The Jackson Five

Here's a break from the normal routine. I went through my 1966 to 1970 cards, and found over a dozen cases where three or more players have the same last name (and many more with just two). I've already done the brothers thing, so they won't be included in this series.

I'm starting off with all the Jacksons. (Reggie would have had a card in the 1968 set, if not for Topps' ineptitude.)

Final Card: Larry Jackson

Larry Jackson (#81) made his major-league debut with the Cardinals in 1955, and was a workhorse pitcher for every one of his 14 seasons. (His 2-2 record in 1956 is misleading. That year, 50 of his 51 appearances were in relief.) He was generally (and exclusively after 1958) a starting pitcher, except for the 1956 season.

After 8 seasons with the Cardinals, he was traded to the Cubs. He won 24 games in 1964, (but unfortunately for him, it was for the Cubs, and not the world-champion Cardinals).



After 3 full seasons in Chicago, he was traded to the Phillies in mid-April 1966. He won 15, 13, and 13 games in his three seasons with the Phillies as their #3 starter. Normally, this would be considered a good thing, but in Jackson's case, the 1966 trade included the Phillies parting with rookie pitcher Ferguson Jenkins, who went on to win at least 20 games for 7 of the next 8 years (twice leading the league in wins). At least the Phillies learned their lesson (until 1982, when the Cubs again fleeced the Phillies by sending SS Ivan DeJesus to Philadelphia for SS Larry Bowa and a minor-leaguer named Ryne Sandberg!)

After the 1968 season, Jackson was selected by the Montreal Expos in the expansion draft. Rather than start over with a new team, Jackson retired. The Phillies sent good-field no-hit shortstop Bobby Wine to Montreal as compensation.