#229 Joe Morgan

Joe Morgan  Kansas City Athletics

Career: Topps described Joe Morgan as a 'young star' but in the course of four rather harried seasons he played for five teams and only once had more than 50 trips to the plate. He had been signed by the Boston Braves in 1952 and, after a long climb through the minors and a military detour, he debuted with the Braves in 1959.

After an 'interesting' 1960 season (see below) he played for several years in the minors for a variety of clubs and after an absence of nearly three seasons, got a couple at-bats with the '64 Cardinals.

After managing in the Red Sox chain he was elevated to the dugout job in Fenway Park in 1988 and over four seasons he took the Sox to a pair of AL East titles. His team lost both AL title series in four games to Oakland. Morgan ended his managerial career with a 301-262 record.

In 1960: This was Morgan's busiest season (boy, was it!) as he played in 48 games and got 130 at-bats. Interestingly, he was the property of four clubs over the course of the year. And none of his at-bats came with the team he is shown with, the Athletics. In August of 1959, he had been sold to KC by the Braves. In April of 1960 the A's returned him to Milwaukee. He spent the first few months of the season with the Braves' AAA team before being traded to the Phillies for Al Dark in June. The Phils then sold his contract to Cleveland in August.


Off The Charts: Morgan coached the Pawtucket Red Sox from 1971 to 1982 and was the longest-serving manager in the club’s history. Morgan is the only manager to be inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame, an honor he earned in 2017. In his nine years at the helm, Morgan compiled a franchise-record 601 career wins and is the only person in the history of the International League to win both the league MVP and Manager of the Year awards.

And He Is Really Off The Charts: References to this Joe Morgan are buried so deep in Wikipedia behind the 'other', (Hall Of Famer) Joe Morgan, that I wasn't sure I could do much of a post. How bad is it? Well, if you go to this Morgan's Baseball-Reference page and click the link to his page at the Bullpen Wiki, you are sent to HoF Morgan's info. You have to locate the note at the top that then directs you to this Joe Morgan. Sheesh.

I was able to find that he played hockey as well as baseball at Boston College. The cartoon on the card references his exploits on the ice. Wikipedia reports that he led the Eagles in points his junior year.

#228 Ernie Johnson

Ernie Johnson   Cleveland Indians

Career: Johnson was a steady and dependable reliever for the Braves through much of the 1950s. He spent a year with the Braves' lowest minor league team after signing at 18 in 1942 and then served three years in the Marines during WWII. Returning to the game in 1946, he was a starter as he moved up the ladder. He made his big league debut in 1950.

Johnson made the Braves' staff for good in 1952 and soon became a fixture in their 'pen. He pitched very well in the '57 Series win for the Braves in 1957. In three games he allowed only two hits over 7+ innings. He took the tough-luck loss in Game Six when he allowed Hank Bauer's homer as one of only two hits he gave up in 4 1/3 innings. But he got his ring.

He had his only poor season for the Braves in 1958 and was farmed out, missing the '58 Series. He was then dealt to the Orioles for what was to be his final season as a player.

In 1960: When this card was being pulled from packs in the spring of 1960 Johnson had already finished his playing career. After being dealt to the Indians the previous winter Johnson had arm issues in training camp and retired.

Off The Charts: When he retired Johnson returned to Milwaukee and got into broadcasting. He joined the Braves' broadcasting crew and stayed with the club through 1999 as part of the TBS Superstation broadcast team. His son, Ernie Jr, followed him into the booth and is well known for his duties with TBS, TNT, and CBS doing baseball and basketball.

#210 Harmon Killebrew

Harmon Killebrew  Washington Senators

Career: Harmon Killebrew, elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984, was the face of the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins franchise beginning with his first full season in 1959 and continuing through to the early 1970s. He is one of 30 Idaho natives to make the majors, and the only Hall of Famer.

From Baseball Reference's Bullpen page...

Notable Achievements

• 11-time AL All-Star (1959, 1961 & 1963-1971)
• AL MVP (1969)
• AL On-Base Percentage Leader (1969)
• AL Slugging Percentage Leader (1963)
• 6-time AL Home Runs Leader (1959, 1962-1964, 1967 & 1969)
• 3-time AL RBI Leader (1962, 1969 & 1971)
• 4-time AL Bases on Balls Leader (1966, 1967, 1969 & 1971)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 13 (1959-1967 & 1969-1972)
• 30-Home Run Seasons: 10 (1959-1964, 1966, 1967, 1969 & 1970)
• 40-Home Run Seasons: 8 (1959, 1961-1964, 1967, 1969 & 1970)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 9 (1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1967 & 1969-1971)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 2 (1967 & 1969)
• Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1984

In 1960: After his first All-Star season in 1959, Killebrew's numbers fell off a bit in 1960. While he raised his average over 30 points his homers and RBI totals were down. He didn't receive any MVP votes or make the All-Star squad, a situation that didn't occur again until the end of the decade.

Off The Charts: Killebrew led all of MLB with 393 homers in the 1960s, topping 40 six times during the decade – in which he also led the AL in homers six times.  In 1965, Killebrew was elected to start at first base for AL All-Star team, becoming the first player elected to an All-Star Team at three positions (Killebrew had previously been elected to start at 3B and LF).

#209 Ron Blackburn

Ron Blackburn  Pittsburgh Pirates

Career: Blackburn was a grinder in the Pirates' chain beginning with his 1953 signing. His numbers were mediocre at best but he made the majors in 1958 (his card notes a big spring training) and he pitched 63 innings, mostly out of the bullpen. In 1959 he had comparable stats but was shipped out in July and never returned to the big leagues. The final career data: 3 wins, 2 losses, a 3.50 ERA, and four saves in a season and a half.

In 1960: Relegated to AAA, Blackburn stayed there for 1960 (and most of the next four years. Splitting the year between the Bucs' two top minor league clubs, he didn't do much to earn another look by the Pirates.

Off The Charts: Wikipedia tells us that..."Following his playing retirement In 1964, Blackburn became a teacher and baseball coach at Western Carolina University, where he also attended school. The family lived in Cullowhee, North Carolina from 1964-1969 before moving to Morganton, North Carolina, where he worked as recreation director at the Western Correctional Center"

Blackburn made a detour into the Orioles system on his way up the ladder to the majors and spent a year with the Dodgers' AAA team on the way down. Baseball-Reference has no record of any transactions. Maybe those other clubs just borrowed him because they liked his smile.

The Card: Blackburn is wearing the batting helmet that the Pirates' pitchers sported on the mound in those days.

#207 Bob Boyd

Bob Boyd  Baltimore Orioles

Career: Bob Boyd was a member of the Memphis Red Sox in the Negro Leagues in the late 40s. He became the first black player to sign with the Chicago White Sox in 1950 and made his major league debut in 1951 at the age of 31. After being held up in the Cardinals' chain for a few years, he played nine major league seasons including five with the Orioles. The man could hit line drives. His nickname was 'The Rope'. He had a career .293 average.



In 1960: Boyd had been the Orioles leading hitter for several years but he lost his spot at first base to the more powerful Jim Gentile. He played some outfield and pinch-hit and finished with a .317 average in less than a hundred at-bats.

Off The Charts: Boyd was the first player in the modern history of the Baltimore Orioles to hit over .300 in a season.

#206 Claude Osteen

Claude Osteen  Cincinnati Reds

Career: Osteen took some time to get it going but once he did he was a top-notch pitcher for a run of strong Dodger clubs. He came out of his Ohio high school as a much-ballyhooed athlete and signed with the Reds in 1957 and even got into one big league game that same week as a 17-year-old. He spent several years moving up and down between the Reds and their AAA club and ran out of options after a demotion in 1961.

Rather than risk losing him to a Rule 5 claim after the season the Reds dealt him to the Senators. He found his stride in D.C. and had three solid seasons for the Nats. His stock rose to the point where they could deal him to the Dodgers for Frank Howard after a 15-win 1964.

With the Dodgers, he had nine double-digit win seasons and made three NL All-Star squads. He was in the shadows of some Dodger greats like Koufax, Drysdale, and Sutton and never got the recognition he deserved.

He pitched exceptionally well in both the 1965 and 1966 World series. Although he was 1-2 in three starts his numbers were much better than that. In 21 innings he allowed just 12 hits and two earned runs. He posted an ERA of 0.86 and a 0.857 WHIP.

The Dodgers traded him to the Astros for Jimmy Wynn in December of 1973 and he wound up his career with Houston, the Cardinals, and the White Sox. He was out of baseball after 1975.

In 1960: He spent the year sitting in the Reds' bullpen because he was out of options and they couldn't risk losing him. He got into 20 games and lost his only decision in a spot start against the Giants. Overall his ERA of 5.03 wasn't indicative of what was to come.

Off The Charts: Osteen's nickname was 'Gomer' because of his resemblance to TV's Gomer Pyle as played by Jim Nabors.

The Card: Is the same picture used here for the main shot and the b/w 'action' shot? Looks like it. Osteen's eyes are sorta/kinda not looking the same way in the two pics but the main color pic is 'Flexochromed' so the artist/retoucher can play around with those sorts of details.

#205 Johnny Logan

Johnny Logan  Milwaukee Braves

Career: Logan was a four-time All-Star as the Braves' starting shortstop through the 50s. He was a spark plug on their '57/'58 NL title teams. He received MVP votes nearly every year in Milwaukee. Logan began as a pro with an extended run in the then-Boston Braves system where he showed an ability to hit and field very well. His rise thru their chain was slowed because they had Alvin Dark clogging the ladder at the top.

He didn't have much luck at the plate during the two Series he played in, but he did homer off Bobby Shantz in Game Two of the '57 Classic, a game won by Lou Burdette. Logan finished his career with a run in Pittsburgh as a bench piece, after which he played one season in Japan before retiring.

In 1960: This was his last full season with the Braves. His numbers were down across the board with his average falling nearly 50 points and his homers going from 13 to 7. It also ended up also being his last year as an everyday player.

Off The Charts: He had a radio show in Milwaukee for a brief time after baseball and then worked as a welder on the Alaska Pipeline Project. He also dabbled in Milwaukee County politics by running for sheriff a few times while jumping back and forth between the Republican and Democratic tickets.