#242 - Bill Gogolewski

This is the final card of Bill Gogolewski's career, which is a shame given the cartoon on the back. This is the first last card - that was weird - in a long while which is a good thing. Bill strikes a pose in what looks like the bullpen area of a practice complex. Given the home uniform, I am betting it's a spring training shot. I'm pretty sure it's not Arlington.

Bill Gogolewski was a pretty big boy out of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He was signed by the Senators out of high school in '65 and played Rookie ball that summer where he had a good record as a starter. In '66 he moved to Single A and did pretty well again in the rotation. The scouting report on that season for him was that he needed to work on his curve but that his fastball was pretty good. In '67 he moved up again to Double A where he did well in limited action due to arm trouble. He took a while to bounce back and '68 and '69 were pretty tough. But after an excellent year in Double A in '70 he came up to DC for some late action. He then got into the rotation in '71 and had a nice season going before he again hurt his arm which contributed to two tough seasons that followed. In '72 and '73 Bill went a combined 7-17 with a 4.24 ERA. Early in the '73 season he was moved to the pen where he had six saves, including in David Clyde's first game in which he threw four innings. By the time this card came out Bill was traded to Cleveland as the player to be named later from when Texas acquired Steve Hargan. Bill spent most of '74 down at Triple A where he did OK - 10-11 with a 3.63 ERA - but only got into a couple games up top. The following February he was released by the Indians and picked up by the White Sox. But by then his back was toast and by mid-August after getting 50 innings but with an ERA over 5.00 he was done. Bill went a combined 15-24 in his career with a 4.02 ERA, six complete games, and ten saves. In the minors he was 54-41 with a 3.58 ERA.

After playing Gogolewski would return to Oshkosh where he eventually became the town's commissioner of its parks department, a position he still holds. There is a very interesting bio of him linked to here. I would encourage anyone needing a good laugh to check it out.

Poor Bill! He just bought a house in Texas and he had to split. He has a pretty cool signature; he really makes the G's stand out. His star bullets are nothing special. He did beat Nolan Ryan with a one-hitter in '72. They could have put that down.

Thanks to a league-changer this one is pretty quick:

1. Gogolewski and Vic Harris '72 to '73 Rangers;
2. Harris and Don Kessinger '74 Cubs;
3. Kessinger and Glenn Beckert '65 to '73 Cubs.