222 - Rob Gardner

About This Player
Rob Gardner spent eight seasons in the Major Leagues bouncing around between six different teams. Originally signed out of high school by the Minnesota Twins in 1963, Gardner was selected by the New York Mets in the 1963 first-year draft. He made his big league debut in 1965 and spent two seasons with the Mets before being traded to the Chicago Cubs. He would later be traded throughout his career to the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and Oakland A's before playing his last game for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Gardner does hold a distinction for being traded for two of the three Alou brothers throughout this career. In 1971, Gardner was traded from the Yankees along with one other player to the A's for Felipe Alou. (Gardner was traded back to the Yankees two months later.) He would be traded again from the Yankees along with a player to be named later (who would be Rich McKinney) to the A's prior to the start of the 1973 season for Matty Alou.

About This Card
Just as Gardner had bounced around different Major League clubs, he also bounced around the minors. His Topps card states that we has pitched in 10 minor league cities. Gardner will have pitched for 12 different minor league clubs by the end of his professional career.

Gardner had only spent four games with the A's in 1971; hardly enough time for a photograph in an A's uniform.

419 - Casey Cox

About This Player

Casey Cox pitched in eight Major League seasons and two of them with the New York Yankees.  Cox played the majority of his career in relief for the Washington Senators.  Cox experienced his finest season in 1969 in which, as a relievers and spot starter, he pitched to a 12-7 record with a 2.78 ERA.  Cox was traded to the Yankees on August 31, 1972, pitched in five games for New York that season, and was released after pitching one game in 1973.

About This Card
I've stated before that I will take any card, regardless of condition, as long as I need it to build my set.  Here is one example, which has been marked with "OR" on the back.  There are a few other cards marked like this in my set.  Perhaps the initials of a previous owner?

124 - Jim Hardin

About This Player
Jim Hardin pitched six seasons in the big leagues and only this final season with the Atlanta Braves.  Hardin made his Major League debut with the Baltimore Orioles in 1967.  Hardin had his best season the following year in which he pitched to a 18-13 record with a 2.51 ERA and 16 complete games.  After four-and-a-half seasons in Baltimore, Hardin was traded to the New York Yankees.  He signed with the Atlanta Braves in 1972 with whom he would play his final season.

Hardin died on March 9, 1991 when the plane he was piloting crashed in Key West, Florida.  Shortly after take off, the propeller from his aircraft failed from fatigue.  The aircraft stalled and the plane crash while Hardin attempted to return to the airport to make an emergency landing.  It was widely reported that, during the plane's descent, Hardin steering the plane away from a baseball field filled with young children.  The plane came to rest in a parking lot of a TGI Fridays restaurant, which was under construction at the time.  Hardin is one of three Yankees to lose their lives in aviation accidents; the other two are catcher Thurman Munson (1979) and pitcher Cory Lidle (2006).  Hardin was survived by his wife and three children.

About This Card
This card is one of my lesser conditioned cards in the set with a crease throughout the card and the pen marking on the numbers.  Typically in my set building, I just a few lots of varying conditions and keep the best conditioned card for the set. Apparently, this was the best condition I had for Hardin.

463 - Ken Tatum

About This Player
Ken Tatum enjoyed a brief six year career in the Major Leagues and three with the Boston Red Sox.  Tatum made his big league debut with the California Angels in 1969 and show himself as a top performer in his rookie season with a 7-2 record, 1.36 ERA, 22 saves and fourth place in Rookie of the Year voting.  In his sophomore season, Tatum pitched to a 7-4 record, 2.94 ERA and 17 saves.

Tatum joined the Red Sox prior to the 1973 season as the result of a trade.  The blog, Halos Haven, describes the trade as follows:

"[Ken Tatum] was traded along with Doug Griffin and Jarvis Tatum (no relation) to Boston for three players, one of them being Ray Jarvis, making it the only known MLB trade where two players with the same last name were traded for a player whose last name was the first name belonging to one of those two players." - Halos Haven

Since arriving in Boston, Tatum suffered a series of injuries and his performance declined.  After three seasons, a series of trades led to Tatum playing his final season with the White Sox in 1974.

About This Card
Ken Tatum, as the back of his Topps card states, was nicknamed after basketball star, "Goose" Tatum.  The nickname is not to be confused with Hall of Fame pitcher, Rich Gossage, also nicknamed "Goose."

42 - Mike Andrews

About This Player
Mike Andrews enjoyed eight seasons in the Major Leagues and three seasons with the Chicago White Sox.  Andrews made his big league debut with the Red Sox in 1966.  The following year, he became the team's starting second baseman and led the American League in sacrifice hits.  He also earned an All-Star selection in 1969.

After five seasons in Boston, Andrews was traded along with Luis Alvarado to Chicago for Luis Aparicio.  Andrews immediately became the White Sox' regular second baseman in 1971.  The following year, Andrews began to decline defensively as he struggled with a bad back.  In 1973, Andrews started the season as the White Sox' first designated hitter.  While he could no longer play regularly in the field, he struggled at the plate and was released in the middle of the season.

July 31, 1973, Andrews was signed as a free agent by the Oakland A's at the request of A's manager and former Red Sox coach, Dick Williams.  Andrews was part of the A's postseason roster for the 1973 World Series.  In Game 2 of the series, Andrews entered the game in the 8th inning as a pinch hitter and took over at second base.  In the 12th inning of that game, Andrews committed two errors which led to a Mets' victory.  A's owner, Charlie Finley, forced Andrews to sign a statement after the game to declare himself disabled and, thus, uneligible for the remainder of the series.  With his teammates and manager, Dick Williams, rallying in his defense, baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn force Finley to reinstate Andrews.  Andrews pinch hit in the 8th inning of Game 4, which became his final plate appearance in the Major Leagues.

Andrews played one season of baseball in Japan before retiring.

Andrews had served more than 30 years chairman of the Jimmy Fund of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.  Andrews has been involved with the Jimmy Fund since his days with the Red Sox and helped raise money for research and treatment for adult and childhood cancers.  Andrews stepped down from his role as chairman in 2009.

About This Card
Mike Andrews is shown in this photograph turning a double play.  Not sure who #33 is sliding into second.  The consensus on Chris Stufflestreet's 1973 Topps Photography blog seems to be the Royals' Bob Oliver at a spring training game.

164 - Monty Montgomery

About This Player
Monty Montgomery played very briefly in parts of two seasons for the Royals.  During his time in the big leagues, Montgomery pitched to a record of 6-3 with a 2.78 ERA in 12 appearances.

About This Card
Topps described Montgomery in 1973 as "one of Royals' brightest hopes for future stardom."  However, despite an American Association leading 7 shutouts in 1972 and very proficient numbers with the big league club, Montgomery would never pitch in the Majors again.  His pitching performances worsened in the minors the following years and Montgomery was out of professional baseball after 1974.

24 - Al Santorini

About This Player
Al Santorini enjoyed a brief six-year career with the Braves, Padres and Cardinals.  Santorini made his Major League debut with the Braves in 1968; he only started in one game and spent the rest of the year on the disabled list.  Santorini was drafted by the Padres in the expansion draft the following year.  In 1971, Santorini was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Leron Lee and Fred Norman.  Santorini pitched in his final Major League game in 1973.

Probably the biggest highlight of his career:
May 26, 1971 - Al Santorini, pitching for the Padres, started both games of the double header against the Houston Astros.  In the first game, Santorini, a right-hander, pitched to one right-handed batter to start the game.  He was relieved immediately by Dave Roberts, a left-hander, to face the next seven batters, all of whom were lefties.  In the second game, Santorini pitched solidly for six innings.  However, the Padres lost both games of the double header.

About This Card
By his look, Al Santorini must have known he would not be around much longer.  After six games and a 5.40 ERA to start off 1973, Santorini was traded to the Royals for Tom Murphy.  Santorini was immediately demoted to Triple-A and spent the rest of his playing career in the minors.

326 - Darrell Brandon

About This Player
Darrell G. "Bucky" Brandon enjoyed seven seasons in the Major Leagues.  Brandon was originally signed by the Pirates in 1959 as an outfielder, but struggled and was later released.  He tried out of the Houston Colt .45's in 1962 as a pitcher and earned a place in their minor league system. 

Brandon was later traded to the Red Sox in 1966.  He earned a roster spot as a reliever out of Spring Training and made his Major League debut that year.  Brandon remained on the big league roster and would start occasionally throughout 1966 and 1967.  In 1968, however, Brandon would struggle and be sent down to the minors.  Brandon was later selected by Seattle Pilots in the expansion draft in 1969 and traded mid-season to the Twins who later released him after the end of the season.

Brandon would return to the Majors with the Phillies in 1971 primarily as a reliever and would remain on the big league roster throughout the 1971 and 1972 seasons.  However, Brandon would play most of his 1973 season and all of his 1974 season in the minors.  Brandon's final big league game would be played in 1973.

For more information:
The Baseball Biography Project: Bucky Brandon

About This Card
Although his Topps cards always labeled him as "Darrell Brandon", he was better known as "Bucky Brandon" throughout his big league career. 

"When I was in class D ball," Brandon explained, "there was this little Indian kid from California on the team, and he had buck teeth. He had "Bucky" carved into his glove, and I ended up buying it from him. A few years later, when I went to spring training with Houston, I had it with me. It was really beaten up, so the guys on the team gave me a hard time about it and started calling me "Bucky."- Bucky Brandon, The 1967 Impossible Dream Red Sox: Pandemonium On The Field

 

635 - Gene Alley

About This Player
Gene Alley enjoyed his entire 12 year career as a shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Alley was known as a player who did all of the little things well.  He was a good base runner, sacrificed runners on cue, a dependable hit-and-run man and was outstanding in the field.  Over his career, Alley won two Gold Gloves and played on two All-Star teams, including a start in the 1976 All-Star Game.  With Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski, they set a Major League record for most double plays (161) turned by a duo in 1966.  Alley was also a part of Pirates team that won the World Series in 1971.

"Baseball is a team sport and meant to be played like a team. You give yourself up for the sake of the team -- sacrificing men around, moving the runners up so that you can score runs to win games. It's not always based on how many home runs you hit or how much you hit for average. It's did you hit the guy from second to third so the next guy can drive him in with a fly ball and win a game?" - Gene Alley

For more information:
The Baseball Biography Project: Gene Alley

About This Card
With this card being in the final series, I wonder if Gene Alley almost didn't make it in the Topps set in 1973.  Alley only played in 76 games in 1973 and missed most of the season from shoulder and knee injuries.  1973 would be Alley's final season.

17 - Fred Gladding

About This Player
Fred Gladding enjoyed 13 seasons pitching relief for the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros.  Gladding made his big league debut with the Tigers in 1961 and became of heart of the bullpen staff.  Gladding still holds a franchise record of a .703 winning percentage for pitchers with over 200 innings.  After seven seasons and his best season as a Tigers, Gladding was sent to the Astros to complete the Tigers' earlier acquisition of Eddie Mathews.  After missing most of the 1968 season, Gladding led the National League with 29 saves in 1969.  Gladding still remains in third place in the Astros' all-time saves list with 109.  After six seasons with the Astros, Gladding was released.

About This Card
This card is Gladding's last Topps card.

354 - Billy Parker

About This Player
Billy Parker played very briefly in three seasons with the California Angels.  Parker made his Major League debut on September 8, 1971 and hit the game-winning home run.  He would play briefly on the big league roster from 1971 through 1973 while spending the majority of those seasons with Triple-A Salt Lake City.  Parker was selected by the Yankees as a Rule 5 pick in 1974, but never made it back to the big leagues.

After his professional career in baseball, Parker worked in home construction and later with youth sports programs in Surprise, Arizona.  The city of Surprise named its baseball field as The Billy Parker Field in 2002.  Parker passed away February 9, 2003.

About This Card
Billy Parker would only have two Topps cards, his rookie card in 1972 and this card.

454 - Tom Haller

About This Player
Tom Haller played 12 seasons as a  Major League catcher.  Haller was signed as an amateur free agent with the Giants and made his big league debut in 1961.  He split about equal catching time Ed Bailey for the next two years.  In the 1962 World Series, Haller started four games, which include a home run and three RBI, in the series loss to the Yankees.  After Bailey was traded in 1964, Haller was established as the team's primary catcher.  In 1966, Haller hit 27 home runs, a Giants record for catchers, and was also selected to his first All-Star Game.  Haller would be an All-Star again the following year.

After seven seasons with the Giants, Haller was traded to the Dodgers in 1968 and would be selected again as an All-Star.  As a Dodger, Haller would hit .285 in 1968 and .286 in 1970, his two highest batting averages, and lead the National League in sacrifice hits.  Haller, also known for his defensive proficiency, would also lead the league in caught steals.
After four seasons with the Dodgers, Haller was traded to the Tigers in 1972 and would serve as the backup to Bill Freehan.  In one game that season, Haller would start the game at catcher while his brother and American League umpire, Bill Haller, would call the game.

A capable defensive catcher, he ended his career with a respectable .992 fielding percentage, which at the time of his retirement, was second only to the .993 career record of Elston Howard.

After his playing career ended, Haller worked for the Giants as a coach and later became vice president of baseball operations.  He was named to the Giants' 25th anniversary team in 1982.  After a long illness, Haller died November 26, 2004 at the age of 67.

About This Card
Tom Haller, seen here with the Philadelphia Phillies, never played a game with the Philadelphia.  His contract was purchased by the Phillies after the 1972 season, but he was released in 1974.

442 - Dick Dietz

About This Player
Dick Dietz played eight seasons as a big league catcher.  Dietz, nicknamed "The Mule," made his Major League debut with the Giants in 1966 and remained in San Francsico for six seasons.  He was an All-Star in 1970 and a key member of the 1971 National League West Division championship team.

Dietz may be best known for his role in an umpire's controversial decision.  On May 31, 1968 at Dodger Stadium, Dietz had come to the plate in the ninth inning with the bases loaded and no outs to face Don Drysdale, who had pitched 44 consecutive scoreless innings at this point.  With a 2-2 count, Dietz is hit on the elbow with Drysdale's pitch.  With a hit by pitch, Dietz would have taken first base and the Giants would have scored the run and ended Drysdale's streak.  However, the home plate umpire ruled that Dietz did not attempt to avoid the pitch and was not given the base.  Dietz returned to the plate and hit a fly ball out.  Drysdale retired the next two batters to win his fifth consecutive shutout and continue his streak.  Drysdale eventually pitched 58-2/3 consecutive scoreless innings, a Major League record at that time.

Prior to the 1972 season, Dietz was placed on waivers and his contract was purchased by the Dodgers.  Because of a broken finger early in the season, Dietz only played 27 games for the Dodgers.  His contract was sold to Atlanta the following season, where Dietz became member of a Braves' "F-Troop" bench brigade.

For whatever reasons, whether concerns about his decline performance or his involvement in the players' union, Dietz was not offered a contract in 1974 and force to retire at the age of 32.

Deitz died on June 27, 2005 from a heart attack.

About This Card
Despite Dietz years with the Giants and his success in 1970 and 1971, I can imagine it might have been hard for Giants' fans to see him in Dodger Blue.

619 - Billy Wilson

About This Player
Bill Wilson pitched in relief with the Philadelphia Phillies during his five Major League seasons.  Wilson made his big league debut in 1969.  However, throughout his career, Wilson had bounced in and out of the minors.  Wilson pitched his last Major League came in 1973.  Wilson did play a full season for the minor league Reading Phillies in 1974, but retired after the end of the season.

Wilson died on August 13, 1993.

About This Card
The backs of the 1973 Topps cards show the player's full name, which most Topps sets did not do.  The last Topps set to show a player's full name on the back was in 1974.

558 - Jerry May

About This Player
Jerry May played 10 seasons in the big leagues with the Pirates, Royals and Mets.  May made his Major League debut with the Pirates in 1964.  He would have the starting catcher role in 1967 and 1968 until Manny Sanguillen was called up.  In 1970, Mays caught the game in which Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter; Ellis claimed he was under the influence of LSD for this game and that Mays wore reflective tape on his fingers to help the pitcher see his target.  May was traded to the Royals in 1971 where he would spend the next two-plus seasons.  May was traded to the Mets in 1973 and later released that year.

May died in 1996 from a farm accident.

About This Card
Jerry May in his batting pose at spring training.

437 - John Kennedy

About This Player
John Kennedy enjoyed twelve Major League seasons with five different teams.  Kennedy made his big league debut with the Washington Senators in 1962 and played his first full season as the team's primary third baseman and 1964.  After he was traded to the Dodgers in 1965, Kennedy became a utility infielder playing third, shortstop and second base.  Kennedy joined the Red Sox in 1970 and played until his retirement in 1974.

John Kennedy also had a unique distinction of having his name and birthday shared with President John F. Kennedy, who was born 24 years before.

About This Card
Although Kennedy is show with 2nd BASE as his position, INFIELD would probably be more appropriate.  In 1972, Kennedy played 32 games at 2nd base, 27 games at shortstop and 11 games at third base.  In 1973, Kennedy played 31 at 2nd and 24 at 3rd.

282 - Steve Hovley

About This Player
Steve Hovley played five seasons in the big leagues in the out.  Originally drafted by the Angels, Hovley was selected by the expansion Seattle Pilots and made his Major League debut in the middle of the 1969 season. Jim Bouton, Seattle Pilots pitcher and author of Ball Four, recounts in his book problems Pilots' management had with Hovley because of his long hair and penchant for reading Dostoyevsky.

For more information:
Wit, wisdom and social commentary - Jim Caple

Hovley was with the team when they moved to Milwaukee to become the Brewers.  He was traded in the middle of the 1970 season after an incident with Brewers' manager, Dave Bristol.  Hovely showed up late for a day game against Cleveland and refused to pay the team fine.

For more information:
Brewers' Hovley Won't Pay Fine, Put on Trading Block - UPI News

After Hovley was traded to the A's, his numbers dropped significantly.  After batting .111 with the A's in 1971, he was sent to the minors and spent the rest of the season with AAA Iowa.

Hovley was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the Rule 5 draft and played the next two seasons as the fourth outfielder.  Hovley played his last Major League game in 1973 and would spend the next season in the minors before retiring.

About This Card
Appears to be a Spring Training photo of Hovley.  I don't know what Spring Training was like in 1973, but, based on the bleachers and the fencing in the background, I'd imagine it was like playing in Little League ballparks.

157 - Denny Riddleberger

About This Player
Denny Riddleberger enjoyed a very brief three year career as a Major League reliever.  Riddleberger was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates, made his pro debut with the Washington Senators and was traded in 1972 to the Cleveland Indians.  A sidearm pitcher known for his curve, Riddleberger led all Indians relievers with a 2.50 ERA, but 1972 would be his final season in the Major Leagues at age 26.

Riddleberger had a career earned run average of 2.77 in his three seasons.  He pitched the 1973 season in the minors, but he would never return to the big leagues.  It is not clear to me why a player with modest numbers only played in the big show so briefly.

Former Washington Senators coach, Wayne Terwilliger recounts in his book a story on Ted Williams, Baseball Hall of Famer and Senators manager,and his thoughts regarding Riddleberger and Orioles slugger, Boog Powell.

"It always surprised Ted when players who had been around awhile didn’t think about hitting the way he did, when they didn’t learn to pay attention to what a pitcher was throwing and how the ball moved. He told a story about watching a game on television and seeing Boog Powell, Baltimore’s big left-handed-hitting first baseman, being fooled again and again by a slow looping curve ball. Powell had a big stride and a big swing; he’d swing himself almost into the ground. Ted said that as he watched the game, he thought for sure Powell would start looking for that curve ball but he never seemed to, and it had made Ted laugh to see Powell keep making that big swing of his and keep missing the ball. I don’t know who the pitcher was in the game that Ted saw on TV, but in ’70 and ’71 we have a young left-handed pitcher named Denny Riddleburger who also had a big slow curve ball. When we played Baltimore, Ted would bring Riddleburger in to pitch to Powell. Denny would serve up a big slow curve and Powell would stand there and cock and cock and cock the bat, and then swish, he’d swing and miss it entirely. Every time Denny pitched to Boog, Ted would be hiding in the corner of the dugout where the fans couldn’t see him, laughing, with tears running down his face. Riddleburger would throw another one and Ted would throw up his arms and his legs and laugh and laugh. Once in a while Powell would foul one off. I don’t know how many times Powell faced Riddleburger but I doubt he ever did hit a fair ball off of him." - Wayne Terwilliger, Terwilliger Bunts One

About This Card
While many collectors cite the 1973 Topps design as the most lackluster from the decade, I enjoy it because of its simplicity.  The thick black border around the photograph brings the focus of the card to the player and action.  The player name stands out, but does not distract.  The team name is subtle, but noticeable and the position icon in the bottom right enhances the card.

256 - Chris Zachary

About This Player
Chris Zachary enjoyed nine seasons in the Major Leagues, though bounced in and out of the minors throughout his entire career.  Zachary made his big league debut in 1963 with the Colt .45's and spent his first five seasons in Houston.  Zachary spent time later on with the Royals, Cardinals, Tigers.  Zachary played his final Major League game in 1973 with the Pirates.

Zachary passed away on April 19, 2003.

About This Card
Not much can be said about Zachary's career, but, probably, the biggest highlight of his career is featured on the back of his card.  Zachary pitched against Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda in his pro debut.

527 - Dan McGinn

About This Player
Dan McGinn was a left-handed pitcher who enjoyed five seasons in the Major Leagues.  McGinn made his rookie debut in 1968 with the Reds.  McGinn was later drafted by the Expos in the expansion draft and was an inaugural member of the team in 1969.  McGinn also belted the first home run in Expos history on Opening Day that year.  McGinn played his final season with the Cubs in 1972.

About This Card
This 1973 Topps card would be McGinn's final baseball card.