Charlie Maxwell (#86)

Here is another player unknown to me until today.

Charlie (Charley to Topps) Maxwell was signed by the Boston Red in 1947, and played 7 seasons in their farm system. Although an outfielder, he also pitched in 11 games in 1947. Maxwell's major-league debut came in September 1950, with a 3 game cup of coffee. He also appeared in 49 games for the Sox in 1951 and 8 games in 1952.

Maxwell made the big leagues to stay at the start of the 1954 season. He was Ted Williams' backup in left field, which is to say he rarely played there (12 starts). He did appear in 74 games that season, mostly as a pinch-hitter. After the season, he was purchased by the Orioles, who then sold him to the Tigers by mid-May 1955.



Charlie was the Tigers' 5th outfielder for the remainder of the 1955 season, but took over the starting left fielder's job to begin the 1956 season. Maxwell held the job through the end of the 1960 season. During Charlie's 5 seasons as Detroit's left fielder, he made the all-star team twice.

Rocky Colavito replaced Maxwell in left field at the start of the 1961 season, and after a year and a half of pinch-hitting duty, Charlie was traded to the White Sox in June 1962. Maxwell was Chicago's 4th outfielder during 1962, and started 45 games in left field. He was also the teams' top left-handed pinch-hitter.

1963 was more of the same, except that with the addition of Dave Nicholson to the outfield mix, Charlie was pushed down to the #5 slot. After only 2 pinch-hitting appearances in 1964, Maxwell was released on May 15th.

Birdie Tebbetts (#48)

Birdie Tebbetts was an old-school manager (which to me is anyone who was out of the managing business before 1967, when I first started collecting cards).

Born in 1912, he was an American League catcher from 1936 to 1952 (except for 1943-45, due to military service). Tebbetts began with Tigers, was traded to the Red Sox during the 1947 season, and finished up with the Indians in '51 and '52. Birdie was selected to the all-star team 4 times during his career. In a 1969 fan poll, he was selected as the Red Sox' all-time best catcher.



Tebbetts managed the Cincinnati Redlegs from 1954 until midway through the 1958 season, never finishing above 3rd place. He also managed the Milwaukee Braves for the last 25 games of 1961 and all of 1962.

The following season he began his last managerial assignment, managing the Indians from 1963 until midway through the 1966 season. In April 1964 he suffered a heart attack, and missed the 1st half of that season, but returned to his post on July 2nd.

Birdie also scouted for the Mets, Yankees, Orioles, and Marlins from 1968 to 1997. He passed away in 1999.

Here are some other stories about Tebbetts from his Wikipedia page:

When he played for the Tigers, he was in the bullpen when a fan, wanting to hide tomatoes, eggs, etc., from stadium police who were combing the stands for unruly fans throwing things, filled a basket with the garbage and threw it over a railing. It landed on Tebbetts' head and knocked him cold. When the police identified the culprit to Tebbetts he said he would handle the matter himself—and busted the fan in the nose.

In 1950 Tebbetts referred to some of his Red Sox teammates as "moronic malcontents" and "juvenile delinquents". Consequently, he was traded to Cleveland at the end of the season.

Perhaps most revealing of Tebbetts's character is his recollection of an umpire who suffered dizzy spells following his return from the war. Afraid of losing his job, the umpire asked Tebbetts, then the Tigers catcher, to help calling balls and strikes, and Tebbetts tipped him off with hand signals following each pitch.

Final Card: Ray Moore

Last fall, I received a nice package of 1963 cards from DeansCards.com. Prior to that, my only cards in this set were most of the Phillies, and a few guys who didn't have cards in the mid-to-late 1960s (like Ken Hubbs, Eli Grba, and Vic Wertz). I'm going to be featuring these cards for the foreseeable future on this blog, starting with cards of previously-unknown (to me) players whose last card was prior to 1966.


Here is the last of the 9 Topps baseball cards for Ray Moore (#26). I must confess, before seeing this card, I had never heard of Ray Moore. He was 35 years old on opening day in 1963, but he easily looks 20 years older than that. In fact, I may have mistaken him for Sparky Anderson's older cousin!

Ray was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, and spent the early part of his career in their farm system, at outposts including future big-league cities Fort Worth TX, Montreal, and St. Paul MN. Ray made his major-league debut with the Dodgers on August 1st, 1952, although he was soon back in the minors.



After the 1954 season, Moore was traded to the Orioles (who had just moved from St Louis a year earlier). He pitched for the Orioles for 3 seasons, first as their bullpen ace, and later one of their top 2 starting pitchers.

Ray spent the next 2 1/2 seasons with the White Sox, bouncing between their rotation and the bullpen. In June 1960, he was sold to the Washington Senators. By this time, Moore was strictly a relief pitcher, and he spent the next 3 1/2 seasons as a key member of the Senators/Twins' bullpen. Ray retired following the 1963 season.

Minnie Minoso (#190)

This is the next-to-last card for Minnie Minoso.

Saturnino Orestes Armas (Arrieta) Minoso was signed by the Cleveland Indians in 1948. After only 11 games in class A ball in 1948, Minoso jumped to triple-A to start the 1949 season. After 2 full seasons with the Indians' AAA team in San Diego, Minnie made the majors for keeps to open the 1951 season. His time in Cleveland was short though, as on April 30th he was traded to the White Sox in a 3-team deal that also included the Philadelphia Athletics.

Minoso became a star immediately, finishing 2nd in the Rookie of the Year balloting in 1951, and began a string of 11 straight years with over 600 plate appearances. He was a 7-time all-star, including his 1st 4 seasons in the league.




During his rookie season, he split his time evenly between 3rd base and the outfield. After that season he was primarily an outfielder, although he managed to appear in a few games at 3B each season. In 1952, he alternated between left field and center field, before settling in as the ChiSox' regular left fielder for the next five years.

After the 1957 season, Minoso was traded back to the Indians for pitcher Early Wynn and outfielder Al Smith. Minnie manned the left field spot for Cleveland in 1958 and 1959, before being traded to - THE WHITE SOX! This latest maneuver was a 7-player deal which included 1B Norm Cash and catcher Johnny Romano going to the Indians.

Minoso led the AL with 184 hits in 1960, and collected his last all-star appearance. After 2 seasons with the Sox, he was traded again, this time to the Indians Cardinals. Minnie's playing time with St. Louis in 1962 was cut way back to 39 games, mostly as a 3rd-string left fielder.

In April 1963, the Senators purchased Minoso's contract. He spent 1 season in Washington, sharing the left field job with Chuck Hinton, before getting his release in October. The following April, he hooked on with the White Sox, appearing in 30 games before they released him in July.

Minoso played ball in various Mexican leagues from 1966-1969, before going on to a long career as a coach with the White Sox.

Ed Lopat (#23)

Here's another of the many 1963 cards I received from the good folks at DeansCards.com a few months ago. In the last year or two, I began to collect cards from the pre-1966 era. I still can't get used to seeing the Kansas City Athletics in something other than green, gold and white uniforms!


Ed Lopat is primarily remembered as a starting pitcher for the White Sox and Yankees from 1944 to 1955. He began his pitching career in 1937, and played 7 seasons in the minors before making the White Sox at the start of the 1944 season. Lopat won in double figures in all but his last season in the majors, his best year coming in 1951, when he fashioned a 21-9 record with the Yankees.



Midway through his final 1955 season, Lopat was traded to the Orioles, and finished out the season in Baltimore. He spent the 1956 season pitching for the Yankees' AAA team in Richmond, VA (at age 38), before embarking on a coaching career.

After several seasons as a pitching coach, Ed took over as Athletics' manager to start the 1963 season. After finishing in 8th-place in 1963, and mired in 10th place by mid-June 1964, Ed was replaced by Mel McGaha. They needn't have bothered - the team still finished in last place, 42 games behind the Yankees, and 5 games behind 9th-place Washington.

I vaguely remember seeing Lopat's name listed in various places as a coach during the 1960s and 1970s, but I don't remember which teams he worked for.