Felipe Alou (#55)

Felipe Alou played 17 seasons (1958-74) for 6 teams, mostly the Giants and Braves. Although mostly an outfielder, he played about half his games at 1st base from 1965-67 with the Braves and from 1971-73 with the Yankees.

Felipe is the oldest of the 3 Alou brothers, who all began their careers with the Giants. Felipe's son Moises also played in the majors from 1990-2008.

Alou was signed by the Giants in 1955, and played 2 ½ seasons in the minors before making his big-league debut with the Giants in June 1958. Felipe backed up rookie Willie Kirkland in right field for the remainder of the season.

1959 was more of the same for Alou, backing up Kirkland in right field. In late July, rookie Willie McCovey joined the Giants, which caused incumbent 1st baseman Orlando Cepeda to play about half his games in left field for the next few seasons. With Willie Mays in center field, all other outfielders would have to vie for playing time in right field.

In 1960 Alou was the regular left fielder for the 50+ games when Cepeda would move in to 1st base. From 1961 to 1963, Felipe was the Giants' regular right fielder, often backed up by his brother Matty. His youngest brother Jesus joined the Giants in September 1963, Felipe's last few weeks with the Giants. All 3 Alou brothers played in the same outfield only once – on September 15th.

After the season, Felipe was traded to the Braves (with pitcher Billy Hoeft, catcher Ed Bailey, and infielder Ernie Bowman) for pitchers Bob Shaw and Bob Hendley, and catcher Del Crandall. Alou began the '64 season as the Braves’ starting center fielder, but by mid-June had lost that post to Lee Maye, and spent the remainder of the season as the 4th outfielder.

Felipe began playing 1st base in 1965, and spent the next 3 seasons dividing his time between 1st, left field, and center field. He also was quite good with the stick. In 1966 he finished 2nd among NL batters with a .327 average (right behind his brother Matty). In 1968 he finished 3rd (behind Pete Rose and Matty) with a .317 average.

After Mack Jones was traded away following the 1967 season, Alou spent the next 2 seasons as the Braves' regular center fielder.

After the '69 season, he was traded to Oakland for pitcher Jim Nash. Alou only spent one full season with the Athletics. At age 35, he played in an outfield that included Rick Monday and Reggie Jackson, both 24. Felipe played in left field, and also 70 games in right (mostly when Jackson played center in Monday's absence).

Felipe started the first 2 games of the 1971 season, then at week's end was traded to the Yankees. He played the rest of '71, all of '72, and most of '73 in the Big Apple. He was a regular in 1971, playing RF/CF/1B. For the next 2 seasons he shared the first base job with Ron Blomberg.

In September 1973 Alou hit the road again, this time for Montreal. He played 19 games for the Expos during the season's final month, then was sold to the Brewers in the off-season. After 3 games with Milwaukee, he was released in April 1974.

Alou became a manager after his playing career, with stops in Montreal (1992-2001) and San Francisco (2003-06).

Orlando Cepeda (#200)

Card #200 in the 1968 set is Orlando Cepeda. Good choice! Cepeda was the 1967 NL MVP, led the league with 111 RBI, bashed 25 homers, and bat .325 during the season (although only .103 in the World Series).

Orlando was signed by the New York Giants in 1955. After 3 seasons in the minors, Cepeda began the 1958 season with San Francisco, and started 147 games at first base, en route to winning the Rookie of the Year award (only the 2nd player to win unanimously).

In late-July 1959, the Giants called up rookie Willie McCovey, moving Cepeda to left field for the rest of the season. Cepeda played most of 1960 in left field, but when McCovey spent the 2nd half of the season in the minors and on the Giants' bench, Orlando reclaimed the 1st base job.

He split the 1961 season between 1B and LF, and led the NL in home rums (46) and RBI (142). Cepeda returned to his old 1st base job for the 1962-64 seasons, but missed most of the 1965 season with a knee injury.

Orlando was traded to the Giants in May 1966 for pitcher Ray Sadecki. He spent 3 seasons in St. Louis (including his MVP season in '67 and World Series appearances in '67 and '68).

During spring training 1969, he was traded to the Braves for catcher Joe Torre. He had another big power season in 1970 (34, 111), then was traded to the Athletics in July 1972 for pitcher Denny McLain.

Cepeda only played 3 games with the A's when a knee injury ended his season. Released after the season, he hooked on with the Red Sox when the AL instituted the DH before the 1973 season. He DH'ed in 142 games, but never played the field or pinch-hit that season.

He was released after the 1973 season, and spent most of 1974 playing in Mexico, until the Royals signed him for the final two months of the season.

Cepeda was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999 by the Veterans Committee.

Gary Bell (#43)

Gary Bell spent many seasons toiling for the Cleveland Indians, and was finally rewarded with a trade to the 1967 Red Sox!

Bell was signed by the Indians in 1955, and spent 3 1/2 seasons in the minors before making his Indians' debut on June 1, 1958. Gary was a member of the Indians' rotation from his rookie season of 1958 through the 1961 season. From 1962-65, he moved to the bullpen, and was Cleveland's ace reliever in '62 and '65.

Bell returned to the starting rotation in 1966, and had more starts, innings pitched, and complete games than any of their other starters (Sam McDowell, Sonny Siebert, Steve Hargan).



After making 9 starts for the Indians in 1967, he was traded to the Red Sox on June 4th for outfielder Don Demeter and first baseman Tony Horton. Bell came along just in time, as the other non-Jim Lonborg starters weren't having very good seasons:


In the World Series, Gary lost game 3, and saved game 6.

In 1968, Bell went 11-11, Lonborg missed time due to injuries, while newcomers Ray Culp and Dick Ellsworth each won 16 games. After the season, Bell was selected by the Seattle Pilots in the expansion draft. In early June 1969, he escaped from that zoo and finished out the season with the White Sox.



Has anyone ever seen these 2 guys at the same time?

Bill Monbouquette (#234)

Bill Monbouquette was a starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox during the early 1960s. He was traded away (to Detroit) before the Red Sox were in the 1967 World Series, and was also traded away from the Tigers before they made it to the 1968 series. What bad luck!

Bill was signed by the Red Sox in 1955. After 3 1/2 seasons in their farm system, he made his big-league debut in July 1958, making 10 appearances (8 starts) that season. The following year, he was with the team for the entire season, as a starter and reliever.

In 1960, Bill began a string of 6 seasons as one of the Sox' top starters. He was a 20-game winner in 1963. Conversely, his 18 losses in 1965 led the league in that category.



After the 1965 season, Monbouquette was traded to the Tigers for what appears to be a bag of beans. Boston got two players immediately, and a player to be named later: Second baseman George Smith played only the 1966 season in Boston (his last season in the majors). George Thomas was a serviceable backup outfielder who played with the Red Sox into the 1971 season. A year after the trade, Boston also got catcher Jackie Moore, whose major-league career consists of 21 games with the Tigers in 1965. For that collection of jetsam, Detroit got Monbouquette, who had just won 86 games in the previous 6 seasons, and pitched 65 complete games during that span. Talk about a fleecing!

Hmm... maybe it wasn't so bad. After a year and 6 weeks with Detroit, Bill was released on May 15, 1967. Later that month the Yankees signed him. In July 1968 he was traded to the Giants for pitcher Lindy McDaniel. After the season he was sold to the Astros, who then returned him to the Giants before the 1969 season. The Giants promptly released him.

After all his success in Boston, Bill went a combined 18-21 in 89 games over the last 3 years of his career, traveling from Detroit to New York to San Francisco.

Leon Wagner (#495)

Leon "Daddy Wags" Wagner was the power-hitting left fielder of the expansion Angels (and later the Cleveland Indians) who, once the calendar struck 1968, couldn't buy a home run.

Wagner played one season for the Tuskeegee University baseball team in 1953, then was signed by the New York Giants in 1954. He played 3 seasons in the Giant's system before missing the 1957 season while in military service.

In 1958, he divided his time evenly between San Francisco and the minors, making his major-league debut on June 22nd. He and Hank Sauer shared playing time in left field.

In 1959 he played a full season for the Giants, but was 3rd on the left field depth chart behind Jackie Brandt and Orlando Cepeda. (Although Cepeda was the #1 first baseman, he played a lot of left field to make room for Willie McCovey at 1B). After the season, Wagner was traded to the Cardinals.



Wagner spent most of the 1960 season in the minors, then was traded to the independent triple-A Toronto Maple Leafs in October. The following April, Toronto traded him to the expansion Los Angeles Angels, where Wagner had a breakout season.

Wags hit 28, 37, and 26 homers in his three seasons with the Angels, and was a two-time all-star.

In December 1963, the Angels traded him to the Indians for pitcher Barry Latman and first baseman Joe Adcock. Wagner continued his slugging in Cleveland - this time with sidekick Rocky Colavito. In his first 3 seasons he hit 31, 28, and 23 home runs. Wags' power started to taper off in 1967, as he only knocked 15 homers.

In June 1968 he was traded to the White Sox for outfielder Russ Snyder. In December, Chicago sold him to the Reds, but Cincinnati returned him to the Sox on April 5, 1969. On the same day, he was given his release by the White Sox.

Later that Spring, the Giants signed him for pinch-hitting duties, but he only appeared in 11 games for the Giants. He spent the remainder of 1969, and all of 1970 and 1971 in the minors, before retiring.

Final Card: Larry Sherry

Here is the final card for Larry Sherry (#468). Not only does the front have a bland, hatless photo, but there is plenty of elbow room on the back. (The Topps' employee responsible for writing player commentary must have been on vacation the day Sherry's card was prepared.)

Larry was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1953 and spent 7 years in their minor-league system. After a few games with the Dodgers in 1958, Sherry saw more action in 1959, splitting time between the Dodgers and triple-A.



Sherry spent 5 seasons in the Dodgers' bullpen, his best coming in 1960, as he pitched 142 innings and compiled a 14-10 record.

At the start of the 1964 season, he was traded to the Tigers for outfielder Lou Johnson. Although Larry had made occasional starts with the Dodgers, he was strictly a reliever with the Tigers. In 3-plus seasons in Detroit, he never approached the workload he had in LA.

Sherry was well-traveled in his final 2 seasons. In late June 1967, the Tigers traded him to the Astros for outfielder Jim Landis. Although he appears on this card as an (implied) Astro, he was released in spring training 1968. It wasn't until July 1st that he found his next team. The Angels signed him, but he only made 3 appearances, the last on July 7th.

Sherry spent the remainder of 1968, as well as 1969 and 1970 playing for the Angels' and White Sox' triple-A teams.

Final Card: John Buzhardt

And now a 10-day blitz, as I wrap up most of the remaining 10-year veterans who retired in the late 1960s...


I almost hate scanning and posting these 1968 Astros cards, because every last one of them is either hatless or airbrushed. Earlier today, upon completing his tour of the entire 1969 set, Wrigley Wax noted that at some point he "hit the wall". I hit the wall every time I see one of these hatless wretches! What makes it even worse is when there is no other interesting aspect to the photo. In a few days, we'll all be treated to Buzhardt's Astros teammate Larry Sherry - an equally un-interesting hatless photo, as well as the Phillies' Turk Farrell. But I digress...

John Buzhardt (#403) was signed by the Cubs in 1954, and played in their minor-league system from 1954 to 1958. His major-league debut came on September 10th, his first of 6 appearances that year.

In 1959, John played for the Cubs the entire season. Before the 1960 season, Buzhardt was traded (along with third basemen Alvin Dark and Jim Woods) to the Phillies for outfielder Richie Ashburn.



John's two seasons in Philadelphia seem less than impressive. He compiled records of 5-16 and 6-18. Two of his 6 wins in 1961 were the games just before and just after the Phillies' infamous 23-game losing streak.

After the 1961 season, Buzhardt and third baseman Charlie Smith were sent to the White Sox for first baseman Roy Sievers. John fared better in his 5-plus seasons with the Sox than with the Phillies. (It was probably the team!) Twice he got double-figures in wins. Twice his ERA was under 3.00. For awhile, he was actually on par with Gary Peters, Joe Horlen, and Tommy John!

In 1967, Buzhardt was on the move. He was one of five players (along with Jim King, Jim Landis, Jack Lamabe, and Ken Harrelson) to play for more than 2 teams in 1967. [Hmm... 4 of these 5 played for the White Sox!] On August 21st he was sold to the Orioles. A month later he was sold to the Astros. (I'm not sure why. Houston was not on any kind of stretch drive for the last week of September!)

1968 was John's final season. He appeared in 39 games for the Astros - his most since 1961.

Back on Topps' radar: Stan Williams

Stan Williams (#54) started in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization in 1954. He made his big-league debut in 1958, the Dodgers first season in Los Angeles.

From 1960 to 1962, Stan was 1/4 of the excellent Dodgers starting rotation (along with Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and Johnny Podres). After the 1962 season, Williams was traded to the Yankees for first baseman Moose Skowron.



In 1965, Williams' career hit a rough spot as he spent most of 1965-1967 in the minors, pitching over 30 games per season (mostly in relief). Although technically Indians' property, he played for 3 different triple-A teams in 3 years: Seattle (Angels), Spokane (Dodgers), and Portland (Indians). He returned to Cleveland during the 1967 season.

Needless to say, after having Topps baseball cards from 1959 to 1965, he was off their list until 1968.

Stan played for the Indians through the 1969 season, mostly in relief, but he also made a few dozen starts. After 1969, he was traded to the Twins, then the Cardinals, and finally wrapped up his 14-year career in 1972 with the Red Sox.