their move to the West Coast a decade earlier. Rather than focus on the fact that the two teams are bitter enemies (enough to see Juan Marichal take a bat to John Roseboro's head once), Haller spent four years behind the plate as the Dodgers' catcher and earned his third straight All-Star berth the first year he spent with the team. After the '71 season, Haller was traded to the Tigers, where he settled in as a backup to Bill Freehan. He spent one year with the Tigers and opted to retire after being traded to the Phillies.

After his retirement, Haller returned to the Giants. He was a coach from 1977-'79, the team's farm director from 1980-'81 and them served as the team's GM through 1985. He was the manager of the Birmingham Barons and then the assistant GM for the White Sox in '86.

Sadly, Tom Haller died in 2004 after suffering from what was called a "long illness."

"Jumbo" Jim

This player had played his final major league game by the time this card appeared:

Card #509 -- Jim Nash, Philadelphia Phillies

This card shows some light signs of airbrushing, the result of a midseason trade that sent him to the Phillies. The Phillies released him during the 1973 preseason; he signed with Oakland and spent all of that season in the minors before calling it quits.

For Nash, the A's trial was a full-circle move, as he originally came up in 1966 while the club was still in Kansas City. The A's were a sub-.500 team that year, but Nash went 12-1 in 18 games and racked up a 2.06 ERA, which would have given him second place in the league if he'd racked up enough innings to qualify. He matched his 12-win total the next year; unfortunately, he matched it with 17 losses. A 13-13 showing in 1968 and 8-8 mark in '69 but him on the trading block, and he was a Brave in 1970.

After two and a half years with the Braves and a half season in Philadelphia, it was over. As for his nickname? At 6-foot-4 and weighing 240 pounds, there's not a lot of downside to calling him "Jumbo."

The Game Breaker

This player holds the distinction of having the only hit in three one-hit games:

Card #424 -- Denny Doyle, Philadelphia Phillies

On July 18, 1972, Denny Doyle broke up a no-hit bid by Steve Arlin with two out in the ninth. To date, it is the closest and San Diego Padre pitcher has ever come to pitching one. He also ended up getting the only hit in games by guys named Nolan: Gary Nolan surrendered a two-run homer in one, and Nolan Ryan ended up getting the one-hitter in 1970. He would get more chances eventually, but he was still on the Mets then, another team that hasn't had any no-nos tossed by its staff.

Ironically, Doyle is regarded as one of the proverbial good field/no-hit infielders that were more common at that time. He came up in 1970 with the Phillies, went to the Angel in 1974 and was a platoon infielder for the Red Sox beginning in that magical 1975 season. He stayed in Boston until his retirement in 1977 and hit .250 for his career.

The next year, Doyle founded a baseball camp with his brothers Brain (also an ex-major leaguer) and Blake. They still run that camp today.

Post/Card #300

With this post, there have been 300 cards featured in this blog. While not yet halfway through the set, it is still a milestone. And this milestone post shows a player who had just completed a phenomenal season in 1972:

Card #300 -- Steve Carlton, Philadelphia Phillies

The picture shows Steve Carlton being congratulated after one of his 27 wins that season. However, the catcher's helmet obscures his head. Number six belonged to both John Bateman and Tim McCarver that season (the two catchers were traded for each other during the season), so it could be either of them.

What makes Carlton's 27 wins that season truly impressive is that the Phillies only managed 59 wins all season. That accounted for 46 percent of the entire team's wins, still a record for all pitchers since 1901. He also led the league with 30 complete games, 310 strikeouts and a 1.97 ERA. He also won the first of his four Cy Young Awards and the Hickok belt, awarded to the top athlete among several sports between 1950 and '76.

1972 had also been the first year that "Lefty" spent in Philadelphia. He came up to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1965 and was a member of the World Series-winning 1967 club. However, he was known to be difficult at contract time because he knew he was worth more than the team wanted to pay him. Carlton was a no-show in 1970 during contract talks, but rebounded the next year to win 20 games. When he grumbled over his salary for 1972, he was traded to the Phillies in exchange for Rick Wise. At the time, it was seen as an even trade, but is now seen as a very lopsided deal after the records began racking up.

Carlton stayed in Philadelphia through 1986, helping that team to five division titles and two World Series. He was the ace of the team, steamrolling his way to more than 300 career victories and (temporarily) breaking the all-time career strikeout record. By 1984, Carlton began showing his age but was still a mound presence. After being traded to the Giants in '86, he bounced from them to the White Sox, Indians and the Twins fairly quickly before retiring after 1988. There was little debate about his Hall worthiness, and he was a first-ballot inductee into Cooperstown.

A Man Called "Bull"

Appropriately, the picture on this card shows Greg Luzinski taking a big swing:

Card #189 -- Greg Luzinski, Philadelphia Phillies

Luzinski would never be mistaken for a top-notch fielder. He was literally placed in left field to limit his defensive liability to the Phillies. Instead, he was placed in the lineup because of the fact that he always represented a brutal power threat. When the Phillies advanced to the NLCS every year from 1976-'78, he smacked a home run in every one of those series.

When the Phillies finally reached the World Series in 1980, Luzinski's season was the worst of his career. However, he still connected for the only home run of the NLCS to help get them to the Series. After that season, his contract was sold to the Chicago White Sox. Not only did that allow him to return to the city where he grew up, but the switch to the American League allowed him to move into a DH role and added four years to the end of his career. Though age had limited his physical abilities, he still showed his brute power: in '83, three of his home runs cleared the roof at Comiskey Park and he hit grand slams in back-to-back games in '84.

After retiring, Luzinski was a coach at several levels from high school to the majors. Today, he runs a barbecue inside Citizens' Bank Park in Philadelphia.

The Vet in the Background

It may not have been much of a venue compared to what Citizens Bank Park offers today, but the colorful seats in Veterans Stadium and high-rising Upper Deck area make for an interesting background on this card:

Card #619 -- Billy Wilson, Philadelphia Phillies

Veterans Stadium was still relatively new when this photo was taken. The Phillies moved in during the 1971 season and it watched the team build into a dominant National League force by the end of the decade, win a World Series in 1980 and host two more in 1983 and 1993. It was built to accomodate both baseball and football teams (a novel concept when it was built, but one that was seen as antiquated just a generation later), and also housed several professional soccer clubs and a USFL franchise.

I'm talking about the stadium in the background because there more to be read about it than there is about Billy Wilson. He was exclusively a reliever who pitched in 179 games from 1969-'73 and ended up with a 9-15 record. His minor league stats were much better, and that's what Wilson's Baseball-Reference Bullpen page focuses on. His Wikipedia page, on the other hand, has little more than the fact he was in major league baseball for a few years.

This would be Wilson's final Topps card. He passed away in 1993.

Sometimes the Stats Don't Tell the Whole Story

This is a posed photo, but this player really looks like he's enjoying the fact that he's able to wear a big league uniform:

Card #166 -- Terry Harmon, Philadelphia Phillies

Terry Harmon was a career Phillie, spending 1969-'77 with the team (as well as a two-game trial in '67). Although he was a utility infielder during that time -- he never played more than 87 games in a single season -- he was considered helpful enough to stay with the Phils as they rebuilt from the team with the worst record in the National League in 1972 to a regular contender later in the decade.

Harmon is shown here with his glove, which is appropriate. Though he was able to play capably at every infield position, he occasionally flirted with the Mendoza Line in his career and amassed four home runs in his career. And that's because he had a power surge in his final season and cranked out two of them.

Since retiring, Harmon has been dabbling in TV. He was a broadcaster at a local Philadelphia cable sports station and eventually moved over to sales.

Hard Road to the Majors

Would you believe this guy was unable to make the cut for his high school varsity baseball team?

Card #119 -- Larry Bowa, Philadelphia Phillies

Undaunted, Larry Bowa became a fixture at shortstop for the Phillies during the 1970s. After high school, he was a star at Sacramento City College but wasn't expected to make the draft. In fact, when the Phillies sent a scout to watch him play, he was tossed out of the game for arguing with the ump. In the end, he had to prove himself on a Winter league team before the Phillies decided to give him a shot.

When he arrived in Philadelphia in 1970, he was quickly named as the regular shortstop. The team was fairly awful at the time, but the management began building a solid team around him: pitcher Steve Carlton was acquired in 1971, Mike Schmidt took over third shortly after that and the pieces slowly fell into place. Between 1976 and '81, the Phillies made the postseason five years out of six and won the 1980 World Series. Bowa's reputation as a firebrand helped him to become a fan favorite at Veteran's Stadium, even if the team's management didn't always concur.

In 1981, the Philadelphia front office had grown tired of Bowa's antics and looked to trade him away. The Cubs had recently hired his former manager Dallas Green as their GM and offered to make a deal for him...but on one condition. Green knew Bowa wouldn't be a long-term solution and demanded that minor league shortstop Ryne Sandberg be part of any deal. Needless to say, the trade was quite a benefit the Chicago for years to come. Bowa was a key member of the 1984 Cubs, but lost his starting job to Shawon Dunston the next year. He would finish 1985 (and his career) with the New York Mets.

After retiring, Bowa was a manger (for both the Padres and Phillies) and a coach for several teams. He also used his unique perspective on the game to become a radio analyst.

The Card That Finished it Up...

Today is the one-year anniversary of this blog. At the rate I feature cards here, I should be able to keep this going for about four more years.

Marking the milestone, here's the final card I picked up (at the Chicago National in 2005) to complete the base set:

Card #590 -- Deron Johnson, Philadelphia Phillies

Johnson moved around often during his playing days, and 1973 was no exception. He was traded to Oakland a month into the season, which meant he immediatey went from a developing team to a contender. He managed to win a World Series title with the A's, something he didn't get do enjoy as a Yankee early in his career. As his career wound down, Johnson would be picked up by the Red Sox to help them in their '75 pennant drive after Jim Rice was injured, but it was too late to qualify for the postseason roster. As a result, that '73 Series ring would be the only one Johnson managed to earn.

When the A's picked up Johnson in 1973, it was one of the first times a team specifically looked for a player who could be a full-time designated hitter. Since it was the first year of the DH rule in theAmerican League, few had considered the value of going after a player whose field time was limited due to injuries and age. While it's a common thing today, Johnson was one of the first to fill that role.

After retiring in 1976, Johnson would go on to become a minor league manager and coach a number of major league teams through 1991. Sadly, he was diagnosed with lung cancer that year and died in '92.

A Man of Many Positions

The cap is obviously airbrushed, as he had played his entire career in Minnesota through 1972:

Card #405 -- Cesar Tovar, Philadelphia Phillies

On September 22, 1968, Cesar Tovar became the second person in major league history to play all nine defensive positions in a single game. Interestingly, when he took the mound to pitch, the first batter he faced was Bert Campaneris, the only other player who had achieved the distinction. He was a better hitter than most people remember; though he normally hit in the .280 range, he managed to get 195 hits in '70 and 204 in '71. He also broke up five no-hit bids between 1967 and '75.

1973 was the only year Tovar played in Philadelphia, since his regular centerfield slot was being shared with both Del Unser and Mike Anderson. Between 1974-'76 he played with Texas, Oakland and the Yankees. While in the American League, he sometimes hit at DH, which made him the second person (again, after Campaneris) to play at all 10 positions on the field.

Cesar Tovar returned to his native Venezuela after retiring, and died there of pancreatic cancer in 1994.

A Busy Picture

Sliding at home and scoring is a man who celebrates his 63rd birthday today:

Card #97 -- Willie Montanez, Philadelphia Phillies

It's pretty obvious he's playing at Candlestick Park, considering the number of Giants players shown in the photo. There's a catcher waiting for the throw and a pitcher backing him up, while a third baseman and left fielder are visible as well. Meanwhile, the next batter waits his turn. With that many players showing (even without uniform numbers), perhaps the game can be pinpointed.

Montanez scored in three games at Candlestick during '72. In the first one, he scored on a home run. In the second, he was the first of two who scored on a triple. That doesn't match with the action. That leaves the third game on July 16, when he ran from second on a Don Money single in the 4th inning.

Willie Montanez had a long career. He first came up in 1966 with the Angels but wasn't a full-time major leaguer until 1970. He was with the Phillies until '75 and bounced around with seven other teams between then and 1982, when he finished his career back in Philadelphia.

He was known as "Hot Dog" due to the way he played. At first base, he would often do a move after catching a fly ball that looked like he was putting a gun into its holster. During a pickoff attempt, he sometimes tagged the runner repeatedly even if he was safe. If he hit a home run, he sometimes ran around the bases slowly. These antics often irritated teammates, opponents and fans alike. It definitely rubbed raw nerves on his managers.

"Catching" Up With the New Guys

All three of these guys would have more Topps cards. In fact, one of them would have his sons on their own Topps cards a generation later.

Card #613 -- 1973 Rookie Catchers

Bob Boone was a legacy. His father was Ray Boone, who had been an infielder with the Indians and Tigers, among others, between 1948 and '60. He played 19 seasons, mainly with the Phillies and the Angels. While not known for his batting, he was among the finest defensive catchers of his era. He was a key member of the Phillies' 1980 World Series champions and helped lead the Angels to two AL West titles in the 1980s. He would go on to manage, and also raised two major league sons: Aaron and Bret Boone.

Skip Jutze wasn't in the majors anywhere near as long as Boone was. After a short stint with the Cardinals in '72 (hence the airbrushed cap), he was able to start 78 games for the Astros in 1973. That would be his most productive year, though. He was a part-timer through '76 and played his final season as an original member of the Seattle Mariners in 1977.

Mike Ivie had already appeared on a Topps card in 1972 but hadn't yet shed the rookie label. In fact, he never played in the majors in 1972 or '73. He wasn't destined to make the majors as a catcher, so he switched to the infield and became a successful first baseman and third baseman beginning in 1974. He spent most of his career with the Padres and Giants, finishing with Detroit in '83.

If You Can't Say Anything Nice...

There's the old saying that if you can't say something nice about somebody, it's better to simply say nothing at all. So, when researching this guy:

Card # 559 -- Barry Lersch, Philadelphia Phillies

Wikipedia has two paragraphs on Barry Lersch. The longer one explains a game he pitched in the minors. Baseball-Reference shows that he was among the league leaders in 1971...in losses, home runs allowed and walks per 9 innings. Yikes. 1973 was his last year with the Phillies...in '74, he would pitch one game for the Cardinals. After 1 and a third innings, three hits, five walks, six runs allowed and a 40.50 ERA, his baseball career was over.

I'm reminded of what Topps legend Sy Berger had to say about writing biographies of some players: "What am I supposed to say...This guy stinks?"

Fortunately, the picture gives me a little bit to run with. Taken at Candlestick Park, it shows Lersch delivering a shot to a Giants batter (Chris Speier?). The ball is shown over the batting helmet, which makes an interesting image over the reflected light. Judging from Lerch's record, I'm going to guess that this batter wasn't exactly quaking in his cleats, but it's a nice shot anyway.

A Big Mound of Dirt

Here's a photo that's been airbrushed but actually isn't too obvious.

Card #3 - Jim Lonborg, Philadelphia Phillies

It would be Jim Lonborg's second straight airbrushed card. In 1972, he appeared on card #255 with a painted-on Milwaukee Brewers cap. However, there was no need for Topps to call their airbrush artist to "fix" any more of Lonborg's cards; he would remain with the Phillies until retiring in 1979.

Looking behind the fabricated Phillies cap...one wonders what is behind him in the picture. Is that a sand dune? A municipal landfill? The Pyramids?

Despite spending several years in Philadelphia, Lonborg is best known for his seven-year stretch in Boston. His best year was 1967, where he helped the Red Sox win the pennant in the "Impossible Dream" season. He pitched the game that clinched the '67 pennant for the BoSox and won the Cy Young award for his effort. Even though he would go to other teams, the Fenway faithful never forgot him. That gratitude went both ways: after hanging up his glove, Lonborg would go to dental school and began practicing as a dentist. Though born in California and a graduate of Stanford University, he returned to Massachusetts for his second career.

On the 1980s TV sitcom Cheers, Ted Danson played Sam "Mayday" Malone, a fictional bartender who had once played for the Boston Red Sox. The bar had a game-action "picture" of Sam hanging on the wall, put the photo actually showed Lonborg. Sam's uniform number was #16, also the number Lonborg wore. However, in the show, the timeline had Sam pitching for the team from about 1972-'77, which would have been after Lonborg left.

Look at the Vet

This is a nice shot of Tommy Hutton on thefield at Veteran's Stadium in Philadelphia. The angle and perspective give the feel that he's larger than life, similar to the way the players are shown on 1933 Delong cards.

Card #271 -- Tom Hutton, Philadelphia Phillies

Tommy Hutton is better known today as a baseball announcer, but he played from 1967 through 1981 for four different teams. He had short stints with the Dodgers in 1967 and '69 but never had the chance to play regularly there and was traded to Philadelphia after the '71 season. During his Phillie days, he was renowned for his ability to hit well against the Mets' Tom Seaver. In 1977, he played for both Canadian teams, first as an original Blue Jay and then with the Expos, the team he would remain for the rest of his career. His broadcast career started when he retired.

One last thing...Hutton was named to the 1972 Topps All-Star Rookie team but was not given the trophy icon on his card. While this can be explained by the fact that Hutton had a "Rookie Stars" card in the 1967 Topps set, that's really not an adequate reason, considering Lou Piniella had been featured on three multi-player rookie cards between 1964 and '69 and still had a trophy on his own 1970 Topps card.