#574 - Bill Parsons

This lanky guy is Bill Parsons, one-time future ace of the Milwaukee Brewers. Bill’s 26 wins in ’71 and ’72 were the most on the staff over that time but going into the ’73 season there was some worry about a shoulder injury he suffered early in spring training. It was also thought that a little tinkering with his pitch rotation was all that was deemed necessary to help him up his results. Bill had been all fastball and change-up his first few seasons, throwing almost exclusively from the set position, and new pitching coach Bob Shaw wanted him to pitch from a wind-up position and add a curveball. All good in theory but the results were pretty devastating. In Bill’s first start of the season, Opening Day, he threw shutout ball for over seven innings but walked six guys. He gave up five runs – four unearned – in just two innings in his second start and then walked seven in under four innings his next one. And it kept getting worse: he gave up 14 walks in two successive starts in May, won two in a row to get to 3-4 by mid-June, but then lost his spot in the rotation for over a month and returned to do spot work that just saw his ERA ratchet up. By then Shaw had resigned – or been fired – partly because of Bill’s decline, even though he’d done good work with just about every other pitcher. And Bill himself would be gone less than a year later. And he really would be gone. Like the last couple post subjects, there is virtually nothing in the media universe regarding Bill’s activities since he played. How do you make a guy who’s 6’6” disappear? Apparently by writing a baseball card blog.

Bill Parsons was born in Riverside, California. After that it’s pretty much conjecture since about the only thing matching the lack of info on the guy after he played is the dearth of news before he did. It appears that after graduating high school in ’66 that he may have gone to Riverside Community College for a short bit but for sure he was on the University of Utah baseball team as a freshman pitcher in the spring of ’67. He also played hoops at Utah – George Theodore from this set was a teammate in both sports – but not for long as he was drafted and signed by the new Seattle Pilots in the seventh round of the ’68 draft. Topps isn’t much help either, indicating on one card that Bill was an All-American in hoops (doubt that) and that he graduated Arizona State, which for sure didn’t happen. What he did do, apparently in the spring of ’68, was go 4-1 with a 3.10 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 61 innings of a local Cali league so maybe that was when he went to Riverside. He definitely followed that bit up with a tough start that summer as a starter in A ball, but kept people happy with the high strikeout totals. In ’69 Bill began his military hitch but around it threw pretty well, posting 11 K’s in his only Rookie ball start and then putting up an excellent ERA after finding his control in A ball. Most of ’70 was military time as well but Bill again impressed when he was pitching, posting great numbers in his four Triple A starts.

By ’71 Parsons’ military requirement was done and he made the Brewers after a great winter ball season that followed a pretty good IL one. He immediately joined the rotation and though he lost his first two, it wasn’t his fault as he only gave up two runs in each of two complete games. He threw shutout ball in three of his first five wins and suffered losing streaks of five and three games, all the while keeping his ERA well below 3.00. It was still there when he was 13-15 by mid-September and was actually receiving some decent hitting support. After being on the losing side of three blowouts his ERA crossed that 3.00 horizon and he suffered another couple losses but he got lots of regards for a season well done, made the Topps Rookie team, and was selected by the TSN player poll as its Rookie of the Year. He also set a team record with his 12 complete games. His follow-up year was all over the place. He began April going 1-2 with an ERA of nearly 7.00 and then won five straight to pull down his ERA to 3.50. Then five straight losses pushed the ERA back above 5.00 and into the pen, where he stayed for a couple weeks. But after he rejoined the rotation in mid-July he went 7-6 with eight complete games and a 2.62 ERA to finish the year on an up note. After the misery of ’73 Bill had an even nastier spring training in ’74 and he was sent down to Triple A Sacramento. Not much good was going on at that level and he requested a trade elsewhere when in late June he was sent to Oakland for Deron Johnson. After going a combined 9-16 with a fat 5.05 ERA – everyone who pitched in Sacramento had a fat ERA – but getting his walks and strikeouts realigned – 57 vs. 99 – Bill made his final MLB appearance in some shutout relief outings for the A’s. After the season he was sold to St. Louis. In ’75 he pitched in the minors for the Triple A franchises of the Cards and the White Sox, going a combined 3-5 as a spot guy with a 4.42 ERA. That was it for Bill as he finished 29-36 with a 3.89 ERA, 22 complete games, and six shutouts for his MLB time and with a 27-33 record with a 3.87 ERA in the minors.

As I mentioned above, Parsons slips into the ether after his playing career ended. There is a gentleman with his same name residing in Phoenix but outside of calling the poor guy up I do not foresee a shot at anything substantial on our guy here. Another mystery.

Topps gives us a little dirt on the card back, and given it is mostly qualifiable, there is no reason to doubt it. One good thing did come up from Bill’s crash and burn of ’73 and that was the 20-win season of the guy who took his place, Jim Colborn.

This time we stick to the AL:

1. Parsons and Jim Slaton ’71 to ’73 Brewers;

2. Slaton and Larry Hisle ’79 to ’82 Brewers;

3. Hisle and Mike Adams ’73 Twins.

#515 - Willie Montanez

Two action shots in a row has been pretty rare lately. While the two most recent subjects Paul Schaal and Willie Montanez had a few obvious differences – opposite corners of the infield and different leagues – they also have a couple things in common: both played for the Angels; and both have these action shots. This one of Willie is a great one because it goes a long way in describing its subject. Willie was a brash guy with a pretty wide repertoire of bat spins, wrist flicks, holster impersonations, and general commentary. Even here, where he appears to have either fouled one off or just plain missed – my choice given that Chris Speier hasn’t moved from his pre-pitch stance – he is maxing out the drama with what appears to be commentary about his own swing. Willie had another open-mouthed action shot in ’75. In fact, Willie had lots of action shots: six of the twelve cards issued during his career fell into that category. By ’73 his playing style was as hard to define as his antics were colorful: was he a power hitter or a line drive guy; was he a first baseman or a center fielder; was he an entertainer or did all that stuff just cover up some inferiorities? The answers, except for that last one, were both. ’73 was a bit of a temporary nadir for him. After tapping 30 homers as a rookie, and then an NL-leading 39 doubles in ’72, his total bases bottomed out in ’73, his first season with a significant amount of games at first base. But his strikeouts came down too and Willie was fine with not being a power guy. And the fans loved him. He certainly wasn’t morose like the last star guy they had there, Dick Allen. On the day of the Veterans Stadium unveiling he came into the outfield dribbling a basketball to show how springy the turf was. And he was always deemed a bargain since in the deal that brought him to town he was sort of a throw-in to make up for that other guy.

Willie Montanez grew up in Puerto Rico where he was discovered playing that island’s version of Babe Ruth ball and was signed by the Cardinals when he was only 16. After hitting .234 in a very short season of Rookie ball in ’65, he was taken by California in the Rule 5 draft, which meant he had to stay on the Angels roster the whole following season or they could lose him. Willie went to Anaheim, got into a couple mid-April games, and then by the end of the month was returned to the Cards. The rest of the season he hit well in A ball, hitting .281 with eleven homers and 49 RBI’s in about half a season. At that same level in ’67 he hit .269 with 17 triples and twelve stolen bases and 61 RBI’s while playing excellent ball at first. He lost most of the next season to his military commitment in the National Guard, and hit .299 in only 174 A level at bats. In ’69 he was off to a great start in Triple A - .375 with four doubles in 56 at bats – when he broke his ankle and missed the rest of his season. After that year the Phillies finally worked out a deal whereby they got rid of their brooding star Allen: he, Cookie Rojas, and Jerry Johnson went to St. Louis for Byron Browne, Joe Hoerner, Tim McCarver, and Curt Flood. When Flood refused to report to the Phillies, opening up a case that begat free agency, St. Louis offered Willie as compensation.

For the Phillies Montanez picked up where he left off with the Cards – in Triple A. There in ’70 he hit .276 with 16 homers and 80 RBI’s before getting a late season look up top. In ’71 he made the roster out of spring training as the center fielder, a position previously manned by Larry Hisle, who was having a tough time with big league pitching. Willie went on to have his big rookie year and his 30 homers and 99 RBI’s took him to second place behind Earl Williams in ROY voting as he landed a spot in the Topps Rookie outfield. In ’72 the Phillies sort of bottomed out and Willie’s offense came in pretty good except for that doubles total. After his move to first during ’73 he settled into the position nicely and the next year put up a .304 average while continuing to drop his K totals and adding 33 doubles and 79 RBI’s. In ’75 Willie was off to another good start, hitting .286 with eight doubles and 16 RBI’s in his first 21 games, when the Phillies decided on a big personnel shift. They were having some problems replacing his successor in center Del Unser, who’d gone to NY in the off season. They also had a hankering to return Dick Allen to first and he was available cheap. So they picked up Allen from Atlanta and sent Willie to San Francisco for Garry Maddox, who was off to a slow start on the left coast.

’75 was the year when Montanez, relatively settled in Philly for four-plus years, became truly itinerant. The rest of the year he hit very well, raising his Giant average to .305 and adding 24 doubles and 85 RBI’s to bring his season totals to 34 and 101, respectively. Ironically, the speedster also led the NL in double plays into which he hit. In ’76 he kept the average cranking, hitting .309 in his first 60 games, when another mid-season trade had him on the road again. This time he went to Atlanta with Craig Robinson for Darrell Evans and Marty Perez. With the Braves he hit .321 the rest of the way and finished the season at .317 with 206 hits and 84 RBI’s. He stayed with Atlanta for the ’77 season, his only All-Star one, and hit .287 with 20 homers and 68 RBI’s. After that year Willie was part of a huge four-way trade in which he ended up with the Mets and the Braves got pitchers Tommy Boggs and Adrian Devine from Texas (Pittsburgh was the other team involved in the trade). Poor Willie was yet again on a crappy team but he made the most of it, using a mid-season surge to get him 17 homers and 96 RBI’s. But that magic didn’t extend into ’79 and when two-thirds of the way into the season he only had five homers and 47 RBI’s, along with a .234 average, Willie went to Texas for Ed Lynch and Mike Jorgensen. For the Rangers he finished big with a .319 average, eight homers, and 24 RBI’s in 38 games. Prior to the ’80 season Willie went to San Diego for Gaylord Perry and Tucker Ashford where for the Padres he hit about his lifetime mark: .274 with 63 RBI’s until a late-season deal to Montreal for its stretch run (the Expos gave up Tony Phillips). Willie hit .211 that September in mostly a pinch-hitting role. He played that part again in ’81 for Montreal and Pittsburgh and in ’82 for the Pirates and the Phillies, a season he also put in some time in Triple A. That was Willie’s last year and he finished with a .275 average, 279 doubles, 139 homers, and 802 RBI’s. He got shut out of any post-season work.

I am not terribly clear on what Montanez did immediately after baseball. He had moved to Caguas PR while he was playing and played winter ball for its team which he did for a good deal of his career. He settled there full time after playing and since ’92 has been a scout for the Phillies on his home island.

Willie’s star bullets are pretty good but you think Topps could have come up with a better cartoon about a colorful guy. It looks like he barely squeezed his signature in that spot. He used to tell Mike Schmidt that he got pneumonia from all the cold air currents Schmidt produced when he struck out.

The Angel connection doesn’t really work here but this does:

1. Montanez and Andy Hassler ’79 Mets;

2. Hassler and Paul Schaal ’74 Angels.eHHeHYeHJh

#505 - Bill Buckner

If anyone outside of Fred Merckle is a poster child for one play overriding a whole career, this guy is it. Years from the time this photo was taken Bill Buckner would be at Shea for a moment that many too many saw as defining but in reality was just a bad incident magnified by being on a large stage. But that moment is years away and when this shot was taken Billy Bucks was in the midst of his first full-time season as a Dodger. Incumbent first baseman Wes Parker retired after the ’72 season and LA was still trying to figure out to which infield corner Steve Garvey truly belonged and that transitional time gave Bill the opportunity to finally grab a starting lineup spot. So he spent a bit over half the year manning first base until Garvey segued in to do his Lou Gehrig thing, and then moved to his future permanent spot in left field (permanent being a relative term since we are talking baseball). And while Bill didn’t reach his .300-plus average of ’72, he did have a solid offensive year with the low strikeout total – 34 in ’73 – that would epitomize his work down the road. More than one time he probably wished his days at Shea were all as benign-seeming as the one this photo represents.

Bill Buckner grew up a sports star in southern California and in high school excelled at both football and baseball. In the former sport he was a speedy wide receiver who was All-America twice and still holds school records for all-time receptions and receiving yardage. His junior year in baseball he hit .667 to win the state’s Mr. Baseball award (three years after future teammate Willie Crawford won it), and he then came back to hit .529 as a senior. That year was ’68 and the Dodgers made Bill their second pick that spring. Good pick. Bill hit .344 in Rookie ball the rest of the summer while leading his league with eight triples. In ’69 he killed the ball in the IL, hit .307 with pretty good power in Double A, and upped it to .315 in Triple A. That year he also put in his first pro time at first as the outfield was crowded with young guys and Garvey was being groomed as a third baseman. In ’70 Bill put in more time at first than in the outfield in Triple A and hit .335 with 33 doubles and 74 RBI’s with only 45 strikeouts.

In ’71 spring training Buckner slammed the ball at an over .400 clip and spent just about all his time in right, splitting time primarily with Willie Crawford and taking space vacated by Andy Kosco – who had gone to Milwaukee – and Bill Russell, who was moving to shortstop. Bill’s steady numbers got him a spot on the Topps Rookie team that year. In ’72 he also filled in at first for Parker, upped his average over 40 points, and dropped his strikeouts to 13. After Garvey took over first late in ’73 Bill moved to what would be his regular spot the duration of his LA stay in left field. In ’74 he did a real good Willie Davis impersonation – though with a lot less K’s – by hitting .314 with 83 runs and 31 stolen bases as one of the big reasons LA won the NL Championship. In his first Series he hit .250 against the A’s. In ’75 LA ran into a big injury wall and one of the most devastating was to Bill’s ankle, which he severely sprained sliding into second that season. That injury and a subsequent one later that year would pretty much derail the speed upon which his game was built. But Bill was a gamer and after hitting only .243 while active in ’75 he bounced back the next year to hit .301 on 193 hits and even stole 28 bases. After the season the Dodgers had a shot at power hitter Rick Monday, who couldn’t agree to terms with the Cubs and so Bill and shortstop Ivan DeJesus went to Chicago for Monday and pitcher Mike Garman.

Buckner wasn’t crazy happy about going to the Cubs from a pennant contender (his misgivings were right on since LA won three division titles and a Series while he was in Chicago) and for a while there was a shot he wouldn’t go. The Cubbies were pretty much a .500 team during Bill’s tenure there but it wasn’t because of him. In seven full seasons back at first base he averaged a touch over .300 with over 30 doubles, eleven homers, and 74 RBI’s. He only struck out a bit over 20 times a season and he had a couple big years. In ’78 he hit .323 and in ’80 he led the NL with a .324 while hitting 41 doubles. In ’82 he moved a couple spots lower in the lineup and hit .306 with 15 homers and 105 RBI’s, both career highs to that point. In ’81 – when he was an All-Star - and ’83 he led the NL in doubles, with 35 and 38 respectively. But Bill was a big competitor and things in Chicago didn’t always go swimmingly, like when in ’82 he and manager Lee Elia got into a fight. That was also the season he had to turn to a hypnotist – ironically met through recent post subject Eric Soderholm – to help him recover his stroke. While Bil and his manager made up, early in ’84 he would be on the move again, this time to Boston for pitcher Dennis Eckersley.

Again, Buckner’s timing was short of optimal as he missed the Cubbie’s big division title push. While the Cubs got a Hall of Fame pitcher in the trade, Boston got the better deal as Eckersley became a free agent and would have been on the move anyway. Off to a crappy start in Chicago, Bill rallied the rest of the way to hit .278 with 67 RBI’s in about two-thirds of a season in Boston. He then got into the power game the next couple years, getting his lifetime  highs of 201 hits, 46 doubles, and 110 RBI’s on 16 homers in ’85 and parking a career high 18 with 102 RBI’s in ’86. By that year his ankle was affecting him a bit defensively and in a bunch of games Dave Stapleton would replace him on the field in late innings. Unfortunately that didn’t happen on the big play in Game Six of the Series and Bill accrued that negative image to his baseball resume. It would contribute to a very tough start to the ’87 season when constant riding by fans at Sox games led to a mid-’87 release though he was hitting .273 with 42 RBI’s at the time. California picked him up pretty quickly. There he raised his average 30 points as a DH the rest of the way and then reprised that role and did some work at first with Kansas City through ’89. In ’90 he re-signed for a brief stay back with Boston and retired early that season. He finished with a .289 average on 2,715 hits, 498 doubles, 174 homers, and 1,208 RBI’s. Though his speed was mostly taken away pretty early he managed 183 stolen bases and was caught only 73 times. He finished with 453 K’s or roughly one per every 21 at bats. In the post-season he hit .204 with five RBI’s in 23 games.

While playing Bill purchased some ranch property in Idaho which he continued to run with his brother for a bunch of years. He also developed some commercial and residential real estate near the Boise area. In '92 he returned to baseball as the Toronto minor league hitting coach which he did through the '95 season. He then became the White Sox hitting coach which he did through August of '97 when he was released. He then took time off of baseball though he used to do a bunch of autograph shows with Mookie Wilson in memory of that magical '86 moment. Bill returned to Boston as manager of the Brockton Rox in 2011. After doing that for a year he hooked up with the Cubs in 2012 as a minor league hitting coach. As of this writing there is noise he will re-join Brockton in 2013.

Topps doesn’t exactly do a deep dive on Bill’s back of card stuff. He does have one of the clearest signatures so far.

Bill gets with Joe through another former NL West guy:

1. Buckner and Cliff Johnson ’80 Cubs;

2. Johnson and Joe Niekro ’75 to ’77 Astros.

#384 - Chris Chambliss

In the midst of a big NL run we get Chris Chambliss posing mellowly at an empty Yankee Stadium. This would be his last card in a Cleveland uniform as early in ’74 he was traded to the Yankees. ’73 was a mixed year for Chris. After fighting off an early injury the prior year and then rallying to put up his best average, Chris and the Tribe rode Gaylord Perry’s coattails to a pretty improved record in ’72. So hopes were high for ’73. But their side of the Graig Nettles trade flopped, the pitching sort of fell apart, and though Chris was finally healthy for a full season, not too many guys got on base ahead of him. So although he put up a 19-game hitting streak and had his best power year he only knocked in 53 runners. Part of what led to the ’74 trade was the Tribe’s desire for more power at first so they opted to replace Chris with John Ellis, acquired a year earlier in another one-way Yankees-Indians trade. Oops.

Chris Chambliss moved around a bunch as a kid as his dad was a pastor for military bases. By the time he reached high school he was in Oceanside, California, where he played shortstop and first base, as well as football and basketball. He then went to Mira Costa College, a local two-year school where he played football and baseball. He was drafted by the Reds after his first season there and then after claiming all-league honors in both spots was drafted by Cincinnati again in ’68 in a much higher round. This time Chris opted for UCLA where in his one season he hit .340 with 15 homers – then a school record – and 45 RBI’s. He then played summer ball in Alaska and was the MVP in that year’s series. Those stats prompted Cleveland to make him the number one pick in the ’70 winter draft and this time he signed. He went right to Triple A Wichita where he put up excellent numbers. He also put up more time in the outfield than at first since Ken Harrelson was set as the first baseman. At the end of the season he did some military time and then in ’71 spring training hurt his leg so he remained in Wichita to start the season. But after Harrelson slumped big to open the year he retired to play golf and Chris was called up to take his spot.

When Chambliss got healthy he pretty much became the regular at first base in mid-June. An excellent fielder, he also kicked things off well hitting-wise and at season’s end not only made the Topps rookie team but was the AL Rookie of the Year. In ’72 a pulled hamstring had him out for a month and contributed to a slow first half. He rebounded to post a higher average than in ’71 but his power stats suffered a bit. After a pretty good start to the ’74 season – he was hitting .328 – Chris was included in a big trade to NY: he, Cecil Upshaw, and Dick Tidrow for Fritz Peterson, Tom Buskey, Fred Beene, and Steve Kline. It was a hugely unpopular trade in Yankee land as NY gave up two guys in their rotation and Chris was booed for a while shortly after the trade. He only hit .243 the rest of the way which didn’t help too much. But he provided excellent defense and as the Yankees made a run for the division he was embraced. In ’75 he had his biggest year to date: .304 with nine homers and 72 RBI’s. Then in the pennant-winning seasons of ’76 to ’78 Chris had his best years, averaging .284 with 15 homers and 92 RBI’s. The most memorable game of his career was probably his walk-off homer to win Game 5 of the ’76 AL Championships. That year he was an All-Star and in ’78 he won a Gold Glove. In ’79 his average and homer stats of .280 and 18 pretty much matched his prior seasons but without Thurman Munson ahead of him for half the year his RBI total dropped to 63. After the season he was sent to Toronto with Damaso Garcia and Paul Mirabella for Rick Cerone, Pat Underwood, and Ted Wilborn. About a month later he went to the Braves in another big trade.

In Atlanta Chambliss took over first base and put together two solid seasons in ’80 and ’81. In ’82 he had his biggest power season in four years as he hit 20 homers with 86 RBI’s and was a big contributor to the division-winner. He followed that up in ’83 with an even better year – 20 homers and 78 RBI’s with a .280 average in about 100 less at bats. In ’84 his hitting tailed off a bit and he lost some starting time to Gerald Perry. His time in the field declined more significantly the next two seasons as first Perry and then Bob Horner took over first. After the ’86 season – in which he hit .311 – he retired. Chris finished up top with a .279 average, 185 homers, and 972 RBI’s. In the post-season he hit .281 with three homers and 15 RBI’s in 30 games. Defensively he ranks in the top twenty for assists at first base and in the top thirty for putouts there.

In ’87 Chambliss returned to NY as the Yankees’ minor league hitting director. In ’88 he coached for NY up top which he also did from ’96 to 2000. In between he managed in the minors, first for Detroit (’89-’90) and then Atlanta (’91-’92) and also coached in St. Louis (’93-’95). In ’02 he coached for the Mets and from ’04 to ’06 for the Reds. He also managed in the Florida chain (’01) and in the White Sox chain (’09-’10) after coaching in the Atlanta one (’07-’08). His record to date as a manager is 506-490. Since 2011 he has been the hitting coach for the Mariners.

Chris isn’t too hurting for star bullets. Regarding his wife, Audry, she was a model and cabaret singer who sang the national anthem before at least one Series game and also wrote a regular piece in one of the local NY papers about being a player’s wife. Chris’ son also played pro ball, topping out in ’99 in A ball.

There is a bunch of music news to nail down so here we go. In ’73 June 16 saw a new Number One in the UK: Suzi Quatro’s “Can the Can.” A beat-heavy throwaway it is a bit reminiscent of the mid-Eighties hit “Jungle Boy” by John Eddie. In ’74 the new top song in the US on June 8 was “Band on the Run” by Paul McCartney and Wings. Paul was now toting the title of his band around more openly and the title track to his big album was on top for a week (I thought it was a lot longer). Also on that date back in the UK keyboardist Rick Wakeman left the group Yes to pursue his solo career, which got off to a pretty good start when his album “Journey to the Center of the Earth” topped the charts. On June 15 “Band...” got replaced in the States by “Billy Don’t be a Hero” by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods, who thankfully didn’t enjoy a lot of chart success. At least the new top song in the UK “The Streak” by Ray Stevens had a sense of humor.

Still keeping it all-NL on the hook-up:

1. Chambliss and Gary Matthews ’80 Braves;

2. Matthews and Mike Schmidt ’81 to ’83 Phillies;

3. Schmidt was on the ’73 Phillies.

#375 - Earl Williams

Returning to the action shots we get Earl Williams about to hit somewhere in an AL park. On this card at least Earl appears to have converted to Hinduism. He probably could have used it as his recent trade to Baltimore wasn’t going too well. He was still hitting for power, as his homer and RBI totals would attest. But his average dropped over 20 points, he spent some time on the DL, and he and the other Earl of Baltimore were having a testy time. Plus that other guy, manager Earl Weaver, made a bold prediction that when the O’s got this Earl it guaranteed them the pennant. Not exactly; the A’s juggernaut prevented that from happening. Plus, Baltimore gave up an awful lot to get this guy. Pat Dobson didn’t have a great run in Atlanta but he came back to the AL and won nine in half a season. Johnny Oates became starting catcher for the Braves. And assumed broken-down second baseman Davey Johnson set a record with his 43 homers. Oof. That’s a lot to live down. And Earl was no wallflower, preferring the Dick Allen method of conflict resolution over the Gandhi kind. So when the other Baltimore catchers and then the fans jumped behind Weaver to let Williams know how they felt he was right back at them. And all because the Braves turned him into a damn catcher.

Earl Williams was a three-sport star in Montclair, NJ. His senior year he averaged 20 per game in hoops and got a scholarship to Ithaca College when he graduated in ’65. He was also a pretty good pitcher who could throw heat so when the Braves trumped the school with an offer that included a bonus, Earl opted for baseball. Pretty much at least. He did go to school first where his contract prevented him from playing. The next summer he both pitched – 1-0 with a 3.10 ERA in eleven games – and played first base in a short season. In ’67 he dropped pitching in A ball and split time between the outfield and first. Then in ’68 he missed a bunch of time with an injured knee as he split time with a couple Single A teams. He finally got things going in A ball in ’69 with big homer and RBI totals and a .340 average. Those couple years he was still primarily a first baseman. Then in ’70 the club decided to take advantage of his arm and split him between first and third in both Double A – where he hit 21 doubles, 19 homers, and had 63 RBI’s in about half a season – and for a short stint in Triple A. He also got into a few games up top where he hit and fielded well at the corners. In ’71 he was slated to return to Triple A but a hot spring training made him a big-leaguer instead.

1971 was a tough year for the Braves. Orlando Cepeda’s knees finally gave out and he only got in a little under half a season at first. Batting champ Rico Carty missed the whole season on the DL. Clete Boyer was in a contract dispute and was running out of gas anyway at third base. So they were facing a wicked set of circumstances in shooting for their second NL West title in three years. The chaos worked out pretty well for Williams though. His season began at third base while the intended new guy there, Darrell Evans, got a little more seasoning. When Cepeda went down he also put in some time at first. But the Braves true need was behind the plate. ’69 rookie all-star Bob Didier had since faded to mediocrity and neither he nor Hal King could hit a lick. So the Braves threw Earl back there. He wasn’t real pleased but being the excellent athlete he was he did a pretty good job, winning pundits from even Phil Niekro, a tough boy to catch. Plus Earl was slugging up a storm and at the end of the year his 33 homers and 87 RBI’s would allow him to pass early-season favorite Willie Montanez for NL Rookie of the Year. In ’72 he pretty much matched his offensive numbers in more plate appearances but he had a tougher time catching as he led the NL in passed balls with 28 – he was catching Niekro – and helped give up 78 steals. He also let it be known he wasn’t crazy happy playing behind the plate. So when Baltimore was shopping for some power, Atlanta was listening. Earl went to the O’s with heralded minor leaguer Taylor Duncan for Pat Dobson, Roric Harrison, Johnny Oates, and Davey Johnson.

’73 wouldn’t be all bad for Williams in his new home. A lack of knucklers on the O staff reduced his passed balls to four and he threw out nearly as many guys as he allowed to steal. With Boog Powell’s decline he also got in a considerable amount of time at first. Plus he was a significant uptick offensively to anyone else the Orioles had behind the plate. He also had a pretty good playoff against Oakland, hitting .278 with a homer and four RBI’s in the five games. And Baltimore did win the division his two seasons there. But ’74 was an even tougher season as his RBI numbers declined to 54 and his homers to 14 even though he picked up his average a few points. And he went o-fer in the playoffs. Plus he was now getting racially-tinged hate mail on a regular basis. So when Baltimore returned Earl to Atlanta for pitcher Jimmy Freeman, he wasn’t too displeased. But it wasn’t ’71 any more. Though playing a bunch more at first than catcher, Earl didn’t come close to matching his power output in ’75 – 11 homers and 50 RBI’s in 383 at bats – nor in ’76. So when he kicked off that second season hitting only .212 he was sold mid-year to the Expos. For Montreal he continued his double position thing and raised his average 25 points the rest of the season. But with Gary Carter solidifying himself behind the plate and free agent acquisition Tony Perez taking over at first, Earl was released in ’77 spring training. He was shortly thereafter picked up by car wreck Oakland for whom he hit 13 homers in 348 at bats as a catcher/DH and also stole the only two bases of his career. But he also had only 38 RBI’s and hit .241 and in spring training of ’78 he was released. Later that spring Earl actually put an ad in the New York Times soliciting his services – I have linked to an article regarding that here – but got no takers. So in ’79 he went down to Mexico and that year hit .343 with 20 homers and 112 RBI’s for Durango. In ’80 he moved to Campeche but his stats were nowhere near as good and by mid-season he was done. In ’81 he was offered a minor-league contract by Pittsburgh but declined. That ended his time in baseball. Earl finished with a .247 average with 148 homers and 457 RBI’s. In the post-season he hit .208 with a homer and four ribbies in seven games.

When Williams finished he returned home to Montclair and shortly thereafter relocated to Somerset, NJ, where he spent the next twenty years as a warehouse operations manager. As of the above article from 2011 he has been retired.

Most of this stuff Topps offers is is old hat in the star bullets. Earl could be a streaky hitter. In his big '69 season he had eight homers in seven days, two of them grand slams. In his brief '76 stay with Montreal he had a span of six homers in 24 at bats. There's that phonograph record thing again.

We have one bit of music news from 1973. On this date Mike Oldfield, a 20-year old wunderkind from the UK, released his album “Tubular Bells” on which he performed all the instrumentation. It’s single, of the same name, was a pretty big hit in both the UK and the US, mostly because it was used as the theme song to the big-selling summer freak show movie “The Exorcist.”

Earl gives us another break since he and Marty were teammates:

1. Williams and Marty Perez ’71 to ’72 and ’75 to ’76 Braves and ’77 A’s.

#321 - Steve Braun

I had for a long while thought this guy was Ryan's dad, even though they look pretty much nothing alike. He's not but he did put up a few pretty good hitting seasons of his own when he played, most of them in the uniform pictured here. This card represents a transitional period for Steve here. '73 would be his last year of regular work at third base as his ability to hit for average and to play pretty much anywhere allowed his move to the outfield while Eric Soderholm, who'd been splitting time with Steve at third and couldn't really play anywhere else, took over his old position.

Steve Braun grew up in Jersey and was tabbed by the Twins in the '66 draft. A week after graduating high school he was in Rookie ball where he played second base and hit a tad light. The next year he returned to that level and boosted his average 15 points. That got him moved to A ball but almost right after there was a bigger move into the armed forces. He lost the rest of the '67 season and all of '68 and '69 to the military before returning in '70 to A ball. There he hit .279 and because by then the Twins had an institution at second base named Rod Carew, he took up third base. The results were impressive enough and the situation up top at third was unsettled enough that after a pretty good spring training in '71 Steve moved all the way up.

Braun had a pretty good rookie year in '71, especially considering all the steps he vaulted to get to Minnesota. Though he had a middling average and not too much power he played a pretty good defense and made the Topps and Baseball Digest rookie teams at his position, also spending a little time at second. In '72 he boosted his average considerably to .289 and would keep it in the .280's the duration of his career with the Twins, except for '75 when he topped .300. In '74 and '75 he took over left field from Jim Holt. In '76 he became a true utility guy as the arrival of Lyman Bostock moved Larry Hisle to left. That year Steve played primarily DH, a little outfield, and a little third. After the season, tired of owner Calving Griffith's penny-pinching, Steve asked to be left off the protected list for the expansion draft. As a result he was selected by the new Seattle Mariners.

Braun's time in Seattle was not terribly productive. While he was able to recapture a regular spot in left field, his average tanked to the .235 area without the support of the big Minnesota lumber. In June of '78 he was traded to the Royals for Jim Colborn and for Kansas City for the next couple seasons he would do back-up outfield work and revive his average to the .260's. He got his first post-season work in '78 also. In '80 after a slow start he was released and shortly thereafter picked up by Toronto. He played a bit in Triple A for the Blue Jays, hitting .328, and resumed things up top in the role that would define the rest of his career, pinch-hitting. After departing Toronto as a free agent he signed with the Cards and was able to extend his career for five seasons in his new role. While his average in '81 was below .200 he had a nearly .400 OBA. The next three seasons he averaged .275 with an OBA in the high .380's. In '82 and '85 he saw some Series action, winning in the former season. After the '85 season he moved down to Triple A basically as a reserve guy since that year the rosters were reduced by one. After that season he retired with a .271 average, 52 homers, and .388 RBI's. He generated a .371 OBA and although he hit .091 in eight post-season games, he batted .333 in three Series games.

Braun got into coaching immediately after playing, becoming a hitting coach in the St. Louis system from '87 to '89 before assuming the same role up top in '90. He then spent the Nineties as a roving hitting instructor in the Boston and Yankees systems. In 2000 he became hitting coach for the Trenton Thunder which he did through '06. Since '02 he has been running his own baseball school in the Trenton area.


Steve gets star bullet props for his defense which was quite good despite his moving around a bunch. His military time was spent mostly on an Army base in Germany. There is a recent in-depth interview with him linked to here.

Since Braun was primarily AL and Dusty primarily NL, this will require a league-changer:

1. Braun and Bill Stein '77 to '78 Mariners;
2. Stein and Ralph Garr '76 White Sox;
3. Garr and Dusty Baker '70 to '75 Braves.

#219 - Doug Griffin

Doug Griffin looks a little peeved in Oakland, despite the relaxed stance. Doug had reason to be leery. Although he was in the middle of what was arguably the peak of his career, he was also in the midst of some painful experiences. In '73 he was hitting .289 when he broke his hand and missed nearly two months. In '74 he took a Nolan Ryan heater square in the melon and needed to be hospitalized. All that on top of a bad back and his relatively short career doesn't require too much explaining.

Doug Griffin played football and basketball, ran track, and was an all-county baseball player in high school in California. He attended Jackson State Community College in Tennessee and was drafted out of there by the Angels in '65. He spent a brief time in Rookie ball the rest of that season and followed that up in '66 as an all-star in Single A. But before that season ended he pulled his military hitch, which sent him to Pearl Harbor to work on submarines. That gig lasted through the '68 season. In '69 he played both A and Double A ball, elevating his average to above .300 at the higher level. In '70 he returned to Hawaii to play Triple A and had an excellent season, scoring 119 runs and cementing his reputation as a superior fielder. He also got in a few games up top for the Angels.

Before the '71 season Griffin was part of an interesting trade in which a lot of names got reused. He, Jarvis Tatum, and Ken Tatum (not related) went to the Red Sox for Jerry Moses, Ray Jarvis, and the premium piece of the deal, Tony Conigliaro. Ironically Doug, the only non-major leaguer of the bunch, turned out to be the best new acquisition of the group by either team. Handed the starting second baseman job he was taken under the wing of the other new infield acquisition Luis Aparacio. Little Looie worked long hours with Doug on both hitting and defense, especially on the double play. As a result, Doug became aggressive on both sides which would be both bad and good. On the plus side he had an excellent defensive rookie year, enabling him to win Rookie All-Star honors from Topps and Baseball Digest and come in fourth place in AL ROY voting. In '72 he would win a Gold Glove. On the downside Looie forgot to teach Doug how to avoid takeouts and Doug got nailed a lot by baserunners while turning the DP, which would result in a constantly aggravated back. He also tended to dig in at the plate, thus the Ryan beaning. He would recover and put up his best offensive numbers in '74, hitting .266. In '75 the back pain caught up to him and Doug's back fragility would move the Sox to acquire Denny Doyle who would go on to have a career season during the playoff run while he was platooned with Doug at second. Doug would see almost no post-season action and in '76 would hit sub-.200 as Doyle's backup. He also got beaned again, this time by Dick Bosman. After a couple games in early '77 he was released. He finished with a .245 average and a very good .981 fielding average.

After baseball, Doug returned to California where he hooked up with a neighbor to build and sell houses. He then did the same thing in Florida for Buddy Leroux, who was part of the syndicate that bought the Sox in the late '70s. In '90 or so he returned to California to manage a painting business, motels, and storage units until he retired in the mid-'90s. He has a nice SABR bio linked to here. I also have linked another recent interview with him here.

Doug once had pretty good wheels and had additional fielding honors in '72. I believe he is the first guy in the set so far linked to his team for extra work. His nickname in Boston was Dude since as a true Californian that was how he addressed everybody. Ross Grimsley, a teammate on the '71 rookie team, also played ball at Jackson State.

Boston and Milwaukee used to do lots of trades so this should be quick:

1. Griffin and Billy Conigliaro '71 Red Sox;

2. Conigliaro and Johnny Briggs '72 Brewers.

#129 - Chris Speier

Now this is an interesting photo, not only because it is an action shot at Candlestick. It is interesting also because a little due diligence needs to be done to figure out who that is playing third in the background. It's not Jose Pagan because all he did that year was pinch hit at Candlestick. It's Cesar Tovar who sort of filled the transitional gap for the Phillies between Don Money and Mike Schmidt. But let's turn to the subject of the card. Chris Speier was everyone's favorite young NL shortstop in '73. Tito Fuentes loved him. Sparky Anderson loved him. All-Star voters loved him. Topps loved him. He was a man with a serious shot at the HOF if all the early print on him was to be believed.

Chris Speier was drafted out of the University of California by the Giants in 1970. He'd been drafted by the Senators out of high school in '68 but wanted to stay closer to home and passed. He went to Double A Amarillo for the '70 season and had a good enough year that he was pegged for Triple A when '71 spring training started. But after a great spring in '71 he not only made the Giants, but was named the starting shortstop, beating out incumbent Hal Lanier. Chris proved to be a whiz at playing the artificial turf and had great range which was a huge help for Tito Fuentes at second. He made the Topps rookie team that year and played well in the playoffs. In '72 he pushed his offensive numbers up to the best of his career and was named to his first All-Star team. In '73 he kept his run production up but in August hurt his shoulder and his average tumbled a bit. But he was named the All-Star starter. '74 was his third and final All-Star selection though his offensive output continued to be hindered by his recovering shoulder. He had a good bounce in '75 with a .271/10/69 season topped with a career-best OBA of .362. But in '76 he got hurt again, his average nosedived, and he gave away some starts to Johnnie LeMaster. Shortly into the '77 season he was sent to Montreal for fellow shortstop Tim Foli.

For the Expos Speier would pick up as regular shortstop. His average never really recovered to his first season level and in general his offense would be compacted a bit from his best days on the left coast. His best two seasons up north were his busiest ones: '78, when he posted a .251/5/51 line; and '82, with a line of .257/7/60. But the rest of his time in Montreal was negatively impacted by two knee injuries, in '79 and '83, though he was an integral part of the Expos' first division winner in '81. Those last two injuries also affected his once-infinite range and in '84 Chris moved to a back-up role and also moved geographically, going to St. Louis and then Minnesota. Following that season he went to the Cubs as a free agent. He would generally reprise his back-up role for Chicago and saw some offensive revivals, like when he hit .284 in '86. He then took the free agent route again, landing back in San Francisco for his final three seasons. After 19 years in the bigs he finished with a .246 average, 112 homers, and 720 RBIs. In the post-season he hit .280 with a .368 OBA in 17 games. He is also one of a handful of guys who hit for the cycle twice, once with Montreal and once during his second Giant stint. Defensively he places quite high in lifetime rankings for shortstops for games (25th); putouts (42nd); assists (32nd); and double plays (31st).

Speier was always an inspired guy per the cartoon and was an intense player. After he finished playing he moved into coaching, first as a roving hitting instructor for the Giants ('90 to '94) and then the Cubs ('95). From '96 to '99 he managed in the Arizona chain, going 256-240. He then coached in the majors for the Brewers (2000), Arizona ('01), the Cubs ('05 to '06) and the Reds ('07 on). The last two gigs he has worked with his friend Dusty Baker.

I like using HOF guys for this exercise:

1. Speier and Gaylord Perry '71 Giants;
2. Perry and John Ellis '73 to '75 Indians.

#59 - Ross Grimsley

Here is another action shot of a member of the playoff-bound Reds. Here Ross Grimsley appears to be letting loose a curve at Riverfront (thanks Anthony and Jim). He had a nice '73 run through the All-Star break, going 10-5 with a 2.59 ERA. He should have had an even better record but the Cincy bats were strangely silent behind him. But he got them back by cooling off a bit at the end of the year and then had a not great playoff start against NY. Plus, Ross and manager Sparky Anderson did not get along: Ross was a bit too free-spirited for his manager and everyone else running the organization. He wouldn't keep his hair short, he got lucky amulets from witches, he wouldn't bathe when on winning streaks. I guess it was all a bit much for the guys in Cincinnati.

Ross Grimsley was drafted out of high school by Detroit but didn't sign. Instead he went to the brand new Jackson State Community College where he led his team to the first conference championship. He was then drafted by the Reds in the secondary draft of early '69 and this time he signed. A big starter who threw heat, Ross moved quickly through the minors. He went 9-4 with a 3.32 ERA that first summer and in '70 jumped to Triple A where he went 11-8 with a 2.73. By then he began adding an assortment of sinkers to his pitching resume and after a 6-0 start with another sub-3.00 ERA to kick off the '71 season Ross got promoted.

Grimsley debuted with the Reds in May and put together a pretty good rookie season, earning a spot on the Topps Rookie team. He followed that with a better '72 and then had a great post-season, beating Pittsburgh once and Oakland twice. His poor showing in the '73 playoffs probably didn't help his standing in the front office, hence the trade to Baltimore.

For the Orioles Grimsley grew a 'stache, a big afro, and was accused by Billy Martin, among others, of throwing a greaseball using stuff secreted in the mop on his head. In '74 he won 18 games with four shutouts, a 3.07 ERA, and by far his personal best in strikeouts. On top of that he resumed his excellent post-season work. But in '75 the ERA got elevated by a run and he posted his first losing season, and in '76 things got messy as arm woes caused some missed starts, though he did get his ERA below 4.00 and posted a winning record. After winning 14 in '77 he left via free agency for the Expos.

It all came together for Grimsley that first year in Montreal: his only 20-win season, his only All-Star appearance, and some Cy Young votes. He remains the only Montreal pitcher to win 20 games. From there, though, it was all downhill. His walk and hit totals went up, his ERA would stay well north of 5.00 and he was essentially done after the '80 season. A brief comeback attempt with Baltimore in '82 didn't last and he was done at age 32. His career stats were 124-99 with a 3.81 ERA, 79 complete games, 15 shutouts, and three saves. In the post-season Ross went 3-2 with a 3.24 ERA in nine games and hit .333 with an RBI.

Surprisingly Grimsley became a pitching coach almost immediately after his playing career ended with a bunch of organizations, primarily San Francisco's since '99 and where I believe he currently resides employment-wise.

This is another Traded card that I don't think is too bad. That bird must have been tough to airbrush and the setting is recognizable. I believe it is again Shea, evidenced by the Schaeffer billboard in the background. Nice sideburns too.

Lots of info about the '72 season, in this case a wise choice by Topps. Regarding the cartoon, Grimsley had/has - dare I say it - beautiful green eyes. A bunch of times he would accentuate the color by wearing turquoise-colored contact lenses. Definitely an odd bird.


The back of the traded card is pretty prosaic. There were also a few minor leaguers involved in the trade, one being Junior Kennedy, who would go on to do some backup infielding for the Reds and Cubs. Ross' dad put in years in the minors and came up at age 29. He had a decent season but I guess was too weathered to keep on the major roster. He did pitch in the minors through '61 and won 129 games there.

We have an AL hookup this time:

1. Grimsley and Rick Manning and Duane Kuiper '80 Indians;
2. Kuiper, Manning, and Charlie Spikes '75 to '77 Indians.