Ex-players with cards

Awhile back, I posted the players having 1967 cards whose MLB career was already over before that season, either through retirement or a return to the minor leagues.

Here are the 10 players in the 1969 set who did not play in the majors after 1968:

Signed by the Cardinals in 1958, Dick Hughes labored in the minors for many years before finally making the Cardinals' squad in 1967 at age 29. After 2 seasons (and 2 World Series), his career was over.

Dave Adlesh kicked around in the Astros' chain from 1963-68, while also playing some games with Houston every season. Traded to the Cardinals in the Fall of 1968, he was subsequently traded to the Braves (March '69) and Angels (April '69) but played all of 1969 and 1970 in the minors before retiring.

Lee Elia was a farmhand for the Phillies (1959-64), White Sox (1965-67), and Cubs (1967-69), whose MLB career consisted of 80 games for the ChiSox in '66 and 15 games for the Cubs in '68.

Rollie Sheldon pitched for the Yankees from 1961-64 and Yankees-West (Kansas City Athletics) from 1965-66, but played all of 1967 to 1970 in the minors.

Dave Nicholson was a starting outfielder for the White Sox in 1963-64. He then bounced to the Astros ('66) and Braves ('67), but played most of '67 and all of 1968-69 in the minors.

Jon Warden's only major-league experience was 28 games in relief for the Tigers in 1968. Selected by the Royals in the expansion draft, he played 1969-71 in the minors.

Jesse Gonder played for the Mets from 1963-65, and was their #1 catcher in 1964. He was with the Pirates in 1966-67, his last major-league appearance coming in June 1967. He retired after 2 more seasons in the minors.

Minnie Rojas was a Giants' farmhand in the early 1960s, then played in Mexico from 1964-65. After 3 seasons with the Angels (1966-68) he returned to the Mexican League.

Wayne Causey was a starting infielder for the Kansas City Athletics from 1961-65, and the White Sox from 1966-67. He split the 1968 season between the White Sox, Angels, and Braves.


Saving the best for last!

This may be Topps' first intentional "career-capper" card. Mickey Mantle retired during spring training in 1969. Since this was a late-series card, there was time to add a footnote to the back of his card. Nice that they didn't replace this card with that of another current player.

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.