#268 Al Worthington

 

 Al Worthington  San Francisco Giants

Career: Alabama-born Al Worthington played baseball and some football for the Crimson Tide before signing a pro baseball contract with the Nashville Vols of the Southern Association. When he signed in 1951 Nashville was a Cubs affiliate. The club became part of the Giants chain the next year and Worthington became Giants' property. I have no idea how that worked and his SABR bio has formatting errors so it is not much help.

But in the end, Worthington, showing promise, spent the 1953 through '55 seasons bouncing back and forth between the Polo Grounds and the scrubs. He was a starting pitcher for the most part but, like a lot of guys back then, also made quite a few relief appearances. In '56 Worthington nailed down a spot in the Giants rotation and spent four seasons with the club while moving to a relief role permanently.

He moved on to pitch for the White Sox, Red Sox and Reds before finding a place with the Twins in 1964 (at the age of 35) and was a key bullpen piece through 1969. He even led the AL in saves in '68.

Worthington pitched in the World Series in 1965 and his last big league appearance came in the AL Playoffs series versus the Orioles in 1969. He went on to become a coach in the bigs and then took the head coaching job at Liberty University and later became their AD.

In 1960: This is the second consecutive card I've posted of a player who didn't play for the team he is depicted with in 1960. In a nice bit of serendipity, Worthington was traded to the Red Sox for Jim Marshall in late March. After spending much of the season in the minors, he was moved to the White Sox in what was termed a 'conditional deal' late in August. For the year he was a combined 1-2 in 10 games. His minor league stats at AA Minneapolis were really good. Given his later success with the Twins, there must have been something about the Minnesota air that agreed with him.

Off The Charts: Worthington, a deeply religious guy, was bothered by the cheating he noticed with both the Giants and White Sox. Both clubs were reportedly stealing signs and Worthington expressed his issues with that to his managers, Bill Rigney in San Francisco and Al Lopez in Chicago. Worthington has always maintained that his doing so led to the trades form both clubs. In one instance he walked away from the game for a bit because of the issue. Details in this story on the Alabama.com site (you'll need to turn off any ad-blocker to read).

The Card: I'd call this a near perfect example of what the 1960 set can be. Really nice portrait of Worthington with an unusual color combo and the preferred (by me at least) cream and gold back. Just a great card.

One issue though...the cartoon labels Worthington a football 'star' at Bama but his bios state that he only played sparingly and had more success on the diamond there.

#253 Eddie Bressoud

Eddie Bressoud  San Francisco Giants

Career: Bressoud, a Los Angeles product, played twelve seasons in the majors, mostly with the Giants and Red Sox. He signed in 1950, played a few years in their system, did two years in the military, returned to the minors, and then broke through to the Giants in 1956. During the club's last two seasons in New York Bressoud was up and down between the Polo Grounds and AAA. He had a reputation as a versatile infielder with a good glove anywhere he was stationed.

But he wasn't an automatic out at the plate, either. At least in most years. In 1964 for the Red Sox he hit .293 and made the AL All-Star team. His career average was .252 which is better than a lot of the infielders of the era.

Bressouud had a couple of seasons with the Giants in which he was a near-everyday player. But when he reached the Red Sox in 1962 he took over as their shortstop and had a nice three-year run. He had good power for a middle infielder and put up double-digit homers for several seasons in a row. His numbers fell off in 1965 and he found himself with the Mets in 1966 where he enjoyed one final season as a starter, and with the Cards in 1967 where he was a spare part.

Bressoud worked as a minor league manager and scout once his playing days were done.

In 1960: This was his second year as the Giants' starter at short (he got into 116 games with over 430 plate appearances) but he didn't hit well enough to hold the job. His .225 average was the lowest of his career. He'd soon give way to Jose Pagan at short for the Giants.

Off The Charts: Bressoud's move from San Francisco to Boston came with a detour. He was taken by Houston in the December '61 expansion draft and then traded to the Sox for Don Buddin. SABR has this to say about the deal:

Bressoud never played for Houston. In fact, he was earmarked for the Boston Red Sox even before the Colt .45s drafted him. In discussions during the World Series, Mike Higgins of the Red Sox talked with GM Paul Richards of Houston. The Sox had tried to obtain Bressoud from the Giants, but failed, and so a deal was struck whereby Houston would draft Bressoud and then swap him to the Red Sox for Boston shortstop Don Buddin. Buddin was no fan favorite in Boston, and Higgins was looking for someone steadier in the field. Columnist Dan Daniel quoted an unnamed Boston writer: “Mike Higgins would not have dared to open the 1962 season with Buddin still on his club. The fans hooted Don all last summer.”

The Card: See, this is what a good headshot looks like. Shows him leaning on the cage, Wrigley scoreboard, and players in the background. Nice colors as well. Good effort by the Topps crew here.

#239 Joe Shipley

Joe Shipley  San Francisco Giants

Career: Shipley had a bumpy 29 game career spread over four different seasons between 1958 and 1963. He began with the New York Giants in 1953 and spent eight years in their chain with three short looks at the majors.

Once the Giants sold him to Cleveland after the '60 season he bounced around through numerous organizations and pitched a partial season in Mexico as well. He lost his only major league decision during a brief time he had in the staff of the White Sox in 1963.

After his career ended he went back to his native Tennessee and was the baseball coach at East Tennessee State for over a decade.

His control problems on the mound were noted on the back of this card and humorously alluded to by former teammate and manager of the Giants, Felipe Alou.* This quote comes from a heavily firewalled (trust me) article on the SFGate website:

....Giants manager Felipe Alou said Giants pitcher Joe Shipley once heaved a fastball that went over the screen at Seals Stadium and clobbered a fan. "I heard he was ordered to hit somebody," says Alou. Mission accomplished. (Legend has it that as a minor-leaguer Shipley hit a batter who was in the on-deck circle.)

In 1960: He split the season (at least in terms of games) evenly between AAA Tacoma and San Francisco. He had 15 relief appearances for the Giants and although his ERA was ugly the rest of his numbers were decent, easily the best of his short career.

Off The Charts: The same SFGate article referenced above mentions that Shipley is reported to have once hit a batter...who was waiting his turn in the on-deck circle. It calls the tale a 'legend' and I can't find any mention of it anywhere else on the 'net. Or much else about Shipley either.

The Card: Nice color combo+Seals Stadium=a pretty cool card.

*=His 1959 rookie card had the same critique.

#200 Willie Mays

Willie Mays  San Francisco Giants

Career: We all know the Willie Mays legacy. Here is a look at the summary from Baseball-Reference's Wiki page:

Notable Achievements...

•     1951 NL Rookie of the Year Award
•     20-time NL All-Star (1954-1973)
•     2-time NL MVP (1954 & 1965)
•     1963 All-Star Game MVP
•     1968 All-Star Game MVP
•     12-time Gold Glove Winner (1957/ML-CF, 1958-1960/NL-CF & 1961-1968/NL-OF)
•     NL Batting Average Leader (1954)
•     2-time NL On-Base Percentage Leader (1965 & 1971)
•     5-time NL Slugging Percentage Leader (1954, 1955, 1957, 1964 & 1965)
•     5-time NL OPS Leader (1954, 1955, 1958, 1964 & 1965)
•     2-time NL Runs Scored Leader (1958-1961)
•     NL Hits Leader (1960)
•     3-time NL Total Bases Leader (1955, 1962 & 1965)
•     3-time NL Triples Leader (1954, 1955 & 1957)
•     4-time NL Home Runs Leader (1955, 1962, 1964 & 1965)
•     NL Bases on Balls Leader (1971)
•     4-time NL Stolen Bases Leader (1956-1959)
•     20-Home Run Seasons: 17 (1951, 1954-1968 & 1970)
•     30-Home Run Seasons: 11 (1954-1957, 1959 & 1961-1966)
•     40-Home Run Seasons: 6 (1954, 1955, 1961, 1962, 1964 & 1965)
•     50-Home Run Seasons: 2 (1955 & 1965)
•     100 RBI Seasons: 10 (1954, 1955 & 1959-1966)
•     100 Runs Scored Seasons: 12 (1954-1965)
•     200 Hits Seasons: 1 (1958)
•     Won a World Series with the New York Giants in 1954
•     Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1979

In 1960: Mays led the NL with 190 hits, had 29 homers (slightly below his peak seasons average), drove in 103, hit .319, won a Gold Glove, finished third in the MVP race.

Off The Charts: Mays has a new book out this spring. In it, he discusses how close he was to signing with the Boston Red Sox when he was playing for the Birmingham Black Barons in 1950. The Sox' scout had a deal in place but was overruled by their front office. Mays in Center, Ted Williams in Left. Hmmmm.

#192 Danny O'Connell

Danny O'Connell  San Francisco Giants

Career: The Braves sent six players and $100K to the Pirates for O'Connell in 1954. They were hoping he was the piece of the puzzle they needed to jump to the top of the NL. O'Connell had been big stuff in the Brooklyn organization and played very well for the Pirates in his two big-league seasons He was third in RoY voting in '53 and garnered some MVP votes in '54. But he was never the player the Braves had hoped for (and had paid such a big price for) and he was sent on to the Giants after three seasons of diminishing returns in Milwaukee.

His production was no better in San Francisco, and he made his own deal to play for the expansion Senators where he spent his final seasons in the majors. He was a player/manager for the Nats' top farm club for a year and then spent a couple of seasons coaching with the Senators.

In 1960: Coming off a season with the Giants during which he got into only 34 games, O'Connell was not in the majors. He played for the Giants' Tacoma farm club in the PCL and hit a robust .312, paving the way for his signing in Washington.

Off The Charts: O'Connell was from the same Essex County area of New Jersey where I spent many years as a kid. He died in a truck crash caused by his heart attack in 1969. He was only 40.

#144 Al Stieglitz Sport Rookie Star

Al Stieglitz  San Francisco Giants

Career: Stieglitz spent six years in the minors after the Giants signed him in 1953. He made it as far as AAA for one injury-shortened season (a broken leg in 1959) and never appeared in a big-league game. He was a .283 hitter for his career in the minors and had some power. But he wasn't able to make enough progress to stick with the Giants. As the card notes, he spent two years in the Navy in the middle of his baseball career. Baseball-Reference has him listed as a Georgia Bulldog but their latest media guide doesn't show him as a letterman.

In 1960: This was the end of the trail for Al. He came back from his broken leg to find himself in AA ball. After hitting .243 in 98 games in the Texas League, he hung up his shin guards.

Off The Charts: I'd like to report that Al Stieglitz married a starlet, was elected to Congress, or even shot a man in Reno (just to watch him die). Best I could come up with, after an eight-page dip into Google, was a reference from a card-related book that he once had a beer with Willie McCovey, Hobie Landruth, and Sy Berger of Topps. So there's that.

#181 Billy Loes

Billy Loes  San Francisco Giants

Career: Loes was signed by the Dodgers in 1949 as a local kid from Long Island. He spent only one season in the minors before serving in the military and then jumping into a regular role with the powerhouse Dodgers of the era. Loes won double-digit games in each of his four seasons and had 50 wins for Brooklyn. He pitched in three World Series.

After one disastrous start in 1956 he was sold to the Orioles. In 1957 he had his best season since his rookie year and made his only All-Star team (three scoreless innings, btw). He finished up his career with the Giants and retired after the 1961 season.

In 1960: He made 31 relief appearances for the Giants and nailed down six saves and a 3-2 record. But while he pitched only 45 innings, the lowest of his career, he pitched well enough to earn a spot as a starter in '61.

Off The Charts: Loes is best described as 'eccentric' but to fully appreciate him you need to read his SABR bio. He was a strange guy, no doubt. A sample: On the eve of the 1952 World Series, Loes found himself in a mini-controversy when reporters asked him to clarify his prediction that the New York Yankees would beat his Dodgers in six games. Claiming that he was misquoted, Loes responded, “I never told that guy the Yanks would win it in six. I said they’d win it in seven.”

The Card: There is nothing attractive about this card. Not even the nifty Yankee Stadium locale can save it.

#140 Julio Navarro Sport Rookie Star

Julio Navarro  San Francisco Giants

Career: The New York Giants signed Julio Navarro out of Puerto Rico in 1955. He pitched exceptionally well in their system waiting for a shot that didn't come. The Giants dealt him to the Angels on September 2, 1962 and the very next day he was on the mound in a game at Yankee Stadium. He pitched three innings in a win for the Angels and was back out there the net day to record his first win with another relief appearance.

He had a 12 save season in 1963, his best overall campaign. He was traded to Detroit in April of '64 but never put together another good season. He returned to the minors and was a starter in the Braves system for a number of years and made a final big league cameo in 1970.

In 1960:  Navarro spent the season in AAA with teams affiliated with both the Giants and the Orioles. I have no idea how that stuff worked. He went 5-12. Most of his 1960 stats for that year (and the next) are not recorded on Baseball-Reference.

Off The Charts: He's the father of Jaime Navarro who had a 12-year career as a starting pitcher with the Brewers, Cubs, White Sox, and, for a few games, Indians. Jaime won 116 big league games, 109 more than his Pops. The Navarros were the first father and son to each record a major league save.

#172 Willie Kirkland

Willie Kirkland  San Francisco Giants

Career: Kirkland was a minor league stud in the Giants' chain after signing in 1954. He had power to burn and moved up through the system. He spent 1957 in the Army and came back to open the 1958 season in the Giants outfield. He was even slotted as their clean-up hitter on Opening Day. But he struggled and was sent to the minors for part of the month of June. When he returned he homered in his first game and raised his average 40 points from the .218 he was hitting when demoted.

He displayed good but not great power for three seasons as the club's right fielder but was traded to the Indians and had a fine year in 1961. Things went mostly downhill from there, and he was dealt to the Orioles in 1964. The Birds moved him to Washington late that summer, and he stayed in DC through 1966. His numbers had taken a tumble and he played AAA ball in 1967 before trying his luck in Japan where he had a nice run as a power hitter and popular star for several years.

In 1960: This was his third and final year on the West Coast. His slash line of 21/65/.252 wasn't good enough to hold off the other young talent in the Giants' system. With Mays, McCovey, Cepeda, and the Alou Brothers in the picture the Giants moved Kirkland for a 30-year-old Harvey Kuenn who lacked Kirkland's power but was more consistent and experienced. 

Off The Charts: Kirkland played in Japan for six seasons with the Hanshin Tigers. I found this Tigers English News page about Kirkland and it features a video of the 1973 Japan World Series won by the Tokyo Giants over Kirkland's Tigers. Kirkland appears at about 1:10 when he whiffs to end the game and the Series.

#154 Jim Davenport

Jim Davenport  San Francisco Giants

Career:  Jim Davenport played his entire 13-year career with the Giants in San Francisco, debuting in 1958 when he snagged the starting job at third base and kept it until 1970. He was a baseball lifer who spent over five decades with the Giants in many different capacities. He was an All-Star and Gold Glove winner in 1962 which was his best season in the majors. He didn't have a lot of power for a corner infielder, topping out at 14 homers in '62 but he was steady and his defensive skills were invaluable. He led the NL in fielding percentage at third from 1959 thru 1961.

In 1960: He had a typical Davenport season hitting near his career .256 mark and committing only 10 errors in 103 games at third.

Off The Charts: When Davenport passed in 2016 MLB.Com had a nice tribute, one worth reprinting here...

Davenport was enormously popular in the San Francisco Bay area, building his following among fans while spending his entire 13-year Major League playing career with the Giants. He was the club's everyday third baseman as a rookie in 1958, when northern Californians ardently embraced the freshly imported Giants. In '82, fans elected him as the third baseman on San Francisco's 25th-anniversary dream team.
Davenport, who sparkled defensively, was often overlooked in a Giants lineup that included Hall of Fame sluggers Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda and Willie McCovey. He eventually was displaced by Jim Ray Hart, another power hitter.
Yet in terms of personal integrity, few rivaled Davenport. Racial tension remained prevalent in society and baseball during the late 1950s and early '60s, but Davenport, a native of Siluria, Ala., rose above the fray.
"He was really one of the best teammates, for whites, Latinos and blacks," said former Giants outfielder Felipe Alou, a native of the Dominican Republic. "There was not a trace of racism in him. He was an incredible friend and teammate."
Said McCovey in a 2014 interview with MLB.com: "There was not a prejudiced bone in his body, and that's what I admired about him so much. He was just a regular guy."

The Card: Haven't done much commenting on colors lately but this three-color combo is a favorite of mine. Fun cartoon as well.

From the looks of those 'Season's Highlights, Davenport had a big June.

Giants Team Trio #153 #225 #469

The Giants finished just over .500 and in the middle of the pack in 1960. By all accounts, their first year in the new Candlestick Park was supposed to be a better one. Bill Rigney (see below) got them off to a good start but when they began sliding further behind the Pirates in June, Rigney was fired. He was replaced by Tom Sheehan, a scout. He couldn't do anything to turn the Giants' season around and they canned him at seasons end as well.

Willie Mays and Orlando Cepeda led the way at the plate. It was a group that finished about fourth in most categories in the NL. The pitching staff ranked near the top of the NL but couldn't overcome the team's batting woes. Mike McCormack and Sam Jones led the staff which also included rookie Juan Marichal as their fifth starter.

If you asked Alexa to 'Show me a baseball lifer' she'd probably come up with a shot of Bill Rigney.

I posted this Bill Rigney card on my Five Tool blog a few years back when I was featuring these managers cards:

Now Bill Rigney really looks like a manager. Arms crossed and leaning on the dugout (wood???) rail. Mouth clenched, eyes hard.

Rigney played all around the infield for the New York Giants from 1946 to 1953, four of those years as a regular. He made the '48 All-Star game and drew a walk after subbing in for Red Schoendienst. He began managing with the Giants in New York in 1956 and was a fixture in dugouts in both leagues right through 1976 when he returned after four years as an exec to manage the Giants a second time. 

In addition to his six seasons with the Giants he managed the Angels for nine and the Twins for three. His 1970 Twins team won the AL West title but fell to the Orioles in the playoffs. After managing he served in the front office of the A's and was a broadcaster.

Of the three coaches shown on the Giants' coaches card, Wes Westrum is the best known. He caught for the Giants for almost a decade and managed the Mets in the mid-60s. It was Westrum who took over for Casey Stengel when the original Mets manager broke his hip in 1965 and eventually retired. He returned to the Giants in the 70s and managed them for a couple of seasons.

Salty Parker was a long-time major league coach who had played very briefly for the Tigers in 1936. Ironically it was Parker who replaced Westrum for the last few weeks of the 1967 season when Wes was let go by the Mets. I remember Parker best as a coach in Houston from 1968-1972.

Bill Posedel was a Dodgers pitcher prior to WWII once winning 15 games.  He gave four years to the service during the war and came back to be a coach and scout.

#98 Gordon Jones

Gordon Jones  Baltimore Orioles

Career: He spent three years each in the minors and the military before he made the staff of the '54 Cardinals. He started 19 games over two seasons before being transitioned to bullpen work. He pitched for five clubs and made numerous trips between the majors and minors until he retired after the '65 season. He won 15 of 33 decisions for the Giants, Orioles, A's and Colts/Astros in addition to the Cards.

In 1960: He was dealt to the Orioles late in '59 along with Jackie Brandt.

Off The Charts: After his playing career, Jones served for 1 1⁄2 seasons as the Major League pitching coach of the Astros—the full 1966 season and the first three months of the 1967 campaign. He was fired on July 8, 1967, by manager Grady Hatton after a rift developed between Jones and some members of his pitching staff. -Wikipedia

The Card: Top Three color combo for me. Does that look like Wrigley to you because it looks like Wrigley to me. 

#80 Johnny Antonelli

Johnny Antonelli  San Francisco Giants

Career: He began and ended his career with the Braves. In between, he made a name for himself in New York as the Giants' ace in their 1954 championship season. In that '54 run, he won 21 games and led the league with a 2.30 ERA and 6 shutouts. He had a complete game win and a save in the Series against the Indians.

In total, he won 126 games and made five NL All-Star squads.  Post-baseball he owned and operated a string of Firestone outlets around his Rochester, New York home region.

In 1960: He was nearing the end of the line and had issues with both his performance and Giants management. He had a strong start to the year but by seasons' end he was out of the rotation and soon was traded away.

Off The Charts: I found this little tidbit in an MLB.com post about him: "Antonelli was selected* by the expansion 1962 New York Mets, which would have brought him back to the Polo Grounds. But he was tired of traveling and had already started a thriving chain of Firestone Tire stores, so he turned down the offer and retired."

*Baseball Reference has him being purchased by the Mets, not as part of the draft itself.

The Card: Not a bad card but I'd have liked a different color than orange for the 'action' picture background. And it's another one where Topps cropped the main photo oddly giving it an off-center look.

#67 Jose Pagan

Jose Pagan    San Francisco Giants
 
Career: He played 15 seasons in the majors beginning with a taste of the bigs in 1959. The largest chunk of his career was split evenly between the Giants as the starting shortstop,  and Pirates platooning at third. He was steady at the plate (.250 career average) and in general a decent glove guy. He led the NL shortstops in fielding in 1962. He played in two World Series and won a ring with the '71 Pirates. He homered in the '62 Series and his double in Game Seven in 1971 drove in the winning run. He finished his career with a stint on the Phillies in 1972.

In 1960: He started the season with the Giants and got in a few pinch-hitting assignments before heading back to AAA. He was back up in September and started at short for the last few weeks on the season and hit well enough (.286) to establish himself as the starter going forward for the Giants.

Off The Charts: "During a 1971 interview with the Sporting News, Pagan had revealed that he often “managed” games in his own mind from the Pirates’ bench. “I think to myself the type move I might make in a certain situation,” Pagan explained. “I think that’s common among ballplayers, especially those who are thinking of staying in the game. I think it’s important for a manager to be an inning ahead in his thinking during the game.”

The above quote comes from a Baseball Hall of Fame page that highlights Pagan's 1972 Topps card and his career in general.

The Card: A third consecutive capless player card. Pagan had been in a Giants uniform in 1959 long enough to have posed for pics so it seems odd that Topps chose a capless one for this card. The red railings identify the photo as being from Seals Stadium. 

#53 Jackie Brandt

Jackie Brandt  Baltimore Orioles

Career: Brandt was an outfielder for 11 seasons for five different clubs, most notably for the Orioles from 1960 through 1965. He was nicknamed 'Flakey' for his quirky personality. He was a great fielder with a lot of speed and he had a touch of power at the plate. His best season was 1961 when he hit a career-high .297 and made the AL All-Star squad.

In 1960: He came to the Orioles off his 1959 Gold Glove-winning season with the Giants. He was the Orioles' regular centerfielder but also appeared in left, right, at first and at third. His average fell off to the .250s but he was about to bounce back in '61.

Off The Charts: In interviews, Brandt jokingly takes credit for the Orioles 1966 title. He cites the fact that he was traded to the Phillies in December of 1965 for Jack Baldschum, who was then dealt to the Reds as part of the Frank Robinson trade. On a personal note..Brandt was in the lineup for my first game in two stadiums, Memorial in 1962 (he homered!) and the Astrodome in 1967.


The Card: He had been traded to the Orioles at the end of November of 1959. Time enough for Topps to change the team on the card but not enough for an Orioles photo. They were able to airbrush the uni in the 'action pose' photo though. Wrigley Field provided the backdrop. This isn't my favorite Brandt card but any O's card is a good O's card. If I had Photoshop skills I'd come up with an updated version.

#42 Hobie Landrith

Hobie Landrith  San Francisco Giants

Career: I recently detailed this when I posted his card on my '58 set blog. Why repeat myself?

In 1960: He was coming off the second busiest season of his career but couldn't match it, either in games played or stats. He essentially flipped roles with Bob Schmidt who had backed him up with the Giants in '59 but took the bulk of the work in '60. 

Off The Charts: Hobie's Wikipedia page is longer than many that of some US Presidents. Someone is a big fan.

The Card: Given what Topps wrote in their blurb on this card I would have expected a season's highlights bullet list. The front is pretty sweet. I like the color combo and the posed 'action' shot. Looks like Wrigley Field.

#23 Eddie Fisher

Eddie Fisher  San Francisco Giants

Career: The knuckleballing reliever pitched for six teams over a 15-year major league career. 1965 was his best season by far as he had 15 wins and 24 saves to go along with his 0.94 WHIP. He finished fourth in the MVP balloting that season (for a White Sox team that ended up second in the AL). That effort earned him a trade to the Orioles the following June. Like everyone else in the '66 Orioles bullpen (except Moe Drabowsky) he earned a ring without breaking a sweat.

In 1960: After a mid-season 1959 debut with the Giants that proved rather bumpy after a first appearance win, Fisher spent the season as a starter in Tacoma for the Giants' AAA club. He got into three games after a September call-up.

WikiFacts: He shares a name with the 1950's singer/actor and serial 'celeb marrying' Eddie Fisher, Carrie Fisher's dad.

The Card: Love the pink on the front. I wish I had a dollar for every vintage Topps card back cartoon that showed a 'pirate' walking the plank.  As for the picture on the front...my guess is Wrigley Field.

#7 Master & Mentor

The Card: Even without the creamy home Giants jerseys you can tell this was taken at Seals Stadium. You can make out just enough of the red railings in the seating areas to be sure.

Nice photo of Willie Mays and Bill Rigney near the batting cage. The back features a write-up that focuses mostly on the Giants' manager. This is an inexpensive card ungraded and an easy way to  snag a Mays card from his career.

#287 Felipe Alou

Felipe Alou  San Francisco Giants

Career: He was the first native of the Dominican Republic to play in the modern big leagues when he debuted with the Giants in 1958. He was followed soon thereafter by many others including his brothers Jose (doh) Jesus and Matty. The three played together in 1963 with the Giants. Felipe worked his way into the Giants' starting lineup over the course of several years and by 1962 he was an All Star.

The Giants stacked plenty of slugging talent in those days and Alou was traded to the Braves in 1964. There he made two more All Star squads and twice led the NL in hits. The went on to play for the Yankees and several other clubs before beginning his second baseball life and a coach and manager, most notably with Montreal.

He had the Expos six games up in the NL East in 1994 at the time of the lockout and missed his shot at managing in the postseason. He did win Manager of the Year.

In 1960: He played in over 100 games for the first time but his numbers were off a bit (8 homers, 44 RBI) from his 1959 production.

WikiFacts: Contrary to the popular myth the three Alou brothers never started a game together in 1963. The three all appeared in the same game for the Giants eight times and on three occasions they played the outfield as a unit.

The Card: Classic posed 'action shot' which stands out among the many portraits in this set. I'm guessing that's Wrigley Field. Nice color combo as well. Makes for one of the better cards in the set IMHO.

#356 Joe Amalfitano

Joe Amalfitano  San Francisco Giants

Career: He's a baseball lifer. He began with a "Bonus Baby" signing in 1954 and he remains in the game to this day. Remarkably he's never been employed by an American League club. He played for ten seasons with the Giants, Colt .45s and Cubs. He managed the Cubs and spent many years in coaching, scouting and front office assignments for a variety of teams. He coached third base for over a decade for Tommy Lasorda in Los Angeles. According to the Giants' website he is currently a special assistant for player development, primarily working in their farm system.

In 1960: He had his highest career batting average (.277) to go along with a couple of homers and 27 RBI. After his mandatory two years on the Giants' roster as a Bonus baby and a stint in the minors this was his first full season as a major league regular.

WikiFacts: Fun blog interview with Amalfitano can be found here. Here is the opening quote from Amalfitano:

“So, we had a team meeting the night before the (1954 World Series) and Durocher started reading from this scouting report and going through their lineup. After about the third name, he stopped and said, ‘We beat these guys in the spring and we’ll beat them again’ and that was the end of the meeting. He took that scouting report and threw it in the trash.”

Lasorda has a blog post about his pal Amalfitano which is found here.

The Card: That has to be a minor league shot of Amalfitano on the card. They airbrushed a Giants 'SF' logo on the cap but left the pinstripes. This is one of the lesser conditioned ones in my binder. the front is lined and scuffed. Candidate for an upgrade one of these days.

The write-up refers to Amalfitano's first tenure the Giants as his 'time with the 'Rigneymen'' as in current (at the time of the card) Giants manager Bill Rigney. But the manager in '54/'55 was Leo Durocher. I see where they were going with that but it seems odd.

You have to love a cartoon that mentions a player's musical skills.