That's Pronounced "KWAY-ar"

This player has a pretty cool 'fro peeking out underneath his Orioles cap. While it isn't Oscar Gamble-worthy, it's still cool:

Card #470 -- Mike Cuellar, Baltimore Orioles

Between 1969 and 1973, Mike Cuellar was part of one of the most feared starting rotations in the major leagues. He shared the 1969 American League Cy Young Award, made the postseason  five of those six seasons and was part of the only staff besides the 1920 Chicago White Sox with four 20-game winners. Today, it's something special when one pitcher gets 20 wins; having four on the same team is a phenomenal feat. In fact, it's been 10 years since the last time a pair of teammates (Derek Lowe and Pedro Martinez of the Red Sox) turned the trick.

Cuellar first came up with the Reds in 1959, pitching four innings and notching a 15.75 ERA. After several transactions and some time in the Mexican League, he returned with the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals, where the Cuban native took a relief role and helped the team get to the World Series. He went to the Astros the next year, where he transitioned to the rotation. After several years as Houston's prime lefty, he joined the O's in 1969.

Cuella was a four-time 20 game winner with the Orioles and logged a 143-88 record in his time with the team. But, as his advancing age dropped him to a 4-13 mark in 1976, the team released him. In 1977 he signed with the Angels as a free agent, but only pitched in a couple of games with them. He wasn't finished though; Cuellar returned to the Mexican League and continued to pitch, even making the Senior League when he was over 50.

Sadly, stomach cancer claimed him in 2010.

The "Redbirds"

This team has won more World Series Championships than any other team outside of the Yankees:

Card #219 -- St. Louis Cardinals Team Card

It's also the team that has retired the most jersey numbers of any team outside of The Bronx. Counting a microphone for Jack Buck, a logo for Rogers Hornsby (who played most of his career before the numbers were added) and a made-up number honoring owner Gussie Busch's 85th birthday, there have been 14 numbers retired by the team.

However, the team's dominance would be muted during the 1970s, as the team failed to win a pennant depite having a Cy Young Winner (Bob Gisbon, 1970) and a pair of MVP winners (Joe Torre, 1971 and Keith Hernandez, 1979). Despite having several Hall of Famers in the field and another in the dugout (Red Schoendienst) the team that made three World Series in the 1960s were unable to finish any higher than second place for a dozen years after the realignment into divisions.

The picture above features the 1972 team that finished in fourth place in the N.L. East, finishing 76-81 in a strike-shortened season. In 1973, they fared a little better, going 81-81 but finishing in second place in a contentious division. That said, the fans stuck by the team until "Whitey Ball" brought them more success in the next decade.

My Kinda Guy

After retiring from the game, this guy worked as a freelance writer:

Card #143 -- John Curtis, Boston Red Sox

That said, John Curtis actually had a fairly long pitching career, spanning 15 seasons from 1970-'84. He finished with the Red Sox -- the first team he pitched for -- in 1973. After the season, he was traded to St. Louis and was there through 1976. He was dealt to the Giants then, and pitched with that team until 1979. Free agency sent him to San Diego for a few years, and a purchase by the Angels in 1982 sent him to his last big league team.

His stints in Boston. St. Louis and later San Diego saw him used in the rotation, while the other teams were content to use Curtis as a set-up man. He notched 10 or more wins 5 times in his career; unfortunately, he lost more in a season (14) than he ever won (13).

After retiring, Curtis wrote pieces for Sports Illustrated as well as for several newspapers. The upstate New York-raised, Clemson educated Curtis eventually returned to the diamond as a pitching coach, beginning in 2000.  

This Guy Could Have Been in a Stroh's Commercial...Or Maybe Not

Shortly after the time this card appeared in packs, this guy was placed on waivers by the only team he'd ever played for:

Card #457 -- John Strohmayer, Montreal Expos

With the Montreal Expos, John Strohmayer had accumulated an 11-9 record since 1970. He was largely a reliever, but occasionally called to start as well, especially in 1971. With the New York Mets, he went 0-0. With only a single inning at the end of 1974 after a season in the minors, his career was finished.

A South Dakota native, Strohmayer was bothered late in his career by shoulder problems. So he went to school and became a teacher. He taught in California from 1976-'92 and worked his way up the rakns from there, eventually becoming a superintendent by 2002. He retired from that career in 2009 after 32 years.

That year, he took a share of a lottery jackpot worth millions.

The Switch at the Keystone

At the time this card was issued, this player was a regular shortstop. The next year, he switched to second base:

Card #144 -- Marty Perez, Atlanta Braves

Here's a little-known fact about Martz Perez: he is one of the few players who ever pinch hit for Hank Aaron. Even late in his career, few could say they ever picked up a bat and stood in for "The Hammer."

Perez came up in 1969 with the Angels after growing up in Visalia, California. After the 1970 season, he would be traded to the Braves, the team that used him most on the diamond. He stayed with them through 1975, when he was sent to the Giants in a deal that also included Darrell Evans. After that, he seemed to move around frequently: in '77 he was dealt to the Yankees but only used in a single game. A month later, the Yanks sent him to Oakland. He became a free agent at the end on the season, but resigned with the A's. However, the team released him in 1978 and he signed with the Mets. Once that team -- as bad as it was -- kept him in the minors, he saw the writing on the wall and retired.

Jason's Dad

1973 was this guy's first full year as an everyday major league catcher:

Card #221 -- Fred Kendall, San Diego Padres

Unfortunately, he played with the Padres, who lost over 100 games that year. That may account for the "deer in the headlights" look that Fred Kendall gives in this portrait. After first coming up with the team in 1969, he backed up Chris Cannizaro, Bob Barton and Pat Corrales. And those guys took a real licking on the early Padres teams (in fact, Corrales's card shows the result of the battering those guys often took). In the 1972 season, Kendall was the next guy on the firing line.

He remained the Padres' regular backstop through 1976, an era where the team never saw a winning season. In 1977, he was finally given a chance to play with another team; unfortunately, that team was in Cleveland and they weren't much better. The next season, he was traded again to the Red Sox. It was a team that was in contention for much of the year and reuinited him with his old skipper Don Zimmer...but had a Hall of Fame-caliber presence behind the plate in Carlton Fisk.

So, he went back to his original team as a free agent and spent the next year and a half there before retiring. After his playing days, he followed the lead of many catchers and went into managing. For four years, he was a skipper in the White Sox's system and then became Buddy Bell's preferred bullpen coach. His son was Jason Kendall, who was also a big league backstop from 1996-2010.

Jim Ray from Hookerton

This player was a decent hitter, and the picture highlights that well:

Card #538 -- Jim Hart, San Francisco Giants

But then again, with teammates like Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda batting around you in the lineup, you're going to get your share of good pitches. While this card shows Jim Ray Hart as an outfielder, he actually came up as a third baseman in 1963 and supplanted Jim Davenport from his regular position. Since Hart's bat was better than his glove, however, Davenport eventually retained his spot in the late 1960s as age and injuries began making Hart more of a liability at the "hot corner."

At that point, Hart moved to the outfield primarily, but still backed up his old position occasionally. While he never appeared in a postseason and only got into one All-Star game, Hart was a critical part of the Giants' attack in the 1960s. As his skills diminished, Hart was sold the the Yankees during the 1973 season with the hopes that the new designated hitter position could capitalize on his hitting prowess and keep his glove off the field. He lasted in that capacity until early in the 1974 season, when he retired.

After his playing career, Hart went to work as a warehouseman for Safeway in California.