Billy Martin started his major league career in 1950 as a second baseman with the New York Yankees. Martin was a favorite of manager Casey Stengel.
In 1953 Billy set a record for a six-game World Series with 12 base hits.
Martin played for the Yankees until 1957. Several Yankee players were involved in an altercation at the Copacabana nightclub during a celebration of Billy's 29th birthday. Martin was traded to the Kansas City A's on June 15.
Billy was heartbroken over being traded from the Yankees. He played for six teams from 1957-1961.
After his playing carer Martin went into coaching. He was the third base coach for the 1965 AL pennant-winning Minnesota Twins.
The Twins won the AL West in 1969, but they were swept by the Baltimore Orioles in the AL Championship Series and Martin was fired after the season. Billy flattened one of his pitchers (Dick Bosman) after he had gone after pitching coach Art Fowler. Bosman was upset with Fowler after he had reported to Martin that Bosman hadn't run all of his sprints. Teammate Bob Allison was involved as well and sustained some damage while trying to break things up.
Billy was hired to manage the Detroit Tigers in 1971. He ran the club for three years and won the AL East title in 1972. Martin resigned as manager during spring training in 1973 but was talked into returning to the team. In September 1973 the Tigers fired Martin. Martin had been suspended for ordering his pitchers to throw spitballs against the Cleveland Indians in response to Gaylord Perry being "allowed" to throw the spitter.
The Yankees won the AL Pennant in 1976 but were swept by the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series.
The 1977 New York Yankees got a lot of ink in the press. They were controversial and they didn't get along well, but they were a great team. The Yankees fought off late season challenges by the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles to win the AL East by 2 1/2 games. The Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals in the AL Championship Series and the LA Dodgers in the World Series to claim their first World Championship since 1962.
The Oakland A's hired Martin to manage the team in 1980. Billy injected new life into the club and the A's finished above .500 in 1980. The A's won the AL East during the 1981 strike season but were knocked out of the playoffs by the Yankees.
The A's faltered in 1982 as several pitchers were injured. Billy was fired by the A's after the season. Soon after his firing by the A's, Martin was hired to manage the Yankees again for the 1983 season.
During this stint as Yankee manager, Martin was involved in the infamous "Pine Tar Game" when he protested a home run hit by George Brett of the Kansas City Royals. The umpires upheld Martin's protest, which caused a memorable reaction by Brett. Martin was suspended twice during the season for run-ins with umpires. After the 1983 season Martin was transferred to an "adviser" for the Yankees and was replaced as manager by Yogi Berra.
Billy became manager of the Yankees again in 1985 after the controversial firing of Yogi Berra. He missed some time while recovering from a punctured lung suffered when he was getting an injection for back spasms. Martin suffered a broken arm during an altercation with pitcher Ed Whitson in a hotel barroom in September. Even with all of these incidents, the Yankees won 97 games and finished second in the AL East.
June 18 - Martin and Reggie Jackson almost come to blows in the dugout during a nationally televised game. Jackson didn't hustle while retrieving a base hit and Martin sent Paul Blair out to replace Reggie in the middle of the inning. Martin came close to losing his job because of the incident and because of feuds with several players, but he survived and finished the season with the club.
July 19 - Reggie Jackson is accused by a 13-year-old boy of roughing him up after the All Star Game in New York.
Record: 100-62, .617, 1st in AL East, 2 1/2 games ahead of Baltimore and Boston
Attendance: 2,103,092 (1st in AL)
Team Batting: .281 (2nd in AL)
Team HR: 184 (3rd in AL)
Team Stolen Bases: 93 (7th in AL)
Team ERA: 3.61 (3rd in AL)
Team Fielding: .979 (3rd in AL)
All Stars: Willie Randolph (starting 2B), Reggie Jackson (starting RF), Thurman Munson (C), Graig Nettles (3B), Sparky Lyle (P)
Manny Mota was a pinch hitter by this time in his career. He made only one appearance in the field in 1977 -- the rest of his appearances were as a pinch hitter. Mota made the most of his appearances, batting .395 in 38 at bats.
Dave LaRoche split the 1977 season between Cleveland and California. On May 11 Dave was traded with Dave Schuler to the Angels for Bruce Bochte, Sid Monge, and $250,000. LaRoche struggled with the Indians, but he was a much better fit in the Angels' bullpen and he had a good year.
1977 Stats:
Cleveland Indians: 2-2, 4 saves, 5.30 ERA in 13 games
California Angels: 6-5, 13 saves, 3.10 ERA in 46 games
After starting as shortstop for the Braves in 1976, Darrel Chaney was a part-time 2B and SS in 1977. He missed the first month of the season and also missed a lot of time in August. Chaney was used as a pinch hitter 15 times in 1977, which seems odd considering his stats for the year.
Stan Bahnsen started the 1977 season with the Oakland A's. Stan had a rough start and was traded to the Montreal Expos on May 17 for Mike Jorgensen. Bahnsen was put in the Montreal starting rotation. It would be Stan's final season as a full-time starting pitcher.
That's quite the cartoon on the back of the card.
1977 Stats:
Oakland A's: 1-2, 1 save, 6.14 ERA in 11 games (2 starts)
Montreal Expos: 8-9, 4.81 ERA in 22 starts
Total - 9-11, 5.00 ERA in 34 games (24 starts)
1977 Highlights:
May 30- Started the second game of a doubleheader and allowed one run in five innings. It was his first appearance and his first win as an Expo.
Sept 21 – Hit a 2-run home run, his 25th of the year, to help the
Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-0. The win moved Baltimore to 2
games behind the AL East leading New York Yankees with 10 games to play.
Sept 22 - Hit a 3-run home run in Baltimore’s 7-1 win over the Blue Jays. The Orioles got to within 1 1/2 games of the Yankees after the game.
Larry Cox was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1966. Larry originally was a pitcher but swithced to catching in 1969.
He played in the minors from 1966-1973 and finally got to play for the Phillies for a short time in April 1973. Larry appeared in one game without an at bat in '73.
Cox played with the Phillies for a short time in 1974 (.170 in 30 games) and in 1975 (.200 in 7 games).
Larry was traded to the Minnesota Twins after the 1975 season for Sergio Ferrer.
After spending all of the 1976 season with AAA Tacoma, Larry Cox was purchased by the expansion Seattle Mariners. Cox played in 35 games for the Mariners and batted .247 with 2 home runs.
After the 1977 season Larry was traded to the Chicago Cubs for a minor leaguer. In 1978 Cox played in 59 games as a backup to starting catcher Dave Rader. Larry batted .281 with 2 HR and 18 RBI.
Cox was traded back to the Mariners during spring training in 1979 for Punch Delgado. Larry played in 100 games in 1979 (.215, 4 HR, 36 RBI) and in 105 games in 1980 (.202, 4 HR, 20 RBI). He was a defensive replacement in many of those games.
After the 1980 season Larry was traded to the Texas Rangers in an 11-player deal that enabled the Mariners to get Richie Zisk and the Rangers to get Rick Honeycutt.
Larry played in only five games for the Rangers in 1981 (3 for 13, .231) and was released on August 18.
Cox signed with the Chicago Cubs in 1982. He played in only four games for the Cubs and was hitless in four at bats. He played in 13 games for AA Midland (he was a coach for most of the season) and then retired.
After his playing career, Larry managed in the Cubs minor league system from 1983-1988. He managed their AAA Iowa club from 1985 until the latter part of the 1988 season. Cox then became the Cubs bullpen coach, a position he held until his death in 1990.
Jim Umbarger actually pitched for the Oakland A's in 1977. He was traded (with Rodney Scott and cash) to the A's for Claudell Washington during spring training. Jim started the season with Oakland and appeared in nine games but was sent down to San Jose (Pacific Coast League) in late May. Jim was bothered by a sore elbow. Umbarger was brought back up in August and pitched in three more games for the A's
The Rangers bought Umbarger back from the A's on August 25 for $200,000. Oakland owner Charlie Finley said he, "hated to do it, but he had to meet payroll."
If Topps were doing a traded set that year, they probably would have made a card of Jim with Oakland, but it still would have been out of date by the end of the season.
1977 Stats:
San Jose (AAA) - 3-5, 7.71 ERA in 13 games (10 starts)
Oakland A's - 1-5, 6.55 ERA in 12 games (8 starts)
Texas Rangers - 1-1, 5.54 ERA in 3 games (2 starts)
The
Toronto Blue Jays chose Dave McKay from the Minnesota Twins in the 1976
expansion draft. Dave was a utility player for the Blue Jays in 1977
before stepping into the starting 2B role in 1978.
McKay
missed about a month of the season from late June to early August. He
played in only one game (July 14) during that time.
Nino Espinosa was signed at the age of 17 by the New York Mets from the Dominican Republic in 1970. Nino played in the minors from 1970-1974 before getting a September call-up in 1974. He was 0-0 with a 5.00 ERA in 2 games (1 start)
Espinosa started the 1975 season in AAA Tidewater. He pitched for the Mets for a short time in July and was 0-1 with an ERA of 18.00 in two games.
Nino spent the first three months of the 1976 season in Tidewater. He was called up in July and was used as a swingman for the rest of the year. Espinosa went 4-4 with a 3.67 ERA in 12 games (5 starts).
In 1977 Espinosa was given a chance to be a regular member of the Mets rotation. He pitched pretty well for an awful Mets team, going 10-13 with a 3.42 ERA in 29 starts.
Nino didn't do as well in 1978. His ERA went up to 4.73 and he was 11-15 in 32 starts. Espinosa led the NL in earned runs allowed with 107.
Nino struggled with arm problems again in 1981. Espinosa was 2-5 with a 6.11 ERA in 14 starts when he was released on August 31. Nino was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays and allowed one run in one inning pitched in his only appearance with the Blue Jays. It would be his last major league appearance.
The Blue Jays cut Espinosa during spring training in 1982, and he spent the season pitching in the Mexican League. Nino signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1983, but the Pirates released him during spring training.
In 1987, at the age of 34, Nino Espinosa died of a heart attack on Christmas Eve.
1977 Stats: 10-13, 3.42 ERA in 32 games (29 starts)
Kent Tekulve was the setup man for closer Goose Gossage in 1977. It wasn't Kent's preferred role. After Gossage left via free agency Tekulve became the closer in 1978.
This was Bert's first year in Texas after a long stint with the KC/Oakland A's. Campaneris made the AL All Star team for the final time in his career in 1977 - he walked, scored a run, and struck out.
Campaneris led the AL in caught stealing (20) and in sacrifice hits (40)
Oct 1 - Tried for a suicide squeeze and bunted for a base hit in the 9th inning. The runner (Lew Beasley) scored, giving Texas a 6-5 win over the Oakland A's.
Rich Folkers was at the end of his career in 1977. Rich was waived by the San Diego Padres during spring training. Folkers was claimed by the Milwaukee Brewers and assigned to AAA Spokane.
Rich came up for a couple of weeks in May and June and appeared in three games. Those were the last appearances of his major league career.
After the 1977 season Folkers was traded to the Detroit Tigers (with Jim Slaton) for Ben Oglivie. The Tigers cut Rich during spring training in 1978 and that was it for his professional pitching career.
1977 Stats:
Spokane (AAA) - 5-7, 7 saves, 4.55 ERA in 46 games (4 starts)
Milwaukee Brewers - 0-1, 4.26 ERA in 3 games
1977 Highlights:
Aug 5 - Was credited with a save after getting the last four outs of a 15-7 Spokane victory over Tacoma. At the time he entered the game Spokane was leading 11-7. The bases must have been loaded when Rich came in.
Gotta love the discolored printing on the front of the card.
Whitey Herzog was signed by the New York Yankees in 1949. He never made the team, but he learned a lot from manager Casey Stengel during several spring training seasons.
Herzog played in the Yankees system from 1949-1955 (except for 1953-1954 due to military service). He moved on to the Washington Senators in 1956 and played for them from 1956-1958.
Whitey spent three seasons (1958-1960) with the Kansas City A's, two seasons with the Baltimore Orioles (1961-1962), and one year with the Detroit Tigers (1963). He played outfield and first base and had a lifetime .257 batting average in eight seasons.
Whitey worked for the A's as a scout in 1964 and as a coach in 1965.
From 1966-1972 Herzog worked for the New York Mets as a coach in 1966 and as a special scout and director of player development from 1967-1972. When Mets' manager Gil Hodges died of a heart attack before the 1972 season Herzog was passed over to manage the club in favor of Yogi Berra.
The Royals were 41-25 (.621) during the remainder of the 1975 season but they couldn't catch the Oakland A's and finished second in the AL West.
Herzog managed the Royals to three straight AL West titles from 1976-1978 but they lost to the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series in all three of those seasons.
The Royals finished second in the AL West in 1979 and after the season Herzog was fired.
The Cardinals were successful during Herzog's tenure. They went to the World Series three times (1982, 1985, 1987) and they won the world championship in 1982.
Record: 102-60, 1st in AL West, 8 games ahead of Texas
Attendance: 1,852,603 (3rd in AL)
Team Batting: .277 (5th in AL)
Team HR: 146 (6th in AL)
Team Stolen Bases: 170 (2nd in AL)
Team ERA: 3.52 (1st in AL)
Team Fielding: .978 (4th in AL)
All Stars: George Brett (starting 3B)
Awards: Frank White (Gold Glove 2B); Al Cowens (Gold Glove OF)
AL Leaders: Hal McRae (doubles - 54, hit by pitch - 13); Freddie Patek (stolen bases - 53); Dennis Leonard (victories - 20); Jim Colborn (hit by pitch - 13)
Batting Leader: George Brett / Al Cowens (.312)
Home Run Leader: Al Cowens / John Mayberry (23)
RBI Leader: Al Cowens (112)
Stolen Base Leader: Freddie Patek (53)
Victories Leader: Dennis Leonard (20)
Losses Leader: Jim Colborn (14)
Strikeout Leader: Dennis Leonard (244)
Saves Leader: Doug Bird (14)
ERA Leader (starters): Dennis Leonard (3.14)
ERA Leader (relievers): Steve Mingori (3.09)
Players who could have had Royals cards in 1977 (batters with over 100 AB, pitchers with over 40 innings) :
The 1977 season was a tough one for John Montefusco. After two good years in 1975 and 1976, John signed a five-year contract before the 1977 season. Montefusco started the season poorly - he was 2-7 with a 3.94 ERA in late May.
After his return from the disabled list, John pitched better. He was 5-5 over the last three months of the year.
Useless trivia: In 1981 John's cards from the three major card companies all had similar numbers. His Topps card was #438, the Fleer was #439, and the Donruss card was #434.
Terry Humphrey was the starting catcher for the Angels in 1977. It was the only season in his 9-year career in which Terry would play in over 71 games. In 1978 Brian Downing became the starting catcher.
Mike Jorgensen didn't get much playing time for the Expos in the beginning of the season. The Expos had acquired Tony Perez to play first base, which made Mike the odd man out. On May 22 he was traded to the Oakland A's for pitcher Stan Bahnsen. Mike played all three outfield positions and some first base for the A's for the remainder of the 1977 season.
Dave Hamilton was a left-handed set-up man and occasional closer for the Chicago White Sox in 1977. Hamilton was second on the club with nine saves (Lerrin LaGrow led the team with 25).
July 29 - Earned the victory in front of over 45,000 fans at Comiskey Park by pitching three scoreless innings as the White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 6-4.
