Jose Pagan (#482)

Jose Pagan had 2 careers – first as an every-day shortstop for the Giants (1961-64), then as a top-notch utility infielder and pinch-hitter for the Pirates (1965-72).

Pagan began his career in the New York Giants’ farm system in 1955. After 4 seasons in the low minors, he was promoted to AAA Phoenix in 1959, and by early-August made his major-league debut.

After playing parts of 5 games in April 1960, he played most of the season with triple-A Tacoma, returning in late-September to start the season’s final 10 games at shortstop.

Pagan was the team’s regular shortstop from 1961 to 1964. In 1962 he started 164 (of the team’s 165) games there! In the final month of 1964 he shared the post with Jim Davenport, but was back as the everyday shortstop at the start of the 1965 season. That is, until he was traded to the Pirates in late-May for shortstop Dick Schofield.

Jose never had a position of his own with the Pirates, who had Gene Alley, Bob Bailey, and Willie Stargell firmly entrenched at Jose’s positions (SS/3B/LF). He did manage to start most games at 3rd base during June/July/August 1966 while Bailey was out of the lineup. Mostly he was a pinch-hitting specialist and backup at those 3 positions for the next several seasons.

From 1970-72, he had dropped shortstop and outfield from his repertoire, but started 113 games at the hot corner over those 3 seasons in relief of Richie Hebner.

The Pirates released Pagan in October 1972, but he was signed by the Phillies the following month. The Phillies were rolling out a rookie 3rd baseman for 1973 (Mike Schmidt) so maybe they wanted a veteran mentor and insurance policy at 3rd base.

Turns out, that Schmidt guy was the real deal after all, so Pagan only made 8 starts at 3B in his final season, but did play in 46 games. The Phillies released him in early-August.

After his playing career, Jose was a coach for the Pirates from 1974-78, and later managed minor-league and winter-ball teams.

He passed away in 2011 at age 76.

Earl Wilson (#160)

Here we see Earl Wilson, coming off his first full season with the Tigers, and about to embark on a season culminating in a World Series championship!

Wilson was signed by the Red Sox way back in 1953. He pitched 4 seasons in the low minors, then lost the ’57 and ’58 seasons while in military service. He returned to the minors (triple-A) in 1959, but also played 9 games for the Sox during the 2nd half of 1959, and 13 games in the 2nd half of 1960. In 1959, Wilson became the first black pitcher to play for Boston.

After a full season back in triple-A in 1961, Wilson made the Red Sox for good at the start of the 1962 season. From '62 to '65, Earl averaged 12 wins a season, as he and Bill Monbouquette formed a 1-2 punch in the starting rotation.

With the emergence of Jim Lonborg and others, both Wilson (age 30) and Monbouquette (29) were deemed past their prime, and were dealt to the Tigers in separate deals. Monbo was traded in December ’65 for a bag of beans, and Wilson, the following June for an aging Don Demeter. Wilson was 5-5 at the time of the trade, but went on a 13-6 tear with the Tigers, to finish up at 18-11, good for 3rd best in the AL. His 200 strikeouts was also 3rd best.

In 1967 he won 22 games, tieing him with Lonborg for the most victories. The Red Sox lost the ’67 World Series by 1 game. If they had held onto Wilson, the Series outcome could have been different.

In 1968 and 1969, Earl settled back into the 12 to 13 wins bracket he was in from 1962-66. He was the Tigers’ #3 starting pitcher (behind Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich) during their World Champions season, and started game #3 in the Series. (After falling behind in the Series , the Tigers came back with their top 2 starters for games #6 and #7, winning both.)

1970 was Wilson’s last season. With his record at 4-6, he was sold to the Padres in mid-July. After a lackluster 1-6 showing with San Diego, he was released in January 1971.

Wilson died from a heart attack in April 2005, at age 70.

Claude Raymond (#166)

Since October, I’ve been playing catch-up with the teams that haven’t been represented as much as others on my blogs. On the 1968 blog, all teams have at least 4 posts except the Braves…until now.

Claude Raymond had a 12-year career (1959, 1961-71) as a relief pitcher. In 449 games, he only made 7 starts – all in 1965 for the Astros. A French-Canadian from Quebec, he would play his final 2 ½ seasons with the fledgling Montreal Expos, becoming the ultimate hometown favorite.

Raymond was signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1955 and played in their farm system from 1955 to 1962. His minor-league stint was briefly interrupted when the White Sox selected him in the Rule 5 draft in December 1958. He began the 1959 season on the White Sox roster, but after pitching in 3 games, he was returned to the Braves in May.

Claude split the 1961 and 1962 seasons between Milwaukee and triple-A, then played the entire 1963 season with the Braves. Raymond was drafted by the Houston Colt .45s in October 1963 in a “special draft”. (A few months ago, I read somewhere that the Colt .45s and Mets were allowed to select additional players after their 2nd year, in an attempt to beef up their struggling rosters.)

For 3 ½ seasons, Raymond labored in Houston’s bullpen, along with veterans Jim Owens and Hal Woodeshick. In 1966, Claude advanced to the closer’s spot, leading the team with 16 saves.

In June 1967, he was returned to the Braves in exchange for pitcher Wade Blasingame (not that one). In his only full season with the Braves (1968) he collected 10 saves, 2nd-most on the staff.

Raymond was sold to the expansion Expos in August 1969, and immediately became a fan favorite, due to his French-Canadian heritage. He led the staff with 23 saves in 1970, but in his final season (1971) he took a back seat to Mike Marshall.

Bob Gibson (#100)

Last week, I was surprised to realize that I hadn’t featured Willie McCovey on any of my blogs so far. This was corrected immediately with a post to the 1967 blog. Later, I took a mental cross-country trip (NYM-Phil-Pitt-ChiC-StL-Atl-Cinn-Hou-SF-LA) and a 2nd lap (Bos-NYY-Balt-Wash-Clev-Det-ChiW-Minn-KC/Oak-Cal) to see if I could think of any superstars that I missed on my blogs. 

This exercise netted Bob Gibson, Hank Aaron, Harmon Killebrew, and Johnny Bench, and some lesser stars like Jim Hunter, Tony Oliva, Phil Niekro, Billy Williams, Norm Cash, Willie Horton, Boog Powell, Bill Mazeroski, and Willie Stargell. So, I’ve got my work cut out for me over the next few weeks… 


First up is Bob Gibson, the lead dog during 1968’s “The Year of the Pitcher”. Gibby followed up a 3-complete-game (and a 1.00 ERA) 1967 World Series performance with a 1968 season where he led the NL with 13 shutouts, 268 K's, and a 1.12 ERA. (That’s ONE point ONE TWO!)

He also compiled a 22-9 record, and won both the Cy Young and MVP awards. Gibson pitched another 3 complete games in the World Series, but unlike the previous season, he was 2-1 in those games. Bob's post-season ERA was a miniscule 1.67. Oh… he also set a record by striking out 17 Tigers in game #1.
 

Gibson was signed by the Cardinals in 1957, and made his major-league debut in April 1959, although he spent a good deal of time in the minors during both 1959 and 1960. He also played basketball for the Harlem Globetrotters during these early years.

Bob made the majors to stay in 1961, and spent his entire career (1959-75) with the Cardinals. He had double-digit wins every season from 1961 to 1974, and won 20 or more games in ’65, ’66, ’68, ’69, and ’70 (missing 2 months with a broken leg in 1967). His 23 wins led the NL in 1970.

Hoot’s “ace of staff” days were from 1963 to 1972, although Curt Simmons managed to keep up with him in ’63 and ’64. Besides his World Series performances in ’67 and ’68, Bob also won 2 of his 3 starts in the 1964 Series against the Yankees.

Gibson ended his career with a down year in 1975, when he was 3-10 in only 109 innings.

He was a 1st-ballot Hall of Famer in 1981.

After his playing career, Bob was the pitching coach for the Mets and the Braves in the early 1980s, while former teammate Joe Torre managed those teams.


This is my original card from 1968, and is well-scuffed from all the "playing time" it got. This is the last of the 1968 "hero cards" that I listed in the first such post. 

Final Card: Fred Valentine

Since starting this blog on 9/28/09, there have been 63 posts, representing every team except the Washington Senators, so...


Fred Valentine (#248) was an outfielder in the mid-1960s for the Senators and Orioles. He was signed by the Baltimore Orioles in 1956, and spent 8 seasons in their farm system, including 5 seasons in triple-A. During this time, he had brief appearances with the Orioles in 1959 (12 games) and 1963 (26 games).

After the 1964 season, he was sold to the Senators. In his first season with the Senators, Fred was the 4th outfielder behind Don Lock (CF), Chuck Hinton (LF), and Jim King (RF). Fred played all 3 positions, and was also frequently used as a pinch-hitter.



After acquiring outfielder Willie Kirkland in August 1964, and Frank Howard from the Dodgers before the 1965 season, the Senators' outfield became very crowded, so Valentine spent all but 12 games in triple-A that season.

In 1966, Fred was back in the big leagues, and played more games in the Senators' outfield than anyone. He started 55 games in center and 64 games in right, alternating with Don Lock and Jim King, respectively.

After the 1966 season, Don Lock was traded to the Phillies, 5th outfielder Willie Kirkland was sent to the minors, and in June 1967, Jim King was traded to the White Sox. However, a new batch of outfielders (Cap Peterson, Hank Allen, Ed Stroud) came on board, competing with Valentine for playing time. Fred started about a third of the games in center field (with Allen and Stroud evenly starting the rest), and started 50+ game in right field, where Peterson was the regular. Valentine was also occasionally used as a defensive replacement for Frank Howard in left field.

1968 was the end of the line for Valentine. 23-year-old rookie Del Unser (10 years younger than Valentine) took over the center field job, starting 154 games. Valentine started 24 of the first 56 games in right field, then was traded back to the Orioles on June 15th for pitcher Bruce Howard.

With the Orioles, Fred's situation declined, as the O's had 7 other outfielders, all getting more playing time than him. Fred was used mainly as a pinch-hitter and late-inning outfield sub.

His last major-league game was on September 24th, 1968. He spent the 1969 season with the Orioles' triple-A team in Rochester.

Gene Oliver (#449)

Another hatless gem from Topps. Here, Gene's most likely in a Braves uniform. Since he was only on the Phillies for half a season, surely Topps didn't find the time to photograph him!

Oliver was signed by the Cardinals in 1956, and played the next 6 seasons in the minor leagues, except for the 2nd half of 1959, when he was called up to the Cardinals in June and played 68 games (mostly in left field).

Gene returned to the majors for a few games in 1961, then was up to stay at the start of the 1962 season. Oliver was the #1 catcher in 1962, starting 88 games behind the plate.

That status was short lived, as in 1963, a 21-year-old upstart named Tim McCarver took over the Cardinals' catching job for the remainder of the decade. Oliver was traded to the Braves in mid-season for pitcher Lew Burdette. In Milwaukee, he became the team's #1 first baseman in 1963 and 1964, sharing the position with Joe Torre. (Joe was the Braves' starting catcher, but would play first base whenever the 2nd-string catcher started.)



With the Braves' acquisition of Felipe Alou in 1965, Gene was relegated to 2nd-string status at both catcher and first base, but still made 107 starts between the 2 positions.

In 1966, Gene was pushed further into the background. Although he played in 76 games, only 48 were at catcher and 5 at first base. That's a lot of pinch-hitting! (I just discovered that outfielder Rico Carty caught 17 games for the Braves in 1966! Maybe Oliver was injured for a time.)

In June 1967, Oliver was traded to the Phillies for catcher Bob Uecker. After only playing in 12 games for Atlanta, Gene started 72 games for the Phillies (70 at catcher and 2 at first base) as the righty half of Gene Mauch's catching platoon.

After the 1967 season, Oliver and pitcher Dick Ellsworth were sent to the Red Sox in exchange for young catcher Mike Ryan, a "defensive specialist". There wasn't much room for Gene in Boston, what with 2nd-year starter Russ Gibson, long-time veteran Elston Howard, and journeyman Russ Nixon also lurking about, so he was sold to the Cubs in late June 1968.

Oliver was used mostly as a pinch-hitter in 1 1/2 seasons with the Cubs. He was released on September 2nd, 1969.

Al Jackson (#503)

Al Jackson's career spanned most of the 1960s. He was primarily a starting pitcher for the Mets in the pre-Tom Seaver era.

Jackson was signed by the Pirates in 1955, and played mostly in the Pirates farm system through the end of 1961. (He played in the Mexican league for all of 1956 and part of 1957, and made a few appearances for the Pirates in 1959 and 1961.)

After the 1961 season, Al was selected by the Mets in the expansion draft. For the Mets' first 4 seasons, Jackson was a fixture in their rotation, starting over 30 games each year, and winning in double figures twice.



After the 1965 season, Al and third baseman Charlie Smith were traded to the Cardinals for third baseman Ken Boyer. Jackson became the Cardinals' #2 starter behind Bob Gibson (and ahead of Ray Washburn and Larry Jaster) in 1966.

The following season, he slipped into a swing man role, as Steve Carlton, Dick Hughes, and (later) Nelson Briles replaced him in the rotation. After the season, Jackson was sent back to the Mets as the player to be named later in the Cardinals' mid-season acquisition of pitcher Jack Lamabe.

Jackson spent 1 1/2 seasons with the Mets (pitching mostly in relief) before being sold to the Reds in June 1969. The Reds released him after the 1969 season.

Jack Fisher (#444)

Jack was a starting pitcher for 4 different teams between 1959 and 1969.

He was signed by the Baltimore Orioles in 1957, and played 2 seasons in the minors before making his major-league debut with the Orioles in April 1959. For most of the season he was with the Orioles, but spent some time in the minors.

Fisher latched on to one of the starter jobs during the 1960-62 seasons. This was prior to the McNally/Bunker era, when Fisher's partners in crime included Milt Pappas, Chuck Estrada, and Steve Barber.



After the 1962 season, Jack was traded (along with pitcher Billy Hoeft and catcher Jimmie Coker) to the Giants for pitchers Mike McCormick and Stu Miller, and catcher John Orsino.

After only 1 season in San Francisco, Fisher was acquired by the Mets. Jack played for the Mets for 4 seasons, and was the one constant in the starting rotation during those seasons. He got them into the "Tom Seaver era" (1967). He was the Mets' #1 starter for his first 3 seasons, before moving down to #2 in 1967, behind Seaver.

After the season, he and Tommy Davis were traded to the White Sox for outfielder Tommie Agee and second baseman Al Weis, 2 players who would have major roles for the Mets in the 1969 World Series.

Jack played only one season with the White Sox, and would move to the Reds in exchange for catcher Don Pavletich. After the 1969 season, the Reds traded him to the Angels, but he was released prior to the 1970 season.

His final card was in the 1970 set.

Final Card: Bobby Locke

This is Bobby Locke's final card (#24). It's also his first card since 1965, so I'm going to throw him into my "Back on Topps' Radar" series.

Topps spent little or no effort on this card. They used the same photo from the 1962 card, and on the back they omitted Locke's minor-league stats.

Locke was signed by the Indians in 1953, and spent the 1953 - 1956 seasons in their minor league system.



1957 and 1958 are unaccounted for in his record. Military service is not listed, so maybe he missed 2 seasons due to injuries.

Locke pitched for the Cleveland Indians from 1959 to 1961, while also spending some time in the minors.

In November 1961, Bobby was traded to the Cubs, but he was shipped to the Cardinals a few days before the season started. Three weeks later, the Cardinals traded him to the Phillies.

Locke bounced between Philadelphia and their triple-A team for the next 3 seasons, and was sold to the Angels after the 1964 season.

Midway through the 1965 season, the Angels traded Locke to the Reds, but reacquired him in June 1966. He continued bouncing up and down with the Angels. 1968 was his final major-league season, and he spent 1969 entirely in the minors before retiring.


To tell you the truth, I'm surprised Locke even has a card in this set. 1961 was the last season that he pitched more than 20 innings in the major leagues!

Back on Topps' radar: Al Spangler

Tonight I'm starting a series of cards (well actually, the already-posted Tommie Aaron and Frank Kostro belong in this series also) where the player had one or more previous cards, but did not have one last year, and now they are back in the set. There are about 25 such players in the 1968 set.


Al Spangler (#451) was a journeyman outfielder who started in the Braves organization in the late 1950s. The Houston Colt .45s selected him in the expansion draft, and he became their starting leftfielder from day 1 of the franchise until his trade to the Angels in early June 1965.

After bouncing up and down between the Angels and their AAA team in Seattle, he was released by the Angels before the 1967 season, and quickly signed with the Cubs. In 1967, he split the season between Chicago and their AAA team in Tacoma, Washington. (I wonder if he kept his old apartment in Seattle?)



No doubt, all this triple-A time in 1966 and 1967 cost him a 1967 Topps card. (Spangler had a Topps card every year from 1960 to 1966.)

He stayed with the Cubs for the latter part of his career, although 1970 and 1971 saw him released and re-signed by the Cubs several times.