Final Card: Bob Chance

As with my 1966 and 1968 blogs, I'm down to the last half-dozen (+/-) players whose final card is in this set.

Bob Chance (#523) was a 1st baseman for the Indians and Senators in the mid-1960s. After being out of the majors (and Topps' lineup) in 1968, he returned in 1969, playing 5 games with the Angels.

Chance was was signed by the Giants in 1961, and played outfield for their class-D team in El Paso. After the season, he was selected by the Indians in the minor-league draft. Bob played 1st base and outfield for the next 2 seasons with the Tribe's Charleston WV team, which was class A in '62 and double-A in '63. He made his big-league debut on 9/4/63, and started 14 games in right field that month.

He made the jump from AA to the majors at the start of the 1964 season. This was Bob's only full season in the majors, and he made the most of it. After starting most of the games in right field during the month of June, he moved to 1st base and started most of the games there for 2nd half of the season, replacing the incumbent Fred Whitfield.

After the season, Bob and utilityman Woodie Held were traded to the Senators for outfielder Chuck Hinton. Chance spent the next 3 seasons alternating between Washington and the minors (was there a difference?).

In '65, he split the 1st base duties with veteran Joe Cunningham for the 1st half of the season, until he was replaced by Dick Nen, and sent to the minors for July and August. In 1966, Bob was Nen's backup, but after the Senators acquired 1st baseman Ken Harrelson in late June, Chance was back to the minors for the rest of the season.

His 1967 resume with the Senators included only the first month, and then again in September. He spent all of 1968 in the minors, then was selected by the Angels in the Rule 5 draft. Bob's last major-league games was on April 29, 1969. The next day, he was traded to the Braves for catcher Dave Adlesh.

The remainder of the '69 season was split between the Braves' AAA team and the Japanese League. He also played in Japan during 1970.

Johnny Callison (#133)

This is the last card for Johnny Callison as a member of the Phillies. The team's long-time right fielder was traded to the Cubs after the season for pitcher Dick Selma and outfield prospect Oscar Gamble. The Phillies later sent minor-league pitcher Larry Colton to the Cubs to complete the deal. Callison was one of my favorite Phillies' players in the 1960s (although I missed out on his 1964-65 exploits).

Johnny was signed by the White Sox in June 1957. He played the remainder of that season at class-C Bakersfield, then jumped to AAA Indianapolis in 1958. Recalled by the White Sox in September, he started the final 18 games in left field for the Sox.

Callison began the 1959 season as Chicago's starting left fielder, starting 10 of the first 12 games there. For the month of May, he was replaced by former Phillie Del Ennis, but returned to the starting lineup on May 27th and started 14 of the next 21 games in left. Johnny was sent back to triple-A at the end of June, but returned for a few games with the Sox at the end of September.

After the 1959 season, Callison was traded to the Phillies for 3rd baseman Gene Freese. Johnny spent the next 10 full seasons in the Phillies outfield. He played all 3 positions in 1960, logging the 3rd-most innings among Phillies' outfielders. The next year he played more than any other Phillies outfielder, while splitting time 70/30 between left and right.

In 1962, he became a fixture in right field, starting 146 games there, with only 1 start in left field. Johnny's big years were 1962-1965, as he made 3 all-star appearances during that time (winning the '64 game with a walk-off homer), and led the league in triples in 1962 and 1965. Callison finished 2nd in the 1964 MVP voting to the Cardinals' Ken Boyer.

His production (but not playing time) began to slip in 1966, with his home runs dropping from 32 to 11, although he led the NL with 40 doubles. His game tailed off in the 2nd half of 1968, as he was platooned in right field with Don Lock for the month of July, and only made 11 starts after August 7th. Callison missed 3 weeks in July 1969, but managed to play 134 games in right field, putting up similar numbers to 1968, although he raised his batting average 20 points to .265.

After the season he was shipped to the Cubs, and was their regular right fielder for 1 1/2 seasons. By mid-1971, he was sharing the position with Jim Hickman. Johnny was traded to the Yankees in January 1972, and shared the Yankees' right field job with Rusty Torres (1972) and Matty Alou (1973) until he was released on August 18th.

Callison played 1886 games over 16 years, never making it to the post-season. After baseball, he ran a bowling alley in suburban Philadelphia for many years. He passed away on October 12, 2006.

1969 Topps Decals

Here are some of my 1969 Topps decals, that were inserted in several series during the year. It looks like I mounted AL players on one side of the page, and NL players on the other side.

I have another several dozen decals that back in the day I mounted each on half of a 3x5 card (and even made a checklist card!), but I didn't realize that I had this large card of decals until unpacking stuff after my recent move. Here's some more old stuff I found recently.

I haven't determined yet if I have a complete set of the decals from among this large group and all the individual cards. (Nor can I remember why I left gaps between certain decals here.)

Final Card: Bill Short

This is the final card for Bill Short (#259). He had a card each year from 1960-62, then again from 1967-69. In 6 cards, he was featured on 5 teams. That's a journeyman!

Bill pitched in 6 seasons between 1960 and 1969, mostly a few games here and there, except for his 34-game stint with the Mets in 1968. Short (no relation to Chris Short, or to Dale Long, for that matter) was signed by the Yankees in 1955, and pitched in the minor leagues every season from 1955 to 1967.

For his first 7 seasons, he was the property of the Yankees, and was on the farm the entire time except for making 10 starts for New York in 1960. After the 1961 season, the Orioles selected him in the Rule 5 draft, but he only played 5 games for Baltimore in 1962, and 6 games in 1966. In-between, it was 5 more seasons pitching in triple-A (on top of his final 3 seasons in the Yankees chain stuck in triple-A).

In mid-August 1966, the Red Sox purchased his contract and kept him on the big club, where he made 8 relief appearances for the next month and a half. He was sold to the Pirates in the off-season, and found himself back in the minors for most of 1967, save for 6 games with Pittsburgh.

For the 2nd straight off-season, Bill's contract was sold - this time to the Mets. Short found himself in the majors for the entire 1968 season (the only year that would occur). He worked 34 games out of the bullpen for the Mets as their #10 pitcher on a 10-man staff, but at least he stayed out of the minors.

It wasn't enough to keep him in New York though, as in December he went to the Reds in the Rule 5 draft. After 4 relief appearances, Bill and his 15.43 ERA were sent down to Indianapolis, where he spent the remainder of the 1969 season before retiring from baseball.

Grant Jackson (#174)

[I was going to feature Johnny Callison here today, but I can't find his card on my computer. That's ok, this card has a red, white & blue look to it.]

Grant Jackson began his career with 4 full seasons in Philly, before moving on to the Orioles, Pirates, and others.

Jackson was signed by the Phillies in 1961, and was a starting pitcher for 5 seasons (1962-66) in the minors. He pitched in 6 games for the Phillies in September 1965, and 2 games in 1966 before making the majors to stay at the start of the 1967 season.

During his true rookie season of 1967, Grant was the only lefty in a bullpen headed up by veterans Turk Farrell and Dick Hall. Jackson made 43 appearances (including 4 starts), striking out 83 batters in 84 innings. His role was the same in 1968. Although his record was 1-6, his ERA was below 3.00. Jackson was a switch-hitter, with 3 hits in 10 at-bats in 1968.

In 1969, veteran ace Chris Short missed all but 2 games with a back injury. Jackson slid into Short's spot in the starting rotation and became the workhorse of the staff, pitching 253 innings and collecting 180 strikeouts while compiling a 14-18 record and a 3.34 ERA. He was also selected to his only all-star game that season.

Jackson remained in the Phillies' starting rotation in 1970, but had an off-year. Short had returned from injury, the team re-acquired Jim Bunning, and Rick Wise emerged as the #1 starter, leaving Jackson at #4. His record fell to 5-15 while his ERA ballooned to 5.25. After the season he was traded to the Orioles for outfield prospect Roger Freed.

Grant worked out of the O's bullpen for 5 1/2 seasons, and appeared in the post-season in '71, '73, and '74. In June 1976 he was part of a 10-player trade, going to the Yankees with catcher Elrod Hendricks and pitchers Doyle Alexander, Ken Holtzman, and Jimmy Freeman for catcher Rick Dempsey and pitchers Scott McGregor, Tippy Martinez, Rudy May, and Dave Pagan.

Jackson remained with the Yankees only for that season, but pitched in three games in the post-season. In November 1976 he was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the expansion draft, who traded him to the Pirates a month later for shortstop Craig Reynolds.

Jackson spent the next 5 seasons in the Pirates' bullpen, and faced his old Orioles team in the 1979 World Series.

In September 1981, he joined the Expos during their playoff push, but was shipped out to the Royals in January. Jackson was released by Kansas City in July 1982, and was picked up by the Pirates on September 8th. He pitched his last game that day, and was released following the season.

Roberto Pena (#184)

Here's journeyman Roberto Pena, airbrushed out of his Pirates uniform. Pena was selected from the Phillies in the expansion draft following the 1968 season.  This is his first Topps card since 1966, and his first card I had. (A few years ago, I got his 1970 card.)

He had unexpectedly spent the '68 season as the Phillies' regular shortstop. The Phillies had high hopes for their shortstop prospect Don Money that season, but after a handful of games, it was clear that he wasn't ready for the big time, so weak-hitting veteran Bobby Wine took over, Money was sent down, and Pena was recalled from their triple-A team (in San Diego, no less). A few weeks later, Wine injured his back and was lost for the season, thrusting Pena (who had spent all of 1967 in the minors) into the starting role.

(No respect! After 138 games as the Phillies' starting shortstop, and now on a team starting from scratch, Topps still saddles him with a utility position)

Pena was signed by the Pirates in 1960. After 5 seasons as a minor-league shortstop, he was traded to the Cubs for infielder Andre Rodgers in December 1964. Roberto made his major-league debut in April 1965, and played 51 games with the Cubs as Don Kessinger's backup at shortstop. He also played 80+ games in the minors that season, as well as the bulk of the '66 season.

The Phillies drafted him in November 1966, and he spent the '67 season stashed at the Phillies' halfway house for ex-big leaguers (a/k/a the AAA San Diego Padres), where he was the PCL all-star shortstop.

As mentioned above, after a season as the Phillies' #1 shortstop,  he (along with the Phillies' other two shortstops Bobby Wine and Gary Sutherland) was lost in the expansion draft. Pena split the shortstop job with Tommy Dean in the Padres' inaugural season, then it was on to the Athletics in a March 1970 trade for 1st baseman Ramon Webster.

Two months later he was shipped out to the Brewers for 2nd baseman John Donaldson. Pena shared the shortstop job with Ted Kubiak (wow, lots of ex-Athletics orbiting around Roberto Pena!) in 1970, and moved over to 1st base in 1971 (with some playing time at SS and 3B). His last game was in September 1971.

Roberto played in Mexico from 1972-74 before hanging up his spikes. He died in July 1982 at age 45.

Final Card: Chuck Cottier

This is the final card for infielder Chuck Cottier (#252), who looks more like an early-1960s' test pilot or astronaut than a baseball player. Chuck was last seen in the 1964 Topps set; perhaps thanks to expansion, he's back for one more year.

Cottier was signed by the Orioles in 1954, and played 5 seasons as a 2nd baseman in the minors before making his big-league debut with the Milwaukee Braves in April 1959. He played most of the season at triple-A Louisville, and split the 1960 season between Louisville and Milwaukee. With the Braves in '60, he shared the 2nd base job with veteran Red Schoendienst.

After the 1960 season, he was traded to the Tigers, but after playing in only 10 games for Detroit in 1961, he was flipped to the Senators in June for pitcher Hal Woodeshick.

Chuck was Washington's regular 2nd baseman from June 9, 1961 to June 25, 1963, losing his starting job when the Sens acquired veteran Don Blasingame from the Reds. Cottier hung on with the Senators in 1964 as the backup 2nd baseman, then spent the 1965 to 1967 seasons in the minors, switching to the Angels' organization at the start of the '67 season.

In 1968 he spent most of the season in triple-A, then was recalled by the Angels in early August, playing 33 games for the remainder of the season. 1969 was the end of the line for Cottier. He had 2 at-bats that season (4/30 and 5/9) before calling it a career.

Chuck later managed the Seattle Mariners from late 1984 through early 1986.

Dick Allen (#350)

This is Dick Allen's final card from his first stint with the Phillies. After winning the NL Rookie of the Year award in 1964, and finishing among the league leaders in homers and RBI several times, Allen wore out his welcome in Philly and was traded after the 1969 season in a 7-player deal that also included Curt Flood and Tim McCarver. After a season each with the Cardinals and Dodgers, Allen had several great seasons with the White Sox before returning to Philadelphia for '75 and '76.

Allen was a high school baseball and basketball star in western Pennsylvania, and was signed by the Phillies in 1960. (The team also signed his brother Hank the same year. Hank would go on to play outfield for the Washington Senators, among others.)

Dick began his minor-league career as a 2nd baseman, and switched to outfield in 1962. After a 2nd full season as an outfielder, he made his major-league debut on September 3rd for the Phillies. Allen played 10 games for the Phillies that season.

Allen moved to 3rd base at the start of 1964, having never played there professionally (except for 1 inning the previous September). He started every game at 3rd in his rookie season, and won the NL Rookie of the Year award. He also led the league in runs, triples, and strikeouts, while hitting 29 homers and collecting 91 RBI. Dick also started 160 games at 3rd base in 1965. Although his home run output dropped to 20, he made his first of 3 consecutive all-star appearances.

1966 started to break up the routine. Allen started 91 games at 3rd base, but (never a great defensive player) also played 47 games in left field. He played 20 fewer games than in 1965, but doubled his home run output with 40 dingers. Dick also led the NL with a .632 slugging percentage. In 1967 he was back exclusively at 3rd, that is, until he sliced up his wrist and missed the last 6 weeks of the season.

Allen returned to full-time status in '68, but this time as the Phillies' left fielder. Only 10 of his 150 games were at his former position. Although he hit 30 homers, his batting average fell to .263, after batting over .300 in his first 4 seasons. He wouldn't finish above .300 until moving to Chicago in 1972.

Because of his defensive liabilities, he moved to 1st base for the 1969 season. That year he also missed a month in mid-season while suspended by the team. Over the years, Allen's relationship with Phillies' management (and fans) deteriorated, and it contributed to the firing of the manager in both 1968 and 1969, and culminated in his trade to the Cardinals after the 1969 season. The Cardinals acquired Allen, 2nd baseman Cookie Rojas, and pitcher Jerry Johnson for relief pitcher Joe Hoerner, catcher Tim McCarver, and outfielders Curt Flood and Byron Browne. Famously, Flood refused to report to the Phillies.

After a stopover in Los Angeles, Allen was traded to the White Sox, where he won the AL MVP award in 1972, while also leading the league in home runs and RBI, and finishing 3rd with a .308 batting average. He also made the all-star team in all three of his seasons with the Sox.

Allen returned to the Phillies midway through the 1975 season, after holding out for several months. In 1976 his bat helped propel them to their first post-season appearance since 1950. Another disagreement with management sent him on his way after the season, this time to Oakland, where he started 50 of the first 61 games at 1st base before the team released him in mid-June.


6/16/2012 EDIT: Here's an excerpt from Allen's Wikipedia page that I just found.  It's a quote from the Philadelphia Inquirer, reviewing a concert that Allen and his musical group had during halftime at a 76ers game in the mid-1960s:

Rich Allen, the most booed man in Philadelphia from April to October, when Eagles coach Joe Kuharich takes over, walked out in front of 9,557 people at the Spectrum last night to sing with his group, The Ebonistics, and a most predictable thing happened. He was booed. Two songs later though, a most unpredictable thing happened. They cheered Rich Allen.

Joe Kuharich - LOL!

Final Card: Dave Nicholson

This is the final card for outfielder Dave Nicholson (#298). Topps added pink to their color spectrum in 1969 for the Royals and Expos (and brown for the Padres and Pilots).

Nicholson never played for the Royals, and had played his last major-league game on October 1, 1967. Because he spent all but 10 games of the 1967 season, and all of 1968 in the minors, he was left out of the 1968 Topps set.

Dave was signed by the Orioles in 1958, and played 2 full seasons in the minors.  After 18 games with triple-A Miami in 1960, he made his major-league debut with the Orioles on May 24th. After another full season in the minors in 1961, Dave returned to Baltimore in 1962 as a backup outfielder.

In January 1963, Nicholson was traded to the White Sox (with pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm and infielders Pete Ward and Ron Hansen) for shortstop Luis Aparicio. Dave was the Sox' regular left fielder in 1963, and shared the job with others in 1964. With newly-acquired Danny Cater taking over left field, Dave was relegated to the bench for all of 1965.

Nicholson was traded to the Astros in December 1965 for pitcher Jack Lamabe, and a year later he was shipped to the Braves with pitcher Bob Bruce for 3rd baseman Eddie Mathews and infielder Sandy Alomar.

After spending most of the next 2 seasons with the Braves' AAA team in Richmond, Dave was purchased by the expansion Royals in October 1968. He spent his final professional season (1969) pinch-hitting for the expansion Royals' triple-A team in Omaha, Nebraska.