Final Card: Larry Shepard

This is the 2nd and final card for Pirates' manager Larry Shepard.

Shepard only had a 2-year managing career, from 1968-69 with Pittsburgh. The Bucs finished in sixth place in 1968, and third (of 6) in 1969. He was let go with 5 games remaining in the 1969 season.

I first became aware of Shepard in 1967, the year I started following major-league baseball. He was the Phillies' pitching coach for that one season. (I wonder if he had any input into the trade that sent Jim Bunning to the Pirates in the 67/68 off-season?)

Larry never played major-league ball, but he pitched in the minors in 1941 and from 1946-58. He started out with the unaffiliated class-C Three Rivers (Quebec) Renards, then after missing 4 seasons during World War II, he hooked on with the Brooklyn Dodgers and pitched in their farm system from 1946-51. He was also the team's manager from 1948-51.

He moved on to the Pirates' organization, pitching for their various class-A teams from 1952-56, while also serving as manager from 1953-56.

He was out of baseball in 1957, but returned as the Pirates' triple-A manager from 1958-66, with his team finishing in first place 3 times. Shepard never played above class-A until pitchng in 18 games in 1958, his last as a player.

After a season as the Phillies' pitching coach, he returned to the Pirates for 2 seasons as the big club’s manager.

Shepard was also Sparky Anderson's pitching coach for the Big Red Machine from 1970-78, and for the Giants in 1979.

He passed away in 2011 at age 92.

Dock Ellis (#286)

This is Dock Ellis’ rookie card. He pitched for 12 seasons (1968-79), the first 8 with the Pirates. After that, he bounced around to 5 different teams in his last 4 seasons, including returning to the Pirates for the last 2 weeks of his career.

While still in high school, Ellis played semi-pro baseball on a team that included future major-leaguers Bob Tolan, Reggie Smith, Bob Watson, Roy White, Don Wilson, and Dave Nelson.

Ellis was signed by the Pirates in 1964 and made his major-league debut in June 1968. He started 10 of his 26 games that year.

Dock was a fixture in the Pirates’ starting rotation from 1969 through the 1975 season. He won 19 games in 1971, and made his only All-Star team that season. He also finished 4th in the Cy Young voting.

Ellis pitched a no-hitter against the Padres in June 1970, supposedly while under the influence of LSD. (Apparently, he lost track of what day it was, and only after taking the LSD did he remember he had to pitch that day.)

He appeared in the post-season for the Pirates from 1970-72, and in 1975.

After the 1975 season he was traded to the Yankees along with pitcher Ken Brett and 2nd baseman Willie Randolph for pitcher Doc Medich. (One Doc for another!) Doc won 17 games for the Yankees in 1976, and also pitched in the ALCS and World Series.

The following April he was traded to the Athletics, and on June 15th was flipped to the Rangers. Exactly 2 years later, he was traded to the Mets, but finished that season (and his career) back with the Pirates. (He played for 3 teams in '77 and again in '79.)

Ellis was granted free agency after the 1979 season, but found no takers.

After his playing career, Ellis (who had a drug problem since high school) cleaned himself up and became a counselor to drug addicts. He also appeared in the Pittsburgh-based movie "Gung Ho" (starring Michael Keaton) in 1986.

Ellis died in 2008 at age 63.

Bob Moose (#409)

Here is Bob Moose on his first solo card (having appeared on a Pirates Rookies card in the 1968 set).

Moose was signed by the Pirates in 1965, and pitched in the minors for 3 seasons before making his major-league debut for the Pirates with 2 games in September 1967.

Bob joined the staff at the start of 1968, splitting his appearances between starting and relieving for his first two seasons with the Bucs. The Pirates had moved on from long-time starters Bob Friend and Vern Law in recent years, and would soon say goodbye to Tommie Sisk and Al McBean, before settling on a younger rotation of Steve Blass, Dock Ellis, Moose, and the not-so-young Bob Veale.

Moose compiled a 14-3 record in 1969 (leading the league with a .824 winning percentage. He also notched a 2.91 ERA and no-hit the eventual World Champion Mets that season.

Bob was primarily a starter from 1970-73, collecting 11, 11, 13, and 12 wins over that time. He pitched in the NLCS in ’70, ’71, and ’72, and pitched in 3 games in the 1971 World Series (although with no decisions).

In 1974 he was limited to 7 games due to a blood clot that required surgery and the removal of a rib.

Moose played full seasons in ’75 and ’76, but was almost exclusively a reliever during those years. He led the team with 10 saves in 53 games in 1976.

Moose was killed in a car accident one week after the end of the 1976 season (on his 29th birthday).

Freddie Patek (#219)

Here is the rookie card for Pirates' shortstop Freddie Patek. (Often referred to back in the day as "Pint-sized Freddie Patek", since he was five-foot-six). Wait, there's also "He put the 'short' in shortstop", and... ok, that's enough.

Patek was signed by the Pirates in 1965, and played in the minors during the '66 and '67 seasons, and the first part of 1968. Although incumbent Pirates' shortstop Gene Alley made his 2nd consecutive all-star appearance in 1968, his stats had dropped significantly from 1965-67. Patek was called up in early June, and started 49 games at shortstop over the rest of the season, including most of the games in August and September. He also played some in the outfield.

In 1969, Patek became the full-time shortstop, starting 141 games. (Alley assumed a utility role, starting 20 games at SS, 47 games at 2B, and 4 at 3B.) Patek never missed more than 2 consecutive starts all season, except for the stretch between 5/25 and 6/11.

1970 was just the opposite, with Alley regaining his old position (105 starts), leaving Patek with just 57 starts, the bulk of them coming in May. (Although Freddie had played a little outfield during his rookie season, he played nowhere but shortstop for the rest of his career, until his final season in 1981.)

After the 1970 season, Patek was traded to the Royals (with pitcher Bruce Dal Canton and catcher Jerry May) for pitcher Bob Johnson, catcher Jim Campanis, and shortstop Jackie Hernandez. Patek held down the Royals' shortstop job from opening day 1971, until he was replaced by U.L. Washington at the end of August 1979. Along the way, he teamed with 2nd basemen Cookie Rojas (1971-75) and Frank White (1976-79), and was a 3-time all-star.

Patek was granted free agency after the 1979 season, and signed on with the Angels, where he shared the starting shortstop job with Bert Campaneris in 1980, and was a little-used infield reserve in 1981.

Patek was released by the Angels on opening day 1982, ending his 14-year career.

Final Card: Ron Kline

This is the final card for 17-year veteran Ron Kline (#243).

Kline was signed by the Pirates in 1950. After 2 seasons in the minors, Ron made the Pirates at the start of the 1952 season. After dividing the season between the Pirates and their class-B team in Burlington, NC, Kline lost the ’53 and ’54 seasons to military service.

He returned in 1955, and for the next 5 seasons was one of the Pirates’ top 3 starters (along with Vern Law and Bob Friend). He missed out on the 1960 championship season, as he was traded to the Cardinals the previous winter.

After one season in St. Louis, Kline began the 1961 season as a starting pitcher for the expansion Los Angeles Angels. By mid-August, he was claimed off waivers by the Tigers. Ron spent the next season and a half with Detroit, and was converted to a reliever while with the Tigers.

Kline was sold to the Washington Senators during spring training 1963, and became the team’s top reliever for the next 4 seasons. He led the Sens’ staff in saves each year, topping out at 29 saves in 1965.

After the 1966 season he was traded to the Twins for pitcher Camilo Pascual and 2nd baseman Bernie Allen. Exactly 1 year later he returned to the Pirates in a trade for minor-league 1st baseman Bob Oliver (who would later star for the Kansas City Royals). In 1968 Kline compiled a 12-5 record and a 1.68 ERA in 56 relief appearances, pitching more innings than any season since 1961.

He split the 1969 season between the Pirates, Giants, and Red Sox, and was released by Boston before the 1970 season. The Braves signed Ron at the end of April, but after 5 relief appearances, he was released 2 months later. He spent most of 1970 pitching for the Angels’ AAA team in Hawaii before retiring.

Kline passed away in 2002 at age 70, in his hometown of Callery, PA a suburb of Pittsburgh.

Final Card: Ron Davis

This is the 3rd and final card for outfielder Ron Davis (#553). Never on a Rookie Stars card, Davis had solo cards as a Houston Astro in the '67 and '68 sets.

Davis was signed by the Houston Colt .45s in 1961, and played minor league ball from 1961-66. Although he had a 6-game cup of coffee in early August 1962, he didn't make the majors to stay until August 1966.  Then, he started 47 of the final 54 games in center field while filling in for the injured Jim Wynn.
 

Davis moved over to left field in 1967, starting 59 games there while sharing the position with rookie Norm Miller.

In 1968, he started 52 of the first 58 games in center field (with Wynn moving to left), until he was traded to (escaped to?) the defending World Champion Cardinals. With Lou Brock in left, Curt Flood in center, and Roger Maris and Bob Tolan sharing right field, Davis was relegated to bench duty for the remainder of the season.

Shortly after the expansion draft, Davis was traded to the Padres (with 3rd baseman Ed Spiezio) for pitcher Dave Giusti. In spring training, the Padres flipped him and infielder Bobby Klaus (who we will see here 2 posts after this one) to the Pirates for catcher Chris Cannizzaro and pitcher Tommie Sisk.

After backing up all 3 outfield positions in 1969, Davis played the next 2 seasons for the Pirates' triple-A team before retiring.

He passed away on 9/5/1992 at age 50.

#436 Gene Alley

Gene Alley played his entire career for the Bucs from 1963 to 1973, helping beat out the Orioles in 1971 for the championship. Lingering shoulder and knee problems forced him into an early retirement in 1973 at the age of 33. Gene was best known for his 2 time Gold Glove winning fielding abilities, teaming up with Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski to create on of the best infield duos ever. The two set a MLB record for 161 double plays in a season in 1966 which still stands, also setting the Pirates up for a NL record with 215 double plays as a team. At one point in 1969 starting on August 13, Gene started a 21 game hitting streak during which he went 30 for 82 (.366) with 8 home runs, 21 RBI and 15 runs scored. He raised his batting average from .218 to .266 after that stretch.

Here's Gene wearing the number 22, not his normal number of 14 which I believe he wore every year except for 1968.